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Fight for the Sea: Naval Adventures from the Second World War
Par John Frayn Turner. 2013
This collection of popular naval stories covers the entire span of World War II, beginning when the British Royal Navy…
faced fascist forces on its own until the final Allied victory over the Japanese in 1945. Fight for the Sea offers a rich mixture of accounts about such large and well-known battles and operations as the Battle of the Coral Sea, as well as lesser-known actions such as the submarine attack on Corfu harbour, the loss of the USS Leedsdown, and the saga of the USS Rich to characterize the breadth and variety of the war at sea. Also included are memories of John F Kennedy's heroic actions with PT 109 and George H W Bush's near-death experience with an aircraft known as the 'flying casket'.A sailor's eye view of the war at sea, this compelling compilation has broad appeal. John Frayn Turner's prose crackles with action and tension to keep the reader's attention, and even those who know little about the war will find the stories to be a welcome introduction to the subject. Among the book's special attractions are the little-known contributions of rescue ships and merchant seamen and the adventures of civilians, including Johnnie Ferguson, who spent three weeks adrift in an open boat when her ship was torpedoed. Readers will come away with not only a clear understanding of the giant scope of World War II but of the individual grit and determination that produced victory.Midget Submarine Commander: The Life of Godfrey Place VC
Par Paul Watkins. 2012
Of all the acts of gallantry in World War II few were as audacious as the attack by midget submarines…
on the pride of the German fleet, the battleship Tirpitz, lying in her fortified mooring in a Norwegian fjord. Lieutenant Godfrey Place was in command of submarine X7 in September 1943 and traveled over 1000 miles, negotiating minefields and antisubmarine nets to accurately place four tons of high explosive under the hull of the Tirpitz. He was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1944, at the age of 22. Taken prisoner he was repatriated to England at the end of the war, and continued to serve in the Royal Navy for 25 years, flying with 801st squadron in the Korean War, and served on aircraft carriers at Suez, Nigeria and the withdrawal from Aden. On his retirement in 1970, he had the distinction of being the last serving naval officer to hold the Victoria Cross.Using many first-hand accounts, the book details his life, from a childhood spent partly in East Africa to being Chairman of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association for over 20 years. It draws on previously unpublished material, including his own recollections on the attack on the Tirpitz and his time as a prisoner of war.The British Admirals of the Fleet, 1734–1995: A Biographical Dictionary
Par T. A. Heathcote. 2015
A companion volume to the same author's "The British Field Marshals 1736–1997", this book outlines the lives of the 115…
officers who held the rank of Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy from 1734, when it took its modern form, to 1995, when the last one was appointed. Each entry gives details of the dates of the birth and death of its subjects, their careers ashore and afloat, their family backgrounds, and the ships, campaigns and combats in which they served. Each is placed clearly in its domestic or international political context. The actions recorded include major fleet battles under sail or steam, single-ship duels, encounters with pirates on the Spanish Main and up the rivers of Borneo, the suppression of the Slave Trade (for which the Navy receives little gratitude), landing parties to deal with local dictators and revolutionaries, and the services of naval brigades in China, Egypt and South Africa.Initially published in 1917 under the title On the Right of the British Line, this is the first book written…
by the extraordinary Captain Gilbert Nobbs. Dedicated to his ever loving wife, the harrowing memories and experiences of Nobbs at the Battle of the Somme and after are captured here in a rare account of what proved to be one of the most ultimately futile battles and the agonising aftermath.Following his journey from the fields of the Somme into German custody, In Battle & Captivity 1916-1918 provides an unflinching report of the dramatic losses felt during the horrific Battle of the Somme. However, the book manages to maintain a message of hope that, despite experiencing the barbarity of German captivity, there can still be happiness, as Nobbs proclaimed, 'I do not deplore the loss of my sight, for I can say in all sincerity that I was never happier in my life than I am today.'During the Somme Offensive he led his company in an assault on the German trenches and sustained a shot to the head, which left him permanently blind when the bullet exited through his right eye. Grievously wounded, Nobbs lay undiscovered in a shell-hole as the battle raged round him. After two days he was found and awoke to find himself in a German hospital. Once his wounds had been treated Nobbs was sent to a POW camp where he remained for three months. Fortunately, one month later the truth was discovered, and in December 1916, Nobbs returned to England, where his home, wife and family awaited him. This is the astonishing autobiographical account of Henry Gilbert Nobbs, an extraordinary man of inexhaustible energy whose memoirs will forever provide one of life's enduring monuments to the human spirit.Life on the Death Railway: The Memoirs of a British POW
