THE VOLKSDEUTSCHEN IN THE WEHRMACHT,
WAFFEN-SS, ORDNUNGSPOLIZEI IN WORLD WAR II
by Rolf Michaelis
In the follow-up to German attacks in World War II,
Ethnic Germans all over Europe were drafted into the
German military from all of the occupied countries.
Nearly 650,000 from all occupied countries men were put
into Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS, and Order Police service. For
the most part they fought in their own units or were
used as replacements in Reichsdeutsche units. This book
details each country and unit from all service arms and
includes rare documents, soldbuchs, and war-era
photographs.
New in illustrated boards - Large format, 135pp, numerous b/w illustrations &
colour maps
OSPREY RAID 38: THE FALL OF EBEN
EMAEL, BELGIUM 1940
by Chris McNab
In early May 1940, the fortress of Eben Emael was a potent
sentinel over the Belgian-Dutch borderlands. The fortress
covered 75 hectares on the surface, had 5km of tunnels
underground and was studded with bunkers, gun turrets and
casemates. Add a garrison of 1,200 men and the natural
protection of 60m-high canal walls, and Eben Emael gave the
impression of near-impregnability. Yet on 10 May just 78 elite
airborne soldiers managed to defeat this fortress in an
operation of unprecedented tactical skill. Illustrated by Peter
Dennis, Mark Stacey and Alan Gilliland.
New in card cover - A4 format, 80pp, numerous colour illustrations, plans, maps
& b/w photos
Known as Pedro to his comrades and Tiggy to his family, Osgood
Villiers Hanbury was a charismatic Eton schoolboy who served in the
Battle of Britain. He became acting squadron leader of 260 Squadron
in the Middle East and was awarded the DFC and bar for bravery.
Pedro, with his pipe, moustache, upper-class accent and detached air
was the archetypal public-school Englishman, but his leadership
skills and care for his men commanded respect from all ranks and
nationalities. He met his untimely death aged just 25.
After weeks of bitter fighting there was a desperate need to
break out of the Normandy bridgehead. In late July 1944
Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey’s Second Army moved two
entire corps from the Caen sector to the countryside around
Caumont. Here, British XXX Corps prepared to give battle, with VII
Corps advancing in support between XXX Corps and the American
first Army. While the XXX Corps attack stalled, VIII Corps surged
ahead and a deep penetration was made. The author examines Monty’s
refusal to seize Vire, the disputed Anglo-American border and the
Operation’s impact on the German Mortain offensive.
Opening with the 'predators' - Mussolini, Hitler, Prince
Hirohito of Japan - and moving onto appeasement, the rape of
Poland, Barbarossa, the role of Churchill, and the Holocaust, the
author analyses the moral dimension of the Second World War's most
important moments. He also examines the moral reasoning of
individuals who had to make choices under circumstances difficult
to imagine. Stressing the maxim that the past is used to make
sense of the present world we live in, he takes us right up to
today's war on terror - a war of competing ideas.
New in d/w - 650pp, 5 maps,
36 colour &
b/w illustrations
