Hitler's Fortresses in the East

Hitler's Fortresses in the East PDF Author: Alexey Isaev
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
ISBN: 9781526783950
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
'Fortresses must carry out the same tasks as the fortresses of old....They must allow themselves to be surrounded and thus tie down as many enemy forces as possible.' So Hitler directed in March 1944 and, in so doing, sealed the fate of Ternopol', Kovel', Poznan and Breslau, cities in the Ukraine and Poland that were in the path of the Red Army's advance towards Nazi Germany. German forces, under orders to resist at all costs, adopted all-round defence and struggled to hold out while waiting for relief - which never came. In this gripping and original book, Alexey Isaev describes, in vivid detail, what happened next -intense and ruthless fighting, horrendous casualties among soldiers and civilians, the fabric of these historic cities torn apart. His account is based on pioneering archival research which offers us an unrivalled insight into the tactics on both sides, the experience of the close-quarter fighting in the streets and houses, and the dreadful aftermath. At the same time he shows why these cities were chosen and how the wider war passed them by as the Wehrmacht retreated and the battlefront moved westward. Each of these cities suffered a similar fate to Stalingrad but their story has never been told before in such graphic and circumstantial detail.

Hitler's Fortresses in the East

Hitler's Fortresses in the East PDF Author: Alexey Isaev
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
ISBN: 9781526783950
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
'Fortresses must carry out the same tasks as the fortresses of old....They must allow themselves to be surrounded and thus tie down as many enemy forces as possible.' So Hitler directed in March 1944 and, in so doing, sealed the fate of Ternopol', Kovel', Poznan and Breslau, cities in the Ukraine and Poland that were in the path of the Red Army's advance towards Nazi Germany. German forces, under orders to resist at all costs, adopted all-round defence and struggled to hold out while waiting for relief - which never came. In this gripping and original book, Alexey Isaev describes, in vivid detail, what happened next -intense and ruthless fighting, horrendous casualties among soldiers and civilians, the fabric of these historic cities torn apart. His account is based on pioneering archival research which offers us an unrivalled insight into the tactics on both sides, the experience of the close-quarter fighting in the streets and houses, and the dreadful aftermath. At the same time he shows why these cities were chosen and how the wider war passed them by as the Wehrmacht retreated and the battlefront moved westward. Each of these cities suffered a similar fate to Stalingrad but their story has never been told before in such graphic and circumstantial detail.

Hitler's Fortresses in the East

Hitler's Fortresses in the East PDF Author: Alexey Isaev
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526783967
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
‘Fortresses must carry out the same tasks as the fortresses of old....They must allow themselves to be surrounded and thus tie down as many enemy forces as possible.’ So Hitler directed in March 1944 and, in so doing, sealed the fate of Ternopol', Kovel', Poznan and Breslau, cities in the Ukraine and Poland that were in the path of the Red Army’s advance towards Nazi Germany. German forces, under orders to resist at all costs, adopted all-round defence and struggled to hold out while waiting for relief – which never came. In this gripping and original book, Alexey Isaev describes, in vivid detail, what happened next –intense and ruthless fighting, horrendous casualties among soldiers and civilians, the fabric of these historic cities torn apart. His account is based on pioneering archival research which offers us an unrivalled insight into the tactics on both sides, the experience of the close-quarter fighting in the streets and houses, and the dreadful aftermath. At the same time he shows why these cities were chosen and how the wider war passed them by as the Wehrmacht retreated and the battlefront moved westward. Each of these cities suffered a similar fate to Stalingrad but their story has never been told before in such graphic and circumstantial detail.

The Fall of Hitler's Fortress City

The Fall of Hitler's Fortress City PDF Author: Isabel Denny
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510712445
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
The harrowing, tragic story of a city and a people ravaged by one of the most brutal battles of World War II. In 1945, in the face of the advancing Red Army, two and a half million people were forced out of Germany’s most easterly province, East Prussia, and in particular its capital, Königsberg. Their flight was a direct result of Hitler’s ill-fated decision to invade the Soviet Union in 1941. Now that the Germans were in retreat, the horrors of Leningrad and Stalingrad were to be avenged by an army determined not only to invade Germany but to take over its eastern territories. The Russians launched Operation Bagration in June 1944 to coincide with the D-Day landings. As US and British forces pushed west, the Russians liberated Eastern Europe and made their first attacks on German soil in the autumn of 1944. Königsberg itself was badly damaged by two British air raids at the end of August 1944, and the main offensive against the city by the Red Army began in January 1945. The depleted and poorly armed German army could do little to hold it back, and by the end of January, East Prussia was cut off. The Russians exacted a terrible revenge on the civilian population, who were forced to flee across the freezing Baltic coast in an attempt to escape. On April 9, the city surrendered to the Russians after a four-day onslaught. Through firsthand accounts as well as archival material, The Fall of Hitler’s Fortress City tells the dramatic story of a place and its people that bore the brunt of Russia’s vengeance against the Nazi regime. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Hitler’s Fortresses

Hitler’s Fortresses PDF Author: Chris McNab
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782009515
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 651

