Book Description
From June 1941, the Soviets were forced to undertake large-scale defensive operations in the face of the overwhelming German blitzkrieg assault, operations which ran counter to their preference for highly mobile, offensive warfare. Lessons were quickly learned across a wide variety of terrain and climates, including the open steppes, dense forests, wooded swamps, cities, and in snow and ice, where the availability of construction materials differed greatly.
The first to cover this topic in the English language and containing detailed information about the trenches, bunkers, observation posts, and weapon positions, this book examines field fortifications built from local materials by infantrymen, as well as their use of mines, field camouflage techniques, and construction tools. It provides a first fascinating insight into Russian defensive attempts against the overwhelming might of the German Army.
Customer Reviews:
A pick for any serious, in depth military collection. .......2007-07-07
Gordon L. Rottman's SOVIET FIELD FORTIFICATIONS 1941-45 tells of one of the largest Soviet defensive operations in history, which embraced fortifications in forests, swamps and cities alike. From trenches and bunkers to weaponry positions, SOVIET FIELD FORTIFICATIONS is a pick for any serious, in depth military collection.
Dull but Useful Doctrinal Reference.......2007-05-15
In Osprey's Fortress No. 62, veteran author Gordon L. Rottman provides an overview of Soviet field fortifications in the Second World War that is similar in presentation to his earlier volume on German field fortifications. Rottman's methodology is to use contemporary field manuals on infantry fighting positions to build a generic overview of how Soviet defensive doctrine defined an ideal defensive at the regiment and below level. However, Rottman's methodology makes very little effort to employ specific examples of defensive fortifications or first-person accounts and his writing style is so dry as to make much of this volume sound like the field manuals it is quoting. No doubt about it, this is a dull read but informative for specialists who need a doctrinal reference.
The initial sections deal with Soviet defensive doctrine, which Rottman says "relied on brute force and was comparatively static." This is a bit overly-general, since the Soviets lacked large amounts of armor or SP AT guns to conduct a mobile defense in 1941-42, but certainly by Kursk the Soviet defense comprised a strong mobile counterattack element. The level of flexibility in the Soviet defense evolved over time and was more a question of resources than doctrine. Since the author keeps his overview rather generic, developments in Soviet doctrine or force structure are not really part of his analysis. The next sections cover building the tactical defense, an overview of defensive firepower at the regimental level, building fortifications and an 18-page "tour of the fighting positions." The section on battle examines the development of a company-size strongpoint in some detail and there is brief mention of defensive tactics in urban areas, forests and swamps. The volume includes 7 color plates depicting various types of positions, plus B/W photos and extracts from Soviet field manuals.
This volume is good as far as it goes, but it is undermined by an overly-generic quality. It is odd that the author made no effort to compare changes in Soviet defensive tactics from 1941 to 1943 or to cite specific examples from pivotal battles such as Kursk. The role played by the mines or Pakfronts in the Soviet defense by 1943 is hardly mentioned at all, but this clearly had an enormous influence upon the defense. Readers will also get the impression that the Soviets had a fairly limited range of field techniques available - if the author had chosen to include examples from Leningrad or the Perekop Isthmus this would have demonstrated the extent of Soviet defensive techniques.
Book Description
In 1943, Hitler ordered his forces to occupy the Italian mainland to protect the Third Reich's 'soft underbelly'. After the successfulthe Allied landings in Salerno, the Germans fought a series of hard, rearguard actions as the Allies slowly pushed north up the Apennines towards the Alps. These actions were based around the construction of a series of defensive lines: the Winter Line, the Gustav Line, the Hitler Line, the Caesar Line, the Gothic Line and the Voralpenstellung. This book explores the development and form of the six defensive lines constructed by the paramilitary Organisation Todt in Italy, examining the principles of defence of these key fortifications in visual depth, and discussing their fate in the wake of the Allied onslaught.
Customer Reviews:
very good.......2007-01-03
Very good portrait and explanation of german fortifications used in the rugged italian terrain. A good reference for the hystorian of fortifications or the problems encountered by the 5th US Army in Italy. Based on this german experience the hystorian can also understand the standards used to build the post WW2 fortifications along the cold war borders.
