Böcker av Steven J. (Author) Zaloga

It is a little known fact that France fielded more tanks in World War I than any other army. However, France's early tanks suffered from poor mobility and armor. In spite of initial set-backs, the French army redeemed its reputation with the Renault FT. This title examines the emergence of the first modern tank, the Renault FT.

A detailed technical and operational history of the USA's main post-war tanks throughout the 1950s. The author covers all the internal workings of the vehicle and presents a thorough analysis of their service records with the US and more than 25 other nations.

Operation Nordwind is one of the lesser known campaigns of World War II. Largely overshadowed by the Battle of the Bulge further north, Nordwind was the last operation by the Waffen-SS Panzer divisions in the west. This title highlights the difficulties of inter-Allied cooperation between the Americans and the French.

George S Patton Jr was an American field commander of World War II, and regarded as the US Army's finest practitioner of mechanized warfare. This title examines Patton's life and leadership in three wars, with a concentration on his command in World War II.

"Kamikaze: Japanese Special Attack Weapons, 1944-45".

The tanks used during the Spanish Civil War are often labeled as little more than test vehicles in a convenient proving ground before World War II. This book takes a look at the tanks deployed in Spain, examining how future tanks and armored tactics were shaped and honed by the crews' experiences.

Focusing on the northern Atlantic Wall in the Low Countries and Scandinavia, this title addresses the special defensive features and unique aspects of fortification in these countries, such as the early focus on fortifying Norway; the greater use of turreted naval guns; and, the establishment of first-line Flak defences in the Low Countries.

In 1945, with her fleet destroyed and her armies beaten, the only thing that stood between Japan and an Allied invasion was the numerous coastal defence positions that surrounded the islands. This book looks at the Japanese home island fortifications that were constructed during 1941-45.

Since the advent of airmobile warfare, there have been numerous attempts to support paratroopers with attached armored vehicles. However, full success was not achieved until the production of the M551 Sheridan. This book tells the story of the US experience with air-mobile tanks, starting with their efforts in World War II.

In the early hours of D-Day, 1944, a group from the US Army 2nd Rangers Battalion were sent on one of the legendary raids of World War II. The mission was to scale the cliffs overlooking Omaha beach and assault the German coastal artillery at Pointe-du-Hoc. This book analyses various details of this assault.

Operation Dragoon, the Allied landings in southern France on August 15, 1944, was one of the most controversial operations of 1944, leading to a deep divide between United States and British planners. This book tells the story of this operation.

The Staghound was a unique World War II armored vehicle - designed and manufactured in the US, but intended solely for the British army. This book examines the development of this category of armored cars and offers an analysis of the extensive combat use of the Staghound in British service.

Examines the development of the T-62 using combat descriptions to bring to life the operational history of this tank from the deserts of the Sinai to the harsh terrain of Afghanistan.

In this book Steven J Zaloga offers a fascinating comparison between the two most important tanks involved in the crucial fighting of 1944, the American Sherman and the German Panther. Placing the reader in the heart of this battle between quality and quantity Zaloga uses a compelling account of the ferocious fighting during the Battle of the Bulge to explain the successes and failures of each tank, highlighting the fact that a tank can only be as good as its crew, weighing up the impact of low morale, high cost and mediocre crew training on the Panther's superiority. With full-colour battlescenes, technical drawings, photographs, digital gunsight views, extracts from crew training manuals and real combat reports, this book brings the titanic battles between the Panther and Sherman to life.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are the most dynamic field of aerospace technology, and have only emerged from the shadows recently, despite having been in use for decades. After some limited use in World War II, UAVs emerged as substitutes for manned reconnaissance aircraft in missions deemed too dangerous to risk an aircrew. This book examines the development of UAV technology and speculates on its future potential. Packed with rare, recently declassified photographs and detailed full-colour cutaways, this title goes on to investigate the deployment of UAVs, from early Israeli airforce use to their current role over Iraq and Afghanistan today.

Designed to change the course of the war, the V weapons required ambitious plans to defend their expensive and complicated launch sites. This work describes the configuration and planned deployment of heavy missile sites, as well as the unique Allied tactics developed to counter this threat, including a remote-control version of the B-17 bomber.