Par Stuart Young. 2013
As a young man Stuart Young endured the horrors of the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps and survived. Later in life, in…
graphic detail, he recorded the experience the dreadful conditions, the brutal treatment, the sickness and starvation, the merciless routine of forced labour. Yet he also recorded the comradeship among the prisoners, their compassion and strength, and the pastimes and entertainments that helped them to come through an ordeal that is hard to imagine today. First he was held at the notorious Changi camp in Singapore Island, then in the camps in Thailand that accommodated POWs who were forced to work on the Death Railway. Perhaps the most revealing passages of his memoir recall the daily experience of captivity - the ceaseless battle to survive the backbreaking work, the cruelties of the guards and ever-present threat of disease. His account gives a harrowing insight into the daily reality of captivity and it shows why he was determined to document and make sense of what he and his fellow prisoners suffered.The Phantom Major: The Story of David Stirling and the SAS Regiment
Par Virginia Cowles. 2010
An action-packed biography of &“one of the legitimate storybook heroes of World War II&” and the special forces regiment he…
founded (The New York Times). In the dark and uncertain days of 1941 and 1942, when Rommel&’s Afrika Korps was sweeping toward Egypt and the Suez Canal, a small group of daring raiders made history for the Allies. They operated deep behind German lines, driving hundreds of miles through the deserts of North Africa. They hid by day and struck by night, destroying aircraft, blowing up ammunition dumps, derailing trains, and killing many times their own number. These men were the Special Air Service. The SAS was the brainchild of David Stirling, a deceptively mild-mannered man with a brilliant idea. Under his command, small teams of resourceful, highly trained men penetrated beyond the front lines of the opposing armies and wreaked havoc where the Germans least expected it. From Virginia Cowles, whose biographies have been praised as &“splendidly readable&” (Sunday Times) and &“fascinating&” (Kirkus Reviews), this is a classic account of these raids, an amazing tale of courage, impudence, and daring packed with action and high adventure. Her narrative, based on the eyewitness testimony of the men who took part, gives a compelling insight into the early years of the SAS.The Not Forgotten War
Par Nicholas Dick Jr.. 2002
The Not Forgotten War chronicles the experiences of Private Nicholas Dick, who served in a machine gun crew during the…
last few months of the Korean conflict. Those last months were among the bloodiest, as both sides fought to claim as much territory as possible prior to reaching a cease-fire agreement. For years after his discharge, Nick was never able to talk about his horrific experiences and never mentioned the frequent nightmares he suffered. After a job injury forced him to take early retirement, he suddenly found himself becoming a victim of post-traumatic stress syndrome. Here is one GI&’s story of war and its aftermath.Baden-Powell - The Hero of Mafeking
Par W. Francis Aitken. 2013
Baron Baden-Powell is nowadays remembered best for his work as the founder of the Scouting Movement which has gone on…
to become a world-wide success; however his initial reputation rested on his military career centred on the Boer War. Colonel Baden-Powell, as he then was, commanded at Mafeking and was charged with its defence no matter the odds. At his command he had few resources, even fewer men and slim prospects of holding out against overwhelming odds. What this book tells, with great gusto, is the miracle that Baden-Powell contrived to bring about by successfully defending Mafeking for seven months. His tactics were often unconventional but very effective in keeping up both the spirits of the townspeople and the Boers at bay. He set an example of sang-froid that was instrumental in ensuring the troops under his command did not give in to the fears of the odds facing them. The following anecdote is characteristic of him:"Soon after the redoubtable Cronje [The Boer General] took command of the Boer forces, he forwarded a demand for surrender, to avoid further bloodshed, to which the reply [Baden-Powell's] was, "When will the bloodshed begin?""Highly recommended.Author -- W. Francis AitkenText taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in 1900, London, by S W Partridge & Co.Original Page Count - 175 pages.Illustrations -- 1 Portrait.Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors
