Berliner Zinnfiguren/Books & Media/Second Hand Books/Castles and fortresses products

Vialard, Dominique/Lisch, Frédéric: Fortifications dans les Alpes du Sud. Band 3: France, Italie 45,00 €

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 07:00:09 +0200

In this third part of "Fortifications dans les Alpes", the book begins by explaining the geostrategic aspects of the Southern Alps region and the difficult movements in the high valleys, as well as the advantages of the narrow, easily barricaded passages. It then describes the complex tactical operations in the mountains around the fortifications and the historical context of the Southern Alps with the territorial shifts between Dauphiné, Savoy, Provence and Piedmont. The second part of volume 3 is devoted to the description of the major fortifications in the central part of the French Alps with three very detailed chapters on the major fortifications of Briançon, Mont-Dauphin and Fort Queyras. The extraordinary history of Chaberton, the highest fort in the world at 3130 metres, built by Italian engineers, is also covered in detail, with the major impact on French fortifications in the Briançon region. Volume 4 presents the French and Italian fortifications between the Ubaye, the Stura Valley, the French valleys, the Roya Valley and as far as Nice. With these four volumes, the extraordinary history of the Alpine fortifications will be complete.

Truttmann, Michel/Gorce, Jean-Robert: La ligne Maginot au combat. Volume 3: De Bitche à la frontière suisse 30,00 €

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 07:00:09 +0200

On 13 June 1940, one month after the breakthrough at Sedan and the fierce fighting in the north, the battle for France was in a very bad way. On the orders of General Weygand, the main troops suddenly abandoned the garrisons of the fortresses and casemates of the Maginot Line to their fate. East of Bitche, a German division broke through the chain of small casemates defending the ridges and valleys in two places. From Lembach to the Rhine, however, the artillery of the large fortifications of Four-à-Chaux, Hochwald and Schoenenbourg in the fortified section of Haguenau prevented any advance. Despite the heavy bombardment to which the large concrete blocks were subjected, they inflicted considerable losses on the attackers. For their part, the CORF casemates held out. After the ceasefire, the guns fell silent at 0:35 on 25 June. At the beginning of July, the intact installations were handed over to the victors and the undefeated crews were taken to prison camps. Further south, Operation Little Bear began on 15 June in Alsace: the crossing of the Rhine by the 7th German Army. From the banks of the river to the Rhine-Rhone Canal, the defenders of three infantry bunkers fought desperately. But the damage and losses are considerable. After fierce fighting, the enemy reached the Rhine-Rhone Canal on the evening of 16 June and was able to begin its advance towards the Vosges. This third volume, which begins in Bitche, relives the battles of the fortress troops as far south as Alsace and also presents some support units (heavy artillery) or auxiliary troops (army medical service) who took part in the fighting on the border in 1939-1940 or protected the installations and transport routes (regional protection regiment). A precise text, original documents redrawn on the computer and nearly 500 photos, most of which are previously unpublished, give this work an exceptional memorial value. This final volume of a trilogy, covering more than 500 families of defenders and some brave attackers, completes the account of the battles for the fortified positions in the north-east.

Corners slightly bumped in places!

Truttmann, Michel/Gorce, Jean-Robert: La ligne Maginot au combat. Volume 2: Du Kerfent au Simserhof 35,00 €

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 07:00:09 +0200

On 13 June 1940, surprised by the breakthrough of the Guderian armoured corps in Champagne, Commander-in-Chief General Weygand ordered the large units and interval troops to abandon the garrisons of the Maginot Line fortifications to their fate in order to avoid encirclement. As the retreat began, the Saarland, a modestly fortified 30-kilometre section with defences in the form of floods, suffered the terrible blow of von Witzleben's army: thus Operation Tiger began at dawn on 14 June. Within a day, the Allied forces inflicted a merciless defeat on the enemy. The enemy, who had suffered very heavy losses and was on the verge of surrendering, continued its endeavours with great difficulty. After the almost complete retreat of the French and Polish units, he managed to break through the next day. Then, a few days before the armistice, he attempted to bring down the small CORF infantry installations on the flanks of the Maginot Line with a bypass movement. Several capitulations followed, but the results remained mixed. For every advance in the sector bombarded by the artillery of the fortifications meant heavy losses. This was the case with the overpowering Simserhof, which brought the Wehrmacht to a standstill in the Rohrbach-Bitche sector. After the armistice was signed, the numerous undefeated garrisons surrendered at the beginning of July and were then taken to prison camps. This second volume, which begins in Kerfent near Saint-Avold, revives the battles of the fortress troops all the way to Bitche. A very precise text, unique original documents redrawn on the computer and more than 500 photos, most of which are previously unpublished, give this work an exceptional memorial value. A work in preparation will later cover the battles of the garrisons of the Northern Vosges and Alsace, while continuing along the Rhine towards Mulhouse.