World War II Infantry Fire Support Tactics

Osprey Elite #214

by Gordon L. Rottman, Peter Dennis (Illustrator)

World War II infantrymen depended greatly, both in the attack and in defense, on the supporting fire of the machine guns, mortars, light guns, and antitank weapons from other members of their unit. However, this aspect of combat is often simply taken for granted in memoirs and other accounts, neglecting these elements of an army's arsenal. This books set the record straight and gives these vitally important soldiers their due.....this is a detailed study of the supporting fire elements of the US, British, Soviet, and German armies, covering their Add to dictionary and techniques in battle, typical effects and how they evolved throughout the war years.

Genres: Military History, Military Fiction, World War II, Nonfiction

64 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2016

About the author

Gordon L. Rottman served for 26 years in the US Army in Special Forces, airborne infantry, long-range reconnaissance patrol, and military intelligence assignments in the Regular Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve. He has worked as a Special Operations Forces scenario writer for 14 years at the Army's Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, Louisiana where he developed training exercises for Special Forces.
Gordon began writing military history books in 1984 and is currently a full-time author. He has written 50 books for Osprey. He is married with four children and lives in Cypress, Texas.

Reviews

[Checkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever read a WWII (or any other modern war) memoir you'll often notice that the author talks about artillery, tank and air support without actually discussing what is involved. Fire support is needed and it's there........most of the time. Regardless it's rare for the details of fire support to be discussed. Even the books written by those who were pilots, tankers and artillerymen are usually deficient in providing detailed accounts of how they operated, how they were directed and exactly what they used and how effective the weapons were. It seems that Osprey Books has taken up this gauntlet and has now published dozens of books looking at very specific aspects of the ground war in World War II. Like all of the Osprey books there are numerous illustrations, maps and photographs and concise easy to read text accompanying them.

[Steve Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having served in the infantry I bring a prejudice to this review. I honestly can't say what a novice would think of it, but I found it a fascinating look at the evolution of fire support weaponry and tactics.

The book was limited in scope, however. The Pacific theater was ignored, and the combatants limited to the Russians, British, and U.S. Forces that fought in the European theater.

[Phil Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid and workman-like, although flawed by a weaker knowledge of the British Army. A great introduction to the subject.