Search results for ""Editions Heimdal""

In this second volume dedicated to the SS Fallschirmjäger, a former Bundeswehr Fallschirmjäger continues his look into the story of the Waffen-SS’s only paratrooper unit. First of all it gathers together a series of accounts from participants in Operation Rosselsprung; naturally, those by members of the SS-Fallschirmjäger-Batallion 500 (like Leo Schaap), but also those of the glider pilots (among whom Hans Sieg) and even of their adversaries, among which Tito’s memoirs. The reader will also discover the days of relative calm the battalion spent in Dvar, after the bitter battle of 25 and 26 May 1944, then its transfer from Western Bosnia (at the time in Croatian territory), to reach the Baltic Coast, near Danzig. A few more days of calm before another storm, this time on the Eastern Front…From mid-July to September 1944, the SS-Fsch.-Jg-Btl. 500, which was still a disciplinary unit, was engaged almost continually in Lithuania and on the frontiers of the Reich, against the repeated attacks by the Red Army; it was literally decimated! To tell this unit’s feats of arms (especially where the clearance of Vilnius is concerned), the author has chosen to introduce accounts from men who had taken part alongside the unit (for example, the paratroopers of the FJR 16 Ost), leaving the lion’s share to several accurate and moving witnesses from Battalion 500 itself: the brief words from their new CO Siegfried Milius, those of Oscha. Karl Pichler, and the radio operator Leo Schaap, without forgetting the stupefying account from a former veteran with a very vivid memory, Werber Schrödl, whose contribution was essential.For all that, Franz does not forget to base his account also on the official sources and the book offers detailed, mainly unpublished photographs: a number of snaps of the SS-Fallschirmjäger in Drvar, photos of the battlefield of Bosnia in 2018, period and contemporary maps. An essential book for whoever wants to look at this untold story: the Waffen-SS paratroopers.

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Former captain of the paratroopers of the Luftwaffe, the author went on to earn his degree during the 60’s, and became a historian.This is the first volume three, each detailed history is close to 400 pages each. The first volume is dedicated to the operation against Tito’s troops in Yugoslavia, the second to the engagement in the Baltic States and the third to operations in Hungary, in the Ardennes, and at the bridgehead of the Oder Front. The whole, dedicated to this SS-Fallschirmjager Battalion 500/600, will offer more than a thousand photos.

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The Wiking Division was the only SS armoured division exclusively to fight on the Eastern Front. The division was partly composed of volunteers Flemish, Dutch and Scandinavian whose primary motivation, for many of them, was to fight against Bolshevism. They fought with an energy which never wavered even if the efforts and sacrifices were not always rewarded with victory. Counted among its ranks officers of unusual caliber as Felix Steiner, Herbert -Otto Gille , August Dieckmann and Hans Dorr Walter Schmidt to name a few. This book recounts their history in unparalleled details.

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This book is the fruit of 40 years research and analysis of eye-witnesses accounts, both military and civilian, thousands of photographs, researched and analysed, concerning the Invasion and Battle of Normandy. With over 470 photos, and 73 maps, this publication provides a day by day account of these events from June 6th to August 30th 1944.

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In May 1940, during the Battle of France, the British Expeditionary Force in France aiding the French, was cut off from the rest of the French Army by the German advance. Encircled by the Germans they retreated to the area around the port of Dunkirk. The German land forces could have easily destroyed the British Expeditionary Force, especially when many of the British troops, in their haste to withdraw, had left behind their heavy equipment. This lull in the action gave the British a few days to evacuate by sea. Winston Churchill ordered any ship or boat available, large or small, to pick up the stranded soldiers, and 338,226 men (including 123,000 French soldiers) were evacuated– the miracle of Dunkirk, as Churchill called it. It took over 900 vessels to evacuate the Allied forces. More than 40,000 vehicles as well as massive amounts of other military equipment and supplies were left behind; their value being less than that of trained fighting men. After the success of Corridor des Panzers and Zur Kuste, this new volume takes us directly into the Dunkirk arena, and concludes the suite of works on this dramatic period of history. Jean-Yves Mary has also provided modern photos of the battlefields, in comparison with the original images, allowing us to locate the areas where the events took place.

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This is the illustrated history of the Waffen-SS 24. Waffen SS-Gebirgs (Karstjäger) division, covering their engagements against partisans in Slovenia and Northern Italy. Detailing the guerilla warfare between the Germans and the partisans, the Karstjäger mountain division was composed mainly of Austrian, Italian and Spanish soldiers. This book contains 380 photos from veterans, along with eyewitness accounts, organization charts, and profiles, making this an essential addition to any enthusiast's collection.

