This month's book vote sees five Combat titles battling for your support. Read the full descriptions and have your say by filling out the form below. Plus, check out the results of last month's Duel (Aviation) vote.

 

French Foreign Légionnaire vs German Soldier: Narvik, Bir Hakeim and Alsace, 1940–45

Gurkha vs Japanese Soldier: Burma 1942–45

Allied Soldier vs Fallschirmjäger: Monte Cassino 1944

Panzergrenadier vs Soviet Soldier: Operation Bagration 1944

Volkssturmmann vs Soviet Soldier: Berlin 1945

 

 

French Foreign Légionnaire vs German Soldier: Narvik, Bir Hakeim and Alsace, 1940–45

Deployed to Norway in May 1940, elements of the French Foreign Legion fought German forces at Narvik before being evacuated. After the fall of France, the Legion continued the fight against the Axis in North Africa, notably at Bir Hakeim in May–June 1942, before participating in the Allied landing in southern France in August 1944 and fighting in the battle of the Vosges in 1944–45.

 

Gurkha vs Japanese Soldier: Burma 1942–45

Throughout the long struggle for Burma in the wake of the Japanese invasion of December 1941, the Gurkha regiments of the Indian Army won a lasting reputation for bravery, skill and professionalism. The brutal nature of the fighting and the harsh environment of Burma tested both sides to the limit and beyond during the gruelling campaign.

 

Allied Soldier vs Fallschirmjäger: Monte Cassino 1944

The bitter four-month struggle for Monte Cassino in 1944 saw Allied troops of many nationalities confront the German defenders of the ruined Italian monastery, key to the Axis defence of Rome. Poles, Moroccans, Gurkhas and New Zealanders all fought to wrest the monastery from its determined defenders, notably the formidable Fallschirmjäger, Germany’s airborne elite.

 

Panzergrenadier vs Soviet Soldier: Operation Bagration 1944

Launched on the third anniversary of the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, the enormous Soviet summer offensive that began on 22 June 1944 pitched vast numbers of Soviet and German troops into a series of brutal battles across Belarus, Ukraine and the Baltic states. In less than two months, the Axis forces were pushed back as far as occupied Poland, sealing Nazi Germany’s fate.

 

Volkssturmmann vs Soviet Soldier: Berlin 1945

The colossal struggle for the German capital was the grim finale of World War II in the West. In April and May 1945, enormous numbers of Soviet and German combatants, the latter including Volkssturm (national militia) forces largely composed of youths and the elderly, were pitched into a series of savage battles, as the fighting moved from the approaches to Berlin into the city’s heart.

 

 

Last month, we asked what you would like to see published in our Duel (Aviation) series. Thank you to everyone who voted and provided feedback. It was a close one, but here are the results: 

 

G3M ‘Nell’ and G4M ‘Betty’ vs Allied Warships (1941–43) - 15%

F4F Wildcat vs A6M2-N ‘Rufe’ (Solomon Islands 1942–43) - 21%

Ju 88 Fighters vs Allied Maritime Aircraft (Northern Europe 1942–44) - 27%

Typhoon vs German Flak Defences (Western Europe 1943–45) - 21%

Spitfire V vs Fw 190 (Northwest Europe 1941–43) - 17%