Witness to Gettysburg
Inside the Battle That Changed the Course of the Civil War
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
From the events that led to the clash at Gettysburg in July 1863 to the retreat of Robert E. Lee's defeated Confederates, Richard Wheeler uses the words of participants--both Northern and Southern--to bring one of the Civil War's bloodiest, most pivotal battles to life. Richard Wheeler is also author of four other Civil War histories: Voices of the Civil War, The Siege of Vicksburg, Sherman's March, and Sword over Richmond. He lives in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania.
Luftwaffe Aces
German Combat Pilots of WWII
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
World War II air war companion to Panzer Aces and Panzer Aces II. In-the-cockpit accounts of aerial dogfights by some of Germany's deadliest pilots ever to take to the skies.
Penalty Strike
The Memoirs of a Red Army Penal Company Commander 1943–45
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
From a decorated officer, an extremely rare account of a World War II Soviet military unit comprised of prisoners of war.
Made up of soldiers who conducted "unauthorized retreats," former POWs deemed untrustworthy, and Gulag prisoners, the Red Army's penal units carried out some of the most terrifying assignments on the Eastern Front, such as storming German machine-gun nests. Alexander Pyl'cyn led his penal company in the Soviets' massive offensive in the summer of 1944, the Vistula-Oder operation into eastern Germany, and the bitter assault on Berlin in 1945. He survived the war, but 80 percent of his men did not.
Messerschmitts Over Sicily
Diary of a Luftwaffe Fighter Commander
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Based on the author's personal World War II diary. An unflinching look at Luftwaffe combat, tactics, and leadership during the campaign for Sicily. A concluding chapter assesses the war's lessons for air forces. Johannes Steinhoff shot down 176 Allied aircraft during World War II. After the war, he served as Chief of Staff of the West German Air Force and later as Chairman of NATO's Military Committee. He wrote several books on his war experiences before his death in 1994.
Panzer Aces III
German Tank Commanders in Combat in World War II
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Action-packed stories of legendary tank soldiers in combat. You-are-there approach lets readers relive the experiences of German panzer crews. First time in English.
On the Canal
The Marines of L-3-5 on Guadalcanal, 1942
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
A straightforward, gripping tale from the Marines that stormed ashore on Guadalcanal in World War II
Told with humor and honesty in a no-holds-barred approach that only a Marine who was there could tell Excerpt on firing a rifle grenade: "I jammed the rifle stock tight against my shoulder, raised myself up off the ground to a kneeling position, and squeezed the trigger. The rifle went bang! and the recoil jarred it loose from my grip. The rifle smacked me hard in the jaw. With that, I went down on my face while the little bluebirds started going tweet, tweet, tweet around my head.-'Did I hit it?' I asked.-'Yeah, you hit it,' Flash said. 'The damn thing just didn't work.'-We finally ran into somebody from another unit, a guy who really understood how the new style grenade was supposed to work. We explained our misfortune to him, and he asked us did you pull the firing pin out... The god damn pin!"
German Order of Battle
Panzer, Panzer Grenadier, and Waffen SS Divisions in WWII
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Narrative histories highlighting organization, combat experiences, and casualties of each division. Lists of constituent units and division commanders. Sources for further reading on each division.
Savage Sky
Life and Death on a Bomber over Germany in 1944
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Gives the reader a firsthand look at war from inside a B-17 bomber in World War II. Focuses on the 92nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force and includes missions to the Schweinfurt ball-bearing plant and Berlin. One of the first accounts of being shot down over Sweden. George Webster was a radio operator on a B-17, flying combat missions deep over Germany in World War II. He lives in Orlando, Florida.
Panzergrenadier Aces
German Mechanized Infantrymen in World War II
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Exciting stories of the infantrymen who supported Germany's tanks. How tanks and infantry cooperated at the small-unit level. First time in English.
Triumphant Fox
Erwin Rommel and the Rise of the Afrika Korps
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Describes the Desert Fox's preparation for military greatness, his rise to prominence, and his early campaigns in Africa. Recounts the first battles of Germany's notorious Afrika Korps.
