article
Winston Churchill's picture

Listed are some of the new upcoming and soon to-be-released book titles by OSPREY PUBLSHING related to the World War II history, weapons, battles, and more.. They look promising and be sure to pre-order to save several pounds, dollars or euros. So definitely look out for these to add them to your library. Release dates may vary per continent, we’ve the Europe release dates. Feel free to give us more information on the books.

#1. Valentine Infantry Tank 1938–45 (NEW VANGUARD 233) by Bruce Newsome

The Valentine was the most produced and most widely used British tank of the Second World War. The Valentine first saw combat during Operation Compass in November 1941 and remained one of the main medium tanks in British service into 1943. As the Churchill became more prevalent the Valentine was relegated to specialist and tank-destroyer variants, which would remain in service in the Far East to the end of the war. 

This book describes the evolution of the Valentine design and weighs up its impact on the battlefield. Although widely regarded today as one of the weaker tanks to be fielded during the war, it was exceptionally numerous, with more Valentines produced than any other British tank.

 

#2. The Dnepr 1943. HITLER'S EASTERN RAMPART CRUMBLES by Robert Forczyk

Against the wishes of Hitler, German forces under Erich von Manstein were forced to retreat following the failure of the Kursk offensive of July 1943. The weakened force only had one possible refuge, behind the wide Dnepr River. The race to the natural defensive line was on, with the Soviets launching one of their largest offensives of the war - with over 2 million men on the move. Expert Eastern Front historian Robert Forczyk describes the dramatic four-month campaign that saw the Red Army not only succeed in crossing the Dnepr at multiple points, but also liberate Kiev, capital of the Ukraine. Revealing new detail about the largest Soviet airborne operation of the war and the increasingly desperate delaying tactics employed by Manstein as catastrophic casualties mounted on both sides, Forczyk charts the course of the battle that confirmed to many observers that the relentless Soviet advance westward could not be halted. Berlin would be next.

#3. Finland at War. THE CONTINUATION AND LAPLAND WARS 1941–45 by Vesa Nenye, Peter Munter, Toni Wirtanen, Chris Birks

In the aftermath of the Winter War Finland found itself drawing ever closer to Nazi Germany and eventually took part in Operation Barbarossa in 1941. For the Finns this was a chance to right the wrongs of the Winter War, and having reached suitable defensive positions, the army was ordered to halt. Years of uneasy trench warfare followed, known as the Continuation War, during which Finland desperately sought a way out, German dreams of victory were dashed and the Soviet Union built the strongest army in the world. In the summer of 1944, the whole might of the Red Army was launched against the Finnish defences on the narrow Karelian Isthmus. Over several weeks of fierce fighting, the Finns managed to halt the Soviet assault. With Stalin forced to divert his armies to the race to Berlin an armistice agreement was reached, the harsh terms of which forced the Finns to take on their erstwhile German allies in Lapland. Featuring never-before-seen photographs and first-hand accounts, this second volume of a two-part study details the high price Finland had to pay to retain its independence and freedom.

#4. Tiger Tank by Marcus Cowper

The most famous tank of World War II, the Tiger was a monster of a machine that dominated the battlefields of Europe and beyond. Originally conceived in response to the German Army's experience fighting British tanks in western Europe and North Africa, the Tiger cemented its reputation of near invincibility during the savage battles of the Eastern Front.

This is a complete illustrated guide to one of the world's most famous fighting vehicles, exploring its history, its strengths and weaknesses and its combat performance as it duelled against the best the Allies had to give. Drawing on a wealth of research, detailed illustrations and contemporary photographs, this book reveals how this remarkable tank became an icon of military history.

#5. J2M Raiden and N1K1/2 Shiden Aces (AIRCRAFT OF THE ACES 129) by Yasuho Izawa

Although seen as a replacement for the A6M Zero-sen carrier-based fighter, the Mitsubishi J2M Raiden was actually designed as a land-based naval interceptor optimised for speed rather than manoeuvrability. Engine cooling problems for its Mitsubishi Kasai 23 engine, airflow and flight control issues plagued the Raiden's development, but despite these production delays, aces Sadaaki Akamatsu Yoshihiro Aoki, Susumu Ito and Susumu Ishihara all claimed significant scores in the Raiden. Kawanishi's N1K family of fighters were privately developed by the manufacturer from the N1K Kyofu floatplane fighter. Again plagued by structural and engine maladies, the N1K1-J Shiden eventually entered frontline service in time to see considerable action in the doomed defence of the Philippines in October 1944. Despite suffering heavy losses, the units equipped with new fighter proved that the N1K could more than hold its own against P-38s and F6Fs. The improved N1K2-J Shiden-KAI started to reach the frontline by late 1944 - in time for defence of the Home Islands. Here, it proved to be the best IJN fighter of the war.

