Bøker av Gordon L. Rottman

Following Churchill's directive to 'set occupied Europe ablaze', the SOE and later its American sister organization, the OSS, were deployed across the continent. This book examines different pieces of sabotage equipment and the technicalities involved in deploying them effectively, offering an insight into the secret war behind enemy lines.

The RPG-series of weapons is the most widely used family of lightweight antitank weapons in the world. RPGs have been used not only against their intended targets, but against personnel, fortifications, buildings, soft-skin vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft. This title provides an analysis this important weapon.

The Browning 50-cal has become the longest serving weapon in the US inventory. The fifty has been employed in every imaginable role for a machine gun. It is considered such an effective and reliable weapon that few countries ever attempted to develop an equivalent weapon. This title presents a history of the development of this famous weapon.

Commonly mistaken for the locally raised Viet Cong, the NVA was an entirely different force, conducting large-scale operations in a conventional war. Covering the evolution of the forces from 1958 onwards, this book looks at the civilian and military lives of the soldiers.

Osprey's survey of the Long-Range Patrol Scouts of the US Army during the Vietnam War (1955-1975). The Vietnamese knew the Long-Range Patrol Scouts as "the men with green faces," a reference to the camouflage paint that they used. Operating in patrols of four to six men these men were like ghosts, operating well behind enemy lines and fighting in the shadows. In the rough, inhospitable jungle war these Scouts became invaluable assets. They did not engage the enemy, rather they became the Free World's eyes on the ground, spying out enemy positions and movements before calling in strikes to eliminate them. This book examines the Long-Range Patrol Scout's superior stealth movement techniques, camouflage and concealment, tracking, counter-tracking, observation, and other fieldcraft skills. It also examines the occasions they participated in small scale direct actions including ambushes and small scale raids. Written by a Special Forces' Veteran who fought in Vietnam, and packed with rare photographs and full-color artwork this book not only provides an insight into the remarkable lives of these scouts when on campaign, but also details the training and conditioning that it took to become a shadow warrior.

The Landing Craft, Infantry was a large beaching craft intended to deliver an infantry company to a hostile shore, once the beachhead was secured. The LCI and its vehicle-delivery counterpart, the Landing Ship, Medium were widely used by the allies during World War II. Later, the hulls of these ships were used as the basis for a fire support ship.

Tells the story of the rise of the US mechanised infantryman, focusing on his recruitment, training, lifestyle and combat experiences in Iraq.

The helicopter changed war forever. This book examines the range of duties helicopter pilots carried out in Vietnam, from air-lift, med-evac and fire-support to landing in high volume crossfires in 'Hot LZs'.

With its first major use in battle during the Vietnam War, the helicopter ushered in a radically different way of fighting. This book presents the history of the first ever major use of helicopters in battle. It describes the development of the critical airmobile tactics that ultimately changed the way America fights its battles.

Osprey's study of Soviet riflemen during the portion of World War II from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945, known as the Great Patriotic War. In the first four months of the war the The Red Army did not refer to its ground combat troops as "infantry" but as "rifle troops" (streltsi), dating back to the Czarist era when rifle units were considered more elite than rank-and-file infantry (pyekhoty). The Soviet rifleman initially suffered defeats and retreat during the early desperate days of the Great Patriotic War, then rallied to conduct a stubborn defense in the brutal winter of 1941/42, and eventually turned the tables at the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk. This title provides a view of the Soviet rifleman in defeat and victory, on the defensive and in attack, and in the heat of the summer and the frozen brutality of the Russian Winter. Their political beliefs, motivation, training, everyday life, weaponry and equipment are examined, accompanied by rare photographs and full color artwork.

The US airborne units serving in the Pacific Theater during World War II are considered to be among the best-trained and effective forces in the war. Deployed in fewer numbers than was the case across Europe, parachute units such as the famed 11th Airborne Division and the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment operated in harsh terrain, over long distances against a determined enemy in the most extreme situations. These parachute regiments were involved in some of the most significant combat situations in the Pacific, recapturing Corregidor Island, invading the Aleutians and the first troops to arrive in Japan before its surrender. Using detailed maps, an array of photographs and color artwork and organizational tables, Gordon Rottman describes the internal organization, unique weaponry and equipment, training and combat operations of these elite units, highlighting unusual aspects of their service record and the difficulties of dropping onto tiny islands surrounded by freezing seas, completing the Battle Orders examination of the organization and operational deployment of all the US airborne units that fought in the war.

From June 1941, the Soviets were forced to undertake large-scale defensive operations in the face of the overwhelming German blitzkrieg assault, operations which ran counter to their preference for highly mobile, offensive warfare. This book provides an insight into the Russian defensive attempts against the overwhelming might of the German Army.

The Viet Cong was the military arm of the National Liberation Front, the Communist Party of the Republic of Vietnam. Using rare photographs and artwork to paint the portraits of the determined guerrilla warriors, this title discusses their training and motivation, political and psychological indoctrination, and the reality of combat experience.