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Éclairé par les récentes découvertes, cet ouvrage propose enfin un récit précis, détaillé et dynamique, adapté aussi bien aux néophytes qu’aux passionnés, de la spectaculaire bataille menée par les Rangers et les forces de la Wehrmacht sur la Pointe du Hoc. La prise de la Pointe du Hoc, le 6 juin 1944, constitue l’un des événements les plus spectaculaires du Jour J. Deux cent vingt-cinq soldats américains, surentrainés, se voient confier « la plus dure des missions », selon les mots du General Bradley : escalader des falaises de plus de trente mètres de haut, prendre d’assaut une position allemande hautement défendue et y détruire six canons susceptibles de déverser un feu dévastateur sur les plages d’Utah et Omaha Beach. Voici le récit complet de cet événement. Nous commençons par les lointaines origines des Rangers au tout début du dix-septième siècle et les premiers colons d’Amérique. Après la mise en place de cette élite de soldats en 1942, on y découvre leur long et douloureux entraînement aux États-Unis et au Royaume-Uni ainsi que les premiers combats sur Dieppe, en Afrique du Nord, en Sicile et en Italie. Puis vient le débarquement du 6 juin 1944. Un détaillé très minutieux des bombardements sur la Pointe du Hoc nous permet de saisir toute la puissance des destructions que subit le point d’appui en vue de l’assaut. Le récit complet de l’incroyable traversée en mer des Rangers jusqu’aux plages de Normandie nous plonge ensuite rapidement au coeur d’Overlord. Puis, il laisse place aux violents combats jusqu’au 8 juin, sur la Pointe du Hoc, mais aussi tous les affrontements sur Omaha Beach. De nombreux témoignages poignants, de soldats mais aussi de civils normands, permettent de rentrer dans l’âme de la bataille. Après la prise de la Pointe du Hoc, nous est révélé l’avenir des Rangers en Europe et le destin très singulier de certains d’entre-eux après la guerre. Plus de deux cent soixante-dix photographies, dont de nombreuses inédites et en haute définition, ainsi que des cartes intuitives, permettent de se repérer sur les champs de bataille. Un détaillé des bombardiers, des péniches et du matériel innombrable utilisé pour les combats offre, en plus, un éclairage passionnant pour se plonger dans l’événement et répondre de manière poussée à de nombreuses questions.

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Of D-Day, everybody remembers the American paratroopers dropping over Sainte-Mère-Eglise, the bloodbath at Omaha Beach, the heroic capture of the Point du Hoc, or again the 177 French Commandoes landing at Ouistreham. What everybody forgets was that in the middle of this front, there was a sector, Gold Beach, where the Allied offensive turned out to be particularly effective, so much so that by the evening of 6 June the 25 000 British soldiers who set foot on the beaches at Asnelles and Ver-sur-mer had reached their objectives, in particular the control of the Caen-Bayeux road and liberated Bayeux the next day. But Gold Beach was also the story of the technical expertise resulting in the building of the artificial port at Arromanches and changing Port-en-Bessin into a “petrol station” supplying the whole of the Allied armada. It was in the Gold Beach sector that Sergeant Stan Hallis earned his Victoria Cross (the highest British military award) in recompense for his acts of bravery, the only one awarded in Normandy. It was for all these reasons that the British Government chose Gold Beach and in particular the village of Ver-sur-Mer to set up the Memorial bearing the names of some 21 000 United Kingdom soldiers killed on D-Day or during the Battle of Normandy. A book was therefore needed for Gold Beach to obtain a rightful place of its own in history among the five landing beaches. Thanks to the exceptional documentation gathered over more than half a century by Philippe Bauduin, a recognised specialist of D-Day, born in Ver-sur-mer, this richly illustrated book reminds you of what was at stake in this sector of D-Day, and tells the story of what happened there, nearest the participants. After the success of Jour-J, ce qu’on ne vous a pas raconté, les secrets du Débarquement, published in 2016, Philippe Bauduin and Jean-Charles continue their work together with this most recent book devoted to 6 June 1944.

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An original idea, unsuspected focal points, picturesque and touching characters, twenty years between war and peace, this is what the pages of this book offer: a story of Lyon seen through the prism of the adventures and the tribulations of several protagonists who, to say the least, are original : Journalists, authors, artists, fantasists, gastronomes, among whom Marcel Grancher, Frédéric Dard and Curnonsky. This story takes place at the beginning of the 1930s in Lyon with five great daily newspapers, a lot of periodicals and a lot of specialised documentation covering the very varied domains available to the people of Lyon. This story takes place during ten years of uneasy peace, five years of war and five years of renewed freedom afterwards. It ends at the beginning of the 1950s. It was yesterday, it was last century. Behind intensive literary activity we find here the atmosphere of the bistrots, the bars and the little restaurants in the Rue Bellecordière or the Rue Confort, just so many places of conviviality, encounters and exchanges. A book of great wealth where each chapter portrays a character, who is often picturesque, or a literary or culinary event.

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It seemed that 1798 was a year like any other. In appearance only. Indeed, the year seemed to finish off the infernal ten-year period which started in 1789. France had quietened down and consolidated its borders. It was a bigger country which saw out the 18th Century, but a country in which the ashes from the fires lit earlier still glowed red, flaring up with the slightest breath of air… Starting in peace, 1798 ended with the clash of fighting. With this book by Lionel Marquis, a journalist and renowned historian, discover this turning point when the Egyptian Campaign under the young General Bonaparte took up centre stage.

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The liberation of Carentan is not well-known even though it wasn’t just an anecdote in the Battle of Normandy. It was in fact the object of ferocious fighting from 9 to 13 June 1944 with two elite units confronting each other: the American paratroopers from the 101st Airborne and the Fallschirmjäger of the FJR 6. General Maxwell Taylor, commanding the 101st Airborne used the whole of his division with its four airborne regiments but also all the supporting units, its four airborne artillery batteries, its medical units and its logistics to encircle the town and to chase out the German paratroopers under Major Freiherr von der Heydte; they left after fierce fighting during the night of 11-12 June only to return the next day with the 17. SS-Pz-Gren-Div. “Goetz von Berlinchingen”. The German losses as well as those of the Americans were very heavy, as were those of the civilians (the town centre still bears the signs). This book gives a detailed account of the Battle of Carentan. The accounts given by the participants in the battle enable the feats of arms to be recorded; they are always poignant, moving even. Each story is a personal epic in itself. This book modestly gathers together some of these individual adventures, throwing a profoundly human light on the complexity and the violence of the fighting for the liberation of this region in the Cotentin Peninsula. For example, Edward David Shames, one of the last heroes of Carentan still alive. Born 13 June, he thought his last hour had come on… 13 June 1944. For these reasons, Carentan holds a special place in his memories. It was also where he landed at 01h40 on D-Day. Also Don Rich who was wounded in the legs by machine gun fire in G-Company’s charge, during the attack on the town. Let’s mention also the Californian Staff Sergeant Thomas M. Rice (C/501st) who experienced a Dantesque experience in the Barquette Locks sector, his battalion’s objective. An obvious must-have for all Battle of Normandy buffs, or for readers sensitive to the human aspects of the war.

