World War II Winter and Mountain Warfare Tactics
Elite 193
Author: Stephen Bull
Illustrator: Steve Noon
This 64 page paperback book is number 193 in the Elite series of books available from Osprey Publishing.
The twentieth century saw an unprecedented emphasis on fighting in all terrains, seasons and weather conditions. Such conditions made even basic survival difficult as subzero temperatures caused weapons to jam, engines to seize up and soldiers to suffer frostbite, snow blindness and hypothermia. The conditions often favored small groups of mobile, lightly armed soldiers, rather than the armored forces or air power that dominated other combat environments. Some European armies developed small numbers of specialist alpine troops before and during World War I, but these proved to be insufficient as nearly all the major combatants of World War II found themselves fighting for extended periods in extremely hostile cold-weather and/or alpine environments. Drawing upon manuals, memoirs and unit histories and illustrated with period tactical diagrams and specially commissioned full-color artwork, this study sheds new light on the winter-warfare tactics and techniques of the US, British, German, Soviet and Finnish armies of World War II.
The contents of this book are;
- Introduction
- ‘Motti’ Tactics: Finland, 1939-40
- The Western Allies in Norway, 1940
- The Soviet Tactical Response: Combat in Winter (1941)
- Disaster on the Ostfront, 1941-42
- German Ski Training and Tactics, 1942-44
- Techniques Perfected, 1943-45
- Conclusions
- Select Bibliography
- Index
This is an excellent short reference work on the tactics used by these types of troops during World War II. This work would be of particular interest to the historian, figure painter, or diorama builder because of all the colorful plates and period photographs.
