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The Rorke's Drift Commanders: Gonville Bromhead and John Chard
Par James W. Bancroft. 2022
Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead and Lieutenant John Chard had fame thrust upon them, as did the place known as Rorke’s Drift,…
which before 1879 was an unknown homestead situated in the middle of the South African veld. Although both men came from families whose various members were highly distinguished for their military service and for their service to the church, they became reluctant heroes after being awarded Britain’s highest decoration for valor, the Victoria Cross. During the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, a British invasion force was massacred at iSandlwana, after which a wing of the Zulu army about 3,000 strong attacked the outpost at Rorke’s Drift. Lieutenants Bromhead and Chard commanded the post, and after supervising the construction of barricades they led their men in defensive actions throughout the night until the Zulus lost heart and returned to their kraals. For their gallantry ‘under most trying circumstances’, both Bromhead and Chard, along with nine of their comrades, were subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross. In 1964 the defence of Rorke’s Drift was brought back to public attention with the producing of the epic motion picture Zulu! In this film, Chard was portrayed by Sir Stanley Baker, while Bromhead provided Sir Michael Caine with his first starring role. Bromhead and Chard epitomised the way of life of Victorian officers, with the exception that fate put them at Rorke’s Drift. They became major players in a battle which continues to excite interest and cause debate, and is unlikely ever to be forgotten.Alexander the Great & Persia: From Conqueror to King of Asia
Par Joseph Stiles. 2022
Upon his return from India, Alexander the Great travelled to the Persian royal city of Pasargadae to pay homage at…
the tomb of King Cyrus, founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, whom he admired greatly. Disgusted to find Cyrus’ tomb desecrated and looted, the Macedonian king had the tomb guards tortured, the Persian provincial governor executed and the tomb refurbished. This episode involving Cyrus’ tomb serves as one of many case studies in Alexander’s relationship with Persia. At times Alexander would behave pragmatically, sparing his defeated enemies and adopting Persian customs. Sisygambis, the mother of Persian King Darius III, allegedly came to view Alexander as a son and starved herself at the news of his demise. On other occasions he did not shy away from destruction (famously torching the palace at Persepolis) and cruelty, earning himself the nickname ‘the accursed’. This conflicting nature gives Alexander a complex legacy in the Persian world. Joseph Stiles explores Alexander the Great’s fascinating relationship with his ‘spear-won’ empire, disentangling the motives and influences behind his policies and actions as ‘King of Asia’.Women Interned in World War Two Sumatra: Faith, Hope and Survival
Par Barbara Coombes. 2022
Thousands of women and children were among those who struggled to leave Singapore just before capitulation on February 15 1942;…
their hope was to reach safety. For many that hope was never realised; countless numbers drowned as ships were bombed and sunk on their way to ‘safety’. The ‘lucky’ ones who survived the onslaught of the ships would become guests of the Japanese; many of these would not live to see the end of the war. Two very different women fleeing on those last ships and subsequently interned in camps throughout Sumatra were Margaret Dryburgh, a missionary and teacher, and Shelagh Brown, a secretary at the Singapore Naval Base. Their paths crossed briefly prior to the catastrophic events of 1942 and met again in internment. The ‘Captives Hymn’ composed by Margaret Dryburgh was initially sung by herself along with Shelagh Brown and friend Dorothy MacLeod on 5 July 1942. It has since been sung at services throughout internment and continues to be sung at services all over the world. Music and faith were fundamental to both their lives and Margaret’s creative talents lifted the spirits of everyone during those dark and difficult days. In a remarkable partnership, when the women were struggling to find something new that would lift their flagging spirits, Margaret and fellow internee Norah Chambers produced a ‘Vocal Orchestra’ using women’s voices in place of instruments. The first performance stunned the entire camp; they had never heard anything so beautiful and momentarily made them feel that they were free and floating away with the music. This true account, using personal diaries and family documents traces Margaret Dryburgh and Shelagh Brown’s journey from childhood through to adulthood and internment. Early life shapes adult life and perhaps contributed to their response to captivity which showed courage, tenacity, perseverance and surprisingly, given the appalling conditions, a good deal of humour. ‘May the Day of Freedom Dawn’Dickens and Travel: The Start of Modern Travel Writing
Par Lucinda Hawksley. 2022
From childhood, Charles Dickens was fascinated by tales from other countries and other cultures, and he longed to see the…