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L'histoire de la première Porche, la 356, de sa création en 1948 à la fin de la production en 1965.

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La présentation d’une nouvelle Alpine en 2017 a redonné vie à une marque mythique, disparue depuis 22 longues années. Alpine était née de la passion d’un homme, Jean Rédélé, qui donna vie à son rêve en 1955. Résolument sportive les premières Alpine se feront une place respectée dans le rallye. Tributaires des mécaniques Renault, elles sauront en tirer le meilleur parti grâce à Amédée Gordini et Marc Mignotet, mais aussi grâce à une structure originale dont elles furent les pionnières, le châssis-poutre. Le modèle le plus emblématique, la berlinette A 110 dominera le rallye européen dans les années 1960, face à des adversaires souvent mieux armés, avant de s’adjuger le titre de première championne du monde des rallyes en 1973. Les 24 Heures du Mans seront une autre aventure qui se terminera avec Renault et la victoire de 1978. Les prix atteints dans les récentes ventes aux enchères auprès des collectionneurs donnent la mesure de la passion qui continue d’animer les nombreux amateurs de la marque. Text in French.

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Four years before the Normandy landings, the French coast was the scene of another major episode in the Second World War. This was Operation Dynamo, much less well known than D-Day. And yet you only have to look at the statistics to see how important this part of the story of the Campaign of France was: between 27 May and 4 June, almost 340 000 French and British troops were evacuated from the Dunkirk pocket by a miscellaneous fleet of 850 boats, among which hundreds of fishing vessels, pleasure boats, lifeboats or Merchant Navy vessels. Thanks to the sailors’ courage but also the RAF pilots’ skill, this operation without precedent was a success which enabled the British to continue to fight the Germans, even though they had to leave behind most of their equipment and weapons. Replaced in its context, Operation Dynamo is here narrated in detail with numerous period photos, maps, aircraft profiles and uniform plates. This military operation and human adventure without precedent breathes again, 77 years later thanks to the film director Christopher Nolan, the author of the Batman trilogy and Interstellar which, with Dunkirk, has become an international blockbuster, to which a chapter of this book is devoted

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"On 6 June 1944, on the beaches, as well as inland, with very few exceptions, all orders and reports for all the fighting arms were transmitted by electric radios." Until now, no encyclopaedia has ever presented so much transmission equipment to such a large number of readers. Although not exhaustive, Les Radios alliées, 1940-1945's two volumes invite you to delve into a world that many collectors of WWII military memorabilia don't even suspect exists. Radio is a world that has yet to be discovered, a world where it is still possible to find a genuine collector's item that has seen combat. Any enthusiast reading about the fighting in Europe – from the Normandy beaches to VE Day – should know how complex the means of radio-electric communication used by the Allies were. The descriptions accompanying the apparatus are taken entirely from the original technical data and specifications. No less than 160 transmission apparatuses – BC 611, BC 1306, Wireless Set N° 18, N° 19 or the Amplifiers RF N° 2 and Wavemeters Class D, etc. – used by the Anglo-Saxon forces (English, American, Canadian, New-Zealand and French) are all fully shown as they were, in all their complexity and with all their accessories. Text in French.

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This title, a perfect guide to the Viking age, offers an exhaustive survey of the archaeology and history of medieval Scandinavia during the eighth and ninth centuries. The author begins his historical tour at the twilight of the Iron Age in Germany as the foundations of Viking society can be found there. Rather than concentrating on the warrior aspects, he looks at differences within Scandinavian societies such as the art of war, the expansion of Scandinavia, writing, religion and how these societies functioned. These differences are demonstrated through objects from the Scandinavian sphere and numerous photographs of reconstructions of objects which help to visualise the life of the Norsemen.

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On 17th June 1940, the French army, having followed the order given by Weygrand on June 13th, was in full retreat towards the South West with the Germans in pursuit and under orders from Hitler’s directive of 14th June to destroy the French Army. The new head of government. Marshal Petain, announced over the radio the sad pronouncement that the fighting must stop. The Germans aimed to exploit this command to encourage French troupes to surrender themselves. Despite this, numbers of French soldiers, named by Roger Bruge ‘The Fighters of June 18th, courageously continued fighting along the Loire, along the canal of the Marne to the Rhine, and the Maginot Line. Fighting also continued along the Alps in an attempt to win back from the Italians the territories ceded as part of the Armistice. This book recreates these last tragic eight days of the campaign.

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Rares sont les photographies en couleur de la Seconde Guerre mondiale et encore plus rares lorsqu’elles montrent une unité de la Waffen-SS. Le SS-Kriegsberichter Mitschke a pu bénéficier de cette technologie, encore peu répandue à l’époque, pour un reportage d’une quarantaine de clichés montrant la SS-Gebirgs-Division «Nord» sur le front de Finlande. Il s’agit donc d’un document exceptionnel que nous avons le privilège de vous présenter. Les photographies offrent un panorama des plus variés sur la vie de cette division dans le cadre spectaculaire de la forêt de Carélie. Cet ouvrage est aussi l’occasion d’apporter des éléments nouveaux sur cette unité par rapport au texte que nous avions publié dans le Dictionnaire de la Waffen-SS. Historique illustré.

