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Germany's campaigns in Poland, Norway, the Low Countries, France, and North Africa from 1939 to 1942 ushered in a new era of warfare during which the practice of Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) was employed with devastating effect. This authoritative text is complemented by full-color maps explaining the movement of German forces, and color artwork depicting Wehrmacht uniforms and the armored fighting vehicles, aircraft, and naval vessels which took part in the campaign. In addition, specification tables accompany all drawings of the hardware. Sidebars offer insight on the famous commanders who directed the campaigns-Rommel, Rundstedt and Student, for example-while detailed appendices contain essential information on orders of battle, German losses, and equipment.
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GERMANY'S LIGHTNING WAR THE CAMPAIGNS OF WORLD WAR 11 NY'S LIGHTNING AR GER Adrian Gilbert ~ DTpublishing 1V UICompany This edition first published in 2000 by MBI Publishing Company, 729 Prospect Avenue, PO Box 1, Osceola, WI 54020-0001 USA Copyright © Amber Books Ltd 2000 All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the Publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the author or publisher, who also disclaim any liability incurred in connection with the use of this data or specific details. We recognize that some words, model names and designations, for example, mentioned herein are the property of the trademark holder. We use them for identification purposes only. This is not an official publication. MBI Publishing Company books are also available at discounts in bulk quantity for industrial or sales-promotional use. For details write to Special Sales Manager at Motorbooks International Wholesalers & Distributors, 729 Prospect Avenue, PO Box 1, Osceola,WI 54020-0001 USA. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available. ISBN 0-7603-0845-4 Editorial and design: Amber Books Ltd Bradley's Close, 74-77 White Lion Street, London Ni 9PF Editor: Stuart MacReady Design: Stylus Design, www.stylus-design.com Picture credits The Robert Hunt Library: 11, 14, 15 (b), 30, 32-33, 48, 49 (t), 51, 59, 65, 68, 72, 79, 84, 90, 91 (b), 92-93, 98,100,101,102-103,108,136 (t), 144, 145, 146 (both), 179, 180, 182 (both), 185 (r), 186, 187 (t), 199 (t), 206, 212-213, 214, 231. TRH Pictures: 6, 8, 9,12,13,15 (t), 16, 17, 18, 19,20,21 (both), 22 (IWM) , 24, 25, 27, 28-29, 32 (t), 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 49 (b), 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 64-65,66,69,70,71 (IWM), 73, 75, 76-77, 78, 80, 81, 82-83, 86, 89 (b), 89 (t) (IWM), 94, 95, 97,105,106,106-107,110 (IWM), 112, 113, 114, 115 (IWM), 116 (IWM), 118, 119, 120,121 (t), 122, 123 (IWM), 124, 125, 126, 127 (IWM), 128, 128-129 (IWM), 130, 131 (IWM), 132 (both), 133 (IWM), 134 (IWM), 135, 136-137, 138, 139, 140, 142, 143 (t), 143 (b) (IWM), 147, 148 (both), 149 (both), 150, 151 (t) (IWM), 151 (b), 152, 154 (US National Archives), 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 165 (IWM), 166,167,168, 170-171,171 (b), 172 (t), 173, 175 (IWM), 176 (IWM), 177 (IWM), 183, 184-185, 187 (b), 188, 189, 190 (both), 191, 192, 193, 194 (both), 195, 196, 197, 198 (IWM), 199 (b) (IWM), 201, 202 (t), 202 (b) (IWM), 203 (IWM), 204, 207 (IWM), 209, 210 (t), 211 (IWM), 213, 215 (mr), 216, 217, 218 (IWM) , 219, 221, 222, 223, 224 (IWM), 225, 226 (b), 227,228,229 (IWM), 230, 232, 232-233, 234 (IWM), 236 (both), 237, 238 (IWM) , 239 (t) (IWM) , 240 (IWM), 241 (b), 242-243, 243, 244 (IWM), 245 (t), 246 (b) (IWM) , 247 (IWM), 248, 249 (both), 250 (IWM). Artwork credits Aerospace Publishing: 31, 34, 38, 91, 96, 102, 121 (b), 169, 17