ELI168: World War II Street-Fighting Tactics

Author
Stephen Bull

Author
Peter Dennis

About this book
In a continuation of the tactics mini-series, this book analyzes the physical tactics of the close-quarter fighting that took place in ruined cities during World War II. Street-to-street fighting in cities was not a new development, but the bombed-out shells of cities and advances in weaponry meant that World War II took such strategies to a new level of savagery and violence. Packed with eye-witness accounts, tutorials from original training manuals, maps, and full-colour artwork, this is an eye-opening insight into the tactics and experiences of infantry fighting their way through ruined cities in the face of heavy casualty rates and vicious resistance.

Contents

• INTRODUCTION·’BLITZKRIEG’ IN URBAN AREAS: Prewar doctrine: German – British; 1940: anticipating invasion; American responses·THE EASTERN FRONT, 1941–44: The opening rush; Stalingrad: the academy of street fighting; Warsaw: improvisation and terror; Lessons from Warsaw: the German analysis·THE ITALIAN EXPERIENCE: The Canadians in Ortona; British analysis: Fighting in Built Up Areas (1943); Cassino; Air support: Training Manual No.5·THE US ARMY IN NW EUROPE: Doctrine: FM 31-50; The urban environment – squad organization – house-to-house fighting – tank
• infantry co-operation – raiding; Practical experience: 23rd Infantry at Brest – 26th Infantry at Aachen – 410th Infantry at Schillersdorf·GERMANY, 1945: German forces; Allied forces – flamethrowers·CONCLUSIONS·PLATE COMMENTARIES·INDEX

Paperback; September 2008; 64 pages; ISBN: 9781846032912