Par Stephen E. Ambrose. 1996
A New York Times bestseller from the author of Band of Brothers: The biography of two fighters forever linked by history…
and the battle at Little Bighorn. On the sparkling morning of June 25, 1876, 611 men of the United States 7th Cavalry rode toward the banks of Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory, where three thousand Indians stood waiting for battle. The lives of two great warriors would soon be forever linked throughout history: Crazy Horse, leader of the Oglala Sioux, and General George Armstrong Custer. Both were men of aggression and supreme courage. Both became leaders in their societies at very early ages. Both were stripped of power, in disgrace, and worked to earn back the respect of their people. And to both of them, the unspoiled grandeur of the Great Plains of North America was an irresistible challenge. Their parallel lives would pave the way, in a manner unknown to either, for an inevitable clash between two nations fighting for possession of the open prairie.The true story of a World War II squadron leader and his remarkable experiences in twentieth-century military aviation. Amid…
commemorations for the fiftieth anniversary of the event, Richard Pike&’s young daughter asked, &“Why do they go on about the Battle of Britain so much?&” Richard proceeded to explain, describing scenes of Hyde Park picnickers watching dogfights in the skies above them—and revealed to her that her own grandfather had played a big role in this dramatic turning point in the war. Tom Pike joined the Royal Air Force in early 1924 as a Flight Cadet at Cranwell. During a long and varied career through wartime and peacetime, he held a wide variety of RAF appointments around the world, and when he eventually retired he&’d held the ultimate post, that of Chief of Air Staff, and also that of Deputy Supreme Commander Allied Powers Europe. This book, written by his son, is a vividly told account of his leadership of No. 219 Night Fighter Squadron based at Tangmere in 1941, offering a unique angle on this aspect of WWII, and a biography of a senior officer with a wry sense of humor, a hatred of violence, and a determination to serve his country.Laurence Attwell's Letters from the Front
Par W. A. Attwell. 2005
Lawrence Attwell was one of the lucky ones, surviving over four years of trench warfare on the Western Front. During…
that time he had two short periods of leave.In his extraordinary series of letters to his family he graphically recounts what life was like for the ordinary infantry soldier on active duty. We learn of the conditions, the discipline, the courage, the fear and the reactions of the writer and his fellows. Attwell was in the Prince of Wales Own, Civil Service Rifles.Under Fire in the Dardanelles: The Great War Diaries & Photographs of Major Edward Cadogan
Par Viscount Chelsea. 2006
Edward Cadogan kept a record of his war in words and photographs. His baptism by fire in Gallipoli made a…
profound effect on him but, as the situation deteriorated and casualties mounted, he became highly critical of the plan and the leadership. His front line experiences are balanced by his contact with senior commanders. Wounded and clearly in poor health he was fortunate to survive. After the ignominious withdrawal, Cadogan soldiered on in Egypt and Palestine increasingly disenchanted with the conduct of the War. His descriptions of conditions at the Front are complemented by his interest in family affairs at home.This compilation is not only superb military history but a unique piece of social commentary.The Battle for Burma: Wild Green Earth
Par Bernard Fergusson. 2015
Bernard Fergusson was one of Orde Wingate's Column Commanders in the heroic but battered Chindit expedition behind Japanese lines in…
Burma in 1943. By 1944 Wingate had persuaded Churchill and Roosevelt that a bigger force, on the same unorthodox lines, could make a strategic difference. Aged 32, Fergusson returned to Burma as part of this, as a Brigadier, leading the only Brigade in the new force which entered Burma on foot. It was one of four Brigades which established well-defended strongholds within Japanese-occupied Burma. Fergusson also reflects candidly, and often humorously, on different aspects of the campaign. These include the ingenuity and sheer courage of the US Army Air Force pilots who flew in supplies and evacuated wounded. One glider pilot whom Fergusson saw making a particularly bad landing turned out to be Jackie Coogan, child star of Chaplin's The Kid, and later known as Uncle Fenster of the Addams Family. In apparently light hearted, but often profound