In the narrative of D-Day the Canadians figure chiefly—if at all—as an ineffective force bungling their part in the early phase of Operation Overlord. The reality is quite another story. As both the Allies and the Germans knew, only Germany’s Panzers could crush Overlord in its tracks. The Canadians’ job was to stop the Panzers—which, as this book finally makes clear, is precisely what they did. Rescuing from obscurity one of the least understood and most important chapters in the history of D-Day, Stopping the Panzers is the first full account of how the Allies planned for and met the Panzer threat to Operation Overlord. As such, this book marks nothing less than a paradigm shift in our understanding of the Normandy campaign. Beginning with the Allied planning for Operation Overlord in 1943, historian Marc Milner tracks changing and expanding assessments of the Panzer threat, and the preparations of the men and units tasked with handling that threat. Featured in this was the 3rd Canadian Division, which, treated so dismissively by history, was actually the most powerful Allied formation to land on D-Day, with a full armored brigade and nearly 300 artillery and antitank guns under command. Milner describes how, over four days of intense and often brutal battle, the Canadians fought to a literal standstill the 1st SS Panzer Corps—which included the Wehrmacht’s 21st Panzer Division; its vaunted elite Panzer Lehr Division; and the rabidly zealous 12th SS Hitler Youth Panzer Division, whose murder of 157 Canadian POWs accounted for nearly a quarter of Canadian fatalities during the fighting. Stopping the Panzers sets this murderous battle within the wider context of the Overlord assault, offering a perspective that challenges the conventional wisdom about Allied and German combat efficiency, and leads to one of the freshest assessments of the D-Day landings and their pre-attack planning in more than a decade.

Eight World War II battles are examined here from the perspective of the U.S. Army infantrymen who were facing German Panzers. The battles were chosen from those fought from August 1944 through January 1945, a time of rapid advances and intense combat. They include a variety of engagements: river crossings, defensive operations, assaults on towns, and others.

Panzers Forward collects photos of all varieties of German armor, from the smaller tanks of the early war to the gigantic Tigers that came later, on all fronts—North Africa, Sicily and Italy, France, and of course the Eastern Front. Written by a trio of experts who have lived and breathed panzers for decades, the captions identify vehicles as well as their location and units, explain markings and camouflage, and give background information on the vehicles and their battles.

DIVIn Fighting Patton, noted historian Harry Yeide is the first to examine legendary U.S. General George S. Patton Jr. through the eyes of his enemies: the opposing German commanders of WWII./div

In this comprehensive history, John Keegan explores both the technical and the human impact of the greatest war of all time. He focuses on five crucial battles and offers new insights into the distinctive methods and motivations of modern warfare. In knowledgable, perceptive analysis of the airborne battle of Crete, the carrier battle of Midway, the tank battle of Falaise, the city battle of Berlin, and the amphibious battle of Okinawa, Keegan illuminates the strategic dilemmas faced by the leaders and the consequences of their decisions on the fighting men and the course of the war as a whole.

A stunning look at World War II from the other side... From the turret of a German tank, Colonel Hans von Luck commanded Rommel's 7th and then 21st Panzer Division. El Alamein, Kasserine Pass, Poland, Belgium, Normandy on D-Day, the disastrous Russian front--von Luck fought there with some of the best soldiers in the world. German soldiers. Awarded the German Cross in Gold and the Knight's Cross, von Luck writes as an officer and a gentleman. Told with the vivid detail of an impassioned eyewitness, his rare and moving memoir has become a classic in the literature of World War II, a first-person chronicle of the glory--and the inevitable tragedy--of a superb soldier fighting Hitler's war.

Recently withdrawn from the horrors of the Russian Front, the 1st SS Panzer Division Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler, are ordered to Belgium for a complete overhaul and refit of its war-torn troops and panzers. Due to growing uncertainty they are redirected on this journey eventually arriving in Innsbruck. With only a few weeks respite, they find themselves stationed in Italy along the Po River Plain to carry out the disarming of several Italian army units, following the capitulation of Italy as allies to the Third Reich. It is not long before they are embroiled in deadly anti-partisan operations during most of their stay in the country, and then they are directed back to face the colossal Red Army tidal wave of men and machines once again along the Eastern Front. Still waiting for their panzers to arrive, the 1st SS are forced into bloody hand to hand trench warfare heavily outnumbered each day. Intelligence reports indicate the Russians are planning a huge attack, which threatens to wipe out the 1st SS and other defending German Divisions, unless they can thwart this advance with a plan of their own, using the limited, heavily outnumbered troops and panzers at their disposal. Book reviews online: PublishedBestsellers website.