First published in Great Britain in 2011 by Osprey Publishing, Midland House, West Way, Botley, Oxford, OX2 0PH, UK 44–02 23rd St, Suite 219, Long Island City, NY 11101, USA
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A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library
Print ISBN: 978 1 84908 404 8
e-book ISBN: 978 1 84908 405 5
e-Pub ISBN: 978 1 84908 863 3
Page layout by Ken Vail Graphic Design, Cambridge, UK
Index by Alan Thatcher
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the following individuals for their kind support, without which this book, and my other military history endeavors, might not have been possible: Charles Lemons, curator, and Brandon Wiegand, asst. curator, Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor; Candace Fuller, head librarian, Davis Memorial Library; Joseph Miranda, editor in chief, Strategy & Tactics magazine; Colonel (ret.) Jerry D. Morelock, PhD, editor in chief, Armchair General magazine; Alan Wakefield, curator, Photograph Archive, Imperial War Museum; Jarosław Piotrowski; Alex Vasetsky; Stanislav Zharkov; Mikhail Zharkoy; Igor Serdukov; Mariusz Gajowniczek; John Schaefer; Claude Balmefrezol; and my mom, Carin Higgins. Any errors or omissions in this work were certainly unintended, and for these I alone bear responsibility.
Dedication
To my wife, Diana.
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Author’s note
Army groups, armies, corps, and divisions employ differing numbering conventions in this book. Some examples are: 1st Belorussian Front; Eleventh SS Panzer Army (spelled out); XII Guards Tank Corps (Roman numerals); and 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nederland (Arabic numerals). For better readability German unit names are partially anglicized (e.g. schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 503 is shown as 503rd Heavy SS Panzer Battalion, “Panzer” being retained as it is commonly known to mean “armor”).
Artist’s note
Readers may care to note that the original painting from which the battlescene color plate in this book was prepared is available for private sale. All reproduction copyright whatsoever is retained by the Publishers.
All enquiries should be addressed to:
Peter Dennis, “Fieldhead,” The Park, Mansfield,
Nottinghamshire NG18 2AT
The Publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence upon this matter.
Key to military symbols
Editor’s note
For ease of comparison please refer to the following conversion table:
1 mile = 1.6km
1lb = 0.45kg
1yd = 0.9m
1ft = 0.3m
1in = 2.54cm/25.4mm
1 gallon (US) = 3.8 liters
1 ton (US) = 0.9 tonnes
Glossary
APCBC/HE-T: Armor-Piercing Capped Ballistic Cap/High Explosive – Tracer
HVAP: High Velocity Armor Piercing
APHE-T: Armor-Piercing High Explosive – Tracer
HE: High Explosive
HEAT: High Explosive Antitank