On the night of 9/10 July 1943, an Allied armada of 2,590 vessels launched one of the largest combined operations of the Second World War - the invasion of Sicily, Operation 'Husky'. Over the next thirty-eight days, half a million British, Canadian, American and French soldiers, sailors, and airmen grappled with their German and Italian counterparts for control of this rocky outcrop of Hitler's 'Fortress Europe'. The Allied assault on Sicily featured airborne and amphibiou...

The assault crossing of the River Seine by the British 43rd (Wessex) Division in August 1944 remains one of the most important operations of the closing stages of the Second World War. Once the obstacle of the great river had been overcome, General Horrocks unleashed the armor of XXX Corps on their historic dash across northern France and Belgium.Assault Crossing Ken Fords classic account of this critical battle—is the story of one British division pitted against one German division. On on...

The author of A Luftwaffe General gives a detailed history of the Allied forces' brutal Operation Clipper during World War II.The Anglo-American battle for the Geilenkirchen salient in November, 1944, was infantry warfare at its worst, and it is described in vivid detail in this new edition of Ken Ford's classic study. The onset of winter saw the Allied advance from the Normandy beaches forced to a halt on Germany's doorstep. The clock had been put back to ...

Lisbon 1941. Britain and Germany are at war inside a neutral country. The conflict between them has been reduced to a 'cat and mouse' game of espionage, dirty tricks and informants, as each side strives to gain the upper hand without upsetting their Portuguese hosts. Colonel Hulse, chief of Britain's MI6 station in the city believes he has a German mole in his organisation. The German Abwehr chief, Stenzel, has someone close to him who is ready to defect. An agent of the Portuguese secret ...

Hitler had very definite views on the role of women in Nazi Germany; they were all destined to be wives and mothers. It was their duty to marry and produce lots of children for the future of the Third Reich. Set apart from these 'ordinary' women were a select group of others who were particularly close to him. They lived within his inner circle. They spent their lives in a cocoon, closeted amongst the elite of the nation far removed from the bestiality that Hitler wrought upon many of his ...

One of the key objectives of British forces on D-Day was the capture of the strategically vital city of Caen.General Montgomery saw Caen as the key to Normandy and the springboard for the Allied breakout, but so did the Germans and the city did not fall. It took three major offensives and more than 30 bloody days of struggle to finally take Caen. In the process the city was controversially devastated and its civilian population decimated. The Allies paid a high pri...

The naval plan behind the Normandy landings that aided the success of the Allied invasion of France.The story of Operation Neptune was, of course, more than just a tale of planning, building and logistics. It had action a-plenty and the emotive tales of bravery, ingenuity and determination by the crews of the ships involved brought credit to the naval traditions of the Allied nations.Battleships, cruisers and destroyers bombarded enemy positions; midget sub...

The naval plan behind the Normandy landings that aided the success of the Allied invasion of France.The story of Operation Neptune was, of course, more than just a tale of planning, building and logistics. It had action a-plenty and the emotive tales of bravery, ingenuity and determination by the crews of the ships involved brought credit to the naval traditions of the Allied nations.Battleships, cruisers and destroyers bombarded enemy positions; midget sub...

A highly illustrated account of the hard fighting in North Africa, from the battle of El Alamein to defeat of the Axis forces in May 1943.The battle of El Alamein saw the shattering of Germany's hopes for victory in North Africa and from this point on the end was inevitable. In the six months that passed before the final surrender there was much hard fighting, as the defeated German and Italian armies sought to hold off the encroaching Eighth Army.Rommel, h...

One of the key objectives of British forces on D-Day was the capture of the strategically vital city of Caen.General Montgomery saw Caen as the key to Normandy and the springboard for the Allied breakout, but so did the Germans and the city did not fall. It took three major offensives and more than 30 bloody days of struggle to finally take Caen. In the process the city was controversially devastated and its civilian population decimated. The Allies paid a high pri...

Osprey's trilogy on Operation Market-Garden continues with a fascinating account of the British airborne assault on the bridge across the Rhine at Arnhem.With Germany being pushed back across Europe the Allied forces looked to press their advantage with Operation Market-Garden, a massive airborne assault that, if successful, could have shortened the war in the west considerably.The ground advance consisted of an armoured thrust by the British XXX Corps, whi...

The final instalment in Osprey's trilogy on Operation Market-Garden, this is a fascinating account of the British XXX Corps assault towards the Rhine at Arnhem.Field Marshal Montgomery's plan to get Second British Army behind the fortifications of the German Siegfried Line in 1944 led to the hugely ambitions Operation Market-Garden. Part of this plan called for a rapid advance from Belgium through Holland up to and across the lower Rhine by the Br...