This book will be the first complete account of the operations of the German army in the battles north of Lille in the late autumn of 1914. The main emphasis will be placed on the battles around Ypres against the Old Contemptibles of the BEF but the fighting against the French & Belgian armies will also be featured thus providing fresh broader insights into a campaign. There are those who consider that the BEF was all that saved world civilisation as the first year of the Great War drew to its end. The book uses the comprehensive histories of the participating German regiments found in the Kriegsarchiv in Munich & the Hauptstaatsarchiv in Stuttgart. Their use adds authority & authenticity to the book. The narrative adopts a chronological approach. The book focuses on some of the most bitterly disputed battles of the first three months of the war when the Germans strained to achieve a breakthrough & the BEF resisted heroically at the price of its own destruction. The book employs a similar format to the authors previous works; that is to say the greater part of the text uses the words of the German participants themselves & the primary focus of the book covers the experiences of the fighting troops at regimental level & below. Linking paragraphs provide historical context & commentary & evidence from senior commanders will be introduced as necessary. Jack Sheldon is now firmly established as the leading authority on the German Army in the First World War. A retired soldier he lives in France & is fully engaged researching & writing. His German Army on the Somme was a run-away success & he has built on his reputation with The German Army At Passchendael the German Army at Cambrai & The German Army on Vimy Ridge all with Pen & Sword Books. He lives in France. Foreword: Hew Strachan. Professor of the History of War All Souls College University of Oxford. ...

By drawing on a very large number of German sources many of them previously unpublished Jack Sheldon throws new light on a familiar story. In an account filled with graphic descriptions of life & death in the trenches the author demonstrates that the dreadful losses of 1st July were a direct consequence of meticulous German planning & preparation. Although the Battle of the Somme was frequently a close-run affair poor Allied co-ordination & persistence in attacking weakly on narrow fronts played into the hands of the German commanders who were able to rush forward reserves maintain the overall integrity of their defences & so continue a successful delaying battle until the onset of winter ultimately neutralised the considerable Allied superiority in men & material. ...

With the Central Powers holding the initiative throughout 1915 was the year that largely determined the way the remainder of the war would be fought. Constantly on the offensive in the vast open spaces of the Eastern Front the German Army stood on the strategic defensive in the West. There with minimal ground-holding forces & thanks to skilful deployment of limited reserves of men & guns it repulsed with bloody losses every attempt by the Western Allies to drive it from occupied France & Belgium. Shortages of weapons equipment & ammunition forced both sides to tool up for what was clearly becoming a long war of attrition. Although the Western Front had stabilized by the end of 1914 this did not mean that tactical thinking & developments also stood still. Every Allied attempt to break the deadlock elicited a response from the German defenders who brought the tactics of positional warfare to a high state of refinement. Trench systems increased in depth & complexity. The machine gun proved its lethality & the result for the Western Allies was one costly setback after another with French losses reaching a staggering 1 000 000 fatalities by the end of the year. This superbly researched book provides the clearest & most comprehensive German perspective yet on this period of the War. It covers such well-known actions as Neuve Chapelle Ypres where gas was used on a large scale for the first time Aubers Ridge & Loos as well as the appalling clashes in Champagne & the Argonne Forest. The latest in the Authors acclaimed series The German Army on the Western Front 1915 will be welcomed as essential reading by all with a close interest in the First World War. ...

The book starts with on the capture of Vimy Ridge & the nearly spur of Notre Dame de Lorette in October 1914. The major battles of spring & autumn 1915 is described as is the twelve month period from late autumn 1915 when British forces occupied the lines on the western Ridge. The period from late autumn 1916 onwards when the Canadian Corps was preparing for the April 1917 assault on the ridge is given detailed treatment with special emphasis (based on original Germanintelligence & interrogation files) on how the defenders built up a detailed picture of Allied plans & how they intended to counter them. The battle (9
- 14 April 1917) is described in detail & the conclusion summarises the aftermath of the battle & its consequences for the way the German army prepared for the Third Battle of Ypres. The book employs a similar format to The German Army on the Somme 1914
- 1916 & The German Army at Passchendaele; the greater part of the text is based on the words of the German participants themselves. Commentary & evidence from senior commanders is introduced as necessary; the aim once more being to produce a work of popular history which nevertheless provides an important contribution to the overall historiography of the Great War.

