Stephen Bull

Allied Intelligence Handbook to the German Army 1939-45 (eBook, ePUB)

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

What did the British or American soldier know about the German Army? Was this knowledge accurate - and just how did he know it? There have been several 'handbooks' of Second World War armies, but they never tell us exactly what the Allied soldier knew at the time, or how he was informed. This is of importance because it influenced both conduct on the battlefield, and the way in which the soldier thought about his enemy. The book explains the background history of the organisations involved, followed by short chapters based around a series of original documents. This puts the original into context and also discusses whether the document that follows was correct in the picture it painted, and what can be deduced about sources and the concerns of the intelligence officers who compiled the material. Most of the documents were produced at the time, by the British War Office or US War Department, and cover different aspects of the German Army, including tactics, weapons, and uniforms.

Subjects include: Allied intelligence on the German Army from 1930 onwards, British SIS / MI6 and US Military Intelligence. The organisations responsible, how they worked, and how they changed very rapidly with the coming of war. The role of technology, modern - like the radio transmitter, ancient - as in scouring libraries and periodicals, reports on military manoeuvres and parades. Limitations of 'Ultra' The German army itself, from the tiny force left after Versailles, to the rapid expansion in the late 1930s. Innovation in tanks, tactics, machine guns, rocket weaponry. The problems of gathering intelligence, not just danger, but finance, asking the right questions and the limitations of reporting and distribution.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK
• Seitenzahl: 192
• Erscheinungstermin: 6. April 2017
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781844864294
• Artikelnr.: 47994795

Autorenporträt

Stephen Bull is the author of numerous military history books, including Trench Warfare: Battle Tactics, 20th Century Arms and Armament and An Historical Guide to Arms and Armor. He has worked as the Curator of Military History and Archaeology at the Museum of Lancashire and at the National Army Museum in London.

Inhaltsangabe

1. Periodical Notes on the German Army 1939 onward2. Panzer I 19403. Handbook of the German Army 19404. 'WAR': The German Army, May 19425. Handbook of German Army Identification, 19436. Soldbuch and Wehrpass7. Enemy Weapons, 19438. Company Officer's Handbook of the German Army, March 19449. Handbook of German Military Forces, March 194510. Development of the Panzerfaust 1946