It is said that artillery won the Second World War for the Allies - that
Soviet guns wore down German forces on the Eastern Front, negating their
superior tactics and fighting ability, and that the accuracy and
intensity of the British and American artillery was a major reason for
the success of Allied forces in North Africa from El Alamein, in Italy
and Normandy, and played a vital role in the battles of 1944 and 1945.
Yet the range of weapons used is often overlooked or taken for granted -
which is why this highly illustrated history by Simon and Jonathan Forty
is of such value. They stress the importance of artillery on every front
and analyze how artillery equipment, training and tactical techniques
developed during the conflict.
The selection of wartime photographs - many from east European sources -
and the extensive quotations from contemporary documents give a graphic
impression of how the guns were used on all sides. The photographs
emphasize the wide range of pieces employed as field, antiaircraft and
antitank artillery without forgetting self-propelled guns, coastal and
other heavyweights and the development of rockets. The authors offer a
fascinating insight into the weapons that served in the artillery over
seventy years ago.
