Description

WW2 {The Complete Set}                Comics Lot
Writers: Ron Ledwell w/ J. O’Neil
Artist: Ron Ledwell
All Covers by: Ron Ledwell

Ron Ledwell depicts the many horrors and atrocities of World War II in this eight-issue series which examines the war through various key battles. Ron Ledwell’s gritty, black and white art, along with clear storytelling, educates readers about this tragic period in history while at the same time entertaining them. The Axis and Allies fight it out in several stories featuring key battles during World War 2.

Stories(Spoilers!)
Issue #1, “Stalingrad”, In September and October 1942, the German sixth army under General Von Paulus had failed to completely seize the city of Stalingrad. The Germans felt that it was only a matter of time before the resistance of the Russians would be broken. The Germans had captured the main railway station. But the Russians still held the “Red October” factory complex which included many assembly plants still in operation producing tanks, guns, ammo and other necessities of war. The tractor factory was converted to tank production. This is the story of a desperate German assault on that factory.

Issue #2, “Salerno”, The day after Italy’s surrender on September 8, 1943, U.S. General Mark Clark’s 5^th Army stormed ashore in Salerno Bay, just south of Rome and Naples. The invasion was expected to be quickly concluded, followed by a rapid dash up the coast to the Italian capital. In one fell swoop, the Allies were going to occupy Italy and trap large formations of occupying German troops in the southern part of the Italian peninsula.

But unknown to the Americans and British, the German Wehrmacht had already acted, with their customary efficiency and cold-bloodedness, disarming their erstwhile Italian allies and occupying key installations, airfields and road junctions. When the Allies started their advance, battle-hardened and experienced German divisions were lying in wait!

Issue #3, “Eastern Front”, The strategic movement into the Crimea and the battle of Sevastopol was another one of Hitler’s grand schemes into which he bullied the German General Staff. At its center were oil fields in the Caucasus, but it was a plan that should have waited until the Russian forces were soundly defeated.

The Germans were coming up against better Russian equipment as the war ground slowly on. The appearance of the superb Russian T-34 tank and newer field guns should have tipped the Germans off. Sound war management dictated the destruction of the Red Army first; then the new industrial facilities beyond the Ural Mountains. To do this effectively the Reich would have needed a bigger and more powerful Luftwaffe, with true strategic capabilities – including four-engine bombers and long-range fighters to escort those bombers to and from their targets.

Of course, Germany had none of these; instead they instead concentrated on overrunning as much Russian territory as they could. As their forces spread out over the vast Russian land mass, their strength was slowly dissipated. Pushed back and concentrated by the German advance, the Russians were conserving and building up their strength.

Russia is unforgiving to an invader that comes to do battle unprepared for its immense size and merciless climate. Napolean waged such a war, leaving behind a history lesson to those who wish to learn it, and a horrible fate to those who do not.

Issue #4, “Falaise Pocket”, It could be said that the battle of Falaise Pocket was actually the culmination of many preceding confrontations: Breakout from Normandy, Cherbourg Peninsula, Caen, the Orne River and the Breakout into Brittany. The German generals and the Allied commanders together could never have guessed the outcome of this epic battle, a turning point of World War II. The Allied encirclement of several German armies occurred so quickly that the Wehrmacht was caught without a strategy to cope, nor with any reserves to break open the relatively weak Allied ring. The American, British and Canadian forces were also completely surprised by the magnitude of their success; they were unprepared to exploit it. Perhaps one man, U.S. General Patton, had an idea how to exploit this phenomenal achievement – had Supreme Commander General Eisenhower given him a free hand. With their complete dominance of the air, the Allied armies could have rapidly destroyed the German forces in the pocket and advanced nearly unchallenged all the way to Germany. But the Allied commanders followed military success with extreme caution. They elected to reduce the pocket gradually before moving forward, thus passing up a golden opportunity to end the War in 1944.

The battle of the Falaise Pocket did seal the fate of the German Army in the West and left its remains lying prostrate, strung out from Normandy to Italy and Greece; without any kind of “anchor point” for a cohesive defense. As a result, it could certainly be argued that this was the decisive battle of World War II.

