The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, an Illustrated History, Germany's Victories and Defeat 1939-1945

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The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, an Illustrated History, Germany's Victories and Defeat 1939-1945

4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 · rating details · 25 ratings · 2 reviews

On September 1, 1939, German forces stormed into Poland, precipitating nearly six years of savage, unrelenting warfare that would leave large areas of Europe in ruins. For the first three years, the Werhmacht seemed invincible. The swift victory in Poland was followed by the rapid conquest of Denmark and Norway. In May 1940, the Werhmacht launched the Blitzkrieg ("Lightnin...more On September 1, 1939, German forces stormed into Poland, precipitating nearly six years of savage, unrelenting warfare that would leave large areas of Europe in ruins. For the first three years, the Werhmacht seemed invincible. The swift victory in Poland was followed by the rapid conquest of Denmark and Norway. In May 1940, the Werhmacht launched the Blitzkrieg ("Lightning War") in the west, overwhelming Holland and Belgium in a matter of days, driving the British Expeditionary Force back across the English Channel, and completing the defeat of France within a month. Further victories followed in the Balkans, Greece, and North Africa. The opening months of the invasion of Soviet Russia, Operation "Barbarossa," proved equally successful, with the German panzers being halted just short of Moscow amidst the harsh conditions of the Russian winter.

However, in December 1941 the United States entered the war. By the end of 1942, with the British victory at El Alamein and the isolation and eventual annihilation of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad, the Nazis suffered their first major military reversals. The tide of war turned decisively against the Third Reich in 1943, with heavy Allied bombing campaigns against Germany and the Allied invasion of Sicily coinciding with the failure of the Werhmacht's offensive against the Soviets on the Eastern Front at Kursk.

In 1944, while the Red Army began the relentless advance that would take it all the way to Berlin, the Allies launched their long-awaited invasion of western Europe, the landings in Normandy. Despite their increasingly desperate plight, the Germans continued to fight doggedly, launching a major counterattack through the Ardennes in December. However, by March 1945 the Allies were across the Rhine, and in the east the Soviets began to besiege Berlin in April. By the end of the month Hitler had committed suicide, and on May 8 Germany signed an unconditional surrender. The "Thousand-Year Reich" had lasted just 12 years.

Chris Bishop is an established military historian who has written, edited, and contributed to numerous military publications over the last 25 years. He is author of German Campaigns of Word War II, The Rise of Hitler's Third Reich, SS: Hitler's Foreign Divisions, and SS: Hell on the Western Front.

David Jordan is a lecturer at the Joint Services Command and Staff College in Wiltshire, where he teaches intermediate and advanced staff courses. He has held posts at the universities of Birmingham, Worcester, and Keele, as well as the Open University. He holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham. Dr. Jordan has written many books and articles on military subjects, including Wolfpack, The U.S. Navy Seals, Battle of the Bulge: The First 24 Hours, and The Fall of Hitler's Third Reich.(less)

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published August 25th 2005 by Barnes & Noble, Inc. (first published 2005)

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Oct 20, 2011 Bonnie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I ordered this book from thriftbooks.com, an excellent source to check for used books, incidentally, since they don't charge shipping. Unfortunately, the details on this book, at least as read by me, weren't quite accurate. I ordered it thinking I was ordering the classic by William Shirer of the same name, minus the illustrated history part. I was disappointed that it wasn't what I thought it would be but figured the pictures at least would be interesting, which they were.

Besides the pictures,...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Laltu Minhaz rated it 5 of 5 stars

I think that this is one of the best book which covers the entire World War II including key battles, operations and strategy. It also features how the Nazis in Europe was defeated. Great book indeed. I would like to thank author for photographs.

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