Infantry Aces

Combat stories of eight German infantry soldiers: one paratrooper, two members of the Waffen-SS, and five members of the Wehrmacht. A concluding chapter examines infantry tactics.

With speed, violence, and deadly power, heavily armored tanks spearheaded the German blitzkrieg that stormed across Europe in 1939. Tracks rattling and engines roaring, these lethal machines engaged in some of the fiercest fighting of World War II, from the beaches of Normandy and the Ardennes Forest to the snow-encrusted Eastern Front. In this reprint of the hugely popular book, prolific author Franz Kurowski tells the gritty, action-packed stories of six of the most daring and successful officers ever to command Panzers, including Michael Wittmann, Hans Bolter, Hermann Bix, and others. Timelines mark the milestones of each officer's career.

- Combat stories of eight German infantry soldiers: one paratrooper, two members of the Waffen-SS, and five members of the Wehrmacht - A concluding chapter examines infantry tactics This is an authentic account of German infantry aces, common foot soldiers who were thrust into a blazing maelstrom of bloody horror the world had never seen. On the frozen Russian steppes, under the scorching African desert sun, and in the final desperate battles, they were outnumbered and outgunned and faced impossible odds. Here are the fascinating stories of the men who stared death in the face during some of the most brutal battles ever waged.

ACES IN COMBATThe American Aces Speak: Volume VEric HammelAdding to the acclaimed first four volumes of his exciting, in-the-cockpit series, The American Aces Speak, leading combat historian Eric Hammel comes through with yet another engrossing collection of first-person accounts by American fighter aces serving in World War II and the Korean War. Aces In Combat is a highly charged excursion into life and death in the air, told by men who excelled at piston-engine and jet-engine aerial combat and lived to tell about it. It is an emotional rendering of what brave airmen felt and how they fought in the now-dim days of America's living national history. View the Battle of Midway through Lieutenant Jim Gray's eyes as he must balance the needs of fellow pilots against the needs of his nation. Share the fear with Captain Charlie Sullivan as would-be rescuers deep in the New Guinea jungle attempt to turn him into a blood sacrifice. Crew a Canadian Mosquito night fighter as Lieutenant Lou Luma stalks the wily Hun-and bags an ace-over an airfield deep in Germany. Share Lieutenant Bud Fortier's and Major George Loving's grief when, on missions nearly eight years apart, they look on helplessly as trusted wingmen dive to their deaths in treacherous ground-attack runs. And watch anxiously as Captain Tom Maloney hovers between life and death for ten lonely days after stepping on a mine on an enemy-held beach. These are America's eagles, and the stories they tell are their own, in their very own words.

World War II air war companion to Panzer Aces and Panzer Aces II. In-the-cockpit accounts of aerial dogfights by some of Germany's deadliest pilots ever to take to the skies.

ACES AGAINST GERMANY The American Aces Speak Volume II Eric Hammel In the second volume of his critically acclaimed series, The American Aces Speak, noted military historian Eric Hammel brings fresh first-person accounts from thirty-nine U.S. Army Air Corps fighter aces who blasted their way across the skies of North Africa, the Mediterranean, and northern and southern Europe in the great crusade against Hitler’s vaunted Luftwaffe and the other Axis air forces. Coupled with a clear, concise historical overview of America’s brilliant air war against the Axis in Europe and North Africa, Hammel’s detailed interviews bring out the most thrilling in-the-cockpit experiences of some of our country’s best pilots. Climb aboard a P-38 Lightning as Maj. Bill Leverette fights America’s highest-scoring single personal air battle against the Luftwaffe. And get into the cockpit of a P-47 Thunderbolt as 15-victory ace Capt. Don Bryan scores his dream kill by outwitting the pilot of a far speedier German jet in the closing days of the war in Europe. As he did in four companion volumes, Hammel has collected some of the very best air-combat tales from America’s war against Germany. Nearly all the stories in Aces Against Germany have never before been told, and the others have been enhanced by details and viewpoints brought out by Hammel’s superb interviewing Together, the five volumes of nearly 200 first-person aerial-combat stories from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam stand as an enduring testament to the combat airmen who fought their wars strapped into the cockpits of America’s lethal high-performance fighter aircraft. Aces Against Germany is a highly charged emotional rendering of the now-dim days of personal combat at the very edge of our living national history. There was never a war like it, and there never will be again. These are the stories of America’s eagles in their very own words. Critical Acclaim for The American Aces Speak Series The Book World says: “Aces Against Japan" is a thunderous, personal, high-adventure book giving our ‘men in the sky’ their own voice.” Book Page says: “Eric Hammel’s book is recommended reading. It is a must for any historian’s bookshelf.” The Library Journal says: “No PR hype or dry-as-dust prose here. Hammel allows his flyers to tell their stories in their own way. Exciting stuff aviation and World War II buffs will love.” The Providence Sunday Journal says: “A treat that deftly blends a chronology of the Pacific War with tales that would rival a Saturday action matinee.” Infantry Magazine says: “If you would like to read one book that will give you a broad overview and yet a detailed look at what a fighter pilot’s air war was like this is the book.” The Bookshelf says: “Hammel is one of our best military historians when it comes to presenting that often complex subject to the general public. He has demonstrated this facility in a number of fine books before [Aces Against Germany] and now he does so again. Not to be missed by either buff or scholar.”