Land forces and warfare Books

Book SynopsisIn late January 1968, some 84,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops launched a country-wide general offensive in South Vietnam. The bitter fighting that raged in Hue for more than three weeks drew the attention of the world.Hue was the ancient capital of Vietnam, and as such, had been previously avoided by both sides; it had not seen any serious fighting prior to 1968. All that changed on the night of January 31 that year when four North Vietnamese battalions and supporting Viet Cong units simultaneously attacked and occupied both parts of the city straddling the Perfume River.The Communist forces dug in and prepared to defend their hold on the city. US Marines and South Vietnamese soldiers were ordered to clear the city, supported by US Army artillery and troops. A brutal urban battle ensued as combat raged from house to house and door to door. Eventually, the Marines and the South Vietnamese forces retook Hue, but it was a bloody fight and resulted in laTrade Reviewa nicely balanced look at the battle -- Robin Buckland * Military Model Scene *Table of ContentsORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN - The Tet Offensive - Hue City CHRONOLOGY OPPOSING PLANS - North Vietnamese - Allied OPPOSING COMMANDERS - Allied - North Vietnamese OPPOSING FORCES - Allied - The NVA and VC - Orders of battle, Hue City, January 31–March 2, 1968 THE BATTLE OF HUE - Prelude to the battle - The initial attack - The Marines respond - Fighting south of the Perfume River continues - The fight for the Citadel - The final push AFTERMATH THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