world. In Dickens and Travel, Lucinda Hawksley looks at the journeys made by the author – who is also her great great great grandfather. Although Dickens is usually perceived as a London author, in the 1840s he whisked his family away to live in Italy for year, and spent several months in Switzerland. Some years later he took up residence in Paris and Boulogne (where he lived in secret with his lover). In addition to travelling widely in Europe, he also toured America twice, performed onstage in Canada and, before his untimely death, was planning a tour of Australia. Dickens and Travel enters into the world of the Victorian traveller and looks at how Charles Dickens’s journeys influenced his writing and enriched his life.Fire and Fortitude: The US Army in the Pacific War, 1941-1943
Par John C. McManus. 2019
An engrossing, epic history of the US Army in the Pacific War, from the acclaimed author of The Dead and…
Those About to Die“This eloquent and powerful narrative is military history written the way it should be.”—James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian "Out here, mention is seldom seen of the achievements of the Army ground troops," wrote one officer in the fall of 1943, "whereas the Marines are blown up to the skies." Even today, the Marines are celebrated as the victors of the Pacific, a reflection of a well-deserved reputation for valor. Yet the majority of fighting and dying in the war against Japan was done not by Marines but by unsung Army soldiers. John C. McManus, one of our most highly acclaimed historians of World War II, takes readers from Pearl Harbor—a rude awakening for a military woefully unprepared for war—to Makin, a sliver of coral reef where the Army was tested against the increasingly desperate Japanese. In between were nearly two years of punishing combat as the Army transformed, at times unsteadily, from an undertrained garrison force into an unstoppable juggernaut, and America evolved from an inward-looking nation into a global superpower. At the pinnacle of this richly told story are the generals: Douglas MacArthur, a military autocrat driven by his dysfunctional lust for fame and power; Robert Eichelberger, perhaps the greatest commander in the theater yet consigned to obscurity by MacArthur's jealousy; "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell, a prickly soldier miscast in a diplomat's role; and Walter Krueger, a German-born officer who came to lead the largest American ground force in the Pacific. Enriching the narrative are the voices of men otherwise lost to history: the uncelebrated Army grunts who endured stifling temperatures, apocalyptic tropical storms, rampant malaria and other diseases, as well as a fanatical enemy bent on total destruction. This is an essential, ambitious book, the first of two volumes, a compellingly written and boldly revisionist account of a war that reshaped the American military and the globe and continues to resonate today.The Astral Geographic: The Watkins Guide to the Occult World
Par Andy Sharp. 2023
EXPLORE THE LANDSCAPES OF THE OCCULT – EXPAND THE HORIZONS OF YOUR CONSCIOUSNESSThis ground-breaking new approach to the history of…
magic explores the occult through geography, inviting you to embark on ten astral travel journeys that span centuries and continents. Each itinerary comes complete with a route map, postcards of the sites, artworks of magical artefacts and an essay exploring a key occult theme, from necromancy and alchemy to standing stones and drowned cities. Follow in the hoof steps of the Devil from ancient Egypt to London&’s Hellfire Club to the black magic venues of 1960s San Francisco; invoke angels and demons in the Algerian desert; meet witches in the Mediterranean temples of Hekate and Circe and the ancient cemeteries of Scandinavia; practise cloud divination in druidic Ireland then travel to the English countryside in search of hidden hexes … and much more! Finally, try practising magic for yourself using the Grimorium Terra, a manual that teaches how to use geography as a magical tool. Discover how to perform rituals in different terrains, use your surroundings to catalyze altered states of consciousness, explore astral travel and seed your own lucid dreams!Allegorizings
Par Jan Morris. 2021
New York Times Book Review • Editors' Choice Jan Morris delivers her final volume, brimming with reminiscences, meditations on daily…
life, and mini-essays on everything from maturity to whistling to Princess Diana. Not so long ago, feeling intimations of mortality, Jan Morris embarked on a wholly novel literary enterprise. What began as a series of high-minded letters to her late daughter—in the style of Lord Chesterfield addressing his son—quickly transformed itself into a potpourri of mini-essays and vibrant reminiscences, organized around experiences both majestic and mundane, from traveling the world with her lifelong partner, Elizabeth, to sneezing and kissing and simply growing old. So Allegorizings came to be, and so Morris decided that it should only be published upon her death, not because she had anything to hide but, merely, in parting. Featuring essays largely written in the early twenty-first century, Allegorizings reflects, above all, Morris’s steadfast conviction that nothing is only what it seems. In fact, she observes, everything is allegory. Indeed, in Morris’s telling, even life—the whole