Victory 1945: Western Allied Troops in Northwest Europe (Elite)

It was just eleven months between the D-Day landings in Normandy, June 6 1944, and the end of the Second World War in Europe in May 1945. For the U.S., British, Canadian, Polish and Free French forces, it must have seemed like a lifetime. This Osprey Elite Series book, "Victory 1945", provides a concise but well-written review of those forces, touching organization, equipment, tactics and uniforms, along with some lessons learned.Gordon Rottman is the author, with contributions from Martin Windrow and some excellent illustrations by Peter Dennis. Rottman takes the narrative right down to the infantrymen who are the center of the story. In fact, the connecting thread of the narrative is the terrible attrition of Allied infantry in the last year of the war, and the efforts by the Allies to keep them alive and properly equipped. The U.S. Army gets the biggest chunk of the book, as by this stage of the war, it was providing most of the troops and much of the equipment. The discussion of tactics and equipment is wide-ranging, frank, and unsparing of some of the mistakes. The brief discussion of infantry replacements is heartbreaking.The book includes a nice summary of Allied order of battle as of May 1945. The narrative is very well supported by a terrific selection of period photographs and modern illustrations, particularly of uniform details. Oddly, there are no maps. For its brief length (less than 65 pages), this is an excellent introduction to the topic, of interest to the general reader and the student of the conflict. Highly recommended.

When I first heard of this book I was a little curious about what it would cover. Osprey already publishes many books about the uniforms, organization and tactics of the Allied armies in WWII, in their Elite, Man-at-Arms, Warrior and Battle Orders series. What would be new here? Would this just be a rehash of existing material?The answer is, frankly, there isn't much new or unique here. If you already have an extensive library of those other Osprey books, there isn't much new here outside of the photos and illustrations. (Which are excellent by the way, and a compelling enough reason to get this book.) Rather, I see this book as a great one-stop shop. It has concise summaries of the organization, tactics, uniforms, equipment and operations summaries of the US, Briitsh, Free French and Canadian forces. If you want to learn more, you can go to the more focused books. If you don't want to buy 20-30 more detailed Osprey books, this is an excellent single volume to have. Rottman as always does a great job distilling huge amounts of material concisely, the color illustrations are very nice, and the photos mostly new to me.Well worth buying. If you are looking for a single title on the Allied forces in Europe, this is it. If you already have an extensive library on the topic, this is a nice summary, and who can resist another Osprey book?

Good overview of the last few months of the war showing Western Allied uniforms,weapons, and organization. Simple and straightforward Men At Arms book.

I have many of Gordon Rottman's books and Osprey books in my collection, I have found them all intresting and great reads. This one takes a slight turn. It talks about the end of WW2 but focus on the Allied Armies and there equipment, manpower and operations. Not about battles. I enjoy it a lot but if you know nothing about WW2 this is not a book for you.

Excellent book! Well researched information about the equipment of the allied troops. Uniforms, weapons, vehicles, are all covered. What was used, what was authorized and when were changes made. The pictures help. Perhaps the 2nd or 3rd time through I can absorb enough detail. This is not a 1 read book!

Excellent from beginning to end!

solid , but not heavily detailed ... the photos and color plates are nice and the information though on the light side gives you a good read on the organization and operations of the western armies in the final months of the war in europe.

Given the breadth of the subject this could only ever skim the surface but it does that well. It covers the organisation and tactics of the four main Allied forces which brought about the defeat of Nazi Germany in the West and provides many interesting facts and figures about each Army. It is not a detailed history of the campaigns but does give the reader a good understanding of how each Army fought and their strengths and weaknesses. It is difficult to come up with new aspects of uniforms and equipment when other Osprey titles have already covered them in depth but the authors have found new slants on the figures they illustrate. I think this book is a valuable addition to the subject.

I enjoyed this book, and learnt a lot of new information. I especially thought the author did a good job of conveying the appallingly high casualty rates among the infantry, and the constant changes in personnel infantry platoons suffered as a result of this. It was definitely food for thought.

excellent

GOOD ALL RIUND COVERAGE, TYPICAL OSPREY

Bei der ganzen Masse an Osprey-Veröffentlichungen gibt es immer Hefte, die entweder schlecht sind, oder sinnlos oder gut. Das Heft über die alliierten Truppen in Nordwesteuropa 1945 ist so ein Zwischending.Themen werden behandlet, die schon in anderen Heften durchgekaut wurden, hier konzentriert sich das Thema auf die Briten, Amis, Polenund Franzosen 1945, vom Reichswald/Rhein bis zur Kapitukaipn im Ami 1945. Und da liegt für mich der Hund begraben: Das Heft titelt sich "Voctory 1945". Okay, es wird die Gliederung der Westalliierten mit Stand Mai 1945 gezeigt, das ist super. Auch werden die Änderungen in Strategien udn der Ausrüstung/Bewaffnung beschrieben, aber dem Titel gemäß hätte ich mehr Informationen tatsächlich zu letzten Kriegstagen erwartet. Die harten Kämpfe der Briten an der Aller und Weser, die der Amis im Harz und gegen die diversen letzten schlagkräftigen Kampfgruppen (z.B. der Wiking bei Hannover etc) kommen nicht vor. Dafür werden die Wafen und ihr Einsatz beschrieben, findet man aber auch in mehreren anderen Heften.Das Heft ist dabei ganz okay, wer nichts dazu hat sollte es sich ruhig mal ansehen. Leider sind die Zeichnugen nicht auf dem Stand der Zeit, da sind wir von Osprey sehr viel Besseres gewohnt. Einige Ansätze sind sehr gut, wie die normale Marschfolge einer britischen Panzerkompanie, der üblichen Verteilung der "Tank Riders" auf den Panzern, aber sonst ist es nicht Fisch und nicht Fleisch.Für mich eher unbefriedigend, aber ich bin mir sicher, dass es viele gibt, die die Informstionen nicht kennen, die ich halt schon im Regal habe.