Winter Storm
The Battle for Stalingrad and the Operation to Rescue 6th Army
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Compilation of first-person German accounts from the battle of Stalingrad.
Twilight of the Gods
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
• Rare account of a non-German who fought in the elite Waffen-SS • New information on the 11th SS Panzergrenadier Division • No-holds-barred narrative of the Eastern Front This is the story of Erik Wallin, a Swede who volunteered for the Waffen-SS, serving in the panzer reconnaissance battalion of the 11th SS Panzergrenadier Division, a unit composed mainly of volunteers from Scandinavia. The division saw combat in the Courland Pocket, along the Oder River, and in Berlin. Thorolf Hillblad lives in Idaho.
The Brandenburger Commandos
Germany's Elite Warrior Spies in World War II
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Rare look into the secret military operations of Hitler's Germany Page-turning narrative detailing the unit's exploits Very few books have been written about this clandestine operations unit, which was run by the German Army's intelligence service. Trained to be quick, mobile, and self-reliant and steeped in local customs and languages, the Brandenburgers operated behind enemy lines around the world. From Western Europe to Romania, Russia, Egypt, Afghanistan, and World War II's other fronts, they seized bridges and other strategic targets and engaged in sabotage, espionage, and other daring missions-often bending the rules of war in the process. Although the unit was dissolved in 1944, its tactics influenced special forces around the world both during the war and after.
Typhoon Attack
The Legendary British Fighter in Combat in WWII
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
• Lively tales of aerial combat in the legendary Typhoon fighter • History of the plane and the men who flew it in World War II • Based on interviews with the pilots themselves The Typhoon fighter played a pivotal role in the Allies' success in the air and on the ground in World War II, from the Normandy beachhead to the Battle of the Bulge and the final battle for Germany. Norman Franks describes what it was really like to fly at low level and attack trains and tanks or to roll over at 12,000 feet and then roar down into an inferno of German flak. Norman Franks is also the author of Mannock (978-1-906502-12-6). He lives in England.
Airborne Combat
The Glider War / Fighting Gliders of WWII
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Comprehensive look into the dangerous world of glider warfare.
A Soldier in the Cockpit
From Rifles to Typhoons in WWII
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
I could see a carpet of twinkling lights from the ack ack all along the rail sidings which bordered the canal. I dove onto these with my cannons going. Then suddenly, when the attention of all the guns turned on me, I realized how foolhardy I was being. I ran the guns along the row of rail trucks-opened the throttle wide and pulled straight up for the clouds-with tracers crossing in front and on all sides of the plane. Ron Pottinger started the war as a rifleman in the Royal Fusiliers, then transferred to the Royal Air Force, where he began flying the 7.5-ton Hawker Typhoon. He flew dozens of dangerous ground attack missions over occupied Europe through bad weather, heavy flak, and enemy fighters before being shot down and taken prisoner.
Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS
1943–45
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
The Waffen SS were considered the elite of the German armed forces in the Second World War and were involved in almost continuous combat. From the sweeping tank battle of Kursk on the Russian front to the bitter fighting among the hedgerows of Normandy and the last great offensive in the Ardennes, forever immortalized in history at the Battle of the Bulge, these men and their tanks made history. Will Fey was a highly decorated German panzer commander in WWII.
The Seeds of Disaster
The Development of French Army Doctrine, 1919–39
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
An examination of the military doctrine that animated the French defense against the German invasion in 1940.
Hitler's Spanish Legion
The Blue Division in Russia in WWII
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
A classic story of the 47,000 Spaniards who fought for the Third Reich in World War II.
• Vivid chronicle of the division of Spanish volunteers who battled the Soviets on the Eastern Front
• Centerpiece of their service was the Siege of Leningrad, which is covered in depth here
• Details on how Spanish dictator Francisco Franco negotiated his countrymen's participation
German Order of Battle
291st–999th Infantry Divisions, Named Infantry Divisions, and Special Divisions in WWII
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Narrative histories highlighting organization, combat experiences, and casualties of each division. Lists of constituent units and division commanders. Sources for further reading on each division.