conundrum of existence—is one long, majestically impenetrable allegory. Taking us from the separatist hippie colony of Bolinas, California, to her home country of Wales, and introducing us to Nepalese Sherpas and elderly cruise-goers alike, Morris follows the throughline of allegory throughout her works. In one essay, she lambasts the joylessness of maturity (“Maturity! Did ever a heart thrill to the sound of it, still less the meaning?”) and in another, decries the nonsense of nationality. With characteristic verve, she offers odes to whistling and cursing, cats, and exclamation points. Morris’s travels anchor the collection, as she revisits the iconic settings of her previous works. We join her aboard the storied Orient Express, as well as tube trains passing through the purlieus of London. So too, we hike the foothills of the Himalayas—where Morris burst onto scene with her on-the-spot reportage of the first ascent of Everest—and reflect on the picaresque allure of Tournus, a dichotomized town in France where one France, bearing all the vestiges of privilege, seems to kiss another. Intimate and luminously wise, Allegorizings is as much a testament to the virtues of embracing life as it is a testament to its charming, indignant, and ever-surprising author. In her final work, Morris’s writing is as erudite as ever, conveying a generosity of spirit “flavored by well-earned crankiness” (Vox). Though newly bereft of her company, readers will be reminded what “a good, wise, and witty companion” (Alexander McCall Smith) Morris has been to so many, for so long.In Search of Perfumes: A Lifetime Journey to the Source of Nature's Scents
Par Dominique Roques. 1992
"[An] immersive debut... with detailed accounts of his trips and vivid descriptions of the scents ... [Roques'] rich travelogue will…
transport readers." – Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)In this intoxicating concoction of history, travelogue, and memoir, one of the perfume industry’s leading scouts of natural ingredients tells the story of the precious ingredients needed to make our favorite fragrances.Do you know how many flowers it takes to produce a kilo of rose oil? One million roses, each handpicked. When it comes to nature, Dominique Roques is a unique authority. He has spent the last thirty years working closely with local communities across the globe to establish a sustainable supply of natural ingredients crucial to perfume making.From resin cultivated by traditional methods in El Salvador to rose oil distilleries in India as old as the Taj Mahal, his network reveals an elusive trade built on the fault lines of tradition and modernity. With In Search of Perfumes, Roques tells the story of seventeen of the industry’s most precious ingredients–where they come from, their cultural and historic significance, and why we love them—from Indonesian patchouli to the "Damask rose,” interweaving his own recollections and reflections on his life and work.From Andalusia to Somaliland, Roques takes us on an exclusive tour of a vast but delicate ecosystem wholly sustained by the artisans who are its caretakers. Isolated and rural, the tropical jungles of northern Laos remain to this day the only source of benzoin that centuries earlier wafted through the air of Louis XIV’s court. In Madagascar, where every transaction is made in cash, a caravan of porters carry pallets bearing $500,000 dollars to exchange for vanilla beans. The Venezuelan tonka bean, as fickle as the weather, may refuse to flower for years but is so esteemed by perfumers that patience becomes its truest virtue. Everywhere Roques takes us, his infectious curiosity and amiability illuminate an immersive world of the uncharted.Entertaining and eye-opening, decorated with beautiful black-and-white illustrations, In Search of Perfumes is an irresistible exploration of the smells that fuel our nostalgia and suffuse our fantasies.Translated from the French by Stephanie SmeeSupplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.A former fighter pilot chronicles his career flying for the Royal Air Force for over four decades in this action-packed…
memoir. For forty-four years, Clive Rowley flew with the Royal Air Force, and for thirty-one of those years he specialized as an air defense fighter pilot. Such was his love of fast fighter aircraft that, in order to stay flying, he transferred to Specialist Aircrew terms of service, relinquishing any chance of further promotion above his rank of squadron leader. During those years Clive flew Lightnings, Hawks, and Tornado F.3s but, perhaps more intriguingly, for eleven years he flew Hurricanes and Spitfires with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF), the RAF&’s, if not the world&’s most famous &“warbird&” display team, which he ultimately led and commanded. Many readers will have watched him, perhaps unknowingly, as he flew these iconic aircraft, often alongside the Lancaster, at air shows and large-scale commemorations around the UK and Europe. During the Cold War, Clive flew the BAC Lightning from Gütersloh in Germany and in the UK, becoming an expert in the art of air combat in the process. Then for sixteen years he flew the Tornado F.3 as the RAF moved into expeditionary operations. Packed with humorous and often hair-raising anecdotes, but also revealing the shock and sorrow he felt at the deaths of friends and colleagues, this book is a highly detailed account of life as a fighter pilot in the RAF in the last three decades of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Clive is open about the fears he sometimes felt in this dangerous world and how he allayed them to continue flying for more than four decades. This book is illustrated with wonderful photographs from his time on the front line as well as with the BBMF, many of which have never been published before. If you have ever wondered what it is like to fly supersonic jet fighters, like the Lightning and the Tornado F.3, or iconic &“warbirds,&” such as the Hurricane and Spitfire, Clive Rowley brings you into those cockpits and shares his experiences.The Forgotten Giant of Bletchley Park
