Dewey Decimal940.542178
Table Of ContentINTRODUCTION DOCTRINE AND ORGANIZATION - Wehrmacht - Axis allies - Other Axis allies - The Red Army - Red Army allies TECHNICAL FACTORS - Wehrmacht - Red Army THE CAMPAIGN - Operation Bagration - The Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive - The Iasi-Chisinau Offensive BATTLE ANALYSIS FURTHER READING INDEX
SynopsisOperation Bagration, the 1944 summer campaign on the Eastern Front, was the biggest defeat of German armed forces in World War II. Forced to make hard decisions with the invasion of France expected, German tank forces in the central Belarus sector were weak compared to the heavy concentration in northern Ukraine. The Soviets exploited this vulnerability, annihilating Army Group Center, and in five weeks the Red Army was at the gates of Warsaw. After the Kursk battles of 1943, the Red Army had embarked on a major tank modernization, and as a result, Operation Bagration saw the first widespread use of T-34-85 and IS-2 tanks as well as self-propelled guns. Germany's Panther tank finally reached technical maturity, but small numbers limited its impact, while other innovations such as the Tiger II failed to leave their mark. Using previously unpublished photos and superb new color illustrations, this book describes how the tanks and AFVs on both sides contributed to the complete destruction of 17 Wehrmacht divisions that summer, and the shattering of over 50 more., A new study of tank warfare used in the Soviet offensive of Operation Bagration , which destroyed Army Group Center., A new study of tank warfare used in the Soviet offensive of Operation Bagration , which destroyed Army Group Center. Operation Bagration , the 1944 summer campaign on the Russian Front, has been called "Hitler's Greatest Defeat." The operation involved substantial tank and armored vehicles on both sides but the German forces were severely hampered by the transfer of dozens of Panzer divisions to France to repel an expected Allied invasion. Forced to make hard decisions, German tank forces in the central Belarus sector were weak compared to the heavy concentration of Panzers in northern Ukraine. The Red Army exploited this vulnerability, crushing Army Group Center, and pushing beyond the Soviet frontier into Poland and East Prussia. With this crucial victory secured, the Red Army conducted successive offensives beyond the Carpathian Mountains, arriving at the Vistula river in Poland, and forcing Romania to switch sides. The Red Army had embarked on a major tank modernization after the Kursk battles of 1943 and as a result, Operation Bagration saw the first widespread use of T-34-85 and IS-2 tanks as well as self-propelled guns. Germany's Panther tank finally reached technical maturity in the summer of 1944 but small numbers weakened its battlefield impact, while other innovations such as the Tiger II heavy tank failed to leave their mark. Using new photos and a fascinating selection of color illustrations explaining the camouflage and markings of these tanks, this book describes how the tanks and AFVs on both sides contributed to the eventual defeat of Army Group Center.
LC Classification NumberD764.3