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Book Synopsis''What a brilliant book this is a terrific narrative of Hitler''s Ardennes offensive of December 1944 superb storytelling that achieves a skilful balance between drama and detail.'' - James HollandThe Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive in the West. Launched in the depths of winter to neutralize the overwhelming Allied air superiority, three German armies attacked through the Ardennes, the weakest part of the American lines, with the aim of splitting the Allied armies and seizing the vital port of Antwerp within a week.It was a tall order, as the Panzers had to get across the Our, Amblève, Ourthe and Meuse rivers, and the desperate battle became a race against time and the elements, which the Germans would eventually lose. But Hitler''s dramatic counterattack did succeed in catching the Allies off guard in what became the largest and bloodiest battle fought by US forces during the war.In this book, Anthony Tucker-JoneTrade ReviewAnthony Tucker-Jones’s study of these battles is timely and important. * Professor Peter Caddick-Adams, author of 'Snow and Steel: Battle of the Bulge 1944–45' *What a brilliant book this is… a terrific narrative of Hitler’s Ardennes offensive of December 1944 – superb storytelling that achieves a skilful balance between drama and detail. * James Holland, author of 'Brothers in Arms' *Tucker-Jones has delivered another gem. Hitler’s Winter takes the reader on a breath-taking ride from the “other side of the hill” and is a must-read compendium to the vast corpus of Allied accounts of the Battle of the Bulge. Simply stunning. * David O’Keefe, author of 'Seven Days in Hell' *Anthony Tucker-Jones offers a fresh insight into the Battle of the Bulge that few historians have matched. Although several books have been written about the Ardennes from the German perspective, very few authors have captured the spirit of the conflict through the eyes of the combatants themselves. * Mike Guardia, author of 'Arracourt 1944: Triumph of American Armor' *An excellent themed analysis of why the objectives set by Hitler could never be achieved. * Aspects of History *For those who want to fully understand the Battle of the Bulge, then this is a 'must read'. * Iron Cross *Table of ContentsForeword by Professor Peter Caddick-Adams Prologue: The Pied Piper List of Maps List of Illustrations PART ONE: A DARING PLAN 1. Scarface 2. Big or Small Solution 3. The Holy Grail 4. How Many Rivers? PART TWO: SCRAPING THE BARREL 5. People’s Grenadiers 6. Exhausted Panzers 7. Unleash the Tigers PART THREE: WHERE'S THE LUFTWAFFE? 8. Fighter not a Bomber 9. The Big Blow 10. ‘Stubble-hoppers’ PART FOUR: INTO BATTLE 11. Peiper Leads the Charge 12. Krauts Speaking English 13. The Losheim Gap 14. Falcon Takes Flight PART FIVE: RACE AGAINST TIME 15. Victory at St Vith 16. Stalled at Bastogne 17. Clear Skies PART SIX: HERE COME THE AMERICANS 18. Almost to the Meuse 19. American Counter-attack PART SEVEN: TOO LATE TO HELP 20. Rockets to Antwerp 21. Battle of the Airfields 22. Alsace Diversion PART EIGHT: COMPLETE FAILURE 23. Back Where They Started 24. Where Did It All Go Wrong? Appendix Notes and References Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis fully illustrated volume compares two of the most iconic AFV''s: the SU-152/ISU-152 and the Tiger, used on the Eastern Front during World War II.On the Eastern Front in 1943, the Tiger-equipped heavy Panzer battalions gave German armoured divisions an unmatched capability that cost the Red Army dearly. The Tiger's 88mm gun had the potential to carve through Soviet defences in the attack and cause havoc amongst advancing Soviet armoured formations when used in defence. Neither of the Red Army's heavy tanks (the KV-1 and KV-2) could match the Tiger's gun, and, more importantly, penetrate its armour at anything approaching standard combat range. The Soviet response was a stopgap Tiger-killing vehicle that mounted a 152mm artillery piece onto the KV tank's chassis: the SU-152. The latter would evolve into the ISU-152 in late 1943 (mounting the same powerful gun on an IS chassis). This fascinating book describes the mighty duels fought between these opposing AFVs. The colour illTrade ReviewAn absorbing work -- John Norris * Gun Mart & Militaria Mart magazine *Number 120 in the Osprey Duel series, an 80-page soft-cover book in the usual style for this series with plenty of archive images, maps and colour artwork. An opening Introduction sets the scene, along with a Chronology of key events. Then come the Design & Development story for both the German & the Soviet machines. The SU 152 was built on the KV chassis, while the ISU 152 was built on the IS tank chassis. The SU/ISU 152 was not built with the idea of a Tiger destroyer, more as an infantry support weapon capable of tackling fortifications. This is followed by an examination of the Technical Specifications, including the details of the guns, sights, ammunition, armour protection etc. There are some nice colour illustrations of the different ammunition rounds used by the German and Soviet vehicles, helpful detail for modellers. Combatants is the next section, looking at the units and organisation used by each side, before tackling several examples of Combat clashes which are described, such as the Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive in August 1943, Cherkassy in January-February 1944, Pleskau in April 1944 and Memel in October 1944, among others. That leaves just enough room for a closing Analysis. The two vehicles being considered are different in many ways, a turreted tank against a turretless SPG, albeit with a large calibre weapon. Interesting text throughout and some useful archive images to support the narrative, along with the good quality artwork by Ian Palmer. Thanks to Osprey for our review copy. -- Robin Buckland * Military Model Scene *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chronology Design and Development Technical Specifications The Combatants Combat Analysis Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis study explains how the armies of North and South Vietnam, newly equipped with the most modern Soviet and US tanks and weaponry, fought the decisive armored battles of the Easter Offensive.Wearied by years of fighting against Viet Cong guerillas and North Vietnamese regulars, the United States had almost completely withdrawn its forces from Vietnam by early 1972. Determined to halt the expansion and improvement of South Vietnamese forces under the U.S. Vietnamization program, North Vietnam launched a major fourteen-division attack in March 1972 against the South that became known as the Easter Offensive. Hanoi's assault was spearheaded by 1,200 tanks and was counteracted on the opposite side by Saigon's newly equipped armored force using U.S. medium tanks. The result was ferocious fighting between major Cold War-era U.S. and Soviet tanks and mechanized equipment, pitting M-48 medium and M-41 light tanks against their T- 54 and PT-76 rivals in a variety of combat environmentsTable of ContentsINTRODUCTION THE TANKS, DOCTRINE, AND ORGANIZATION Army of the Republic of Vietnam North Vietnamese Army TECHNICAL FACTORS Medium tanks Light tanks Armored personnel carriers and other AFVs Self-propelled antiaircraft guns (SPAAGs) THE OFFENSIVE Quang Tri: the offensive begins An Loc: attacks on the road to Saigon Kontum: attack in the Central Highlands ARVN counterattack in the north BATTLE ANALYSIS Strategic, operational, and tactical lessons TECHNICAL LESSONS Tank against tank Airpower ATGMs RPGs and LAWs THE AFTERMATH: VIETNAM, 1973–75 FURTHER READING INDEX

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Book SynopsisFeaturing specially commissioned artwork and maps, carefully chosen illustrations and insightful analysis, this book examines the legendary Mongol warriors and their vastly different European opponents. Having conquered much of Central Asia by 1237, the Mongols advanced into the northern Caucasus. The fall of several key centres such as Riazan and Vladimir was followed by Mongol victory at Kiev. Moving west, in 1241 two Mongol armies achieved stunning victories at the battles of Liegnitz in Poland and the Sajo River (Mohi) in Hungary, before suffering their only reverse of the campaign at the fortress of Klis. The Mongol forces regrouped in Hungary to prepare for a further advance into Austria and Germany, but the death of their leader, Ogedei Khan, meant that his generals were required to return to Mongolia to choose a successor. Smaller Mongol forces would return to raid in the years to come, but never again would Western Europe be threatened as it was in 1242.Fully illustrateTrade Reviewan interesting match-up, pitting two very different warriors against each other. -- Dave Watson * The Balkan Wargamer *This is an interesting match-up, pitting two very different warriors against each other. * The Balkan Wargamer *Table of ContentsIntroduction The Opposing Sides Liegnitz, 9 April 1241 Muhi, 1241 Esztergom and Székesfehérvár, 1242 Analysis Aftermath Bibliography Index

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