Bücher der Reihe Witness to War

The last clear German victory in World War II occurred in the last days of April 1945 during the defense, loss and subsequent recovery of the Saxon city of Bautzen. On that occasion, when all was lost, the remnants of once powerful German units, such as the Panzer Divions Hermann Göring, Brandeburg or Grossdeutschland, inflicted a total defeat on the proud Soviet-Polish units, more robust and better armed, that supported the Red Army advance towards the capital of the Reich. This text tells the story of the events that took place in that city, the capital of Upper Lusatia, just south of the German capital. The high efficiency of the German soldiers made the difference with a real state of an army by then in decay and with no more fuel, showing how the fighting spirit was kept high until the end thanks to the concrete possibility of stopping the Soviets, even if only for a few hours or days, in their overwhelming advance to allow the evacuation of the greatest number of Germans people towards the West of the country. An innovative work this one by Gil Martínez, that will certainly occupy, together with the previous one already published in Breslau 1945, a special place in the library of all those who are interested in the military history of the last terrible world conflict.

Le azioni delle forze corazzate tedesche durante la Seconda guerra mondiale sono ben note. Ciò che non è ancora stato raccontato con altrettanta precisione sono le azioni delle forze corazzate degli alleati della Germania. Se è vero che le loro prestazioni sono state in genere del tutto secondarie rispetto a quelle che hanno potuto permettersi le forze del Reich tedesco, occorre sottolineare le azioni delle forze corazzate ungheresi, che non solo sono riuscite a organizzare in sostanziale autonomia le proprie forze corazzate, ma hanno anche sviluppato una propria industria militare in grado di fornire armi ed equipaggiamenti alle proprie truppe. Questo libro svelerà quindi una pagina poco conosciuta della partecipazione dell'Ungheria alla Seconda guerra mondiale attraverso l'uso di fotografie superbe fornite dall'autore e dai suoi collaboratori. Questa storia porterà il lettore dall'inizio della campagna dell'URSS e conseguente conquista di ampi territori sovietici, per poi terminare con le sanguinose battaglie per evitare l'avanzata della controffensiva sovietica e rumena in Ungheria (l'assedio di Budapest) e gli ultimi scontri in territorio austriaco e sloveno prima della resa incondizionata dell'esercito.

The Florian Geyer division was created as a unit prepared to fight the partisan forces, but it also found itself performing front-line tasks for which it was not prepared. Compared to the other SS divisions, Florian Geyer found itself at a disadvantage in regular combat, especially with regard to the tactical preparation of the middle officers. These shortcomings were compensated for, in part, by the strong esprit de corps of the division's men, which never failed even at the end, thus making it an elite unit.The events of the 22nd Maria Theresia Division remain closely linked to the terrible battle of Budapest. This SS unit was able to hold its own against the overwhelming enemy forces, despite the fact that the division was formed only a few months before the decisive battle. Most of its men were conscripts, and its armament was certainly not the most advanced. Despite this, its soldiers preferred total annihilation rather than surrender, demonstrating uncommon valour.

Questo libro composto da decine di immagini rare e restaurate, è dedicato alla grande operazione anfibia condotta dagli alleati nel corso dell'operazione denominata Shingle (ciottolo) che ebbe inizio il 22 gennaio del 1944, nell'area di Anzio e Nettuno in prossimità della capitale italiana. Con moltissime immagini ricche di note, il libro mostra l'evolversi dello scontro di quei primi giorni del 1944, quando sbarcarono ben 36,000 uomini e 3,200 mezzi militari. L'opposizione tedesca fu minima quel giorno, e le perdite alleate irrisorie, ma tutto cambiò nei giorni successivi...

The Battle of Anzio also called Operation Shingle was the most important Allied amphibious landing of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome).The operation was opposed by German forces in the coastal area of Anzio and Nettuno, some 30 miles south of Rome.Although resistance had been expected, as seen at Salerno during 1943, the initial landings were essentially unopposed, with the exception of poor air attacks operated by the Luftwaffe German air force. By midnight of the same day about 36,000 soldiers and 3,200 vehicles had landed on the two principal beaches of Anzio and Nettuno. The Allied lost thirteen troops (killed), and 97 wounded; about 200 Germans had been taken as war prisoners.The 1st Division penetrated 3 km inland, the Rangers captured Anzio's port, the 509th PIB captured Nettuno, and the 3rd Division penetrated just to 5 km inland. In the first days of operations, the command of the Italian resistance movement had a meeting with the Allied General Headquarters: it offered to guide the Allied Force in the Alban Hills territory, but the Allied Command refused the proposal.The operation was initially commanded by......