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A lively and highly readable study of the often-overlooked Italian Campaign, from the invasion of Sicily to the march on Rome. An ideal book for fans of Jonathan Dimbleby, Max Hastings and Antony Beevor. While the Allied armies were beginning their invasion of the beaches of north-west Europe during D-Day, their fellow soldiers were also engaged in a gruelling campaign throughout the length of Italy. They had expected to carve through the 'soft underbelly of Europe', but what they found instead was a 'tough old gut' filled with battle-hardened troops. It was the costliest campaign on the Western front in terms of casualties suffered by infantry forces of both sides, with both the Allies and Germans losing over three hundred thousand men. Drawing on the recollections of British, American, Polish, French and German men and women who took part, as well as on the official histories, Charles Whiting paints a vivid picture of the liberation of Italy as seen through the eyes of the ordinary soldier. Whiting sheds light on some of the most ferocious fighting that took place during this conflict, including the bloody Battle of Anzio, where Allied troops attempted to outflank German forces but were held down by dogged fighting. The Long March on Rome should be essential reading for anyone wanting to learn more about this overlooked but hugely important front which after over a year of brutal conflict helped defeat the Axis.

The War may be over, but secrets linger.While World War II has been over for two years, its horrors linger within society, and chance encounters expose the still-festering wounds. Like most Americans, Beatrix Patterson and her husband Thomas Ling are trying to accept the past in order to focus on the future and a family. Despite her desire for a quiet life, Beatrix must become a pursuer of truth once again when asked to expose suspected war criminals who may have killed thousands, a diabolical scheme to rob Indigenous Americans of their relics, and a person practicing voodoo as a means to murder a respected member of the Santa Barbara religious community.Who can she trust to speak the truth when everyone involved seems to be hiding something that could ruin their lives?Each book in the Beatrix Patterson Mysteries is written as a stand-alone. Readers do not need to read every book in the series to follow along.Order of Books in the Beatrix Patterson Mysteries:1. The Seer2. The Finder3. The Pursuer

From the critically acclaimed author of Dünkirchen 1940, this is a groundbreaking history of the epic three-day battle for Hill 107 that changed the course of the war in the Mediterranean. In this remarkable history, we discover each of the individuals whose actions determined the outcome of the battle for Hill 107, the key event that decided the campaign to capture the vitally strategic island of Crete in May 1941. All the events are narrated through the filter of these eyewitnesses. The Allied perspective is from the summit of Hill 107. We experience the fear and the adrenalin of a lowly platoon commander, Lieutenant Ed McAra, perilously positioned at the top of the hill, alongside the combat stress and command fatigue of the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Andew. In contrast, the German view is looking up from below as they cling to the slopes while simultaneous dazzled by the morning glare and decimated by defensive fire. We join the regimental doctor, Dr Heinrich Neumann, as he assumes command of one battalion and leads a daring nighttime charge towards the summit. The Hill details what was felt, heard or seen throughout the battle for both attacker and defender. Drawing upon original combat reports, diary entries, letters and interviews, the battle is brought vividly to life. The narrative reads like a Shakespearean tragedy, the soldiers revealing their stories in and around the shadows of Hill 107.

A fully illustrated study of the Wehrmacht's French volunteer units and their actions on the Eastern Front and in North Africa during World War II.It is little known that, in late 1941, French volunteer units were among Wehrmacht troops defending Germany in the first bitter winter on the Eastern Front, and also among the last fighting for Berlin in April 1945. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, some 13,000 Frenchmen enlisted in the 'Légion des volontaires français contre le bolchévisme' (LVF), which was reformed as the Wehrmacht's Infanterie-Regiment 638 and posted to Russia.This volume examines the involvement of French volunteers, not only on the Eastern Front, but also in the 'Phalange Africaine' in Tunisia and in the 'Légion Tricolore', a short-lived military organization under the control of the French Vichy government. Using archive photographs and specially commissioned artwork, it casts a new light on forces fighting for the Axis and studies the French personnel's equipment, insignia and uniforms while describing their involvement in some of the most gruelling battles of World War II.