In July 1944, Operation Cobra broke the stalemate in Normandy and sent the Allies racing across France. The Allied commanders had ignored Paris in their planning for this campaign, considering that the risk of intense street fighting and heavy casualties outweighed the city's strategic importance. However, Charles de Gaulle persuaded the Allied commanders to take direct action to liberate his nation's capital. Steven J Zaloga first describes the operations of Patton's Third Army as it advanced towards Paris before focussing on the actions of the Resistance forces inside the city and of the Free French armoured division that fought its way in and joined up with them to liberate it on the 24th August. On the back of this morale-boosting victory, De Gaulle could finally proclaim Paris to be liberated, as one of the world's loveliest cities survived Hitler's strident command that it should be held at all costs or razed to the ground.

The Siegfried Line campaign was one of the most frustrating and bloody series of battles fought by the US Army in Europe. This book covers the battle for Aachen and the fighting that ensued in the Hurtgen Forest. It talks about the Siegfried Line campaign that witnessed the US Army's most bitter fighting, leading the way into the heart of Germany.

The Sherman tank was the principal US and Allied tank of World War II. Not only were large numbers of Shermans manufactured, but a large number of variants also emerged. This book provides a guide to four variants across a range of different skill levels, depicting differing colour schemes and techniques.

Using photographs, color artwork, and rare accounts from the weapon's designers, the author examines the Russian SA-2 missile's development, linking this to its massive impact on Cold War air campaigns, and investigates the design changes that have helped the SA-2 stand the test of time.

Heavily armoured, highly mobile and capable of killing at over 2500m the M1 Abrams is a veritable fighting machine. Entering production in 1971, the T-72 arguably outstripped its contemporaries in a balance of mobility, protection and firepower. This study pits these two great fighting machines against one another.

Presents a guide to modelling the 75mm gun versions used by the US Army in the ETO, in 1/35 and 1/48 scale. The projects featured include an early M4A1 from Operation Husky (July 1943), an intermediate M4 during Operation Cobra (August 1944), an M4 mine-roller in the Ardennes (January 1945), and a M4A3 during Operation Grenade (February 1945).

Providing an examination of the many critical innovations and doctrines, and the impact they had on performance in combat, this book demonstrates why US field artillery was so effective in World War II. It explores the weapons that formed the backbone of the US artillery arsenal in World War II.

The Rhine represented the last major geographical barrier to the Allied advance into Germany. But, the Ludendorff bridge at Remagen - the last major bridge remaining over the Rhine - had not yet been demolished. This book details this pivotal campaign, which secured the bridge at Remagen for the allies, and so, secured the outcome of the war.

The North African campaign of November 1942-May 1943 was a baptism of fire for the US Army. After relatively straightforward landings, the US II Corps advanced into Tunisia to support operations by the British 8th Army. Rommel, worried by the prospect of an attack, decided to exploit the inexperience of the US Army and strike a blow against their overextended positions around the Kasserine Pass. However, the Germans were unable to exploit their initial success, and later attacks were bloodily repulsed. The fighting in Tunisia taught the green US Army vital combat lessons, and brought to the fore senior commanders such as Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley.

The elite forces of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies in the mid-1980s were undoubtedly the largest in the world, and among the least known. The Soviet elite formations alone had a total strength comparable to that of the entire British armed forces. Besides the conventional military elite formations such as airborne and marine forces, most Warsaw Pact armies also possessed special, ''political'' elite, which were used for internal security. Backed by numerous photographs and illustrations, this book uncovers the history, organization and equipment of both the conventional Soviet elite formations and the often ignored security units.

The T-34-85 tank is one of those rare weapons that have remained in service for more than half a century. First introduced in 1944, it has seen combat in nearly every corner of the globe. Steven Zaloga and Jim Kinnear look at this long-serving tank at length. Although long obsolete in Europe, it has proven a reliable and potent weapon in many Third World conflicts, and is still in service with more than a dozen armies around the world.

Developed for the US Army's Tank Destroyer Command, the M18 was the only tank destroyer deployed during World War II that was actually based on their requirements for speed and firepower. This book examines the need for such requirements, as well as the performance of the M18 in battle.

The fighting at Omaha Beach is one of the most famous events in military history, and represented a crucial moment in the course of World War II. This book reveals the events of that single day in June 1944.