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Book Description
Hitler's 'West Wall' was one of the greatest engineering projects of the 1930s. Stretching more than 390 miles and containing some 14,000 pillboxes it was a significant statement of intent. But it was only as World War II progressed that Germany's defensive requirements expanded beyond all previous expectations. Along the Atlantic coastline Germany poured millions of tonnes of concrete into chain batteries, bunkers and minefields, whilst defensive works were sunk into the mountainous terrain of Italy in an attempt to halt the advancing Allies. As well as these large-scale defensive works, Hitler's Fortresses delves into the principles and engineering of basic frontline defences, showing how the average German soldiers prepared their fox-holes and field fortifications, as well as exploring special purpose fortifications like the huge U-boat pens, V-weapon sites and Hitler's own personal constructions, from his sprawling headquarters to his mountain-top lair. This exhaustive study of German wartime fortifications reveals much about the strategic and tactical thinking of the German High Command, and combat accounts explore how effective the defences were in practice. Illustrated throughout with contemporary photographs, cutaway diagrams, artworks and maps, this edition shows exactly how key types of defensive positions looked and functioned, and provides an authoritative record of the Third Reich's defensive mindset.

Hitler's Fortress Islands

Hitler's Fortress Islands PDF Author: Carel Toms
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Hitler's Final Fortress

Hitler's Final Fortress PDF Author: Richard Hargreaves
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811715515
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
In early 1945, the Red Army plunged into the Third Reich from the east, rolling up territory and crushing virtually everything in its path, with one exception: the city of Breslau, which Hitler had declared a fortress-city, to be defended to the death. This book examines in detail the notorious four-month siege of Breslau. • The first full-length English-language account of the bloody siege • Chronicles the bitter struggle as the Red Army encircled Breslau and eventually pillaged the city, taking savage retribution on the survivors • Details the brutal methods used by the city's Nazi leaders to keep German troops fighting and maintain order

Fortress Third Reich

Fortress Third Reich PDF Author: J. E. Kaufmann
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 9780306815515
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Atlantic Wall is perhaps the most famous of Germany's World War II-era fortification lines in Europe, but Hitler built many others, from elaborate coastal defenses along the English Channel to the nearly impervious lines protecting the German homeland-the massive West Wall and the hurriedly built East Wall. Fortress Third Reich is the first and only comprehensive treatment of Germany's World War II fortifications and the important Nazi defensive systems, such as the Reich's highly feared air defense. The authors present an in-depth and detailed account of all German fortifications and defensive systems of World War II, supplemented by scores of remarkable technical drawings by Robert M. Jurga.

The Fall of Hitler's Fortress City

The Fall of Hitler's Fortress City PDF Author: Isabel Denny
Publisher: Greenhill Books/Lionel Leventhal
ISBN: 9781853677052
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
First full-length study of the Battle for Königsberg. Charts the destruction of the medieval East Prussian city ; reveals the desperate civilian exodus.

Hitler's Wave-Breaker Concept

Hitler's Wave-Breaker Concept PDF Author: Henrik O. Lunde
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1612001629
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
A strategic analysis of the Nazi high command’s decisions in the north, from “an established scholar of the Scandinavian theater” (Publishers Weekly). One of the prominent controversies of World War II remains the debate over Germany’s strategy in the north of the Soviet Union as the tide of war turned and gigantic Russian armies began to close in on Berlin. Here, Henrik Lunde—former US Special Forces officer and author of renowned works on the campaigns in Norway and Finland—turns his sights to the withdrawal of Army Group North. Applying cool-headed analysis to the problem, the author first acknowledges that Hitler—often accused of holding on to ground for the sake of it—had valid reasons in this instance to maintain control of the Baltic coast. Without it, his supply of iron ore from Sweden would have been cut off, German naval U-boat bases would have been compromised, and an entire simpatico area of Europe—including East Prussia—would have been forsaken. On the other hand, Germany’s maintaining control of the Baltic would have meant convenient supply for forces on the coast—or evacuation if necessary—and, perhaps most important, remaining German defensive pockets behind the Soviets’ main drive to Europe would tie down disproportionate offensive forces. Stalwart German forces remaining on the coast and on their flank could break the Soviet tidal wave. However, unlike during today’s military planning, the German high command, in a situation that changed by the month, had to make quick decisions and gamble, the fate of hundreds of thousands of troops and the entire nation at stake on quickly decided throws of the dice. In this book, both combat and strategy are described in the final stages of the fighting in the Northern Theater with Lunde’s even-handed, thought-provoking analysis of the campaign a reward to every student of World War II. Includes maps.

The Führer’s Headquarters

The Führer’s Headquarters PDF Author: Neil Short
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1849083029
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
The 100th title in the Fortress series, this book describes and examines the Führerhauptquartiere – the 14 or so headquarters built for Hitler. Revealing their locations and how they were used to direct the Nazi war apparatus, this is a fascinating insight into a range of historical sites from Berghof to the Wolf's Lair. With a map showing the locations of all of Hitler's bunkers and fortifications on the eastern and western fronts and illustrated with photographs and specially commissioned artwork, this book is an essential introduction to Hitler's command structures and recreates numerous bunkers and buildings which were destroyed by Allied bombing raids or by fleeing German troops.