sections, he analyses the management of a large and diverse force, up against physical extremes far from normal amenities and command structures; the importance of maintaining morale and of medical management; and, not least, an immediate portrait of Wingate himself, whose death at a crucial stage of the campaign and the conflicting or at least confusing orders he left behind directly affected Fergusson's men and the fate of the campaign.The Wild Green Earth follows the author's account of the 1943 campaign, Beyond the Chindwin. Both were written with the events, and reactions even the smells fresh in the author's mind, and vividly but sensitively conveyed. The excitement of the narrative remains today. And the reflections are timeless, fascinating for those with an interest in leadership and motivation as much as for readers of military history.Private Hitler's War, 1914–1918: 1914-1919 (Eyewitnesses from The Great War)
Par Bob Carruthers. 2014
During the Great War Adolf Hitler served in the ranks of the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment from 1914 to…
1918, and was awarded the Iron Cross. In later years, under the masterful control of Doctor Goebbels, Hitler was successfully portrayed by the Nazis as a valiant front-line soldier who, for four long years, had fought many hard battles in the front-line of trenches.The world has long accepted the Nazi version, and Hitler is often referred to as a Corporal, but a series of clues remained which pointed to an alternative version of the truth. Even at the zenith of his power, Hitler was always mindful that there were those who maintained that, far from being a brave front-line fighter, he was actually a fraud; a draft-dodger and rear area malingerer who in four years of war had only ever fought in one action.Hitler knew the uncomfortable truth. The Nazi machine acted ruthlessly and former colleagues such as Hans Mend, who didn't toe the party line, soon ended up in concentration camps.Now, almost a century later, as a result of a series of painstaking investigations, the producers of the ground-breaking documentary Private Hitler's War have resolved the century long controversy over Hitler's service in the Great War. This powerful documentary tie-in book finally turns the Nazi myth on its head and reveals the full unvarnished truth concerning Adolf Hitler's actions in the Great War.Britain's Last Tommies: Final Memories from Soldiers of the 1914–18 War—In Their Own Words
Par Richard Van Emden. 2005
In the later 2nd century BC, after a period of rapid expansion and conquest, the Roman Republic found itself in…
crisis. In North Africa her armies were already bogged down in a long difficult guerrilla war in a harsh environment when invasion by a coalition of Germanic tribes, the Cimbri, Teutones and Ambrones, threatened Italy and Rome itself, inflicting painful defeats on Roman forces in pitched battle Gaius Marius was the man of the hour. The first war he brought to an end through tactical brilliance, bringing the Numidian King Jugurtha back in chains. Before his ship even returned to Italy, the senate elected Marius to lead the war against the northern invaders. Reorganizing and reinvigorating the demoralized Roman legions, he led them to two remarkable victories in the space of months, crushing the Teutones and Ambrones at Aquiae Sextae and the Cimbri at Vercellae. The Roman army emerged from this period of crisis a much leaner and more professional force and the author examines the extent to which the 'Marian Reforms' were responsible for this and the extent to which they can be attributed to Marius himself.Men Behind the Medals: A New Selection
Par Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork. 2003
This book pays tribute to the quite remarkable bravery of those young men who risked, and all too often lost,…
their lives for their country during the war. The author, himself a distinguished Royal Air Force officer, has singled out twenty-one men to represent 'the many' to whom he dedicated the book; but he has chosen them with care to illustrate, as far as possible, the wide scope of the duties of the Royal Air Force in wartime.Commando to Captain-Generall: The Life of Brigadier Peter Young
Par Alison Michelli. 2007
This is the story of Brigadier Peter Young (1915–1988), a highly decorated soldier who was one of the founding members…