Book Description
At the outbreak of World War II, Fort Eben Emael in Belgium was the strongest fortress in the world, and it lay exactly across the German invasion route of Belgium and France. The fort’s elimination was essential for the success of Hitler’s invasion of the West. Deemed impregnable to conventional attack, Hitler himself suggested the means for its capture with the first glider-borne assault in military history. On 10 May 1940, ten gliders carrying just 77 paratroopers landed on top of the fort. Using top-secret hollow-charge weapons for the first time in warfare, the assault pioneers of Sturmgruppe Granit subdued Fort Eben Emael within just 30 minutes, and the fortress surrendered within 30 hours. It remains one of the greatest raids in the annals of Special Forces.
Customer Reviews:
Review of the German Glider Assault on Fort Eben Emael........2006-11-16
I have used this book as a reference work as part of the research into a presentation I was giving on "The Role of the Glider in WW II". The book is well written and covers the descripotion of the Fort itself and its defences, as well as the context of the disposition of the Belgian defenders and the German airborne tactical assault, and besides being well written, provides a large amount of historical material. In addition to these values, it is an excellent read for anyone interested in the details of WW II, that is better than fiction.
Past The Sell By Date.......2006-07-03
This book is interesting to students of military history and does not fulfil the novel reader. It does certainly show how the once wonderful defensive building fell victim to the fresh thoughts of its attackers.
Excellent coverage of a major operation and site.......2006-03-04
The author does a fine job covering the Eben Emael and its design and the German operation that took it. Some other books in this series, like American World War II defenses, the Maginot Line, and the Western Front in World War I do not do just as good a job because their topics cover a greater subject. The book is well illustrated and the commentary is excellent.
Ain't no holt what caint be broke!.......2006-02-09
A wrestling coach of old was said to tell his wrestlers that there was no escape-proof lock, hold, or other technique in his sport. The same is true of military operations. Eban Emael was said to be impregnable--I forgot; was it politicians or newspapermen who made that claim? Germany exploited new techniques of war to conquer this Belgian fortress, and the Belgian Army appears to have provided less than adequate means to shore up this keystone of the Belgian defenses.
Most modern armchair generals claim that fortifications are holes in the ground that armies pour men and material into for no gain. Permanent fortifications are universally condemned, and even field fortifications are said to sap the offensive strength and morale of the defending armies. It was for this reason that the World War One French Army instituted the spirit of the assault--and suffered massive losses against German barb wire and German Spandau machine guns in 1914 and 1915. Simon Dustan establishes the rational for putting this hole in the ground in the first part of his book. Attempting to understand World War Two in isolation, without considering the bloodbath of 20 years prior, is to ignore reality. The first pages of Fort Eban Emael lay this out quite well, placing the concrete-lined hole-in-the-ground in context of the political and economic climate in Belgium. Note that Dunstan doesn't explore the alternatives to Fort Eben Emael--this is a book about what was, not what could have been.
Hugh Johnson's illustrations clarify how the fort was laid out. Battle is "organized chaos," with the emphasis on "chaos;" the neat diagram of the glider assault on page 50 clarifies how the Germans took the fort, and the text hints at the confusion among the Belgian defenders. Germany developed several new weapons that were first used in this attack: shaped charge demolitions, gliders capable of carrying the heavy equipment needed for reducing gun positions, glider infantry teams task-organized for this mission, and most importantly, the operation was integrated into the campaign. Simply completing a brilliant mission is not enough when that single mission does nothing else. On pages 42 and 43, Johnson's artwork shows how the Luftwaffe circumvented the Belgian wartime blackout (an air raid precaution) to land the glider troops under cover of darkness, and Dunstan's text explains the coordination so that maximum surprise was achieved by the glider assault and the necessary follow-up actions by the ground forces.
Just because the Germans found a countermeasure didn't invalidate the defensive capabilities of Eben Emael. Could the same number of half-trained troops, WITHOUT Eben Emael's powerful fixed artillery batteries, have withstood a German combined arms assault? Resources include men and material--the aircraft and tanks and field artillery used by the allies in 1940 were inferior to the German equipment, and the leadership and common soldier was less experienced and skilled than the German counterparts. I think Belgium was doomed from the moment that Hitler decided to use that small nation as a highway because Belgium couldn't muster resources enough to fight the entire German war machine, and the nation is small! Modern manuever warfare must have manuever room. Belgium tried to remain neutral--couldn't. It takes only one side to start a war. The only chance that Belgium had to remain uninvaded would have been to invade Germany during September of 1939, while most of the German war machine was mobilized for the Polish Campaign--a political impossibility. Besides, Belgium didn't have the mobile, "offensive army" this operation would have required--even if France and Britain would have had the political will and military might to seize the western parts of Germany.