In 1965 the military situation in the Mekong River Delta of southern Vietnam had deteriorated to such a degree that the decision was made to commit a joint US Army and Navy Mobile Riverine Force to the area. This force was unique in its composition, mission, and the means by which it operated - riverine craft. This book explores those crafts.

Little has been published on US armored infantry units and tactics over the years. However, their contribution to the war effort was hugely important. Using period training manuals and combat reports, this book provides a look at the unique tactics developed by US armored infantry units including movement formations and battle drills.

The US armed forces pioneered amphibious warfare in the Pacific and in the Mediterranean, but it was against Fortress Europe that the famous and successful amphibious assault took place. This book explains the problems associated with amphibious warfare and how they were overcome, and is illustrated with photos, diagrams, and colour plates.

The German Army of World War II was a highly mobile force. The experience of trench warfare in World War I had done much to shape Germany's blitzkrieg doctrine and concepts of field fortification, and the mobile warfare ethos of World War 2 was designed to avoid the previous war's stalemate.

The year 1944 saw a great deal of Marine Corps activity. The early defeats suffered by America in the Pacific were past; the pivotal naval battle for Midway had been won, and the Solomon Islands had fallen once again to the Allies.

The Landing Ship Tank (LST) is one of the most famous of the many World War II amphibious warfare ships. Capable of discharging its cargo directly on to shore and extracting itself, the LST provided the backbone of all Allied landings between 1943 and 1945, notably during the D-Day invasion. Through its history, the LST saw service from late 1942 until late 2002, when the US Navy decommissioned the USS Frederick (LST-1184), the last ship of its type. This book reveals the development and use of the LST, including its excellence beyond its initial design expectations.

The battle of Okinawa was the last battle fought in the Pacific War. The bitterness of the fighting on Okinawa helped persuade the US that an assault on the Japanese mainland would result in massive US casualties and led directly to the dropping of the atomic bomb. This book describes the events.

During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong (VC) main forces and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) were forced to hide weapons and supplies underground and dig shelters to counter US firepower. This title takes a look at the VC/NVA tunnel systems, field fortifications, base camps, and camouflage and concealment measures employed during the Vietnam conflict.

The Stryker combat light armored vehicle was adopted by the US Army in 2002. Covering the first US Army release since the M1 Abrams MBT, this book details the conception, development and deployment of one of the most highly anticipated AFVs, including its service in Iraq and the controversy surrounding the Stryker's varying successes.

Osprey's study of the ground forces of the Cold War (1946-1991). While much has been published on the armed forces of the USSR during the 1980s, surprisingly little is available on the forces supplied by the other member nations of the Warsaw Pact. Rivalling the size of the United States Army, the combined ground forces of the six non-Soviet Warsaw Pact countries totalled over 775,000 active troops, with almost two million ground forces reserves. This book examines the history, organization and uniforms of the often overlooked DDR, Czechoslovak, Polish, Bulgarian, Hungarian and Romanian forces at the end of the Cold War.

The bazooka combined a revolutionary new anti-tank rifle-grenade warhead, a much-modified British anti-aircraft rocket motor, and a cobbled-together launcher tube and electrical firing system; its first test-firing astounded observers, and it was immediately adopted by the US armed forces. This study tells the story of the bazooka.

From its very inception the United States Army Special Forces has been enmeshed in controversy, its mission misunderstood to varying degrees, and its very existence opposed by some of the Army hierarchy. Nevertheless it continues to serve in a highly specialised role in all manner of differing conditions. There can be few better qualified to chronicle the history of this unique organisation than former Special Forces Group weapons specialist Gordon Rottman, whose expert knowledge is clearly evident in this authoritative text. This volume also contains 12 full page colour plates by one of the world''s most respected military artists, Ron Volstad.

The US armed forces were responsible for many tactical innovations during the years 1941-45, but in no field was US mastery more complete than amphibious warfare. In the vast, almost empty battlefield of the Pacific the US Navy and Marine Corps were obliged to develop every aspect of the amphibious assault landing in painstaking detail, from the design of many new types of vessel, down to the tactics of the rifle platoon hitting the beach, and the logistic system without which they could not have fought their way inland. This fascinating study offers a clear, succinct explanation of every phase of these operations as they evolved during the war years, illustrated with detailed color plates and photographs.

This work details the 24-day Saipan and 8-day Tinian operations, fom the difficulties the Marines faced establishing themselves ashore, through the largest tank battle in the Pacific, and the horrors of Japanese civilians committing suicide to avoid capture.

The battlefield interaction between infantry and tanks was central to combat on most fronts in World War II (1939-1945). The first 'Blitzkrieg' campaigns saw the tank achieve a new dominance. New infantry tactics and weapons - some of them desperately dangerous - had to be adopted, while the armies raced to develop more powerful anti-tank guns and new light weapons. By 1945, a new generation of revolutionary shoulder-fired AT weapons was in widespread use. This book explains in detail the shifting patterns of anti-tank combat, illustrated with photographs, diagrams and colour plates showing how weapons were actually employed on the battlefield.