The Rhine Crossings 1945

Description

'The last great heave of war,' according to Churchill, took place with the crossing of the Rhine in 1945. No invading army had crossed this great river since Napoleon's in 1805 and the task fell to Field Marshal Montgomery's 21st Army Group. Opposing them were the forces of a failing fascist regime, including battalions of old men and boys, strengthened by several formations of crack troops including paratroopers and Panzer Grenadiers. With an elaborate description of the combined Allied attack, second in magnitude only to the Normandy invasion, this book charts the history of the last great set-piece battle of the war that ultimately brought the defeat of Hitler's Nazi regime one step closer.

Ken Ford was born in Hampshire in 1943. He trained as an engineer and spent almost thirty years in the telecommunications industry before a change in career led him to become a full time military historian. He is the author of over twenty books on various aspects of World War II. Ken now lives in Southampton. Howard Gerrard studied at the Wallasey School of Art and has been a freelance designer and illustrator for over 20 years. He has worked for a number of publishers and is an associate member of the Guild of Aviation Artists. He has won both the Society of British Aerospace Companies Award and the Wilkinson Sword Trophy and has illustrated a number of books for Osprey including Campaign 69: Nagashino 1575 and Campaign 72: Jutland 1916. Howard lives and works in Kent.

"The history of these last battle strongholds comes to life in a survey filled with black and white vintage photos and detailed discussions of crossing tactics and logic." --The Bookwatch Midwest Book Review "...superbly illustrated by Howard Gerrard and period photographs, making for a most well rounded book on the subject. Not all that much has been written about the Rhine crossings, but it was a fascinating and well executed campaign that let to the end of WW2 in Europe. A superb read and one that I do recommend to you." --Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (January 2008)