Лучшие книги Гордона Л. Роттмана

Продолжительная и кровопролитная борьба за контроль над оккупированными японцами островами Тихого океана во время Второй мировой войны является одним из самых ярких моментов в истории войн XX в. Для противостояния войскам Союзников японцами на островах были возведены многочисленные укрепления. Это были как крупные бетонные бункеры, так и небольшие малозаметные позиции для одиночных стрелков. В книге Гордона Л. Ротманна подробно рассказывается о всех типах укреплений на тихоокеанских островах, а также о тактических принципах японской обороны.

Эта книга посвящена войне в Персидском заливе (1990-1991), явившейся одной из наиболее серьезных военных операций после Второй мировой войны. Особое внимание уделено структуре и снаряжению войск США и их союзников, способу и эффективности действий коалиции.
Книга адресована широкому кругу читателей, увлекающихся историей армии и военной формы.

In 1965, soon after the first US combat troops had arrived in Vietnam, it was realized that in some areas the Viet Cong had developed vast tunnel complexes in which to hide from the enemy. It was long known that such complexes existed, but it was not realized just how extensive they were in some areas, how important they were to the Viet Cong, and how difficult it was to detect and neutralize them.
Most complexes were not nearly as developed and extensive as the famous tunnels of Cu Chi, but nonetheless they caused difficulties for Free World Forces. Tunnels served as hiding places for soldiers, weapons, ammunition, food, and supplies and negated the purpose of search and destroy missions intended to root out the Viet Cong. Once the Free World Forces had "cleared" the area the Viet Cong emerged from their tunnels and continued their activities.
It did little good to learn how to detect tunnel entrances and air holes and not ferret out the enemy. Someone had to go in and get them. Not only that but the extent of the tunnel complexes needed to be discovered, weapons, munitions, supplies, and documents had to be recovered or destroyed, and the tunnels themselves had to be destroyed or neutralized to prevent their continued use.
At first infantrymen volunteered to enter the tunnels armed with only pistols and flashlights - the "tunnel runners" were born, known to the Australians as "tunnel ferrets."
Starting as an ad hoc force of infantrymen, combat engineers and chemical troops, it was not long before units were "formalized" as "tunnel exploration personnel" and 4-6-man"tunnel exploitation and denial teams" were created. They came to be known simply as "tunnel rats" with the unofficial motto, Non Gratum Anus Rodentum--"Not Worth a Rat's Ass."
This title will be based on the personal accounts of those who served in this unique role, and will describe the specialist training and equipment, not to mention the tactics and combat experiences, of those who fought an underground war against the Viet Cong in Vietnam.

Немецкое снаряжение было относительно легким, прочным, хорошо продуманным, функциональным и обычно хорошего качества, которое, впрочем, снизилось в последние годы войны. Подавляющее количество снаряжения было подогнано под единый стандарт и могло использоваться в разных комбинациях, хотя материалы и цвета зачастую сильно рознились.

В уникальной книге Г.Роттмана содержится подробное описание предметов экипировки солдат сухопутных войск Германии во время Второй мировой войны. Детально описаны малейшие изменения, вносившиеся в различные виды снаряжения на протяжении военных лет. Текст сопровождается уникальными фотографиями. Цветные иллюстрации подготовлены на основании документов военного времени и дают точное представление о предметах экипировки вермахта.

Книга адресована широкому кругу читателей, увлекающихся историей армии и военной формы.

In the early hours of June 6, 1944, the first of over 150,000 Allied soldiers stormed five beaches in Normandy against fierce German resistance. They were specially trained and task-organized in a range of different landing teams depending on their means of transport, their tasks, and the resistance they anticipated. The first assault infantry were accompanied by tankers, combat engineers, and other specialist personnel, to breach German obstacles, knock out defensive positions, and to defend and prepare the beaches for the follow-on waves. On some beaches the plans worked, on others they were disrupted by bad weather, faulty timing, or enemy fire, with consequences that varied from survivable confusion to absolute carnage.

