THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion

Members can post any good resources sites they think would be beneficial, interesting or useful for other members to visit

For example:


http://www.chgww2.net/

For those interested in great old photographs from the Second World War, check out this site:

http://www.ww2incolor.com/

Another interesting resource site for members:



http://www.historyofwaronline.com/WW2...

AR, you're starting to impact my productivity...

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Another interesting resource site for members:



http://www.historyofwaronline.com/WW2..."

Here is another Internet site for those interested in the Second World War:

http://www.secondworldwar.co.uk/

has some book recommendations as well :)

Another site, listing the top 50 best WW2 movies:


http://www.timeout.com/film/features/...

Poety of the Second World War:

http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2nd_WW.html

A list of the top ten weapons of WW2 (this should cause some debate I'm sure):

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-wwii-in...

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "A list of the top ten weapons of WW2 (this should cause some debate I'm sure):

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-wwii-in..."

Well to get this going then AR here's a view:

I'd nominate the Lee Enfield .303 SMLE, Panzerfaust and Browning Automatic Rifle too.

Have to agree with you about the old .303, did sterling service for many years. Also the Panzerfaust was a leap into modern weaponry. What do others think?

Here is another decent WW2 site with lots of information and links for those keen to follow things up:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/...

Here is an interesting link to a site covering numerous aspects of the Battle for Stalingrad including aerial photographs, maps, battlefield relics, etc:

http://www.stalingrad-info.com/

And another Stalingrad web site:

http://www.stalingrad.net/

Here is a great link to an online book:



UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II

The European Theater of Operations

THE ARDENNES: BATTLE OF THE BULGE by Hugh M. Cole


http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwi...

This link offers; "Vivid new Battle of the Bulge photos"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...

Here is a great resource site for those who like lots of information, quotes and timelines covering WW2:


http://www.worldwar-2.net/index.htm

Here is a site offering a guide to WW2 battlefields in Europe:

http://battlefieldsww2.50megs.com/

This site has numerous links to other WW2 sites full of information and other guides, a great teaching & learning tool:

http://www.besthistorysites.net/index...

For those members who love the American B-17:


http://www.aviation-history.com/boein...

Great source for reference books covering all aspects of WW2:


http://www.ospreypublishing.com/

I figured I would mention two books here that I found very useful many years back as reference guides to the German Wehrmacht:

Hitler's Legions
by Samuel W. Mitcham Jr.
Description:
In 1985 Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr. published Hitler's Legions, a book with more than 500 pages devoted to providing brief organizational information, outline unit history, notes about commanders, and list of published sources for every division in the German armed forces during World War II. Although some reviewers and commentators charged that too many errors compromised Hitler's Legions reliability, Mitcham's book nevertheless has for years remained one of the most popular, accessible, and comprehensive English-language sources for information on German divisions.

Hitler's Field Marshals and Their Battles
by Samuel W. Mitcham Jr.
Description:
In 1940, nineteen army and six Luftwaffe field marshals held the highest rank in Germany's military. Their string of victories at the outset of World War II demonstrated to the world their power and ability, and brought much of Europe under the control of Hitler. Yet by the war's last days, only two of these field marshals would still be leading troops in Germany's desperate last battles.

Hitler's Field Marshals and Their Battles documents the rise and fall of the paramount officers of the German war machine. Each chapter examines the life, career, and battles of the Third Reich's leaders on the fields of combat. The portraits comprise a surprising collection of men: Erich von Manstein, hailed as one of the greatest military minds of WWII, intimidated even Hitler with his remarkable ability and ran afoul of Nazi police several times, once for protesting Nazi race laws.

Erwin Rommel, the brilliant 'Desert Fox,' had repeated victories against larger and better-equipped opponents. Walter Model went to the most dangerous flashpoints in Europe to 'troubleshoot' for Hitler's army, until, during his last battle, he deliberately tried to get himself shot. Baron von Weichs was a devout Catholic. The aristocratic Ewald von Kleist was a monarchist. Erwin von Witzleben, for attempting to assassinate Hitler, was hanged by his Fuehrer from a meathook. The descriptions of the other field marshals are no less engrossing.

Members might like to browse through this list of military history books (Military History Roundup, October 15, 2011) from the Library Journal (2 parts):


http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/revi...

http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/201...

Some good books reviewed here so enjoy :)

Here is a pretty interesting site covering WW2 history that some members should enjoy:


http://ww2history.com/

This may interest people. It is the London Daily Telegraph's military obituaries page. Each one of both famous and less well known obituaries tells of bravery and courage and involvement in history making events. It is primarily those of Britain but the Commonwealth, USA and others including Polish, Russian and others feature too:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obitu...

Thanks for posting the link Geevee, very interesting.

Geevee wrote: "This may interest people. It is the London Daily Telegraph's military obituaries page. Each one of both famous and less well known obituaries tells of bravery and courage and involvement in histo..."

