Download or read book Operation Bodenplatte written by Tomasz Szlagor and published by . This book was released on 2010-02-15 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Colour artwork profiles perfect for modelers Launched on January 1, 1945, Operation Bodenplatte was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries of Europe during the Second World War. The Germans husbanded their resources in the preceding months at the expense of the Defence of the Reich units in what was a last-ditch effort to keep up the momentum of the German Army during the stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge. The operation was a Pyrrhic success for the Luftwaffe as the losses suffered by the German air arm were irreplaceable. The losses of the Allied Air Forces were replaced within weeks. The operation failed to achieve air superiority, even temporarily, for the Luftwaffe and the German Army continued to be exposed to air attack. Bodenplatte was the final major Luftwaffe offensive during World War II. About the Series This is a series of highly illustrated books on the key machines of World War II and their combat use. Perfect for modelers and filled with color artwork profiles, each volume details the camouflage, markings, insignia, modifications and variants of the best of the war. With extra features such as decals, photo-etched brass and masking foil.
Download or read book Bodenplatte written by John Manrho and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "One of our goals was to describe, as accurately as possible, the events taking place in the morning of January 1st, 1945... We had to refrain from going into the nightfighter attacks of December 31st, 1944, and for reasons of brevity we also had to let go of any other bomber or escort missions of the Allied air forces on January 1st. The contents of the book have been divided into chapters dealing with the individual attacks of the Luftwaffe Geschwader. As a result, the subject matter is dealt with primarily from a Luftwaffe point of view. After all, it was a Luftwaffe operation. However, we have endeavoured to create a balanced view of each attack, showing in just as much detail the Allied perspective. At the end of each chapter, we have drawn our conclusions, carefully evaluating all available Luftwaffe and Allied points of view"--P. ix.
Download or read book Operation Bodenplatte written by John Grehan and published by . This book was released on 2024-11-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Battle of the Airfields written by Norman Franks and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the morning of January 1, 1945, over 800 Luftwaffe fighters took off to attack Allied air-fields in Holland, Belgium and France. Norman Franks uses diaries and first-hand accounts, plus material from Germany to tell the story of Operation Bodenplatte, which turned out to be a final act of self-destruction as the Luftwaffe lost up to 300 of their aircraft and over 200 pilots in the battle.
Download or read book Destruction at Dawn written by William Arthur Bishop and published by McGraw-Hill Companies. This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bodenplatte written by John Manrho and published by Specialty Press (MN). This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 8 1/2 x 11, 350 b&w photosIn the early morning of New Year's Day 1945, as the last great German offensive in Ardennes slowly smoldered to an end and the Allies prepared for a final year of war in northwest Europe, against all odds, the Luftwaffe -- assumed to be starved of fuel and fighting spirit -- launched a massive, surprise, low-level strike targeted at Allied tactical airfields throughout France, Belgium, and Holland. Planned under great secrecy, the raid gambled on using the bulk of Luftwaffe fighter assets on the Western Front, with the aim of decimating significant elements of both the British 2nd RAF and the USAAF on the ground. As the winter skies lightened, more than 900 German aircraft, -- most of them Fw 190s and Bf 109s -- swept across vulnerable and unsuspecting airfields, including Brussels and Eindhoven. Altogether, more than 200 Allied aircraft were destroyed, with a further 150 damaged. But for the Luftwaffe it was a pyrrhic victory; 271 fighters were lost and many more damaged. Worse still, of the 213 pilots lost, more than 20 were valuable formation leaders. Using hundreds of eye-witness accounts and rare photographs, this is a definitive study.
Download or read book Operation Bodenplatte written by Lawrence Cortesi and published by Zebra Books. This book was released on 1980 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Ardennes 1944 1945 written by Christer Bergstrom and published by Casemate / Vaktel Forlag. This book was released on 2014-12-19 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In December 1944, just as World War II appeared to be winding down, Hitler shocked the world with a powerful German counteroffensive that cracked the center of the American front. The attack came through the Ardennes, the hilly and forested area in eastern Belgium and Luxembourg that the Allies had considered a quiet sector. Instead, for the second time in the war, the Germans used it as a stealthy avenue of approach for their panzers. Much of U.S. First Army was overrun, and thousands of prisoners were taken as the Germans forged a 50-mile bulge into the Allied front. But in one small town, Bastogne, American paratroopers, together with remnants of tank units, offered dogged resistance. Meanwhile the rest of Eisenhowers broad front strategy came to a halt as Patton, from the south, and Hodges, from the north, converged on the enemy incursion. Yet it would take an epic, six-week-long winter battle, the bloodiest in the history of the U.S. Army, before the Germans were finally pushed back. Christer Bergström has interviewed veterans, gone through huge amounts of archive material, and performed on-the-spot research in the area. The result is a large amount of previously unpublished material and new findings, including reevaluations of tank and personnel casualties and the most accurate picture yet of what really transpired. The Ardennes Offensive has often been described from the American point of view; however, this balanced book devotes equal attention to the perspectives of both sides. With nearly 400 photos, numerous maps, and 32 superb color profiles of combat vehicles and aircraft, it provides perhaps the most comprehensive look at the battle yet published.