I enjoyed this book because of the details of the fort's layout and construction. The text covered the German countermeasures to the fort's defensive strengths. Eben Emael's communications failed on May 10, 1940, and so the German Luftwaffe glider troops seemed to have had a cakewalk--but Dunstan's text shows that wasn't the case. The issue was in doubt until motorized pioneers arrived to help "mop up" the defenses. It wasn't an easy victory for the Germans.
Excellent description of bold adventure.......2006-01-07
This book is a well done account of a brief and bold operation. It has the illustrations that many other books lack. Highly recommend this amazing book.
Book Description
In 1942, with Germany's gradual loss of the strategic initiative to the Allies, Hitler was forced to construct an impenetrable wall of fortifications along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast. However, Hitler's grandiose Atlantic wall scheme was hampered by the realities of Germany's wartime economy. Without the resources and manpower to fortify the entire coast, the emphasis was placed on the great festung ports, the likely location of an Allied amphibious landing.
This first volume in a series of three deals solely with the structures on the French Atlantic coast starting with the Pas de Calais and extending down to Spain. Featuring detailed illustrations and diagrams of the various sections of the Atlantic Wall and the role that they played, it gives an insightful analysis into some of the most accessible fortifications of World War II.
Customer Reviews:
Another strong recommendation for detailed military and World War II collections.......2007-09-03
Steven J. Zaloga's THE ATLANTIC WALL (1): FRANCE analyzes the German Atlantic Wall's ambitious fortification efforts during World War II, making it another strong recommendation for detailed military and World War II collections. Structures in France are the sole focus here, with illustrations and diagrams charting their effectiveness and construction.
Most Informative Volume on this Subject.......2007-08-22
Once again, Steven J Zaloga delivers a first-rate product in his volume on the Atlantic Wall fortifications in France, number 63 in Osprey's Fortress series. The level of research and detail that went into this volume far exceeds that which went into earlier works and provides great insight into the Third Reich's production priorities. This volume is also provides value as a tour guide for those readers intended to visit France and desiring background on German World War Two fortifications in that county. Page for page, this volume packs a huge amount of valuable information into a short space.
As standard for the Fortress series, the author begins with a section that discusses the design and development of the Atlantic Wall in France, broken down into German Army and Navy defenses. The author notes that the German Kriegsmarine opted for a few very large and elaborate coastal defense batteries, while the Army wanted smaller, more numerous infantry and artillery positions. The author also notes the impact of the 1942 Dieppe raid on German thinking, convincing many that the next Allied invasion would try to land near a port. The following sections discuss principles of defense, a tour of the sites, the sites at war and the sites today. The amount of data provided by the author is particularly noteworthy, much of which is packed into eight tables. These tables show the number and type of beach obstacles by army-level sector, the number and types of bunkers in France, the number and type of artillery in France, army and navy coastal artillery batteries in France (including sector and number of gun) and railway artillery batteries in France. The author also provides detail on how much concrete and steel were required to build individual types of bunkers and how much the Atlantic Wall program cost. This is a wealth of information neatly packaged for serious students of this period in military history.
Graphically, the highlight of this volume is the photographs, which consist of 37 B/W photos mostly taken in 1944-45 and 17 color photos taken of the sites as they appear today. Many readers will be interested in the modern photographs, particularly if they are planning to visit France and tour near the invasion areas. The artwork in this volumes consists of a scene of a 280-mm K5E Railroad Gun in a Dombunker; Batterie Lindemann; Batterie Todt; an H667 50-mm anti-tank gun casemate; strongpoint WN10; an H633 bunker for an M19 automatic mortar; an R621 gruppenstand bunker. The volume also has two very informative maps (the Atlantic Wall in France in 1944; the "Iron Coast" in Pas-des-Calais in June 1944), that depict all sorts of information that is hard to find. The author also provides an extensive bibliography.
Throughout the volume, the author argues that the Atlantic Wall was essentially a propaganda ploy by Hitler to re-assure the German people that the Western Front was secure and to deter an Allied invasion. However, the Atlantic Wall did not significantly improve Germany's defensive capabilities in France because the fortifications were spread too thinly over a long coastline and the individual positions were overwhelmed piece-meal. The author argues that the Atlantic Wall was pierced on D-Day and although it delayed the liberation of several fortified ports, it thereafter played no significant role in the war. I can't say that I agree with this thesis entirely - given the shortage of troops and tanks in France, what alternative was there to fortification? -but it is well-argued by the author. This volume belongs on the shelf of anyone seriously interested with the 1944 campaign in France.
