Welcome to The Few Good Men

Thanks for visiting our club and having a look around, there is a lot to see. Why not consider becoming a member?

[BOOK REVIEW] Osprey Atlas of the Eastern front 1941-1945 and European Campaign 1944-1945

S

Seb Toombs

Guest
After a suberb, if slightly wet birthday (mine if you were wondering!) trip to the Imperial War Museum I treated my self to these -happy birthday me!- heavy-weight beauties!


517p-lL2DAL._SY90_.jpg 51KKhO8r8JL._SY90_.jpg They are brilliant and gorgeous reads. I guess the scale (which is strategic) is too big to help much in CM, but for games like Gary Grigsby and Command ops they are incredible! what I love is their size. They're big, maps each larger than A-4.
The maps are very clear and not cluttered, with loads of infomation, here is Bastone from the European Campaign!

atlas_of_the_european_campaign_bastogne.jpg

Germans are red (here but blue in Eastern Front Atlas) and blue for the Allies. It all stand out beautifully, unit ID's are very well done as are front lines and lines of attack, finally, because the symbols and texts are in thin fonts the so whole thing is easy to read. I'm PBEMing 'My Honour Is Loyalty' in CM:BN and its amazing to see Operation Godwood in all its detail in the atlas and know its blood stained hedgerows in game!

The Easten front Atlas covers a much larger area and of course much bigger battles but is an awsome read too, I found myself learning a fair bit! (Not hard!) In each atlas along side each map there is a synopis of the battle and an analysis of the factors leading to both the strategic and tactical decisions made and the outcomes. IMG_9753.JPG

In the Atlas of the Easten front ( https://ospreypublishing.com/atlas-of-the-eastern-front-hb) there are 128 maps, in the European Front ( https://ospreypublishing.com/atlas-of-the-european-campaign ) 127. the map list is extensive ....