Barbarossa was the biggest German invasion of World War II. Comprehensively illustrated, this study explores the air campaign that spearheaded it, and how it evolved during the rest of 1941.

An illustrated history of the American-built destroyers and frigates supplied to the Royal Navy under Lend-Lease, which played a crucial role in Britain's war in the Atlantic.

Fully illustrated, this book assesses the US Marines and Japanese troops fighting in three bloody battles of World War II in the Pacific. In June 1944, the United States military launched an offensive against the Japanese forces holding the Mariana Islands and Palau. The US Marine Corps played a vital role in this campaign alongside Army and Navy forces, while their Japanese opponents mounted a desperate defense of their conquests amid the harsh island terrain. This book assesses both sides' doctrine, tactics, weapons, and battlefield effectiveness in three battles of this stage of the Pacific War. Landing on Saipan on June 15, the Marines established a beachhead as the Japanese defenders strove to fight to the last man. On July 21, US Marine Corps and Army forces landed on Guam. Only on August 10 was Guam declared secure by the Americans, and even then resistance continued. US forces landed on Tinian on July 24 and wrested the island from its conquerors. Alongside Army troops, the US Marine Corps also targeted the island of Peleliu. Predicted to last four days, the US assault on Peleliu lasted more than two months as the defenders inflicted appalling US casualties. Featuring all-new artwork and mapping alongside archive photographs, this study assesses the tactics and technology employed by the Marines and their Japanese opponents in these bloody battles, as the Pacific War moved toward its grim climax.

This illustrated study assesses the British Crusader and the Italian M13/40, two medium tanks that played crucial roles in World War II's Desert War.

An illustrated account of the little-known operations of the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force's flying boat units during World War 2.

An award-winning US Marine Corps armor historian's account of the role of US and Japanese tanks on Iwo Jima. The battle of Iwo Jima is iconic and known for its brutality: this was the only battle in which the number of US casualties outnumbered those of the Japanese. But as is often the case with the Pacific campaigns, the tank action on the island has generally been overshadowed by that of infantry. The tank, however, played an important role as a support weapon - especially on the US side - despite the rough terrain and unconventional enemy tactics. Using unpublished official records and veterans' accounts, award-winning USMC armor specialist Romain Cansière sheds new light on Japanese and USMC armored operations on the island. This book offers new information on the battle in a complete, concise, and accessible format, and its illustrations include unpublished photographs from private collections and meticulously researched new color profiles, highlighting the tanks' modifications and their diverse camouflage and markings.

Packed with personal accounts of the action, this is a vivid narrative history of the often-overlooked USAAF campaign in North Africa and Sicily in World War II. In 1942, the Western Allies needed to take the offensive against the Axis to relieve pressure on the Soviet Union. With planning for a cross-Channel invasion beset by logistical and operational difficulties, in May 1942 President Roosevelt ordered his military leaders to prepare to support the British in the Mediterranean. This led to the first USAAF units arriving in the Middle East in July, firstly as reinforcements for the British and later as part of the Operation Torch landings in French Morocco and Algeria in November. In little over ten months from the summer of 1942, the USAAF in North Africa grew from nothing to a senior partner, providing aircraft and crews the other Allies were unable to match. The Axis forces that had controlled almost the entire southern shore of the Mediterranean had been swept from the African continent - thanks in no small part to the efforts of the USAAF.Using first-hand accounts from pilots and other aircrew, Tom Cleaver describes how the USAAF units that landed in Morocco were forced to learn their own lessons in combat with veteran Luftwaffe units, and how the experience gained in the skies over North Africa and Sicily was invaluable in developing the air forces that would dominate the skies over Europe in the latter years of the war.

The first book to examine the battleship-led 1941 Pacific Fleet as it was intended to fight. Packed with illustrations, this study explains how the US Navy saw the approaching war unfolding.