World War II Axis Booby Traps and Sabotage Tactics

Osprey Elite #100

by Gordon L. Rottman, Peter Dennis (Illustrator)

Booby traps laid by troops in war zones in World War II (1939-1945) are largely neglected in histories and memoirs, and rarely examined in detail. Yet for a soldier, the threat of booby traps was hugely significant and the ability to find and disarm them was essential. This is the first comprehensive study of World War II Axis battlefield sabotage equipment, using information from rare wartime intelligence publications covering both Allied and Axis practice to identify, illustrate and describe the vintage munitions used in World War II. Examining all aspects of this secretive subject, from the equipment used to the techniques of placing and uncovering them, this book is an invaluable resource, revealing the daily risks faced by soldiers on the ground through the course of the war.

Genres: World War II

64 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 2009

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

[Sleepy Boy]

While the illustrations were nice its a very dry book, 3/4's of it is devoted to the ETO leaving only a few pages for the PTO. Either way the text itself is just edited reports from the governments findings on these types of weapons. Extremely dry reading.

[Martin Koenigsberg]

Hardly a comprehensive study, this is quick and dirty guide to Axis anti-personnel and anti-vehicular explosives. From the S-Mine to the Tellermine, and all the fun stuff in between. Casual readers may be bored, but military enthusiasts will be enthralled. But this is only a uncorking of the subject- most readers will want to go further. Lots of pictures and diagrams.