Book Description
The Maginot Line and the Atlantic Wall are, perhaps, the most famous World War II-era fortification lines in Europe, but in fact, most European countries built fortified defensive lines throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Forts, bunkers, and defensive lines are found throughout the continent, including Central and Eastern Europe. Fortress Europe is the first and only comprehensive treatment of all of Europe's modern fortifications. Country by country, the authors describe in detail all of the fortifications built prior to and during World War II. The fortifications of smaller countries, like Belgium and the Netherlands, which added important segments to larger defensive lines, are covered with the same attention to detail as the more well-known fortifications. Much new information is available here on the defenses in Eastern Europe, as well. The descriptions and technical specifications of Europe's forts are supplemented by scores of remarkable technical drawings by Polish artist Robert M. Jurga.
Customer Reviews:
An Interactive Book on Fortifications!!!.......1999-07-08
Five Stars or Four Stars - a difficult choice. WALLS OF WAR is indeed a classic, and possibly this book shall be also. Like WALLS OF WAR, FORTRESS EUROPE contains some inaccurracies. The most outstanding problem is the lack of photos and what appears to be missing information on some of the drawings. A problem is that many fine descriptions of fortifications are not accompanied by illustrative material. At 400 pages I do not know where they would put addditional material with what seems to be over 150 oustanding illustrations already included. On the plus side, which far outweighs the problems, in addition to all the information on such a large number of fortifications presented the Introduction includes an Internet site address. On this site is a link to an Update Page where information is added and/or corrected, and on the other pages of this site are links to Maginot, Czech, Vallo Alpino, and other fortification pages which include many colorful illustrations of items covered in FORTRESS EUROPE. These internet pages compensate for the missing illustrations. The only problem is that some of us have limited internet access and there are hours of material to view. The site even has a FORUM where readers can submit questions for more information on these fortifications. This site the FORTRESS EUROPE book is linked to turns this work into a truly interactive work. The 5 Star rating is based on the positive internet support this book features. ---H.Zarska
Superb fortification history!.......1999-05-01
A good fortification book consists of a good balance of text, photos and drawings. Fortress Europe is an excellent fortification book. The text, photos, and superb drawings describe not only well known WWII fortifications such as the Maginot Line and Atlanticwall, but the more obscure fortifications of WWII Europe, such as the Soviet Molotov and Stalin lines, the Greek Metaxas line, and Yugoslavian fortifications. In many cases this is the first English language technical description ever given of these fortifications. This is a must have for anyone interested in WWII fortifications.
A classic work........1999-04-22
This book, like Mallory and Ottars WALLS OF WAR is destined to become a classic on the fortifications of World War II. It covers many defenses I have never even heard of. The drawings are magnificent. On the downside I have noticed some minor errors which are either from the authors or the publisher, but this does not detract from this work. The only thing that might be missing is more illustrations and a little more coverage of the Balkans and Iberia. Still I have seen nothing to compare to it and we may only hope this leads to more books on that go into greater depth on some of the defensive systems covered in this work. --Doug Dallas
Book Description
The German Army of World War II considered itself an offensive, mobile force. The experiences in the trenches in World War I had done much to shape its concept of field fortification, and its mobile warfare ethos was intended to prevent the previous war's stalemate. This book addresses frontline defensive field fortifications, built by infantrymen using local materials, and includes rifle platoon positions, trenches, crew-served weapon positions, bunkers, dugouts, shelters and more. It also covers anti-tank and anti-personnel obstacles, as well as field camouflage methods and construction methods. The integration of these positions into permanent systems and theatre-specific defences are also discussed.
Customer Reviews:
Dig In and Hold.......2007-05-19
German Field Fortifications 1939-45 is a fairly well written compilation of German field manuals and American technical evaluations on the subject.
It's real strength is in the editing and illustrations. The author obviously did a good bit of research and the collaboration with the illustrator brings it all together.
For those who have a casual interest in the subject as well as those students of history who are drilling down for more details, on what can only be described as esoteric subject matter, the book provides good information in an easily readable format. Colored illustrations punch it up and the photo selections are pertinent and work well with the text to illustrate the concepts being described. Brief but sufficient historical references to WWI fortifications is provided and cursory references to major fortifications round out the presentation.