Download or read book Six Months to Oblivion written by Werner Girbig and published by Schiffer Military History. This book was released on 1997 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book covers the last chapter, the decline and fall of the air defense of Germany. It is a diary of losses and a chronicle in which the fighter pilot plays the lead. It tells of the young men who joined their squadrons full of optimism and derring-do, only to give their lives to no purpose in a last desperate endeavour.\nIts focal point is the controversial Operation "Bodenplatte" on the morning of New Year\s Day 1945, an operation in which the German fighter force received its final mortal wound - losing some 230 aircrew in less than 4 hours, the fighter units suffered their most severe defeat. Only now, after years of evaluation of all available sources, can the true figures of fighter losses on January 1, 1945 be reported. \nBut this picture of the sacrifice of fighter formations does not mean that fighter pilots were unable to score successes. The figures for enemy aircraft shot down and the contact reports show clearly that the German pilots could still both parry and deal out hard punches.\nFew people have any real idea of the actual scale of the German fighter force\s sacrifice. The imagination boggles at the tragic events that took place in the skies over Europe as the war neared its end, even in the perspective of history the full extent of the debacle can scarcely be depicted.\nIn Six Months to Oblivion Werner Girbig explains these last months of the Luftwaffe and the fall of a once mighty air force.
Download or read book 2nd Tactical Air Force written by Christopher F. Shores and published by Ian Allan Publishing. This book was released on 2005-05 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has been more than 30 years since the original and highly acclaimed history of 2nd Tactical Air Force was first published, and it has been long out of print. Now at last, this book is a completely rewritten and greatly expanded account of this important command's vital contribution to the Invasion of Normandy and the defeat of the forces of the Third Reich in Western Europe. The 2nd TAF, equipped with rocket- and bomb-carrying Typhoons, Tempests, Spitfires, Mosquitos, Mustangs and medium bombers, flew ground-attack and tank-busting missions in support of Montgomery's 21st Army Group as it advanced through Normandy and northwest Europe in 1944-45. The medium bomber units struck at enemy transport, ammunition dumps, and communication targets. The 2nd TAF comprised British, Canadian, Polish, Czech, Norwegian, French, South African, Australian, and New Zealand crews. This second volume covers the breakout from Normandy, the advance across the Low Countries, and the German ripostes in the Ardennes and Operation 'Bodenplatte' in the winter that followed.
Download or read book Fighter Operations in Europe and North Africa 1939 1945 written by David Wragg and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2012-02-29 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fighter Operations in Europe and North Africa 1939–1945 tells the story of Allied and German fighter pilots in Europe, over the Mediterranean and in North Africa during the Second World War. The book starts with the early skirmishes as each side tested the others defenses, moves through the Battle of Britain and then the Blitz, when the emphasis switched from single-engined day fighters to twin-engined night fighters, while increasingly fighters were used to sweep over enemy air fields and lines of communication in occupied France. This overlapped with the need to provide air cover for the besieged island fortress of Malta by day and by night, as well as defensive operations against Axis forces in Crete and North Africa, but as the balance of power changed in North Africa, the Desert Air Force was formed incorporating elements from many Allied air forces and the emphasis moved to offensive operations in support of ground forces. The invasions of Italy and the South of France also called for fighter cover, initially by carrier-based aircraft. The lessons learnt in North Africa were put to good use by the 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force, which accompanied the advancing allied armies towards and eventually into Germany, achieving all important air supremacy which was a major factor in the Allied victory. The book also covers Luftwaffe fighter pilots as they sought to stop the RAF by night and the USAAF by day, against increasingly overwhelming odds.
Download or read book Bolt Action Campaign Battle of the Bulge written by Warlord Games and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-02-23 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Ardennes, 1944. Driven back by the Allies since D-Day, Germany launches a surprise offensive on the Western Front. This assault against the unprepared Allied lines is the opening move in one of the largest battles of World War II. This new Campaign Book for Bolt Action allows players to take command of both armies in this desperate battle, fighting it as they believe it should have been fought. New, linked scenarios, rules, troop types and Theatre Selectors provide plenty of options for novice and veteran players alike.
Download or read book Battle of the Bulge written by Jean Paul Pallud and published by After the Battle. This book was released on 2022-06-30 with total page 1553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This WWII pictorial history presents an in-depth study of Hitler’s epic, final offensive campaign. In December of 1944, nine days before Christmas, Hitler played Germany’s last card on which he staked everything to turn the tables in the West. In this densely illustrated volume, military historian Jean Paul Pallud examines the entire salient with ‘then and now’ photographs. Hundreds of miles have been traveled by the author throughout every corner of the battlefield to search out the scenes of past events — every known photograph belonging to combatants, civilians, and in public collections and private sources has been sought or considered. All available film has been examined frame by frame and certain sequences illustrated and analyzed. This painstaking process offers a vividly detailed look at the famous battle. A number of classic pictures used — or misused — in depicting the conflict are placed in their true context, often revealing them to be very different from what they seem!