#6. Railway Guns of World War II (NEW VANGUARD 231) by Steven J. Zaloga

World War II marked the zenith of railway gun development. Although many of the railway guns deployed at the start of the conflict were of World War I vintage, Germany's ambitious development programme saw the introduction of a number of new classes, including the world's largest, the 80cm-calibre Schwerer Gustav and Schwerer Dora guns, which weighed in at 1,350 tons and fired a huge 7-ton shell. 

This book provides an overview of the types of railway guns in service during World War II, with a special focus on the German railway artillery used in France, Italy and on the Eastern Front, and analyzes why railway guns largely disappeared from use following the end of the war.

#7. Forgotten Sacrifice. THE ARCTIC CONVOYS OF WORLD WAR II by Michael G. Walling

In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the largest offensive operation ever undertaken. Operation Barbarossa saw defeat after defeat heaped on the Soviet army. With Russia's forces left staggering under the strain and in desperate need of supplies, Britain and the United States launched an ambitious operation to resupply the Soviet Union using convoys sent through the Arctic. Their journey was punctuated by torpedo attacks in freezing conditions, Stuka dive bombers, naval gun fire, and weeks of total darkness in the Arctic winter, with ships disappearing below the waves weighed down by the ice and snow on their decks.

Drawing on hundreds of oral histories from eyewitnesses and veterans of the convoys, plus original research into the Russian Navy archives at Murmansk, historian Michael G. Walling offers a fresh retelling of one of World War II's pivotal yet largely overlooked campaigns.

#8. Burma Road 1943–44. STILWELL'S ASSAULT ON MYITKYINA (CAMPAIGN 289) by Jon Diamond

Myitkyina was a vital objective in the Allied re-conquest of Burma in 1943-44. Following the disastrous retreat from Burma in April 1942, China had become isolated from re-supply except for the dangerous air route for US transports over the Himalaya Mountains. The Burma Road, which ran from Lashio (south of Myitkyina) through the mountains to Kunming was closed as a supply route from Rangoon after the Japanese conquest. Without military assistance, China would be forced to surrender and Imperial Japanese Army forces could be diverted to other Pacific war zones. 

This is the history of the ambitious joint Allied assault led by American Lt. Gen. Joseph W Stilwell and featuring British, American and Chinese forces as they clashed with three skilled regiments of the Japanese 18th Division. Packed with first-hand accounts, specially commissioned artwork, maps and illustrations and dozens of rare photographs this book reveals the incredible Allied attack on Myitkyina.

#9. US Infantryman vs German Infantryman. EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 1944 (COMBAT 15) by Steven J. Zaloga

The Allied airborne and amphibious landings in Normandy on D-Day opened up the long-awaited Second Front against Nazi Germany, but after overcoming the German coastal defences at Utah and ‘Bloody Omaha,' the US Army found itself having to contest every hedgerow and street in a nightmarish battle of attrition. It was the humble infantrymen of both sides who would play a vital role in taking and holding key objectives, from the close-quarters warfare around the key French port of Cherbourg in June 1944 to the struggle for Übach-Palenberg during the Allies' initial thrust into Germany in October and the savage cold-weather fighting of the Germans' Ardennes counter-offensive that December. 

Featuring full-colour artwork, specially drawn maps, and archive photographs, this study offers key insights into the tactics, leadership, combat performance, and subsequent reputations of six representative US and German infantry battalions pitched into three pivotal actions that determined the course of the campaign for mastery in Western Europe at the height of World War II.

#10. Atlas of the Eastern Front. 1941–45 by Robert Kirchubel

The Eastern Front was the most significant theatre of World War II. Here the bulk of the Wehrmacht was committed and eventually shattered by the Red Army in a campaign of unmatched intensity. From Operation Barbarossa in 1941 through to the final fall of Berlin in 1945, German and Soviet soldiers fought across the breadth and depth of the Eastern Front, a staggering 1,600 miles, from the Arctic north through the dense forests and marshes of Belorussia, over the broad Ukraine and arid steppe to the rugged mountains of the Caucasus.

The 128 detailed pieces of cartography in this impressive atlas help to explain the fighting and physical challenges faced by Axis and Soviet forces alike. The complex combat and movement, thrust and parry, brilliance and folly are all explained by these maps and their accompanying text, providing clear historical and geographical understanding of the brutal and titanic conflict.

Source: 

ospreypublishing.com
1

Tags: 

Categories: 

WW2 Timeline: 

Language: 

No votes yet