German Logistics 1939-45 [Hardcover]

Though packed with illustrations, this is not just a picture book. It contains ample descriptions regarding how the German system of supply worked, and analysis that is not afraid to raise new points of view. If you are visually oriented, then of course this book is packed with detail into the German equipment, and logistical machinery of war.  Globe at WarThe successes of the Blitzkrieg campaigns of 193941 fostered an image of Germanys unstoppable modern military machine. Yet beneath the surface lay a critical vulnerability: logistics. Postwar narratives often point to overwhelming Soviet manpower, American industrial superiority, or Hitlers erratic leadership as causes of Germanys defeat. While these factors undoubtedly influenced the course of the war, the decisive factor in the Wehrmachts failure was logistical inadequacy.Despite examples of resilienceadvancing so far across the Russian steppe, maintaining industrial output under strategic Allied bombardment, and keeping the railways runningGermanys logistical system collapsed at key moments. In Moscow, troops froze without the winter gear that was stranded in depots. In North Africa, vital supplies failed to reach the front. At Stalingrad, air resupply proved impossible. In Normandy and the Ardennes, rail and fuel shortages proved fatal. Germanys success in the early war years hid the cracks in the system, and short-term wins came at a cost to its future.This fully illustrated volume examines the logistics of the Wehrmachts largely horse-drawn supply system, its successes, and its ultimate failure.Casemate Illustrated Specials offer unparalleled detail into the weapons, equipment, and machinery of war. Detailed, focused text is accompanied by hundreds of photographs, illustrations, and diagrams, providing a wealth of visual information for the historian, modeler, or researcher.Despite the Germans superb battlefield leadership, their technical prowess, their mighty Tigers and Panthers, a failure lsG