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Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Free Osprey eBooks - Week 4

Yes, they fixed the server :)

Tip of the hat to Thad.

Across the world, many people are staying at home to combat the spread of COVID-19. While self-isolation might be a bit daunting, it’s also a great opportunity to catch up on your reading. To help pass the time, we are giving customers five free eBooks each week for four weeks. Read through this week's options, add the eBook to your basket and use the code FREEBOOKS4 at checkout to get your free eBooks.

AEU 15: Jagdgeschwader 52 by John Weal
Artwork by John Weal


M1 Abrams vs T-72 Ural

Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) was the most successful and highest-scoring fighter unit, not just in Germany's World War 2 Luftwaffe, but in the entire annals of aviation history. No other fighter group has ever come close to matching its staggering total of around 9000 enemy aircraft shot down in combat. And yet, because much of that combat took place over the tractless wastes of the Russian front, very little has been written in English about the exploits of this charismatic unit. This book provides a full combat history of JG 52 and its members, including the three top-scoring aces of all time, who claimed a total of 900 victories between them.

CAM 200: Japan 1945 by Clayton K. S. Chun
Artwork by John White


Japan 1945

In this 200th Campaign series title, Clayton Chun examines the final stages of World War II as the Allies debated how to bring about the surrender of Japan. He details Operation Downfall (the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands).Chun explains why these plans were never implemented, before examining the horrific alternative to military invasion - the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons. With a series of illustrations, including detailed diagrams of the atomic bombs, a depiction of the different stages of the explosions and maps of the original invasion plans, this book provides a unique perspective of a key event in world history.

CBT 27: Viking Warrior vs Anglo-Saxon Warrior by Gareth Williams
Artwork by Peter Dennis


Viking Warrior vs Anglo-Saxon Warrior

In the two centuries before the Norman invasion of England, Anglo-Saxon and Viking forces clashed repeatedly in bloody battles across the country. Repeated Viking victories in the 9th century led to their settlement in the north of the country, but the tide of war ebbed and flowed until the final Anglo-Saxon victory before the Norman Conquest. Using stunning artwork, this book examines in detail three battles between the two deadly foes: Ashdown in 871 which involved the future Alfred the Great; Maldon in 991 where an Anglo-Saxon army sought to counter a renewed Viking threat; and Stamford Bridge in 1066, in which King Harold Godwinesson abandoned his preparations to repel the expected Norman invasion in order to fight off Harald Hard-Counsel of Norway.
Drawing upon historical accounts from both English and Scandinavian sources and from archaeological evidence, Gareth Williams presents a detailed comparison of the weaponry, tactics, strategies and underlying military organization of the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, and considers the developments which took place on both sides in the two centuries of Viking incursions into Anglo-Saxon England.

DUE 18: M1 Abrams vs T-72 Ural by Steven J. Zaloga
Artwork by Jim Laurier


M1 Abrams vs T-72 Ural

The Gulf War bore witness to a number of deadly encounters between these two great adversaries. Heavily armoured, highly mobile and capable of killing at over 2500m the M1 Abrams is, to this day, a veritable fighting machine. Superior to both Iraq's Soviet era T-55 and T-62 tanks, nearly all sources claim that no Abrams tank has ever been destroyed by enemy fire. Despite entering service in 1980, the M1 Abrams remained untested in combat until the Gulf War in 1991, where it was to be confronted by its archenemy the Iraqi-assembled Soviet-designed T-72. Entering production in 1971, the T-72 arguably outstripped its contemporaries in a balance of mobility, protection and firepower. By the time of Operation Desert Storm, however, the tables had turned and the tank suffered due to low quality ammunition and poorly trained crews. In this fascinating study, Steven Zaloga pits these two great fighting machines against one another, plotting the development of the Cold War until both tanks met in combat in the deserts of Iraq and Kuwait.

CMD 17: Bill Slim by Robert Lyman
Artwork by Peter Denni


Bill Slim

Bill' Slim was one of the greatest British generals of World War II. In a career that stretched from 1914 until 1958, Bill Slim's greatest triumphs came in India and Burma in the long war against the Japanese. Thrust into a desperate situation, he orchestrated the longest retreat in British Army history in the withdrawal from Burma. He then turned on the Japanese in India, shattered their army, and pursued them to destruction. Apart from his great military victories, Slim also left a legacy of training and morale building that endures in the British Army to this day. This book examines both Bill Slim's military career and his place in military history by examining some of his greatest battles and the strategy and tactics that set him apart from his contemporaries.

4 comments:

  1. Then I'm the only one who can't log in from the US, and i'm pretty upset about that. Just tried a fourth browser, hadn't ever used it before, no good. Cleared the cache and deleted everything on one of the other three browsers I've been trying, still won't work. Tried the other two browsers, the ones I normally use, they still won't work. And now I've missed Week 3. I emailed them two days ago, no reply. I give up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was having the same issue and Osprey is aware of the problem. I followed the advice posted on their Facebook page and was able to get all week 2, 3, and 4 books for free (I already had week 1).

      From Osprey:

      We sincerely apologise to all customers who are still experiencing website issues.

      If you are encountering a "wrong store" error message, please try removing everything from your basket, clearing your cache (or using an incognito browser window) and then go back on to the site. Please make sure that the storefront you are in matches your address before you put anything in your basket and checkout.

      We are working through all outstanding tickets as a matter of urgency and will get all other issues resolved as soon as possible.

      Delete
    2. I won't use Facebook. But I actually had an epiphany a little while ago. I created a new account and got everything I was missing. These books won't appear in my real account's library, but at least I was able to download them.

      Delete

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