The Amish of Lancaster County
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
More than 8.5 million people visit Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, every year to experience the culture of the oldest Amish community in the world. This book by the leading scholar of the Amish explains the uncommon lifestyle of these simple-living people who intrigue so many visitors. Mini essays on all aspects of Amish life, from dress and spirituality to horse-and-buggy transport, are accompanied by beautiful full-color photographs. The author also discusses myths about the Amish, their selective use of technology, the current media attention to Rumspringa, and the tragedy at the Nickel Mines school. Donald B. Kraybill is Distinguished Professor and Senior Fellow Emeritus in the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. He has published numerous books on the Amish, including The Riddle of Amish Culture and The Puzzles of Amish Life.
Penalty Strike
The Memoirs of a Red Army Penal Company Commander, 1943–45
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
• Extremely rare (possibly the only) book-length account of a Soviet penal unit in World War II • Gritty, intense style conveys the brutality of war on the Eastern Front Composed of convicts--soldiers who conducted "unauthorized retreats," former Soviet POWs deemed untrustworthy, and Gulag prisoners--the Red Army's penal units received the most difficult, dangerous assignments, such as breaking through the enemy's defenses. So punishing was life in these units that officers in regular formations threatened to send recalcitrant troops to penal battalions. Alexander Pyl'cyn led his penal unit through the Soviets' massive offensive in the summer of 1944, the Vistula-Oder operation into eastern Germany, and the bitter assault on Berlin in 1945. He survived the war, but 80 percent of his men did not. Alexander Pyl'cyn, drafted into the Red Army at eighteen in 1941 and wounded three times, earned the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Great Patriotic War, and the Order of the Red Star for his actions during the war. He lives in St. Petersburg, Russia.
German Order of Battle
1st–290th Infantry Divisions in WWII
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Narrative histories highlighting organization, combat experiences, and casualties of each division. Lists of constituent units and division commanders. Sources for further reading on each division.
Two One Pony
An American Soldier's Year in Vietnam, 1969
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Thoughtful, reflective narrative of a reluctant soldier in Vietnam. Charles R. Carr is professor of philosophy at Arkansas State University. He lives in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
No Holding Back
Operation Totalize, Normandy, August 1944
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
• Landmark study of the Canadians' first major operation in Normandy • New revelations on the death of German panzer ace Michael Wittmann • Handsomely illustrated with maps, photos, and diagrams On August 8, 1944, the Canadian Army launched Operation Totalize, a massive armored and mechanized infantry attack that aimed to break through enemy defenses south of Caen and trap the German Army in Normandy by linking up with Patton's Third Army. Brian A. Reid lives near Ottawa, Canada.
Goodbye, Transylvania
A Romanian Waffen-SS Soldier in WWII
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
Rare memoir of a foreigner serving with the Germans on the Eastern Front. Sigmund Heinz Landau was born in Transylvania in 1920. After the war Landau moved to England, where he died in 1998.
Iron Knights
The U.S. 66th Armored Regiment in World War II
Part of the Stackpole Military History series
• Combat history of the U.S. Army's oldest armored regiment • Tank battles in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, and the Battle of the Bulge • The 66th Armored Regiment is still active today and has served in Iraq From its baptism of fire in the mud of the Western Front in 1918 to its triumphant march into Berlin in July 1945, this is the story of the U.S. 66th Armored Regiment. It was the only American heavy tank unit to see combat in World War I, and between the two wars, the regiment served as a laboratory for new ideas and equipment. After training under Gen. George S. Patton, the 66th distinguished itself in numerous battles during World War II, earning six battle streamers for the unit and a Medal of Honor for one of its officers. Gordon A. Blaker is a retired armor officer with extensive experience in tank units. He holds a master's degree in American history and is an active member of the Company of Military Historians. He lives in Georgia.