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À partir d’une incroyable collection de photos découverte dans la base sous-marine des U-Boote de Brest à la fin de la guerre, et restée cachée jusqu’à récemment dans une boîte à chaussure, ce livre exceptionnel retrace l’histoire complète d’un U-Boot en mission au cours de l’été 1942. Le sous-marin en question, l’U-564, arbore le célèbre motif à « 3 chats noirs » de « Teddy Suhren » qui, avec Prien et Kretschmer, était l’un des grands commandants d’U-Boot durant la bataille de l’Atlantique. Ce livre remarquable fournit un éclairage unique à la fois sur la vie au jour le jour dans un U-Boot en immersion et sur les rouages complexes de la Kriegsmarine. Au travers des succès et des épreuves de l’U-564, le lecteur est emmené dans cet immense champ de bataille naval qui est peut-être l’un des plus importants théâtres de la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

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In this book, Matthew LONG offers us a unique evocation detailed and complete the journey to Eugene B. SLEDGE, using a mortar 1st Marine Division who fought on the front Pacific during the last year war. Describing the battles of the Marines Peleliu and Okinawa, the author relates, step by step, each tragic moment marking the journey of the character warrior central narrative. The book also includes a rich set of charts descriptions informing us the composition of the units and accurate information on weapons and the equipment in use among the troops of the US Marine Corps at that time. - TEXT IN FRENCH -

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Here is an unpublished work about the Wallonie Legion and its members engaged on the Eastern Front in the uniform of the Heer from 1941 to 1945. Here the reader will dive into the archives and documents still mostly unpublished to this date, including previously unedited stories and also tales of the legionnaires. It offers biographies of most of the officers. One will also find rare and previously unseen archives of newspapers and propaganda for the Wallonie Legion, shedding light on its development and international reputation, so important to the morale of the Legionaries and the families of these men. This work is rich in both written and photographic documentation along with previously undisclosed information about the activities and services LW. It will provide researchers and amateur historians of the Legion many details and clarifications about the"uses and customs," service organisations and actions both inside and outside the LW.

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This book covers the exploits of the 1st Marine Division. It show how they fought alone on the Guadalcanal front against the Japanese under particularly difficult circumstances, defeated the Japanese garrisons at Cape Gloucester and Peleliu, and played a key role in the Battle of Okinawa. It tells of how twenty-two of their men were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor (when divisions which have been the subject of dozens of publications, such as the 82nd and 101st Airborne have won three each), the most famous of whom was undoubtedly John Basilone. Each of their battles ended in victory and it is no exaggeration to describe them as the best combat division during the Second World War. This book therefore fills an incredible gap in the historical record and a forms a tribute, through 800 mostly unpublished photographs to this elite unit. Charles Trang invites us once again to dive into the terrible battles of the war in the Pacific and guides us through these sometimes brutal but nonetheless indispensable documents. A magnificently produced volume of 420 pages and nearly 800 photos. French Language

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After the success of Jean-Yves Mary’s previous works, in particular Les Corridor des Panzers and Zur Küste, it was quite clear that there was still a huge demand for similar high-quality, detailed books on tanks and their important role in World War II. This first volume contains many fantastic colour photographs of the German tanks, their units and their leaders, along with a detailed history of their engagement. Any avid modeller, keen tank enthusiast or general historian will find this an invaluable resource. French Language

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This exceptional volume is a comprehensive account of one small unit in the 10th SS Panzerdivision "Frundsberg". Comprising the contributions of some twenty veterans, the book contains many previously unpublished photographs of the SdKfz 250/251 and the Spahwagen (reconnaissance armored vehicles). It provides a detailed account of their training in France and of all the battles they fought from Tarnopol in the Ukraine to Normandy. The author has compiled detailed lists showing the members of each company and provides detailed biographies of each of the officers who served and fought, with particular attention being given to those who received top awards such as the RK and the DKiG. Two units in particular are singled out for special treatment: Erich Rech's Spahtrupp (uniquely Rech received the RK for the action of this unit in Normandy), his Panzerfahrer and the Panzerchef support armored vehicles. Lists of losses and honors support the study. Published in hardback in a bilingual French/German edition, the book comprises some 300 pages and 200 photographs, most of which have not been seen before.

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June 6, 1944. In the gray light of dawn the landing craft carrying the assault wave of two US divisions as well as the Engineers and the Rangers, advanced toward the beach that was their assigned objective, code-named Omaha. Exhausted by the crossing and suffering from sea sicknesses, the assault units were convinced, however, that the German defenses had been crushed by the aerial and naval bombardment. In fact, sheltering in their coastal fortifications which they had been working to improve up until the very evening before, the Germany infantry waited until the Americans reached the shoreline before opening fire. 0630 hours. The landing craft of the first wave beached and lowered their ramps. That was the moment the enemy had been waiting for, and on the beach soon called Bloody Omaha, all hell broke loose. This volume brings to life that page of history. The first part introduces the forces on both sides, presents the American plan and explains in detail the German defensive positions. The second part details the landing of the successive waves followed by a blow-by-blow account of the GIs on the beach under a hail of fire in the middle of the anti-invasion obstacles. Overall, it explores through words and images all the violence and horror of the fighting on Omaha Beach.