of 3 Commando, rising during WWII from 2 Lt to Brigadier in the space of 6 years. His battle honours include Vaagso, Dieppe, Sicily, Italy, Normandy and Burma. A career soldier, he returned to his parent regiment, the Beds and Herts, after the war and subsequently spent time in Palestine where he commanded the 9th Regiment of the Arab Legion under Glubb Pasha. After Suez he returned to England, retiring from the Army in 1959. He founded the War Studies Department at RMA Sandhurst during the 60s, intending to create there a intellectual centre along the lines of a university faculty for the study of military history and to that end gathered around him some of the finest military historians of the day including Richard Holmes, David Chandler and John Adair amongst others. He was instrumental in the forming of The Sealed Knot and is reverred in re-enactment circles. To publicise a book he had written about the English Civil War he organised a publicity stunt which evolved rapidly into the first re-enactment society: The Sealed Knot. An avid war-gamer, his name is legendary in war-gaming circles. 'The Brig' is still a well-known personality even among those too young ever to have met him.Somme Intelligence: Fourth Army HQ, 1916
Par William Langford. 2013
For the Somme offensive British Fourth Army headquarters was situated in a chateau at Querrieu on the Albert-Amiens road. In…
the build up months to Haig's Great Push a steady flow of intelligence was being compiled; captured German documents, intercepted messages, prisoners' letters, diaries and information gleaned from prisoner interviews were entered into foolscap-size ledgers where they could be perused by the planners.The hand-written journal of intelligence reports upon which this work is formed was originally compiled by a former soldier of the 11th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, (Accrington Pals), Harry Platt of Burnley. In 1916 he was a sergeant working on intelligence duties at Fourth Army GHQ. He was later commissioned in the Royal Engineers. Harry also served in the Second World War in the Royal Artillery reaching the rank of Major. He was Mentioned in Despatches in both conflicts. Harry died in August 1951 aged 56.In 2002 the handwritten journal was lodged with the Imperial War Museum at the instigation of historian William Turner, military historian and author of books on the Accrington Pals.As the reader goes through these reports it would be helpful to keep in mind that members of the British staff at Querrieu chateau, including Generals Haig and Rawlinson, would have had their impressions coloured by the words you are reading and doubtless their optimism for a successful outcome to the Somme offensive greatly enhanced. They would have noted the effect the British bombardment was having; dominance of the Royal Flying Corps as its machines seemingly operated unmolested over the trenches; growing unrest in German cities as food shortages drove the populace to riot; and the relentless call-up to the colours of ever-younger youths as that nation's manhood bled in the great battles taking place.Into Battle: A Seventeen-Year-Old Joins Kitchener's Army
Par E. W. Parker. 2012
Written well over ninety years ago while the experiences of youth were still fresh in the authors mind, this is…
the story of a seventeen-year-old boy from the time he joined Kitcheners Army, as one of the first hundred thousand in 1914, until he found himself in hospital—an officer with the Military Cross—recovering from his last wound, on the day of the Armistice, 11 November, 1918.In no way a formal record of the great and terrible events it describes, this is a purely personal, almost private, account. It is a plain, unvarnished tale—and even more effective for that—of heroism, and the horror peculiar to trench warfare of the First World War.Interspersed with moments of pity, humor and a deep response to natural beauty and peace out of the firing line, it is a record, which in its details, direct simplicity and manner of telling, comes nearer to the truth than many more ambitious accounts.Famous, 1914–1918: 1914-1918
Par Victor Piuk, Richard Van Emden. 2009
Famous tells the Great War stories of twenty of Britain's most respected, best known and even notorious celebrities. They include…
politicians, actors, writers, an explorer, a sculptor and even a murderer. The generation that grew up in the late 19th Century enlisted enthusiastically in the defense of the country. Many would become household names such as Basil Rathbone, the definitive Sherlock Holmes, AA Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh, and John Laurie and Arnold Ridley who found fame and public affection as the dour Scotsman Fraser, and the gentle and genial Godfrey, in Dad's Army. From politicians such as Harold Macmillan and Winston Churchill to writers includsing JB Priestley, and JRR Tolkein, from sculptors like Henry Moore, to composers such as Ralph Vaughan Williams, their fame and influence continue even into the 21st Century. The authors Richard van Emden and Vic Piuk have discovered the exact locations where these celebrities saw action. They tell the story of how JRR Tolkein led his men over the top on the Somme, where CS Lewis was wounded and invalided home, and how Basil Rathbone won the Military Cross for a trench raid (while dressed as a tree). Each story will be examined in detail with pictures taken of the very spot where the actions took place. There are maps of the area that will guide enterprising readers to walk in the footsteps of their heroes.