Bringing History to Life Collections

Bringing History to Life Collector’s Edition’ is a 180 page must read special issue packed with in depth WW2 historical information narrated as a story and illustrated with informative graphs and timelines. Readers interested in WW2 will not be disappointed.

» The war’s biggest battles

FROST SHATTERS STALIN’S PLANS • Stalin had set aside 12 days for the war. He thought it wouldn’t take any longer than that for the Soviet Union to defeat Finland, but he was wrong. The Finnish soldiers fought valiantly against their foes, and the Soviet Union paid dearly for its victory – during 105 days of war, at least 250,000 Soviet soldiers were killed.

NORWAY FALLS • In 1940, Hitler decided to test the Allies’ strength during the invasion of Norway. However, after a month of hard fighting in and around the crucial port city of Narvik, the Germans were ready to admit defeat and retreat home through Sweden, but then the Allies did something unexpected...

BLITZKRIEG FORCES EUROPE TO ITS KNEES • At the beginning of World War II, Germany has fewer tanks, soldiers and aircraft than France and Britain. However, Prussian General Heinz Guderian has, with Hitler’s approval, developed a groundbreaking military tactic: blitzkrieg. This new strategy makes Germany’s armoured divisions invincible during the early years of the war.

BRITISH PILOTS HOLD OFF THE LUFTWAFFE • In the summer of 1940 a battle breaks out that will last for 114 days. First, the Luftwaffe attack merchant ships in the English Channel, then the Germans smash British radar installations and air bases before relentlessly bombing London.But the British “few” are stubborn.

BLITZKRIEG IN THE BALKANS • In the spring of 1941, Hitler’s forces raced across Yugoslavia and Greece. The newly formed Axis powers’ alliance subjugated the entire Balkan Peninsula in less than one month. Only Crete was still free, but the Germans had a new strategy to use there.

BISMARCK IS HUNTED IN THE ATLANTIC • Confidence is high aboard the Bismarck as the ship sets sail in 1941. But exercises before her departure have revealed a weakness in the otherwise near invincible battleship: the Bismarck’s huge size makes her impossible to control by propellers alone if the rudder is damaged. The captain is aware of the problem, but obeys the order to set sail despite the flaw.

U-BOATS FORCE BRITAIN TO ITS KNEES • The threat from the depths is close to choking Britain’s supply lines. German U-boats sink thousands of merchant ships laden with goods desperately needed for the British war effort and kill 35,000 non-combatant sailors. Only a tactical switch can prevent Hitler from taking control of the Atlantic.

DEATH COMES FROM THE SKIES • On a quiet Sunday morning in December, the naval base at Pearl Harbor wakes to the sound of falling bombs. Waves of Japanese planes fly over the US Pacific fleet anchored there and in a matter of hours the harbour becomes a graveyard for both men and ships. It’s the end of 1941 and the US has just been drawn into World War II.

ALLIES SLOWED THE JAPANESE ADVANCE • The US Army deployed 19,000 marines to recapture the Pacific island of Guadalcanal. Japan’s progress in the Far East had to be stopped and the empire deprived of any opportunity to attack Australia. But when the Americans attempted to land on the small tropical island, a big surprise awaited them.

DIEPPE LANDING ENDED IN A BLOODBATH • Six thousand Canadian and British troops were sent across the English Channel on a dawn raid. They planned to surprise the Germans at Dieppe, destroy the defences there and then pull back, having captured both German officers and documents, but the mission was poorly planned from the start.

DESERT RATS TURNED THE WAR IN AFRICA • Montgomery’s Desert Rats were all that stood between the Germans and the Arab oil fields when...