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Colonel de l’armée française en retraite, Paul Malmassari avait déjà publié, au début des années 1990, aux éditions Heimdal, un ouvrage de référence sur le sujet des trains blindés, en général peu traité. Spécialiste indiscutable en la matière, l’auteur propose cette fois-ci une approche nouvelle, très différente, de l’histoire de ces géants d’acier dépendants des chemins de fer. Des origines à nos jours, les trains blindés de plus de soixante États sont expliqués. Ceux de la Russie, où ils ont joué un rôle important, entre autre dans la guerre civile de 1917- 1922; ceux de l’Allemagne - les Panzerzüge - et de la France durant les deux guerres mondiales, sont aussi décrits. Mais les trains blindés ont une histoire sur les quatre continents, y compris dans des pays dont on ne soupçonnerait pas qu’ils aient pu en être dotés. Le travail colossal, encyclopédique, de plus de 520 pages, fait de cet ouvrage un outil indispensable pour tout lecteur amateur ou néophyte, intéressé ou passionné, par ce domaine militaire très spécifique. Il est richement illustré de photographies, de gravures, de schémas descriptifs. Sa particularité est d’allier une précision technique incontestable à des explications des temps historiques dans lesquels ces «monstres du rail» sont intervenus.

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L'année 1799 commence comme a fini 1798, dans le calme qui précède toutes les tempêtes. La France possède désormais six «républiques soeurs» (batave, cisalpine et ligure, helvétique, romaine et napolitaine) et s'apprête à affronter la Seconde Coalition - aidée, cette fois, de la Russie - en Égypte, en Italie en Helvétie. Bonaparte étant loin de l'Europe, ses adversaires envahissent et détruisent, au fil des combats et des batailles, tout ce qu'ont construit les Français depuis trois ans. Le dernier tiers de l'année voit peu à peu refluer les Austro-Russes et Bonaparte, au galop, s'emparer du pouvoir et installer un gouvernement fort. Cette si longue année 1799 se conclura sans qu'aucune solution militaire définitive ne soit apportée. Il faudra attendre 1800 et les victoires décisives de Hohenlinden et de Marengo pour voir poindre l'espoir de voir se taire la poudre.

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Étalée sur trois années, de 1943 à 1946, l'épuration dite sauvage a fait une petite centaine de victimes en Normandie. Cette petite centaine est à confronter avec l'épuration légale réalisée entre 1944 et 1947 : 39 sont fusillés après avoir été condamnés à mort par une cour de justice. Dès 1943 certains résistants ne pouvaient attendre la restauration de la République et commençaient à éliminer des collaborateurs qu'ils jugeaient dangereux pour la Résistance. Décidée hors de tout cadre légal ou parfois après un simulacre de jugement, l'épuration extra-judiciaire s'exerçait rapidement et avec violence, prenant un aspect exutoire à l'exemple de la tonte des femmes. En Normandie, l'épuration dite sauvage fut relativement modérée, le souhait des nouveaux gouvernants français étant d'éviter à tout prix une guerre civile entre les Français.

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Trois évasions (Cherbourg, Carteret et Jersey), deux crashs, des blessures, une désertion, une fuite de 7 000 kilomètres à travers l’Afrique pour retrouver le combat : la guerre d’André Courval dans les Forces aériennes françaises libres est une perpétuelle aventure. Racontées par l’intéressé, les six années de guerre de ses Mémoires constituent un témoignage rare d’un personnel non-officier des Forces Françaises Libres ayant servi dans une arme technique mal connue : le bombardement aérien. Précédée d’une partie comprenant son apprentissage et son service militaire, l’occupation, la fuite par Jersey puis l’arrivée en Angleterre et son engagement dans les Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres sont particulièrement documentés. La guerre d’André Courval en Afrique saharienne est liée à l’épopée de Leclerc (Koufra, Fezzan, Lybie…) Les deux hommes se sont croisés à plusieurs reprises. Présent dès septembre 1940 à Odiham, André Courval nom de guerre Saillard, fut un pionnier du GRB1 puis du groupe Bretagne sur Blenheim puis Marauder. Sa guerre en Afrique noire, au Tchad, en Tunisie, en Syrie est celle des héros méconnus dont il nous raconte les exploits quotidiens si utiles à l’affirmation de la France Libre. Elle précède la reconquête du territoire national préparée en Algérie, partie d’Italie et achevée de la Provence à l’Alsace. Agrémenté de dessins originaux de la main d’André Courval qui illustrent son épopée et de photos et documents ayant appartenu à l’auteur, cette édition est une édition critique richement annotée. Elle est présentée, commentée et comparée à celles de deux autres volontaires de Carteret qui ont connu avec lui le risque de fuir la France occupée et gagné, à prix de sang, l’honneur de se battre pour sa libération. Elle a été préparée par Christian Kermoal, docteur en histoire, chercheur associé au laboratoire Tempora de l’Université Rennes 2. C’est un hommage à tous ces hommes libres devenus des guerriers.