Wow, thanks. I saw this obit and wonder, did anyone write this story? What a tale it must have been:

Kazimierz 'Paddy' Szrajer

Kazimierz “Paddy” Szrajer, who has died aged 92, played a key part in a nail-biting behind-the-lines mission to retrieve a captured rocket from the Nazi’s secret V-2 wonder-weapon programme

yes that's an interesting link, many good tales.

Geevee wrote: "This may interest people. It is the London Daily Telegraph's military obituaries page. Each one of both famous and less well known obituaries tells of bravery and courage and involvement in histo..."

For anyone who may have an interest in the USAAF 94th Bomb Group, here is a link. The moderator is VERY helpful in answering questions and passing along resources.
http://www.8thafhs.org/bomber/94bg.htm

The main site gives a history of the 8th AAF and has links to other Bomb Groups and resources as well.

Excellent link Christie, thanks for sharing, I'm sure a few members will be checking it out soon :)

Below is a link that some members might find interesting, it's a thesis presented to the Faculty of the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College.

THE BATTLE OF ASCHAFFENBURG: AN EXAMPLE OF LATE WORLD WAR II URBAN COMBAT IN EUROPE:

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/...

I'm currently reading and the author referenced a really cool website in her footnotes that I thought I would pass along.
www.thirdreichruins.com

There are links to all kinds of pictures during the era of the Third Reich and how the same sites look today.

That's a great site Christie, thanks for posting the details, some great before & after pictures.

Thanks for the site. I really enjoyed the pictures of Nurnberg. I lived just outside there when I was in High School.

www.airmen.dk (by Anders Straarup)

This is quite an impressive homepage about Allied Airmen 1939-45 in Denmark. It has excessive information about planes and airmen, and photos of headstones and monuments with positions.

Another great site, thanks for posting the details Jesper I'm sure quite a few members will check it out.

A great resource for anyone researching the air war over Denmark, thank for posting Jesper!

happy wrote: "Thanks for the site. I really enjoyed the pictures of Nurnberg. I lived just outside there when I was in High School."

You are most welcome Happy! How cool to have lived so close to so many historical sites. Hoping to travel to Germany one day.

Jesper wrote: "www.airmen.dk (by Anders Straarup)

This is quite an impressive homepage about Allied Airmen 1939-45 in Denmark. It has excessive information about planes and airmen, and photos of headstones and..."

Great site! Thanks Jesper:-)

AR, interesting paper, especially the 'power of the will' conclusions. the paper has interesting references to the hammelburg raid, and the Sparks
fellow that has been a subject here lately, at least I assume he's the same Sparks. amazing how hard
the fighting was at times that late in the
war in the West. the motto should be:
"it's never just mopping
up if you're the one doing the mopping!."


'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Below is a link that some members might find interesting, it's a thesis presented to the Faculty of the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College.

THE BATTLE OF ASCHAFFENBURG: AN EXAMPLE OF LA..."

Hi Carl, It is the same Sparks as featured in Alex Kershaw's book; The Liberator. The paper does make interesting reading and your right, towards the end it wasn't just a cake walk towards Berlin.

by Alex Kershaw

Jesper wrote: "www.airmen.dk (by Anders Straarup)

This is quite an impressive homepage about Allied Airmen 1939-45 in Denmark. It has excessive information about planes and airmen, and photos of headstones and..."

Thanks for posting this Jesper, it really is a fabulous site - the guys who have done should be very proud of it.

Geevee wrote: Thanks for posting this Jesper, it really is a fabulous site - the guys who have done should be very proud of it.

And I am happy to share it with all of you. Hopefully it will be of good use

I truly enjoy visiting these two sites on a regular basis. If you have interest in warbirds these are the places to go. Lots and lots of information

'Warbird Information Exchange' ( http://warbirdinformationexchange.org... )

I mostly hang around in 'The Wix Hangar'. Topics like 'PV-2D Harpoon 84062 (Tanker 101) comes back to life' really gets my attention. It's an amazing feat and I am utterly impressed by the tenacity, attention to details and the knowledge of the people who works on projects like this. As well as the time and money invested

Even though I probably never will see any of them 'live' in the air I feel an immense satisfaction just knowing that these rare and precious warbirds gets back to flying condition.

Key Publishing Ltd Aviation Forums ( http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/ )

From the other side of 'The Pond' a similar site offers lots of information too, naturally with more focus on European subjects. The 'Historic Aviation' forum is - not surprisingly, I guess? - where I spend most of my time.

Enjoy

J

Hi Jesper you may have seen these as it's off the Key publishing site: http://forum.keypublishing.com/showth...
but for all our members there are some great photos of aircraft that flew at this year's Flying Legends Show at Duxford in the UK (Duxford was a WWII airfield used by the RAF during the Battle of Britain and by the USAAF later).

Great links Jesper & Geevee, thanks for sharing :)

http://www.tankmuseum.org/home

http://www.ospreypublishing.com/

Good link Adrian, looks like Bovington has changed a lot since I last visited the UK in 1995!

http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

Publishers of fine books.

This site is always good for news on the latest releases, reviews and updates:

http://stonebooks.com/index.shtml

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/
Anybody with an intrest in tanks/panzers then this site is a must.