This is an in-depth study of the uniforms, equipment, weapons, passage, landings, and tactics of US, British, and Canadian assault units, during the period from before H-Hour on June 6 to dawn on June 7.

Evolved from the colonial units created by the French, this book discusses the original reorganization of these forces into the first national army. Complete with a detailed history of the command structure and orders of battle, the author also sheds light on the little known divisional histories of the army through rare, original source material. Moreover, the author examines in detail the evolution of such key units as armoured forces, ranger commands as well as combat unit organisation. This together with a detailed analysis of the experiences of the typical rank and file soldier as well as officer corps provides a concise and detailed history of an army that is too often neglected or quickly judged.

In December 1989 US Army forces, supported by the US Air Force and US Navy, participated in Operation 'Just Cause'--the invasion of Panama. A combination of airborne, helicopter and ground assaults quickly secured key objectives and eliminated organized resistance. Beginning with a brief history of US-Panama relations and the development of the Panamanian Defense Forces, this book focuses principally on the military aspects of Operation 'Just Cause', and ends with a summary of the conflict's aftermath. Numerous photographs, and detailed color plates depict the actions of the armed forces units that executed this difficult, and controversial, operation.

While much has been published on the armed forces of the USSR during the 1980s, surprisingly little is available on the forces supplied by the other member nations of the Warsaw Pact. Rivalling the size of the United States Army, the combined ground forces of the six non-Soviet Warsaw Pact countries totalled over 775,000 active troops, with almost two million ground forces reserves. This book examines the history, organization and uniforms of the often overlooked DDR, Czechoslovak, Polish, Bulgarian, Hungarian and Romanian forces at the end of the Cold War.

The bitter six-month struggle for control of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific during World War II matched the US Marine Corps against the Imperial Japanese Army in a campaign that would test both sides to the limit. In this book the realities of prolonged warfare in an unforgiving environment are documented in photographs, specially commissioned artwork, official reports, and first-hand accounts, offering a glimpse of infantry combat in World War II's Pacific Theater.

Spearheading the Allied effort to take and hold Guadalcanal, the US Marine Corps played a key role in the back-and-forth land battles for this vital island, while their adversaries, the garrison troops of the Imperial Japanese Army, strove to counter the Allies' offensive moves. From the initial US landings that took the Japanese by surprise to the savage battles of Tenaru, Edson's Ridge, Henderson Field, and Mount Austen, the campaign tested the infantrymen of both sides to the limit, with tropical diseases, supply problems, hostile terrain, and poor weather all adding to the horrors of close-quarter combat.

During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong were frequently unable to hold their own in stand-up fights against US and allied forces who were superior in strength, firepower, mobility, and logistics. They relied instead on traditional guerrilla warfare tactics including small-scale hit- and-run attacks, ambushes, terrorist actions, and precision attacks against bases. These included one of the oldest of guerrilla weapons - the boobytrap.

Booby traps could be made in large numbers in village workshops and jungle camps using locally available materials as well as modern munitions. The VC were adept at making booby traps ‘invisible' in the varied terrain of Vietnam, often emplacing them in locations and surroundings totally unexpected by their enemies. Booby traps could be incredibly simple or startlingly complex and ingenious, ranging from pointed sticks to command-detonated submerged floating river mines. Besides a wide variety of booby traps, they also used land and water mines, both contact/pressure-detonated and command-detonated. Between January 1965 and June 1970 11 percent of US troop deaths in action and 17 percent of injuries were by caused booby traps and mines.

This fascinating title explores not only the wide variety of booby traps employed by the Viet Cong, but also their various uses in halting, stalling, or locating an enemy, and the many evolutions these traps underwent in order to retain the element of surprise. Written by a Vietnam veteran with first-hand experience of such traps, this is an engaging look at one of the most frightening aspects of guerrilla warfare.