Map 1: The European Theater of Operations - June 1944 to May 1945
Map 2: The Strategic Debate - 1942-44
Map 3: Precursors to Overlord - 1942-44
Map 4: German Assessment of Allied Divisions in the UK - May 31, 1944
Map 5: The Atlantic Wall in France - 1944
Map 6: Routes to the D-Day Invasion Beaches
Map 7: Naval Bombardment on D-Day
Map 8: Western Task Force's Assault on D-Day
Map 9: German Defenses on the Cotentin Peninsula - June 6, 1944
Map 10: US Airborne Landings - June 6, 1944
Map 11: Utah Beach - June 6-7, 1944
Map 12: Pointe du Hoc - June 6, 1944
Map 13: Assault Landing Plan, Western Side, Omaha Beach
Map 14: German Defenses on Omaha Beach
Map 15: D-Day Operations on Omaha Beach - June 6, 1944
Map 16: The Eastern Task Force
Map 17: German Defenses on Gold Beach
Map 18: Gold Beach on D-Day
Map 19: German Defenses on Juno Beach
Map 20: The Canadians at Juno Beach
Map 21: German Defenses on Sword Beach
Map 22: British 6th Airborne Division Landings
Map 23: Amphibious Landings on Sword Beach
Map 24: The British Lodgment Area - Night, June 6, 1944
Map 25: The Battle for Carentan - June 10-13, 1944
Map 26: Cutting off the Cotentin - June 10-18, 1944
Map 27: Festung Cherbourg
Map 28: The Advance on Cherbourg - June 19-21, 1944
Map 29: The Attack on Cherbourg - June 22-26, 1944
Map 30: First Allied Moves on Caen
Map 31: Villers-Bocage - June 12-14, 1944
Map 32: Planned Panzer Offensive, June 22, 1944
Map 33: Operation Epsom - June 25-30, 1944
Map 34: Railway Interdiction on the Normandy Front - June 1944
Map 35: Operation Charnwood and the Capture of Caen
Map 36: The Battle of the Hedgerows Begins - July 3-11, 1944
Map 37: German Hedgerow Defenses - July 1944
Map 38: The Battle for St-Lô - July 14-20, 1944
Map 39: Operation Goodwood - July 18, 1944
Map 40: Strategic Situation in Normandy - July 2-24, 1944
Map 41: The Operation Cobra Plan
Map 42: Operation Cobra Breakthrough - July 25-30, 1944
Map 43: Operation Bluecoat - July 30, 1944
Map 44: On the Eve of Breakout - July 31, 1944
Map 45: Race into Brittany - August 1944
Map 46: Operation Lüttich - August 7, 1944
Map 47: Operation Totalize, Phase I - August 7-8, 1944
Map 48: Operation Totalize, Phase II - August 8-11, 1944
Map 49: Operation Tractable - August 14-16, 1944
Map 50: The Strategic Situation in Normandy in Early August 1944
Map 51: The German Predicament - August 16, 1944
Map 52: The Collapse of the Falaise Pocket - August 18-19, 1944
Map 53: Closing the Falaise Pocket - August 18-21, 1944
Map 54: The US Army Advance to the Seine - August 19-24, 1944
Map 55: The Advance on Paris - August 23-24, 1944
Map 56: Operation Dragoon - August 15, 1944
Map 57: The Rhône Triangle - August 20-25, 1944
Map 58: Liberation of Marseilles - August 20-27, 1944
Map 59: The Pursuit to Lyon - August 29 to September 3, 1944
Map 60: The German Rout in France - August 1944
Map 61: The Void: Pursuit to the German Frontier - August 26 to September 11, 1944
Map 62: Clearing the Channel Ports - September 1944
Map 63: Airborne Options - June-September 1944
Map 64: Operation Market Garden: the Plan
Map 65: German Dispositions in the Netherlands - September 16, 1944
Map 66: 101st Airborne Division Landings - September 17-18,1944
Map 67: 82nd Airborne Division Landings - September 17-18, 1944
Map 68: The Arnhem Landing Plan - September 17, 1944
Map 69: The Advance of XXX Corps on Hell's Highway - September 17-25, 1944
Map 70: The End at Arnhem Bridge - September 20-25, 1944
Map 71: The End of Market Garden - September 26, 1944
Map 72: The Strategic Debate - Autumn 1944
Map 73: Westwall Defenses in the Aachen Sector
Map 74: The First Battle of Aachen: Stolberg Corridor - September 12-29, 1944
Map 75: Aachen: the Northern Attack - October 2-8, 1944
Map 76: The Battle for Aachen - October 7-20, 1944
Map 77: The Hürtgen Forest - October-December 1944
Map 78: Operation Queen: XIX Corps - November 16 to December 9, 1944
Map 79: The Final Push: VII Corps Reaches the Roer - December 10-16, 1944
Map 80: Conflicting Plans in Lorraine - September 1944
Map 81: Third US Army along the Moselle - September 5-11, 1944
Map 82: XII Corps Bridgeheads near Nancy - September 1944
Map 83: Lorraine: the Strategic Situation - September 25, 1944
Map 84: Encirclement of Metz - November 9-19, 1944
Map 85: Operation Madison - November 8 to December 19, 1944
Map 86: 6th Army Group's Advance on the Rhine - November 14 to December 16, 1944
Map 87: Opening the Scheldt - October 6 to November 3, 1944
Map 88: Clearing the Scheldt: Operation Infatuate
Map 89: The Fall of Walcheren - November 3-8, 1944
Map 90: Red Ball Express - September 1944 to February 1945
Map 91: Autumn Frustrations - September 15 to December 15, 1944
Map 92: The Strategic Situation - December 16, 1944
Map 93: Initial Attacks of 6.Panzer-Armee - December 16-19, 1944
Map 94: Kampfgruppe Peiper - December 20-25, 1944
Map 95: Destruction of 106th Infantry Division - December 16-19, 1944
Map 96: The Defense of St-Vith
Map 97: Attack in the Center: 5.Panzer-Armee vs. the 28th Division
Map 98: Attack in the South: 7.Armee vs. XII Corps
Map 99: Bastogne - December 19-23, 1944
Map 100: Patton's Relief of Bastogne - December 22-26, 1944
Map 101: Eliminating the Bulge - January 3-28, 1945
Map 102: Operation Nordwind - December 31, 1944
Map 103: Operation Sonnenwende - January 5-12, 1945
Map 104: The Battle of Haguenau - January 6-21, 1945
Map 105: Operation Cheerful: Strangling the Colmar Pocket - January 19 to February 9, 1945
Map 106: Allied Plans following the Battle of the Bulge - February 1945
Map 107: West-Stellung - February 1945
Map 108: Operation Veritable - February 8, 1945
Map 109: Operation Blockbuster - February 1945
Map 110: Operation Grenade - February 23 to March 10, 1945
Map 111: Closing on the Rhine - February 8 to March 10, 1945
Map 112: The Strategic Situation in the West - March 1945
Map 113: The Rhine Rat Race - March 12-21, 1945
Map 114: The Rhine Crossings in the South - March 22-28, 1945
Map 115: Operation Plunder - March 23-24, 1945
Map 116: Operation Varsity - March 24, 1945
Map 117: Operation Flashpoint - March 24, 1945
Map 118: Breakout from Remagen - March 25-28, 1945
Map 119: The Strategic Situation - March 28, 1945
Map 120: Encircling the Ruhr - March-April 1945
Map 121: Reduction of the Ruhr Pocket - April 1-18, 1945
Map 122: The Liberation of the Netherlands - April-May, 1945
Map 123: Advance into Northern Germany - April-May 1945
Map 124: Advance to the Elbe - April 1945
Map 125: Advance in the South - April 24 to May 11, 1945
Map 126: The Final Campaign in Germany - April-May 1945
Map 127: Hitler's Last Defenses in France - 1944-45

The paper quality is very good and it comes in a hard slip case. Its a premium product, however and this is the only negative, it comes with a premium price! (Other online retailers or even real bookshops may be cheaper!)

Highly recommened! As is a wet birthday trip to the imperial War Museum with my family!
tp67vH6.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The IWM is great. The only other museum I've been to that is even close to the same quality is the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul. I went to the Imperial War Museum on a trip to London with my dad back in 2006. I bought this pretty sweet poster. british navy.jpg
Unfortunately I don't know what happened to it. I lost a lot of my old crap when I joined the army.
 
Back
Top