Найджел Томас – лучшие книги

С началом войны Германии против СССР вместе с германскими войсками сражались сильные финские и румынские армии. Рядом шли значительно меньшие по численности и слабо вооруженные воинские контингенты из Венгрии, Италии и Словакии. Когда вооруженные силы Финляндии достигли линии советско-финской границы 1939 г., они отказались от дальнейшего продвижения в глубь территории СССР. Другие национальные контингенты к началу зимы 1941/42 г. были истощены, а венгерские и большинство румынских частей отводились в тыл для перегруппировки.
В книге П.Эббота и Н.Томаса подробно рассматривается организация, структура воинских соединений, участие в военных действиях, форма и знаки различия военнослужащих войск союзников Германии, сражавшихся на советско-германском фронте. Выверенная до мельчайших подробностей информация сопровождается уникальными фотографиями. Цветные иллюстрации подготовлены на основании документов военного времени и дают точное представление о форме одежды военнослужащих войск союзников Германии.
Книга адресована широкому кругу читателей, увлекающихся историей армии и военной формы.

Книги посвящены армиям разных времен и народов, их истории и организации. Особое внимание уделяется униформе, знакам различия и отличия, снаряжению и вооружению. Серию отличают тщательность подготовки, историческая достоверность, объективность подхода к описываемым событиям, широта и новизна привле-каемых архивных материалов. Все книги дополнены уникальными фотографиями и цветными иллюстрациями, точно передающими мельчайшие детали униформы, снаряжения, знаков различия. Серия рассчитана на широкий круг читателей, увлекающихся всемирной военной историей.

22 июня 1941 г. германская армия перешла советскую границу. Началась Великая Отечественная война. Прекрасно обученный и хорошо вооруженный вермахт нанес целую серию поражений Красной Армии, захватив огромную территорию. Однако немцам не удалось взять Москву, а Красная Армия смогла отступить и сохранить боеспособность, что позволило ей контратаковать противника в декабре 1941 г. Чрезмерная осторожность Гитлера не позволила танковым частям продвигаться с той скоростью, какую считало нужной их командование. К тому же, привыкшие к легким победам на Западе, части вермахта оказались совершенно не готовыми к самопожертвованию, с которым сражались солдаты и офицеры Красной Армии, а также к тому, что у промышленности Советского Союза окажется столь огромный потенциал.

Книга Н.Томаса детально рассматривает структуру, военные действия и изменения в обмундировании, произошедшие в частях вермахта на советско-германском фронте с начала войны до Сталинградской битвы - переломного момента войны. Текст сопровождается уникальными фотографиями. Цветные иллюстрации подготовлены на основании документов военного времени и дают точное представление о форме одежды военнослужащих вермахта.

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

В начале 1943 г., после разгрома германской группировки под Сталинградом, ситуация на Восточном фронте кардинально изменилась. Руководство нацистской Германии было вынуждено теперь приспосабливаться к ситуации, изыскивать дополнительные резервы, мобилизовать все силы страны. Все это вызвало изменения и в структуре воинских соединений, и в вооружении, и даже в форме одежды солдат, сражавшихся в СССР. Книга Н.Томаса детально рассматривает изменения, произошедшие в частях сухопутной армии Германии на Восточном фронте после разгрома под Сталинградом и до капитуляции Германии в мае 1945 г. Текст сопровождается уникальными фотографиями. Цветные иллюстрации подготовлены на основании документов военного времени и дают точное представление о форме одежды военнослужащих немецкой армии. Книга адресована широкому кругу читателей, увлекающихся историей армии и военной формы.

Война в Корее занимает особое место в истории локальных войн. В военных действиях, развернувшихся на Корейском полуострове, приняли участие не только армии северного и южного корейских государств, но и солдаты Китая, СССР, США, Великобритании,

Following the death of the Yugoslavian President Tito in 1980, the semi-autonomous republics and provinces that he had welded into a multi-cultural nation in 1945 slid gradually towards separation. For ten years following 1991, the world watched in horror as a series of bloody wars ripped a modern European state apart, and the intolerable spectacle eventually forced international intervention. Illustrated with rare photos and colour uniform plates, this second of two volumes by experts on the Balkan region offers a concise breakdown of the indigenous forces involved in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia.

После падения Франции Гитлер определил для войск на Западе главной задачей защиту укрепленных линий обороны. Он считал, что высадка произойдет в районе Кале или на голландском побережье, и отдал приказ соответственно распределить силы на Западе.

В результате в июне 1944 г. скромному по численности пехотному заслону пришлось оборонять побережье Нормандии от значительно превосходящих его сил противника. Гитлер бросал в мясорубку все новые подкрепления, настойчиво требуя от генералов стоять насмерть. В Италии германским войскам удалось организовать успешное сопротивление, и здесь немцы держались до полного крушения их фронта в Европе в апреле 1945 г.