Download or read book The Men Who Killed the Luftwaffe written by Jay A. Stout and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dramatic story of World War II in the air How the U.S. built an air force of 2.3 million men after starting with 45,000 and defeated the world's best air force Vivid accounts of aerial combat Winner, 2011 San Diego Book Awards for Military & Politics In order to defeat Germany in World War II, the Allies needed to destroy the Third Reich's industry and invade its territory, but before they could effectively do either, they had to defeat the Luftwaffe, whose state-of-the-art aircraft and experienced pilots protected German industry and would batter any attempted invasion. This difficult task fell largely to the U.S., which, at the outset, lacked the necessary men, materiel, and training. Over the ensuing years, thanks to visionary leadership and diligent effort, the U.S. Army Air Force developed strategies and tactics and assembled a well-trained force that convincingly defeated the Luftwaffe.
Download or read book The Bombers and the Bombed written by Richard Overy and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-04-28 with total page 609 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An essential part of the literature of World War II.” —Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post From acclaimed World War II historian Richard Overy comes this startling new history of the controversial Allied bombing war against Germany and German-occupied Europe. In the fullest account yet of the campaign and its consequences, Overy assesses not just the bombing strategies and pattern of operations, but also how the bombed communities coped with the devastation. This book presents a unique history of the bombing offensive from below as well as from above, and engages with moral questions that still resonate today.
Download or read book Forward Air Bases in Europe from D Day to the Baltic written by Trevor Stone and published by Air World. This book was released on 2024-01-18 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The largely sea-borne invasion of Northern France in June 1944, Operation Overlord, is acknowledged as one of the key actions which hastened the end of the Second World War. The RAF played a vital part in the landings. It then supported the subsequent advance of Montgomery’s 21st Army, and the Allies as a whole, through France, Belgium, Holland and into Germany. Following the breakout from the Normandy bridgehead in early August 1944, the RAF’s Second Tactical Air Force moved forward in support of the troops, occupying a number of temporary airfields as it went. The ground support for this operation was complex, a situation that was exacerbated by the fact that much of it had to be highly mobile. The advance, however, was rapid and soon ran into problems as the supply lines grew longer by the day. The planners had envisaged that capturing the Belgian port of Antwerp would eventually enable them to bring in vitally needed supplies much further north on the Continent. Although the city and its port were liberated in September 1944, the port’s route to the sea along the River Scheldt was still controlled by German forces. It took nearly three months until this was resolved, and the port opened for business. Until then, in the RAF’s equivalent of the US Army’s famed ‘Red Ball Express’, it was some 300 miles by road from Normandy with the Second Tactical Air Force largely reliant on the Army for transporting its needs. For an air force needing large volumes of fuel and ammunition, demand soon began to outpace supply. A number of emergency measures were put in place to keep the aircraft operational, which saw the RAF resorting to the use of its heavy bombers to fly in supplies. Even when Antwerp was up and running, supplying the Second Tactical Air Force remained a hand-to-mouth affair right through until the enemy’s surrender in May 1945. In Forward Air Bases in Europe from D-Day to the Baltic the author explores the challenges of supporting a mobile air force in those uncertain days as Hitler’s forces were retreating to their homeland. As the Allies found, things can go badly wrong when thinking loses touch with the art of the possible – logistics. In the end, miraculously, it worked, but it was a close-run thing.
Download or read book World War II 5 volumes written by Spencer C. Tucker and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2016-09-06 with total page 4723 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With more than 1,700 cross-referenced entries covering every aspect of World War II, the events and developments of the era, and myriad related subjects as well as a documents volume, this is the most comprehensive reference work available on the war. This encyclopedia represents a single source of authoritative information on World War II that provides accessible coverage of the causes, course, and consequences of the war. Its introductory overview essays and cross-referenced A–Z entries explain how various sources of friction culminated in a second worldwide conflict, document the events of the war and why individual battles were won and lost, and identify numerous ways the war has permanently changed the world. The coverage addresses the individuals, campaigns, battles, key weapons systems, strategic decisions, and technological developments of the conflict, as well as the diplomatic, economic, and cultural aspects of World War II. The five-volume set provides comprehensive information that gives readers insight into the reasons for the war's direction and outcome. Readers will understand the motivations behind Japan's decision to attack the United States, appreciate how the concentration of German military resources on the Eastern Front affected the war's outcome, understand the major strategic decisions of the war and the factors behind them, grasp how the Second Sino-Japanese War contributed to the start of World War II, and see the direct impact of new military technology on the outcomes of the battles during the conflict. The lengthy documents volume represents a valuable repository of additional information for student research.