Issue #5, “D-Day”, D-Day! Some Allied commanders didn’t think that they had a ghost of a chance of cracking Hitler’s Festung Europa and still others were apprehensive about it. When they did finally gain a foothold in Normandy, they were surprised that it was not more difficult. The Germans didn’t expect the landings in Normandy and so there were gaps in the defenses; some artillery was not even in place. Many of the static divisions guarding that portion of the wall were what were known as “belly divisions” – men with various medical disorders. The Germans expected the attack at the Pas de Calais, the shortest distance across the English Channel; and during the high summer – not in the early days of June. Also, the Germans did not have a unified command structure in the west, and when the invasion took place many high-ranking officers were away from their commands, leaving their army almost leaderless. This fact is apparent from the slow reaction by the Germans to the invasion. Allied air power sealed the doom of the Germans. The Luftwaffe was almost nonexistent and this allowed the Allies to roam freely over and behind the battlefield, denying the Germans the ability to move their forces where they were needed. This ability was an essential part of the German method of making war. Without it… they were doomed.

Issue #6, “Tawara”, The island of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands was defended by 2,600 well-armed Japanese troops, augmented by 2,000 Korean construction workers who could be trusted to assist in the defense of the island. Its commander, Rear Admiral Shibasaki, boasted that a million Marines would be unable to take Tawara even if they had a hundred years. At first glance, this claim appeared to be very well-founded.

A thousand yards off shore, a bow-shaped coral reef assured that American landing craft would be unable to reach the beaches with their cargo of American soldiers. The Marines would have to walk to shore under their own power. With water up to their chins and under withering fire from well-placed Japanese positions, hundreds of the assaulting Marines died before even touching the island of Tawara. Many officers were among the dead in the water; sergeants and corporals took their place, to lead the surviving Marines who did make it to the beaches.

When all was said and done, and the smoke cleared, Tawara was successfully captured by the U.S. Marine amphibious forces. A thousand Marines lay dead, and another 2,000 were wounded. The Japanese casualties were total: 4,600 defenders loyal to Japan were wiped out. The only survivors on the enemy side were some of the Korean workers, who did not share the suicidal impulse of the men who were their overlords.

Note: To honor the memory of those who died at Tawara, a class of U.S. Navy amphibious assault carriers has been named after this battle.

Issue #7, “Afrika Korps”, Rommel & The Afrika Korps – Early in World War II, a large Italian Army advanced from Libya into British-occupied Egypt. But the British forces, despite being numerically inferior, were able to repel the Fascist invaders. In fact, they pushed Mussolini’s forces all the way back to Tobruk, in eastern Libya. Sensing yet another defeat for his fellow dictator, Adolf Hitler decided to halt the rout by sending a few “light” divisions into Africa. The Afrika Korps, as the force came to be called, was supposed to halt the British advance and stabilize the line. But its commander, Field Marshall Irwin Rommel, had much greater things in mind. Carefully marshalling his meager forces and applying a brilliant mix of aggressive tactics, Rommel and his forces drove the British out of Libya and all the way back deep into Egypt. Now looming disaster faced the British: could their exhausted desert forces prevent Field Marshall’s conquest of Egypt and Germany’s decisive occupation of the Suez Canal?!

Issue #8, “Midway”, When Colonel Doolittle’s raiders dropped their payloads on Tokyo after Pearl Harbor, it was only a pinprick attack on the Empire of Japan. But having their capital city bombed greatly embarrassed the Japanese warlords. They decided it was necessary to push their defensive perimeter further eastward into the Pacific Ocean. This made Midway Island, America’s westernmost bastion, and an invaluable forward fueling station for the U.S. Navy, an obvious target for invasion.

Admiral Yamamoto also wanted to draw out the American carrier forces, hoping to confront them in a lopsided battle and eliminate the American carrier threat once and for all. Midway appeared to be an ideal target to accomplish both these aims.

The Battle of Midway is generally considered to be the crucial turning point in the Pacific theater of the Second World War. In a matter of minutes, an apparent Japanese victory turned into an ignominious defeat for the forces of Nippon as four of the Emperor’s mightiest aircraft carriers were sunk by a handful of brave U.S. pilots. Dear reader, we offer you this incredible story of bravery, valor and the vicissitudes of warfare!

Comics lot contains: WW2 {The Complete Set} (2000-2002) Issues #1-8.  New England Comics

Comics are bagged & boarded and will be carefully / securely packaged then shipped via USPS Priority Mail to ensure that it arrives to you perfectly and quickly.

All First Printings
Publisher: New England Comics
Publication Date: 2000 – 2002
Format per comic: B&W, 32 pages, Comic, 10.25″ x 6.75″
UPC: None Stated

Collectible Entertainment note: Comics #1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 are in Fine to Very Fine + condition.  Beautiful Set!  Please See Scans!!  A must have for any serious World War 2 enthusiast and/or collector.  A very fun & entertaining read.  Very Highly Recommended.

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