Книга Н.Томаса детально рассматривает структуру, военные действия и изменения в обмундировании, происшедшие в частях вермахта на Западном фронте в 1943-1945 гг. Текст сопровождается уникальными фотографиями. Цветные иллюстрации подготовлены на основе документов военного времени и дают точное представление о форме одежды военнослужащих вермахта.

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

Immediately following the end of World War I, amid the collapse of the German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires, bitter fighting broke out in the Baltic region as Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania struggled for their independence, and Red and White Russian armies began their civil war. There were also German forces still active in what had been the northern end of Germany's Eastern Front. This book offers a concise but detailed introduction to this whole theatre of war, focusing on the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and relevant German and Russian forces, plus Finnish, Danish and Swedish contingents. For each region there is a detailed map as well as meticulous orders-of-battle and insignia charts. Detailed for the first time in the English language, this fascinating book concisely tells the story of the birth of these Baltic nation states.

Featuring specially commissioned full-color artwork, this engaging study explains and illustrates the armies that fought in the epic struggle for the rebirth of the independent Polish nation, in the bitter aftermath of World War I and the Russian Revolution.

In 1917 Poland was recognized as a state by Russia, but the Bolshevik coup threatened this. The Polish leader Marshal Pilsudski hurried to build an army around Polish World War I veterans, and in 1918 war broke out for Poland's independence, involving the the Poles, the Red and White Russian armies, at least two different Ukrainian forces, and Allied intervention troops. The armies that fought these campaigns were extraordinarily varied in their uniforms and insignia, equipment and weapons, and when peace was signed in 1921, Poland had achieved recognized nationhood for the first time since 1794.

The Baltic nations - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - enjoyed a brief independence between the World Wars before being annexed by the USSR in 1940. The grim experience of Soviet occupation made it inevitable that after the German invasion of Russia in 1941 they would fight beside the Wehrmacht as allies against the Red Army while always hoping for restored independence. That hope was crushed again in 1944-45; yet 'Forest Brother' guerrillas continued to fight against hopeless odds for years after the second Soviet occupation. This extraordinary story is illustrated here with rare photos, insignia charts, tables of units and detailed uniform plates.

In a period of just over two years, from 15 March 1939 to 30 April 1941, ten countries were defeated in campaigns in which Nazi Germany deployed revolutionary techniques of mobile warfare. The breakneck speed of German victories allowed some defeated troops to escape to friendly countries, where their political leaders established governments-in-exile and formed them into military units to continue the struggle. The hard-pressed Western Allies welcomed this well-motivated manpower with open arms. Nigel Thomas investigates the foreign volunteers of the Western Allies in a fascinating text backed by contemporary photographs and eight full page colour plates by Simon McCouaig.

In March 1941, an anti-German coup in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia prompted Hitler to order an invasion using allied Italian, Hungarian, Bulgarian and Romanian forces. Operation Marita was an invasion of Yugoslavia and simultaneously Greece. At the same time, the constituent region of Croatia broke away from Yugoslavia and joined the Axis powers. Royal Yugoslav armed forces, despite advancing against the Italians in Albania were forced to surrender after 11 days' fighting and some 1,000 soldiers, airmen and sailors escaped to British-occupied Egypt to form Free Yugoslav units. From there, guerrilla resistance to the Axis occupiers broke out and continued with increasing strength until the end of the war under Mihailovic's royalist 'Chetniks' and Tito's Communist 'Partisans' (both supported by Britain). However, hostilities between the two movements eventually led to the Chetniks entering into local agreements with Italian occupation forces and Britain switching its support entirely to the Partisans. The advance of the Red Army increased Partisan strength and, during 1944-45, they created what could be described as a lightly equipped conventional army.

Using meticulously-drawn illustrations of different insignia, uniforms and equipment from each faction to bring the conflict alive, this volume describes, in detail, both the political and military implications of the war and how it was fought, setting the scene for the subsequent rise of Tito to power within Yugoslavia.

Due to its partitions and dissolution in the late eighteenth century, hundreds of thousands of Polish soldiers enlisted in distinct units in the armies of many countries - primarily those of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires, but also that of the German Reich and the French Republic.

All these forces were uniformed and equipped by the parent armies, though often with explicitly Polish features. The collapse of Tsarist Russia in 1917 and of the Central Powers in 1918 allowed these diverse forces to unite in a re-created Polish Army under the new-born Second Polish Republic in November 1918. With full colour illustrations of their unique and colourful uniforms as well as contemporary photographs, this is the fascinating story of the Poles who fought on both sides of the trenches in World War I and then united to fight for their freedom in the Russian Civil War.

