By mid-April 1945, Hitler's Third Reich was staring into the abyss. Despite fanatical resistance and close-quarter fighting, the Red Banner was raised over the Reichstag and Berlin; Hitler had committed suicide the same day. Berlin surrendered unconditionally and Germany surrendered to the Allies on 7 May - the war in Europe was at an end.
Stalingrad has become a by-word for grim endurance and tenacity; for the refusal to give up, no matter the cost. In this book, Peter Antill takes a dispassionate look at one of the most talked about battles in history. He asks why the Germans allowed themselves to be diverted from their main objective, which was to capture the oil fields of the Caucasus, and concentrate such large resources on a secondary target. He discusses the merits of the commanders on both sides and also the relationship on the German side with Hitler as well as reviewing the ways in which the command structures influenced the battle. Apart from the overall question of German objectives, this book also unpicks the detail of unit directions, priorities and deployments, leading to a vivid account of the day-by-day war of attrition that took place in Stalingrad during World War II (1939-1945), between September 14, 1942 and February 2, 1943. Stalingrad was more than a turning point, it was the anvil on which the back of German military ambitions in the east were broken and the echoes of its death knell were heard in Berlin and indeed the world over.
Osprey's study of Operation Mercury, the German airborne assault on the island of Crete in May 1941 during World War II (1939-1945), which was the first strategic use of airborne forces in history. The assault began on 20 May, with landings near the island's key airports, and reinforcements the next day allowed the German forces to capture one end of the runway at Maleme. By 24 May, the Germans were being reinforced by air on a huge scale and on 1 June Crete surrendered. This book describes how desperately close the battle had been and explains how German losses so shocked the Führer that he never again authorised a major airborne operation.
Operace Merkur, jak znělo krycí jméno pro útok na řecký ostrov Krétu, se stala prvním strategickým využitím výsadkových jednotek v historii vojenství. Útok byl zahájen 20. května 1941 vysazením parašutistických a kluzákových jednotek v blízkosti jednotlivých ostrovních letišť. Přísun dalších posil vedl následujícícho dne k obsazení západního konce letiště v Maleme německými vojsky. Do 24. kvěrna obdrželi Němci leteckým mostem značné posily a k 1. červnu zlomili odpor posádky Kréty.