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El Alamein. C'est là que l'offensive de Rommel, qui semblait irrésistible, est stoppée sur la route d'Alexandrie, à l'été 1942. S'ensuivent de longues semaines de guerre de position dans les sables et roches du désert égyptien, sous un soleil de plomb. Parmi les unités de l'Axe engagées, la Fallschirmjäger- Brigade 1, ou Brigade «Ramcke», du nom de son célèbre chef de corps. Au côté de leurs compagnons d'arme italiens, ces «parachutistes allemands du désert» attendent impatiemment de se mesurer à l'adversaire… À la fin d'octobre 1942, les forces britanniques du maréchal Montgomery partent à l'assaut, au nord des positions de la brigade. De son côté, rien ne bouge. Soudain, dans la nuit du 2 au 3 novembre, l'ordre de retraite sonne : les Fallschirmjäger doivent à tout prix se replier vers l'ouest, pour éviter l'encerclement et l'anéantissement. Une épreuve immense, l'unité n'ayant - au départ - qu'un faible nombre de véhicules motorisés. Le correspondant de guerre de la Luftwaffe Hans Rechenberg, alors présent en permanence dans les rangs de la brigade, nous plonge dans la rude vie quotidienne du Fallschirmjäger dans les positions d'El Alamein, puis dans la retraite vers la Lybie, avec ses moments d'angoisse, de privations, et parfois d'incroyables surprises. Le lecteur se trouvera aussi dans l'intimité des officiers de la brigade, avec la figure emblématique du général Bernhard Ramcke. Rédigé sur le vif quelques temps avant la capture de l'auteur en Tunisie en mai 1943, ce tapuscrit original, unique, sort de l'oubli après plus de 77 ans, publié pour la première fois. De nombreuses photographies de l'unité et de la Bataille d'El Alamein accompagneront ce récit personnel. Initialement destiné à la propagande du Reich, ce document sans pathos, collant à la vie quotidienne dans le désert, étonne a sans doute de nombreux lecteurs. El Alamein was where Rommel's offensive – which seemed undefeatable – was halted on the road to Alexandria in the summer of 1942. Long weeks of battle ensued in the Egyptian desert. In this account Luftwaffe war correspondent Hans Rechenberg – present in the ranks of the brigade – immerses us in the harsh daily life of the Fallschirmjäger in El Alamein and the retreat towards Libya, with moments of anguish, deprivation, and surprise. Accompanied by numerous photographs of the unit and the battle. Originally intended for Reich propaganda, this book is without pathos, sticking to daily life in the desert. Text in French.

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Les Alliés s’étant rendus maîtres de toute l’Afrique du Nord en mai 1943, la mission des U-Boote en Méditerranée change. Désormais, ils doivent protéger la « forteresse Europe » face aux futurs débarquements alliés. Cinq sous-marins partent contre le débarquement allié en Sicile en juillet 1943, qui n’est cependant pas stoppé. Dans les arsenaux de Toulon et de Pola, les sous-marins reçoivent une nouvelle double-plateforme à l’arrière du kiosque afin d’augmenter leur armement antiaérien contre les avions, avec 8 canons de 20 mm. En septembre 1943, six commandants chevronnés appareillent pour tenter de stopper le débarquement allié à Salerne, des succès sont enregistrés. L’utilisation de torpilles acoustiques à partir de novembre leur permet également de couler davantage de navires de guerre ennemis. En décembre, les travaux de construction d’une base sous-marine à Marseille sont stoppés par un bombardement massif... Début 1944, les sous-marins de la Grande Bleue luttent contre les navires ravitaillant la tête de pont alliée d’Anzio, une 17e Croix de Chevalier « méditerranéenne » est décernée. Le 16 mai 1944, un 62e U-Boot passe encore le détroit de Gibraltar, ce sera le dernier renfort... Les submersibles, à découvert dans le port de Toulon en attente d’un schnorchel, sont progressivement mis hors service par des bombardements américains… Un seul appareille de Toulon face à l’armada alliée réunie pour le débarquement de Provence le 15 août. Trois U-Boote, équipés du schnorchel et réfugiés en Méditerranée orientale, survivent encore jusqu’en septembre 1944…

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11 novembre 1918. La victoire inachevée… La France croit avoir gagné la guerre, elle n’a gagné qu’une paix précaire. Ce constat dramatique est le point de départ d’un long chemin de croix qui va mener inexorablement le pays, vers le dénouement de juin 1940. Au fil des stations de ce chemin de croix, la France, en totale contradiction entre sa politique étrangère et sa politique de défense, va aller de désillusions en démissions, sans jamais prendre conscience qu’elle n’avait pas ou ne s’est pas donné les moyens de ses ambitions. La déception du Traité de Versailles, l’arrogance des années d’occupation en Rhénanie, l’illusion du pacte de Locarno, le choix de la défensive alors qu’elle a accordé sa garantie à de nombreux pays avec lesquels elle n’a aucune frontière commune, la passivité face à la montée en puissance allemande, le manque de réaction suite à la neutralité belge, la démission de Munich, tout cela ne pouvait que conduire à une entrée en guerre mal préparée et mal gérée. Lorsque le 10 mai 1940, l’Allemagne donne le coup d’envoi des opérations à l’ouest, l’armée française va accumuler les maladresses, amplifiant malgré elle les succès allemands. Pris dans le tourbillon de la fulgurante percée allemande, le commandement n’aura à aucun moment la possibilité d’inverser le cours des événements et les nouvelles calamiteuses vont s’enchaîner telle une tragédie grecque. Après quarante-cinq jours de combat au cours desquels l’héroïsme le dispute à la lâcheté, le courage aux défaillances, la France arrive au terme de son calvaire. Ce sont les causes de cette inexorable défaite, des plus évidentes aux plus insoupçonnées, que ce livre se propose d’analyser point par point.

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This book will soon be a reference work on the subject, of interest to collectors but also to all the history buffs who here have a particularly rich subject to study. Since ancient times, the sword accompanying the knight had a very symbolic value. In the 16th Century, the sword was often accompanied by a dagger. Until the modern-day period the sword has been a weapon, then the attribute of officers in most armies in the world. Then, in the Third Reich, where emblems and symbols took on a very important role, the dagger became omnipresent, from the paramilitary, then military units, like the SA and the SS, but also civilian institutions like the Red Cross and the Forest Wardens. This profusion was unique in uniformology and has already been written about several times, but not very often in French, in which there was no exhaustive work on the subject by a competent author. With 400 documents, forty-five models are shown, the daggers belonging to the SA (copied off the 16th Century Swiss dagger), NSKK, SS, HJ (knife and dagger), Teno, RLB, Wasserschutzpolizei, the Firemen, the Postschutz, Reichsbahn-Wasserschutz-Polizei, DRK (Red Cross), RAD (work service), the inland customs, the maritime customs, diplomats, senior civil servants, Eastern Civil Servants, Foresters’ knives, DLV, NFSK of the Luftwaffe, the Heer and Marine officers, together with some other exceptional daggers. The photos are of exceptional quality (some of them from the Hermann Historica Archives), others (from the author’s collection) show rare or precise details, explaining also these objects’ technical aspects; others are period photos showing how and with what uniforms these daggers were worn. There are also appendices. The book will be an essential reference work for a long time and a very beautifully presented book for your library.