Given the merciless way in which the war on the Eastern Front of World War II was conducted, it is difficult to imagine soldiers changing allegiance from one side to another. Yet after the German invasion of Russia in Operation Barbarossa, well over 400,000 former Soviet Citizens went on to fight for Nazi Germany in some capacity. These included not only the 'legions' recruited from non-Russian ethnic groups eager for freedom from Stalin's dictatorship, but also some 100,000 Russians and Cossacks. What began as small local security units of 'Ostruppen', enrolled for the ongoing campaigns against Soviet partisans, were later reorganized, given special systems of uniform and insignia, amalgamated into larger formations, and eventually committed to the front line. This book offers up an essential guide to the appearance, formation and equipment of the myriad Russian and Soviet units that fought for the Germans. It uses rare photographs and revealing color illustrations to create a peerless visual reference to the troops who switched from one ruthless superpower to another and met with a horrific fate when the fighting was over.

This title presents a detailed analysis of the Soviet Army at the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945), including the Red Army's campaigns against Japan on the Manchurian plains as well as in Finland. It also covers the Red Army's first operations during Operation Barbarossa when the Red Army was forced to defend Mother Russia against the German onslaught. With a breakdown of all the armed forces including the army, air force, paratroopers, navy and NKVD troops, author Nigel Thomas gives special attention to the evolution of uniforms, equipment and insignia with the introduction of new regulations in 1935 and 1940.

The Royal Hungarian Army was Germany's largest ally on the Eastern Front, but information about the Hungarian Army in English is rare. Deployed in Ukraine at the beginning of the war, the Hungarian Army was involved in a number of brutal encounters with the Red Army, including stubborn resistance in Transylvania in the summer of 1944, and the brave defense of Budapest in the face of overwhelming odds. The Hungarian Army was a varied and colourful force, ranging from mountain troops and tank units to horse cavalry and specialist infantry. All of these are illustrated in full-colour artwork, with full details about the Hungarian Army's own, quite distinct uniforms and insignia as well as many of its own weapons and tanks. This is an essential starter resource for wargamers, modelers, re-enactors and military historians.

Following the death of the Yugoslavian strongman President Tito in 1980, the several semi-autonomous republics and provinces that he had welded into a nation in 1945 moved inexorably towards separation. After a deceptively clean break for independence by Slovenia in 1991, the world watched a series of wars rip through this modern European state. In this first of two volumes, experts on the Balkan region give an unprecedentedly clear, concise explanation of the Slovene, Croatian and Krajina-Serb armies of these campaigns, illustrated with rare photos and colour uniform plates.

On 6 April, the German 2nd and 12th Armies, Italian 2nd and 9th Armies, and the Hungarian 4th, 5th and Mobile Corps invaded Yugoslavia from Italy, Germany, Rumania, Bulgaria and Albania. Few of the Royal Yugoslav Army's 30 divisions actively resisted, and after 11 days the Yugoslav High Command surrendered. In Croatia, a puppet state was installed. Axis forces quickly occupied the principal towns and patrolled the main road and rail links, but in the villages, countryside and mountains a vicious and complex guerrilla war was brewing. This title takes a close look at the German, Italian, Croatian, Serbian, Montenegrin, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Slovenian units that fought for the Axis powers in Yugoslavia.

Featuring rare photos, detailed colour illustrations and insignia tables, this study explores the contribution made by Czech and Slovak troops fighting alongside Allied forces during World War II.

Following the Anglo-French failure at the Munich Conference in March 1938 to prevent a Nazi take-over of Bohemia-Moravia (modern Czech Republic/Czechia), many frustrated Czech and Slovak soldiers sided with Allied forces and fought alongside their armies – first in Poland, then in France, and finally from Britain.

Using depictions of relevant uniforms and equipment plus photos of the troops in action, military uniformology expert Nigel Thomas explains how the Czech Army was organized and how it fought alongside Allied forces in the Middle East and at Normandy. He describes the involvement of free Czech agents operating from Britain in Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of Nazi governor Reinhard Heydrich in occupied Bohemia-Moravia, and the part Czech soldiers played in mutinies in both Italy and Prague against German occupation which ultimately helped to secure a final Allied victory.

Between 1941-45, the Germans recruited around 175,000 men from a number of minorities in the USSR, distinguishing between 'Turkomans' (predominantly Muslims) and 'Caucasians' (predominantly Orthodox Christians). Of these, many formed rear-area auxiliary units, but at least 55,000 were combat troops. The first recruits formed two battalions in the 444th Security Division raised as early as November 1941; during 1942-43 seven legions were formed, each of several battalions, eventually totalling some 53 battalions (equivalent to about 6 full divisions). However, with one exception (162nd Turkoman Division), they were not deployed as whole formations; after training in Poland, individual battalions were posted to fill out German regiments in the front lines, at first in Army Group South but later in all three Army Groups fighting on the Eastern Front. Units were also sent to Yugoslavia, Italy and the Western Front.
This fully illustrated history of the Eastern legions details the organization, battle orders, combat history, uniforms and insignia of these unique units, combining contemporary photographs and full-colour illustrations with expert research from military historian Dr Nigel Thomas.