The author does a particularly nice job by illustrating the differences in fortifications that existed in the various theaters of the war. He points out how terrain features, soil types and climatic conditions helped determine the type and complexity of fortifications. He couples this with the nature of the conflict... offensive early in the war and giving way to a defensive posture as it progressed, to build a fairly comprehensive work in a limited number of pages.
I give it a 'thumbs up!'
reference for Museum-quality dioramas.......2005-09-14
Osprey makes great, compact, concise guidebooks on a variety of subjects. You cannot beat the price--unless you get all of your military manuals and referece books free! This book is all of 63 pages long and is heavy on illustrations and photographs.
This volume deals with field fortifications--and how the defense was integrated. Nazi Germany's fortunes changed radically during the course of World War Two. Far from being the motorized army of conventional wisdom, most German soldiers were moved to the front by train, then tactically moved on foot. During the early days of World War Two, the small fraction that was motorized and armored managed great feats--the rest of the German army consolidated gains using field fortifications. At the end of the war, Germany had run out of everything but the enemy--they had no artillery, no ammunition, few soldiers, insufficient small arms, no food, no fuel, and their most reliable transportation was the bicycle (horses were eaten). By 1945, German had essentially no mobile striking force and no air force. "German Field Fortifications" shows the measures used to stabilize the fronts on all theaters and in varied terrain.
I liked seeing the differences between the Russian Front and North African field fortifications. I'll be using this book to create dioramas in scales from 1:6th to 1:350th.
For the Specialist Reader.......2004-11-07
Gordon L. Rottman's German Field Fortifications 1939-1945 in Osprey's Fortress series is a dry, but comprehensive survey of the main German tactical defensive techniques in the Second World War. This volume is a useful addition to cover the non-fixed (e.g. Atlantic Wall) defenses that the Germans used to defend their conquests. While Rottman fails to provide much in the way of first-person type accounts, he has combed the contemporary field manuals and literature to provide a good overview of the subject. This volume is not for the casual reader, but intended primarily for military readers seeking greater background on German defensive doctrine.
The volume consists of seven main sections: German tactical defense doctrine, planning the defense, defensive firepower, materials and construction methods, types of defensive positions, theater-specific defenses, and the fortifications at war. The seven color plates in the volume are: a rifle platoon in defensive position; defense of a village; building a log machinegun bunker; a 20mm flak gun position; a squad strongpoint in the desert; an infantry battalion defensive sector and a company hilltop strongpoint. The author also provides a number of interesting sidebars on types of obstacles, German demolition charges and German divisional artillery.
Rottman begins with an interesting section on the German "elastic defense" doctrine and the gradual development of the sector defense. Modern military readers will recognize the antecedents of current defensive doctrine in these German roots, particularly the concept of advanced positions and main battle lines. By the start of the Second World War the Germans had already developed a pretty solid defensive doctrine, which they further refined in the early years of the war. However, Rottman notes that by the time the system was really put to the test in 1942-1943, the Germans found it difficult to execute their doctrine due to manpower shortages. The shrinking German infantry units found it more and more difficult to build a viable sector defense and had to rely more upon ad hoc "strongpoint" type defenses. Rottman adds some notes on interesting field expedients, such as the German discovery that ice blocks could make bullet-proof parapets in Russia and their use of portable saw mills to cut timber for fortifications.
Rottman attempts to provide examples of some successful defensive techniques, but not always with the detail that the reader might prefer. His discussion of the German 6th Panzer Division's hasty construction of bunkers in Russia in the winter of 1941 using demolition charges is interesting, but some of the others are rather short. He does discuss German field works in North Africa, Italy, Russia and Normandy, albeit succinctly. Rottman's dissection of a German battalion defense is excellent. The only area that I felt was a bit slighted was mine warfare, in terms of how did the Germans lay out their minefields and what was their capability to lay mines like at the regimental and division level. Overall, this is a good volume on a specific subject, although designed primarily for the specialist reader.
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.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Survey.......2006-03-04
I have found this companion book in the FORTRESS series of these authors to be another finely done survey. Unlike, the last book in the series, this one is well illustrted and covers German defenses from the Arctic regions to North Africa and from the Eastern Front to the Atlantic Wall. Lots of ground is covered and plenty of references in the biblo can be found for further research. One criticism is the the photo reproductions are not well done, but unlike the last book, there are at least photos in this one.
