One of Britain's most acclaimed historians presents the experiences and ramifications of the last day of World War II in Europe May 8, 1945, 23:30 hours: With war still raging in the Pacific, peace comes at last to Europe as the German High Command in Berlin signs the final instrument of surrender. After five years and eight months, the war in Europe is officially over. This is the story of that single day and of the days leading up to it. Hour...

Bombs Away! covers strategic bombing in Europe during World War II, that is, all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature which took place between 1939 and 1945. In addition to American (U.S. Army Air Forces) and British (RAF Bomber Command) strategic aerial campaigns against Germany, this book covers German use of strategic bombing during the Nazi's conquest of Europe: the Battle of Britain, Operation Barbarossa, and the V 1 and V 2, where the Luftwaffe...

The first volume in a three-part history of World War II in Europe, North Africa, and the Atlantic draws on original testimony and new research to discuss events from the outbreak of war in 1939 to the eve of the invasion of the Soviet Union.

The buildup of forces in the United Kingdom and the campaigns in Normandy, northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and central Europe recorded in photographs.

World War II and its aftermath brought devastating material losses to millions of West Germans. Military action destroyed homes, businesses, and personal possessions; East European governments expelled 15 million ethnic Germans from their ancestral homes; and currency reform virtually wiped out many Germans' hard-earned savings. These "war damaged" individuals, well over one-third of the West German population, vehemently demanded compensation at...

The airborne battle for the bridges across the Rhine at Arnhem ranks amongst the Second World Wars most famous actions inspiring innumerable books and the star-studded 1977 movie. This book, however, is unique: deeply moved, the author provides a fresh narrative and approach concentrating on the tragic stories of individual casualties. These men were killed at different junctures in the fighting, often requiring forensic analysis to ascertain their...

War is far more than a series of military victories and defeats. Civilians always are the biggest victims and there are often staggering imbalances between casualties on the frontlines, and those behind; between the victims and the aggressors. According to recent figures, The Second World War saw the deaths of an estimated 72 million people worldwide, two thirds of whom were civilians. Wars also have serious social, economic and human consequences....

What was it like as a French soldier to defend the Maginot Line when the Germans invaded in 1940, and was the line really a strategic and tactical disaster a massive waste of resources? Clayton Donnell's expert, finely detailed and graphic account of the role of the Maginot Line in the defense of France gives the reader an inside view of life in the bunkers, casemates and forts the sights, the sounds and the terror of the German attacks. And it questions...

Early in 1944 the Allied advance was halted by the German defence of the Gustav Line. Even with the deployment of Eighth Army reinforcements from the Adriatic, every effort to capture Monte Cassino failed. Fifth Armys VI Corps amphibious landing at Anzio in January, while initially successful stalled in the face of formidable German counter-attacks and the beach-head was effectively besieged. The stalemate at Anzio and along the Gustav Line was...

Famous for Calvados apple brandy and Camembert cheese, Normandy is a green and pleasant land now dotted with thousands of British-owned second homes. Its coastline is also dotted with thousands of indestructible reinforced-concrete bunkers and gun emplacements that formed part of the Atlantic Wall of Hitler's Fortress Europe. Tourists passing through the ferry ports like Boulogne, Cherbourg and Dunkirk may wonder why there are so few old buildings....