Atlas of the Blitzkrieg: 1939–41

Coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, this stunning collection of cartography offers a detailed insight into the German Blitzkrieg that overran Europe in the early years of World War II. In August 1939, Nazi Germany launched its infamous Blitzkrieg invasion of Poland, bringing about the outbreak of World War II. Faced with highly tactical and accelerated attacks aimed at disrupting the line of defense and encircling vulnerable troops, Allied forces broke under pressure. Within the space of a year, France had been invaded and occupied, while the forces of Great Britain had retreated headlong back across the Channel. Further campaigns in the air and at sea sought to subdue the British Isles, while more lightning-fast attacks in 1941 overran Yugoslavia and Greece, leaving the bulk of Continental Europe under Nazi control. Though the dominance of the Blitzkrieg method was to be challenged in the latter part of the war, as Allied forces found methods of disrupting the attacks and dominating the battlefields, its unparalleled success in the early years of the conflict brought Europe to its knees. Featuring 98 detailed maps, this impressive atlas shows, in intricate detail, the fighting and physical challenges faced by the German attackers and Allied defenders. This will be a treasure for World War II enthusiasts and collectors alike.