Hitler's Defeat On The Eastern Front (Images Of War - Rare Photographs From Wartime Archives)

This latest illustrated history features rare and unpublished images collated by the Author and Historian Ian Baxter to tell the story of the latter stages of the second world war from the viewpoint of the Wehrmacht's Army Group Centre on the Eastern Front. It begins with the July-August 1943 Axis offensive - Unternehmen Zitadelle - and ends in early 1945 after the Third Reich's worst military defeat on the Ostfront - the destructive Russian Offensive Operation Bagration over July-August 1944 at the end of which the Reich's forces had lost all their gains and were now fighting for their very survival in Poland. The majority of these images have been sourced from German, Polish and American private collections and are supported by an informative text including 4 Appendixes. A stunning photographic account of Hitler’s last stand in the face of the Red Army’s successful offensive of 1944. Drawing on rare and previously unpublished photographs accompanied by in-depth captions, the book provides an absorbing analysis of this traumatic period of the Second World War. It reveals in detail how the Battle of Kursk was the beginning of the end and how this massive operation led to the Red Army recapturing huge areas of the Soviet Union and bleeding white the German armies it struck. Despite the adverse situation in which both the German Army and its Waffen-SS counterparts were placed, soldiers continued to fight to the bitter end and attempted to build new defense lines. But as the Red Army launched its long awaited summer offensive on June 1944, German forces were forced to withdraw under the constant hammer blows of ground and aerial bombardments. Those German forces that survived the artillery barrages, the onslaught of the tank armadas, and mass infantry assaults, streamed back from the battlefield and fought vicious battles through the Baltic States, Byelorussia, and built up new defense along the Vistula River in Poland. As the final months of the war were played out on the Eastern Front, the army and Waffen-SS, with diminishing resources, withdrew across a devastated Reich and fought out their last battle with party militia forces around a devastated Berlin. Drawing On A Collection Of Rare Contemporary German Photographs Covering The Last Two Years Of The War Accompanied By In-depth Captions, This Latest Book In The Popular Images Of War Series Provides An Insight To The Long And Most Bitter Eastern Front Campaign. It Reveals In Detail How The Battle Of Kursk Was The Beginning Of The End And Led To The Red Army Recapturing Huge Areas Of The Soviet Union. In The Face Of The Long Awaited Soviet Summer Offensive Of 1944, German Forces Were Forced To Withdraw Under Constant Ground And Aerial Bombardments. Those German Forces That Survived The Artillery Barrages, The Onslaught Of The Tank Armadas And Mass Infantry Assaults, Streamed Back Westwards And Fought Vicious Defensive Battles Through The Baltic States, Byelorussia And Poland. As The Final Months Of The War Were Played Out On The Eastern Front, The Wehrmacht And Waffen-ss, With Diminishing Resources, Withdrew Across A Devastated Reich To Fight Their Final Battle Around Berlin.--book Jacket. Ch. 1. Kursk -- Ch. 2. Fighting Withdrawal -- Ch. 3. Winter Warfare -- Ch. 4. Bagration And Aftermath -- Ch. 5. Last Battles -- Appendix 1. Waffen-ss Weapons And Equipment -- Appendix 2. Infantry Division 1944 -- Appendix 3. Combat Uniforms Of The Waffen-ss 1943-1945 -- Appendix 4. Combat Uniforms Of The Wehrmacht 1943-1945. Ian Baxter. Drawing on rare and previously unpublished photographs accompanied by in-depth captions, the book provides an absorbing analysis of this traumatic period of the Second World War. It reveals in detail how the battle of Kursk was the beginning of the end and how this massive operation led to the Red Army recapturing huge areas of the Soviet Union and bleeding white the German armies it struck. Despite the adverse situation in which both the German Army and its Waffen-SS counterparts were placed, soldiers continued to fight to the bitter end and attempted to build new defense-lines. But as the Red Army launched its long awaited summer offensive on June 1944, German forces were forced to withdraw under the constant hammer blows of ground and aerial bombardments. Those German forces that survived the artillery barrages, the onslaught of the tank armadas, and mass infantry assaults, streamed back from the battlefield and fought vicious battles through the Baltic States, Byelorussia, and built up new defense along the Vistula in Poland. As the final months of the War were played out on the Eastern Front, the Army and Waffen-SS, with diminishing resources, withdrew across a devastated Reich and fought out their last battle with party militia forces around a devastated Berlin. [Elib]