STEVEN J. ZALOGA

General George Pattons most controversial campaign was the series of battles in autumn 1944 battles along the German frontier which centered on the fortified city of Metz. In part, the problem was logistics. As was the case with the rest of the Allied forces in the European Theatre, supplies were limited until the port of Antwerp could finally be cleared. Also problematic was the weather. The autumn of 1944 was one of the wettest on record, and hardly conducive to the type of mechanized warfare for which Patton was so famous. However at the heart of the problem was the accretion of sophisticated fortifications. Metz had been fortified since ancient times, heavily rebuilt by France in the post-Napoleonic period, modernized by Germany in 1870-1914, and modernized by France during the Maginot effort in 1935-40. The Germans hoped to hold Metz with a thin screen of second-rate troops, counting on the impregnable fortifications. This book covers the entire campaign from beginning to end, offering an unbiased assessment of the success and failures of both the Allied and Axis efforts.

First seen during the American Civil War and later appearing in the Franco-Prussian War and the Anglo-Boer Wars, the armored train came to prominence on the Eastern Front during World War I. It was also deployed during the Russian Civil War and the technology traveled east into the Chinese Civil War, and the subsequent war with Japan. It saw service on the Russian Front in World War II, but was increasingly sidelined because of its vulnerability to air attack. Steven J Zaloga examines the origins and development of the armored train, focusing equally on the technical detail and on the fascinating story of how armored trains were actually used in combat. This title will appeal to armor, military history and railroad enthusiasts alike.

The Battle of the Bulge was the largest and most costly battle fought by the US Army in World War II. The Ardennes fighting was Hitler's last gamble on the Western Front, crippling the Wehrmacht for the remainder of the war. In the first of two volumes on the Ardennes campaign Steven Zaloga details the fighting in the northern sector around St Vith and the Elsenborn Ridge. Sixth Panzer Army, containing the bulk of German Panzer strength, was expected to achieve the breakthrough here. It was the failure around St Vith that forced the Germans to look south towards Bastogne.

The D-Day landings of 6 June 1944 were the largest amphibious military operation ever mounted. The greatest armada the world had ever seen was assembled to transport the Allied invasion force across the Channel and open the long-awaited second front against Hitler's Third Reich. Of the landings on the five assault beaches, Omaha Beach was the only one ever in doubt. Within moments of the first wave landing a third of the assault troops were casualties. Yet by the end of D-Day the Atlantic Wall had been breached and the US Army's V Corps was firmly entrenched on French soil.

On their western flank, the Allied landings on D-Day combined a parachute drop by the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions with an amphibious assault on "Utah" Beach by the US 4th Infantry Division. The landings came ashore in the wrong place but met weaker German resistance as a result. The heaviest fighting took place inland where the badly scattered paratroopers gradually gathered in small groups and made for their objectives. This book traces the story of D-Day on Utah beach, revealing how the infantry pushed inland and linked up with the Airborne troops in a beachhead five miles deep. Now the battle to break out and seize the key port of Cherbourg could begin.

The German A-4 ballistic missile, better known by its propaganda name of V-2, was the world's first successful ballistic missile, breaking through the atmosphere to reach its target quicker. It was a forerunner of Cold War ballistic missiles and its combat use in 1944-45 set the pattern for the use of Scud ballistic missiles in recent decades. The V-2 offensive lasted from September 1944 until March 1945 with over 3,000 rockets being launched. This book examines the combat record of the V-2 in World War II, with a special focus on how a German missile battalion actually prepared and fired its missiles.

The M18 76mm Gun Motor Carriage was developed for the US Army's Tank Destroyer Command. It was the only tank destroyer deployed during World War II actually based on their requirements for speed and firepower. This book examines the development of this vehicle, the controversies over the need for high-speed tank destroyers, and its actual performance during World War II. Special emphasis is placed on examining its performance in its intended mission. Coverage also includes derivative vehicles of the M18 such as the M39 armored utility vehicle.

In this riveting book, Steven Zaloga describes how American foot soldiers faced down Hitlers elite armored spearheadthe Hitler Youth Panzer Divisionin the snowy Ardennes forest during one of World War IIs biggest battles, the Battle of the Bulge. The Hitler Youth division was assigned one of the most important missions of Hitlers Ardennes offensive: the capture of the main highway to the primary objective of Antwerp, the seizure of which Hitler believed would end the war. Had the Germans taken the Belgian port, it would have cut off the Americans from the British and perhaps led to a second, more devastating Dunkirk. In Zalogas careful reconstruction, a succession of American infantry unitsthe 99th Division, the 2nd Division, and the 1st Division (the famous Big Red One)fought a series of battles that denied Hitler the best roads to Antwerp and doomed his offensive. American GIssome of them seeing combat for the very first timehad stymied Hitlers panzers and grand plans.

The prevailing Western view of Russias Cold War strategic nuclear weapons policy is that it resulted from a two-part interplay between the leaders of the Communist Party and the military. Steven J. Zaloga has found that a third contributorthe Russian defense industryalso played a vital role.Drawing from elusive Russian source material and interviews with many proud Russian and Ukrainian engineers, Zaloga presents a definitive account of Russias strategic forces, who built them, and why. The book is the first in English to refer to the weapons by their actual Soviet names, providing the bedrock for future works. Helpful appendices list U.S., NATO, and other designations, and the illustrations provide clear visual references.

En su flanco occidental, los desembarcos aliados del Día D combinaron el salto de las Divisiones Aerotransportadas 82 y 101 con un asalto anfibio en la playa Utah a cargo de la 4a División de Infanteria de Estados Unidos; este ultimo tuvo lugar en el sitio equivocado, pero encontro una debil resistencia alemana. Los combates mas fuertes se produjeron en el interior, donde los dispersos paracaidistas se reunieron en pequeños grupos y fueron a por sus objetivos. Este libro repasa la historia de la playa Utah, la forma en que la infanteria avanzo presionando hasta que enlazo cn los paracaidistas en una cabeza de playa de ocho kilometros de profundidad. Tras cumplir este objetivo, podia empezar la batalla por la ruptura y la tima del puerto de mar de Cherburgo.