Second World War Infantry Tactics
The European Theatre
Published on 31. January 2020
224 pages
978-1-78159-810-8 (ISBN)
Description
This wide-ranging military study examines WWII infantry tactics and operations on both sides through the battlefields of Europe. The dirty and dangerous frontlines of World War II belonged to the men who fought in the infantry. Yet the history of infantry tactics is too rarely studied and often misunderstood. Stephen Bull corrects this oversight with an in-depth account of infantry theory and combat experience, covering the British, German, and American Armies in the European theater of operations. Bull's close analysis of the rules of engagement, the tactical manuals, the training, and the equipment is balanced by vivid descriptions of the tactics as they were tested in action. These operational examples show how infantry tactics on all sides developed as the war progressed, and they give a telling insight into the realities of infantry warfare.
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Pen & Sword Military
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Person
Dr Stephen Bull is a museum curator and university external examiner who straddles the divide between the 'serious' and what most of the world actually wants to read. Interested in history from an early age he studied at the University of Wales, and has previously worked at the BBC and National Army Museum in London. Now Curator of Military History and Archaeology for Lancashire County Museums, he has curated a number of exhibitions as well as completing an MBA, and been elected to the Institute for Archaeologists. His work is published on both sides of the Atlantic and translated into a variety of languages. Recently he was listed for the Portico Prize for Literature.
Stephen has made many TV and radio appearances, and at time of writing is working with Definition Media on a new UK TV series. In 2011 he collaborated with Impossible Pictures on 'Last War Heroes', writing the book to accompany this well received Channel 4 production which has been broadcast in the UK, US, and Canada. Having been a lecturer or examiner with several North West universities he is now a consultant to the University of Oxford, where he is assisting in the creation of a European database to document the individual experience of the First World War through archives, photographs, and objects. The photograph shows Stephen (right) with Lorenz Andraes at the German National Library, 'DNB', Frankfurt.
Dr Stephen Bull is currently Curator of Military History and Archaeology for Lancashire Museums. He has previously worked at the National Army Museum, and for the BBC in London. He is the author of more than twenty military and historical titles published in Europe and the US, and he has appeared in the TV series Battlefield Detectives. Among his many publications are An Historical Guide to Arms and Armour, Volunteer! The Lancashire Rifle Volunteers 1859-1885, Brassey's History of Uniforms: World War One British Army, World War I Trench Warfare, Encyclopedia of Military Technology and Innovation, World War II Infantry Tactics, World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics and Commando Tactics: The Second World War.
Stephen has made many TV and radio appearances, and at time of writing is working with Definition Media on a new UK TV series. In 2011 he collaborated with Impossible Pictures on 'Last War Heroes', writing the book to accompany this well received Channel 4 production which has been broadcast in the UK, US, and Canada. Having been a lecturer or examiner with several North West universities he is now a consultant to the University of Oxford, where he is assisting in the creation of a European database to document the individual experience of the First World War through archives, photographs, and objects. The photograph shows Stephen (right) with Lorenz Andraes at the German National Library, 'DNB', Frankfurt.
Dr Stephen Bull is currently Curator of Military History and Archaeology for Lancashire Museums. He has previously worked at the National Army Museum, and for the BBC in London. He is the author of more than twenty military and historical titles published in Europe and the US, and he has appeared in the TV series Battlefield Detectives. Among his many publications are An Historical Guide to Arms and Armour, Volunteer! The Lancashire Rifle Volunteers 1859-1885, Brassey's History of Uniforms: World War One British Army, World War I Trench Warfare, Encyclopedia of Military Technology and Innovation, World War II Infantry Tactics, World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics and Commando Tactics: The Second World War.
Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- Chapter One - The Human Resource
- Chapter Two - The Germans
- Chapter Three - The British
- Chapter Four - The Americans
- Chapter Five - Fighting in Built-up Areas
- Chapter Six - Anti-tank Tactics
- Chapter Seven - Schnelltruppen and Tank Co-operation
- Conclusion
- Appendix 1 - US Rifle Platoon, From the Manual Rifle Battalion, 1940
- Appendix 2 - US Rifle Company, From the Manual Rifle Battalion, 1940
- Appendix 3 - Scale of Ammunition Distribution in German Rifle Companies, From Handbook of the German Army, 1940
- Appendix 4 - British Issue of Battalion Weapons, Vehicles, and Ammunition, From Provisional War Equipment Table for an Infantry Battalion, 1941
- Appendix 5 - British Combat Section, From the Manual Light Machine Gun, 1942
- Appendix 6 - German Infantry Platoon, From The Regimental Officer's Handbook of the German Army, 1943
- Appendix 7 - US Armoured Rifle Platoon, Establishment of September 1943
- Appendix 8 - Organisation of a British Infantry Platoon, From the Manual Infantry Training, March 1944
- Appendix 9 - German Infantry Small-unit Organisations of Late 1944, From Handbook on German Military Forces, March 1945
- Appendix 10 - US Infantry Company, From Tables of Organisation and Equipment, 1944
- Appendix 11 - Specialist US Small-unit Infantry Organisations 1944, From FM-31-50 Attack on a Fortified Position and Combat in Towns, and J Balkowski's Beyond the Beachhead
- Appendix 12 - Establishment of a Volksgrenadier Infantry Company, From Handbook on German Military Forces, March 1945
- Appendix 13 - German Infantry in Action (Minor Tactics), 1941
- Bibliography
- Index
