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Blitzkrieg in the West (Paperback)

Military Photographic Books WWII > Battles & Campaigns > Dunkirk WWII > Photographic Books

By Ian Baxter
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Series: Images of War
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781848843127
Published: 6th April 2010

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This superbly illustrated book captures the dramatic action of May and June 1940. The speed and ferocity of the German onslaught took the Allies by surprise as Hitler's land and air forces annihilated the inferior opposition. After 9 months stalemate the collapse was cataclysmic and Holland and Belgium quickly fell leaving the British and French forces outflanked and outfought. Panic set in and huge numbers of civilian refugees clogged the roads making the Allies' withdrawal even more precarious. The miracle of Dunkirk saved vast numbers of British and French forces but could not prevent the surrender of France, leaving Britain to fight on virtually alone.

The splendid photographs in this Images of War series book tell the story of this extraordinary period of history. They include previously unseen images of Rommel's Ghost Division.

Ian Baxter is a prolific author and collector of wartime images. He has published an impressive number of Images of War books. He lives in Essex.

Part of the Images of War series of books, Blitzkrieg in the West uses a very broad range of large, clear and rare photographs, each accompanied by detailed notes to describe the German offensive of May 1940.

Pegasus Archive

This book looks at the German blitzkrieg in the west, the military campaign that in under two months changed the nature of the Second World War, ending any chance that it would be a rerun of the Great War by breaking the deadlock on the Western Front.

The around 200 pictures cover the entire period from the days immediately before the german invasion of the west to the final victory parade in Paris. Many pieces of kit are carefully identified, from exact models of half-tracks to items of personal equipment.

The pictures are supported by a brief narrative account of the campaign, the text of which is kept well clear of the captions. It must be said that the text feels a little odd - Baxter has chosen to echo the triumphalist tone of contemporary German accounts of the fighting, reporting German triumphs and successes rather than Allied defeats and disasters. This an unusual approach, but it actually works rather well here, giving a more accurate impression of what must have been the mood amongst the men shown in the pictures.

The pictures cover a wide range of subjects, with something of an emphasis on the German soldiers, although military hardware is also well covered (excluding aircraft, which rarely feature). Destroyed bridges and German pontoon bridges feature in some numbers, as do French prisoners of war.

This book contains a well chosen selection of high quality pictures that show the German side of a conflict more often seen from the British and French point of view.

History of War Website, August 2010

About Ian Baxter

Ian Baxter is a much-published author and photographic collector whose books draw an increasing following. Among his many previous titles in the Images of War Series are Hitler’s Boy Soldiers, Nazi Concentration Camp Commandants, The Ghettos of Nazi Occupied Poland, German Army on the Eastern Front – The Advance, German Army on the Eastern Front – The Retreat, The Crushing of Army Group (North) and the SS Waffen Division series including SS Leibstandarte Division, SS Totenkopf Division At War, Waffen SS of the Baltic States, Waffen SS at Arnhem and Waffen SS in the Ardennes. He lives near Chelmsford, Essex.

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Blitzkrieg Poland (Paperback)

These photographs are taken from three unpublished albums featuring the German invasion of Poland in 1939. One set was taken by an SS officer, another by a regular officer and a third by a soldier attached to a medical unit. Included are German units on the move, tanks, artillery and aircraft. There are several shots of recently knocked out Polish vehicles, captured Polish troops and civilians. The shots reflect the rapid pace of the German advance through Poland, some of the cities, towns and villages show signs of heavy fighting, whilst others appear to be untouched. One of the sets show a German…

By Diane Canwell, Jonathan Sutherland

Click here to buy both titles for £22.99
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