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If there’s one conflict that was remarkable from a lot of points of view, it was the American Civil War, better known in France as the War of Secession. In this war the armies of the South opposed those of the North – the Union – of the almost hundred-years old republic of the United States of (North) America; it remains in the annals as the last classic war – in certain aspects the heir to the Napoleonic wars – and the first real modern war of the 20th Century in which “state of the art” technologies were used for the first time on a massive and intensive scale. This bloody conflict was the result of a long chain of political, economic and ideological compromises between two civilisations which barely concealed the differences opposing them. The ferocious appetites of the North against the principles of independence of the Southern States could only lead to an explosion. Four years of relentless, bloody and total war during which Johnny Reb gave no quarter to his brother Billy Yank. Everything has been said and written about this war: the joie de vivre of the South, its elegance, its chivalrous spirit, its attachment to secular traditions including slavery, facing the North’s industrial war machine, its humanist values, its small-minded courage, but also its avidity and its implacable spirit of organisation. From Gone with the Wind to Birth of a Nation, all the clichés have been used. This book gives you as large a panorama as possible of the uniforms worn by the belligerents during this conflict. The most characteristic silhouettes and the principles of basic organisation, as circumstances dictated, are shown in the now celebrated form of Heimdal’s books.

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The Simca 1100 was brought out a little more than fifty years ago. Although it was less famous than the emblematic Aronde or the endearing 1000, it did represent an important step in the big automobile adventure. It opened the way for more compact, family cars, just as at ease in the towns as they were in the country, en route to holiday resorts just as much to the supermarkets; it was the pioneer of the modern compact car. It became France’s most purchased car in 1972 and is still today the last to to have reached this summit not counting the Peugeots or Renaults This book proposes to retrace the story of the Simca 1100 from the drawing board to the end of its career in France, taking a walk in time, illustrated with more than 400 period documents from all Europe and North America, a lot of which are unpublished.

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A few days before Christmas, on 21 December 1793, Jean- Antoine de Beauvalet, the Lord of Durécu, was found dead in a bedroom at Valognes where he had sought refuge after being locked up in the Fort de la Hougue by the Revolutionaries. Thus passed away the last male scion of the noble line of the Beauvalets, ennobled in 1702 by Louis XIV, and who in 1686 founded a the little domain at Durécu, which did not at the time bear that name. For three generations, the Beauvalets struggled using their wealth to hang on to this so dearly acquired nobility. The Lord of Durécu's grand-daughter, Caroline Avice de Sortosville, inherited the Durécu domain, and during the Terreur, married a young Republican officer, François Clément Boyer de Choisy, who came from a typically old noble family, since it had always been devoted to serving in the army. The Boyer de Choisys fortified the Saint-Marcouf Islands then improved their domain, but they also took an active part in public life, the first as Mayor of Saint-Vaast during the Empire and the Restoration, and the second, his nephew who inherited the domain, as Mayor during the Second Empire. Finally in 1918, Augustin Vallette, an entrepreneur from a very old Saint-Vaast family of merchants and chandlers, acquired this very beautiful property. After three years' research in the National, Civil and Military, Departmental (departments 50, 57, and 76), Municipal and Family archives, Edmond Thin here brings to life a true family saga spread over four centuries, based on the totally unpublished story of the Durécu domain; the story of three families, country gentlemen or simple citizens, not forgetting their spouses – women who were often remarkable and just as involved in the social fabric of their times.

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This exceptional book highlights the role and difficulties of the crews who served this mythical tank. The technical pitfalls and solutions by the designers are explained and the different combat methods developed by the allies are detailed. This book exhaustively lists the equipment, the engines and the generated models. Includes an exceptional iconography, including color plates, materials and markings. Cet ouvrage d’exception met en avant le rôle et les difficultés des équipages qui ont servi ce char mythique. Les écueils techniques et les solutions trouvées par les concepteurs sont expliquées, les différentes méthodes de combat mises au point par les alliés sont détaillées. L’ouvrage liste de façon exhaustive les équipements, les motorisations et les modèles engendrés. Une iconographie exceptionnelle, dont des planches couleurs, des matériels et marquages.

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Le 16 octobre 1946, Joachim von Ribbentrop, ex ministre des Affaires Étrangères du Troisième Reich, est pendu après avoir été condamné à mort par le Tribunal de Nuremberg sous l’accusation de « préparation d’une guerre d’agression ». L’historiographie le présente généralement de manière univoque. Cet ouvrage a le mérite de fournir des éclairages nouveaux. Rudolf von Ribbentrop, son fils, nous en présente trois principaux. Né en 1921, il se retrouve placé par ses parents dans les secrets de la politique et de la diplomatie, dès l’âge de 12 ans. C’est un témoin de premier ordre qui nous présente une nouvelle biographie de son père et des aspects inconnus – et sourcés – de la politique étrangère allemande ; un exceptionnel témoignage pour l’Histoire. C’est aussi son témoignage d’officier, sur le front de l’Est et en Normandie, jusqu’à sa dernière entrevue en février 1945 avec Hitler, réduit à une totale déchéance. C’est enfin, troisième volet, un témoignage qui démonte les ressorts de l’hitlérisme de manière efficace, comme personne ne l’avait fait jusqu’à présent. C’est donc un ouvrage exceptionnel sur ces trois aspects. Un événement sur le plan de la littérature historique.