Good book on German Defenses.......2006-02-13
After reading Wilt's book, I was disappointed since it lacked the detailed description of German fortifications. This book provides more information on the Atlantic Wall in regards to technical detail, but it is still only a general history and description. On the other side of the coin, it covers many German fortifications that I was unaware of and is reasonable well illustrated. I am not sure I would call it an introductory work since it goes a bit further, but like the authors' American book it covers so much it can only be considered an introduction, but an excellent starting point.
A worthy addition to your library.......2004-07-17
This book covers alot of ground both figuratively and literally. It provides an excellent survey of German fortifcations, both WWII and some of their antecedents, from west to east, north to south, and in the water. As others have noted, this book is easy to read and is organized in an accessible manner. Also, as others have noted, some editing goofs and mistaken picture atributions do mar the book (I should know - some of those relate to my pictures in the book!). The quality/resolution of some the pictures is fuzzy, but the quality of Robert Jurga's line drawings is great as always (though they too suffer from some attribution and editing errors). What really makes this book worth putting in your library is its scope of topic coverage. I don't know of anything else that gives as good a survey as this book does.
Great View of German Defensives Works of World War II.......2003-08-22
This book covers a vast topic in a short space and does not bore the reader with tons of useless information on how much ribar and concrete was used or other technical engineering data. Everything from the various types of bunkers in the first fortifications built after World War I to the giant submarine pens and air raid shelters are covered. There is even information on the minefield barrier in the Gulf of Finland and obscure German defensive lines in Europe as well as World War I era defense brought back into service. Certainly there are books that give greater detail on the Atlantic Wall and other indvidual fortifications, but this one is loaded with enough information to give a great overview. Main shortcoming is that the photos are not of the highest quality and some of the wonderful drawings appear to have errors in labeling, but there is no problem in interpreting them properly. Excellent work and well worth the price!!!!
Good but flawed.......2003-08-06
I enjoyed this book. There is a lot of information in it, presented in a well-written and accessible manner. I am not aware of a similar resource in English, and I am happy to have added it to my library.
Unfortunately, the book suffers from proof-reading errors which detract from its readability and authority. Some examples: the map of the port of St.-Nazaire on p. 188 clearly confuses the submarine pens and the railway station, and mixes up the shipyard and the docks. There are a number of diagrams which label parts of bunkers or geographical features with numbers which do not appear on the legend to the diagram. On p. 299, reference is made to an underground factory consisting of two main tunnels "over 1.5 meters in length". Was this supposed to be 1.5 kilometers, 150 meters or some other figure? Unfortunately, the reader has no way of knowing. Obvious errors such as this make the reader wonder whether or not there are other, less obvious, errors.
The book is organized roughly chronologically, which may be a reasonable choice given the changes made in fortifications during the war. However, the authors spend too much time informing the reader of the progress of the war generally, whether or not the information is pertinent to fortification issues. I suspect that the readership of this book is primarily going to be people who already have a solid grasp of the chronology of World War II, and these overviews are unnecessary.
Overall, however, I thought this book was a worthwhile purchase. There is considerable information in it I have not found anywhere else. The diagrams and maps are generally very good, and the text is well-written and well-organized.
Average customer rating:
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SMASHING THE ATLANTIC WALL: The Destruction of Hitler's Coastal Fortresses
Patrick Delaforce
Manufacturer: Pen and Sword
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
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Strategy
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General
| World War II
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Western Front
| World War II
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ASIN: 1844152561 |
Book Description
In 1940 when Operation SEALION (invasion of the British mainland) was abandoned, Hitler ordered the building of a night defense system along 1,500 miles of coastline from Denmark to the Spanish border. He was personally involved in the planning which was based round 15 fortresses guarding vital ports. Built by the Todt Organisation using slave labor, the scale of the Atlantic Wall was unprecedented.
When the Invasion OVERLORD came the majority of the defenses were defended with great vigor and a number held out for longer than expected (Brest and St Malo). Some were by-passed and left in German hands rather than waste lives attempting to capture them.
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The Atlantic Wall (1): France (Fortress)
Siegfried Line 1944-45: Battles on the German frontier (Campaign)
Denmark and Norway 1940: Hitler's boldest operation (Campaign)
The Forts of the Meuse in World War I (Fortress)
World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics (Elite)