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This book explores the origins development combat use & lasting influence of Nazi Germany's automatic rifles focusing on the Gew 41 (W) Gew 43/ Kar 43 FG 42 & MP 43/ St G 44. The Blitzkrieg campaigns of 1939-40 convinced many observers that most infantry combat took place at closer ranges than the 750-1 000m. From 1941 Germany's arms designers took note & produced a new series of infantry firearms. This study not only provides a detailed technical description of each weapon but also explores how the firearms performed on the battlefields of World War II. The combat takes us from the FG 42 in the hands of Fallschirmjager at Monte Cassino through to St G 44s being used by Waffen-SS soldiers on both the Eastern & Western Fronts. Postwar service is also studied such as the Gew 43's adoption by the Czech Army & the St G 44's use by the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War. Setting each firearm in its tactical & historical context & employing striking photographs & full-colour artwork firearms expert Chris Mc Nab sets out the absorbing story of this distinctive & influential series of weapons. ...

The last place a German soldier wanted to be in 1944 was the Russian front. That summer Stalin hurled more than 6 million men 9 000 tanks 16 000 aircraft & 12 800 guns & rocket launchers against German forces. Despite this gigantic effort & the resulting decimation of German forces events on the Eastern Front are largely neglected by historians who focus instead on German defeats in Normandy & the Ardennes. This account details the massive battles on the Eastern Front from the summer of 1944 until the fall of Budapest in early 1945 a period when Hitler lost the majority of his conquered eastern territories & many of his best remaining divisions. ...

This is a compact general-purpose dictionary covering nearly 95 000 words & suitable for everyday use by both English & German speakers at all levels of proficiency. * English to German & German to English * 95 000 words * Ideal for students or travellers * Suitable for colleges or general libraries * Ideal for home or at the office * Pronunciation based on the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) * Many examples of usage * Clear print ...

The euro crisis is tearing Europe apart. But the heart of the matter is that as the crisis unfolds the basic rules of European democracy are being subverted or turned into their opposite bypassing parliaments governments & EU institutions. Multilateralism is turning into unilateralism equality into hegemony sovereignty into the dependency & recognition into disrespect for the dignity of other nations. Even France which long dominated European integration must submit to Berlin's strictures now that it must fear for its international credit rating. How did this happen? The anticipation of the European catastrophe has already fundamentally changed the European landscape of power. It is giving birth to a political monster: a German Europe. Germany did not seek this leadership position
- rather it is a perfect illustration of the law of unintended consequences. The invention & implementation of the euro was the price demanded by France in order to pin Germany down to a European Monetary Union in the context of German unification. It was a quid pro quo for binding a united Germany into a more integrated Europe in which France would continue to play the leading role. But the precise opposite has happened. Economically the euro turned out to be very good for Germany & with the euro crisis Chancellor Angela Merkel became the informal Queen of Europe. The new grammar of power reflects the difference between creditor & debtor countries; it is not a military but an economic logic. Its ideological foundation is ' German euro nationalism'
- that is an extended European version of the Deutschmark nationalism that underpinned German identity after the Second World War. In this way the German model of stability is being surreptitiously elevated into the guiding idea for Europe. The Europe we have now will not be able to survive in the risk-laden storms of the globalized world. The EU has to be more than a grim marriage sustained by the fear of the chaos that would be caused by its breakdown. It has to be built on something more positive: a vision of rebuilding Europe bottom-up creating a Europe of the citizen. There is no better way to reinvigorate Europe than through the coming together of ordinary Europeans acting on their own behalf.

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This title deals with everyday situations in which children may find themselves while abroad. German grammar is clearly explained & puzzles provide plenty of practice. This title is part of a series providing a thorough grounding in useful basic language skills. ...

A guide for the complete beginner & anyone wanting to improve their German. It

Includes:: Internet links offering

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