The Rhineland was where Adolf Hitler laid the groundwork for World War II when he remilitarised it in 1936, breaking the Treaty of Versailles. By late 1944, the Rhine was the last major obstacle to the advancing Allied armies threatening the German Reich itself. In this history of that decisive campaign, respected military historian Anthony Tucker-Jones describes the race against time as the Germans fought to avert the inevitable. It was essential for the Germans to hold the west bank to protect the Rhine crossings at Cologne, Bonn, Koblenz and Remagen, but Hitler was determined to launch a counterattack in the Ardennes in the winter of 1944, leaving few forces available to reinforce the Rhine defences. Rhineland traces the course of this desperate defence, describes the build-up of forces and operational plans, and then tells the story of the campaign from the perspective of the forces involved, from the ordinary German soldier to the high command.
Group
Books (first-hand)
Author
Tucker-Jones, Anthony
Title
Rhineland
Details
English text, 16 pages with bw-photos, maps. 288 pages.