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Before the war, the French Air Ministry chose Carpiquet to create, far from the future front, an aerodrome focused on aerial bombardment, for training and observation. In June 1940, the Germans installed an important base there, engaged in the Battle of Britain (book includes never before seen photos) and in their confrontation with the invasion of Dieppe. The aerodrome suffered heavy bombardments. In June and July 1944, it became the keystone of the Battle for Caen. The Hitlerjugend put up strong resistance there against the Canadians. After the war, the aerodrome trained hundreds of pilots involved in the conflict with Algeria and became an army base before returning entirely to civil service in 2010. An exceptional documentation about a base which found itself at the heart of history. 160 pages in colour. TEXT IN FRENCH

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In the evening of June 12, Weygand ordered all the troops who were still struggling to make a brutal drop across the front and to retreat as far as possible towards the south in order to avoid what remained of the French army to undergo a total annihilation. The Germans did not take long to realise that the French were slipping away, and thus immediately threw all their units onto the path of the retreating troops in order to thwart what remained of their plans. What resulted was a chase in which on one side, men would sacrifice themselves for a cause already lost while the other men would fall for a cause already won. Contrary to what one might think, the fighting during the second half of June would be as hard as the previous weeks, and bloody clashes would occur on both sides, as much for the conquest of Cherbourg as for Champagne in Burgundy, or in the Alps or along the Swiss border as units of the Gruppe Guderian would lock in a gigantic trap all the armies of the East. Recounted here is the story of these battles often misunderstood or unknown. This book retraces the history in over four hundred pages, and more than a thousand pictures, mostly unpublished. History has, it seems, only wanted to retain the last days of the campaign in defence of Saumur or the fighting of Voreppe, which, however, offers very little justice for men who fell on the Marne, on Saulx, at Montplonne, Saulieu, Saint-Seine-Abbey, at Maîche in Saint Hippolyte on the slopes of the Vosges or in the valley of the Moselle, to mention only a few places where the French soldier has paid honour to his flag all the way to the end.

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From the bridgehead sector Sainte Mere Eglise and Utah Beach, the Americans crossed the Merderet at speed, taking Picauville on June 10. The advance slowed with the checking of the 90th Infantry Division before the storming of Pont l'Abbé on the 12th and Saint-Sauveur le Vicomte on the 16th. Two days later, they cut through the Cotentin up to Barneville and headed back northward towards Cherbourg. The book breaks new ground with many period photographs in the series "Normandy 1944". French Language

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These are stories that are not openly discussed by combat veterans and are usually only whispered between individuals at military reunions. The tales range from sad to hilarious, from surprising to horrible, but they are real. These are not the creations of a screenwriter or some novelist's pipe dreams, they are actual events, that had a lifelong impact on the soldiers who experienced them. Such a collection could only have resulted from 35 years of researcher on the 101st Airborne Division, which entailed interviews with almost 1000 veterans who wore the "screaming eagle" patch in WW2. This book is widely illustrated with photos of the time, but also places, objects, and equipment of the paratroopers of the 101st.

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The German army occupied the town of Saint-Lô on 17 June 1940. Being a strategic crossroads, Saint-Lô was almost totally destroyed (95% according to common estimates) during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, earning the title of "The Capital of the Ruins" from Samuel Beckett; it was even questioned whether to rebuild it or to leave the ruins intact as a testimony to the bombing. A detailed and vivid photo history, packed with rare photographs, some in colour, this is an invaluable reference tool to any modeller, historian or enthusiast on one of the most devastating battles in history. French Language

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On 16 December 1944, there started the most powerful artillery barrage that the forces of the Third Reich in its death throes were ever to launch on the Western Front after the Normandy landings six months earlier. It smothered the American lines holding the thinned-out front in the Ardennes. The most powerful armoured force ever assembled by the Germans for an offensive on this front was then to have struck out in the direction of Antwerp. All this was under low cloud cover, sheltering the 6th and 5th Armoured Armies’ precious panzers from the all-powerful Allied air forces. Low ceiling. However, the dog fights which were to take place over the Ardennes or perhaps because of the land battle that was taking place far below, did not surpass the land engagement in superlatives: strategic and tactical support, jet bombers or fighters, dropping men, supplies or ammunition, successfully or not, or just impossible, on both sides. The Ardennes skies saw what was a major part of the History of air warfare and we propose to describe it in the following pages.

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Assault guns were the first armoured vehicles in Waffen SS divisions to be used at the beginning of their military history. This first volume presents Abteilung “Schönberger” from the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, in the frontline since 1941 which became SS StuG-Abteilungen “LSSAH”, and in which a young tank commander – Michael Wittmann – began to distinguish himself. We follow the unit during all its engagements. Still in 1941, SS-StuG-Batterie “Reich” engaged in Operation Barbarossa, was the embryo of 2 SS-Panzer-Division assault gun group of the “Das Reich” which we also see in operations. We watch the evolution and the engagement of the first two Waffen-SS Divisions’ assault artillery groups with their histories, eye-witness accounts and numerous photographs, most of which are as yet unpublished, including some superb photos of vehicles, as is usual in the books by Pierre Tiquet. Other volumes will follow presenting the assault gun units from the other Waffen-SS divisions.

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