Par Harold Liberty. 2022
In recent years, the work of the Bletchley Park codebreakers has caught the public’s imagination with books and films. While…
men such as Alan Turing and Dilly Knox have been recognized, Brigadier John Tiltman has been hardly mentioned. This overdue biography reveals that ‘The Brig’, as he was known, played a key role. After distinguished Great War military service, he established himself as a skilled codebreaker between the Wars, monitoring Russian and other unfriendly powers’ messages. During World War Two he was regarded as the most versatile of cryptographers, cracking a range of codes including Japanese ones. He made the first breakthrough against the German High Command Lorenz system and what he found led to the creation of machines including Colossus, the first recognisable computer. His lack of recognition may be down to his apparent lack of association with Enigma but, in truth, he was closely involved at the start. In addition to his cryptological brilliance, ‘The Brig’ was a gifted communicator and team-builder whose character combined charm, intelligence, determination and common sense. He was key to building the special relationship with our American partners both during and after the war. Harold Liberty’s biography shines light on a man whose contribution was essential to Britain’s survival and triumph in the Second World War.Hannibal
Par Ernle Bradford. 1980
The life of the great military commander of ancient Carthage from the bestselling author of Thermopylae and Gibraltar. Born…
in Carthage in 247 BC, Hannibal Barca is considered one of the greatest military commanders of all time. Following the example set by his father, Hamilcar, he dedicated his life to the defeat of Rome. At the outbreak of the Second Punic War, Hannibal famously led an army across the Pyrenees and the Alps to victory against the Romans at the Battle of Trebia. In the years that followed, Hannibal led the Carthaginian war on Rome through some of the most brutal and costly battles in recorded history. In this richly detailed biography, Ernle Bradford tells the story of a great leader whose military strategies have been studied and copied by commanders throughout history, from his own Roman enemies to Napoleon Bonaparte.Da Nang Diary: A Forward Air Controller's Gunsight View of Flying with SOG
Par Tom Yarborough. 2013
&“[An] intimate account of a Forward Air Controller working with the Special Forces on their secret operations in South Vietnam…
and Laos . . . Don&’t miss it!&” (John Prados, author of Storm Over Leyte). Originally published in 1991, this classic work has now been revised and updated with additional photos. It is the story of how, in Vietnam, an elite group of Air Force pilots fought a secret air war in Cessna 0-2 and OV-10 Bronco prop planes—flying as low as they could get. The eyes and ears of the fast-moving jets who rained death and destruction down on enemy positions, the forward air controller made an art form out of an air strike—knowing the targets, knowing where friendly troops were, and reacting with split-second, life-and-death decisions as a battle unfolded. The expertise of the low, slow FACs, as well as the hazard attendant to their role, made for a unique bird&’s-eye perspective on how the entire war in Vietnam unfolded. For Tom Yarborough, who logged 1,500 hours of combat flying time, the risk was constant, intense, and electrifying. A member of the super-secret &“Prairie Fire&” unit, Yarborough became one of the most frequently shot-up pilots flying out of Da Nang—engaging in a series of dangerous secret missions in Laos. In this work, the reader flies in the cockpit alongside Yarborough in his adrenaline-pumping chronicle of heroism, danger, and wartime brotherhood. From the rescuing of downed pilots to taking out enemy positions, to the most harrowing extended missions directly overhead of the NVA, here is the dedication, courage and skill of the fliers who took the war into the enemy&’s backyard.The Suffragette Bombers: Britain's Forgotten Terrorists
Par Simon Webb. 2014
In the years leading up to the First World War, the United Kingdom was subjected to a ferocious campaign of…
bombing and arson. Those conducting this terrorist offensive were members of the Women's Social and Political Union; better known as the suffragettes. The targets for their attacks ranged from St Paul's Cathedral and the Bank of England in London to theatres and churches in Ireland. The violence, which included several attempted assassinations, culminated in June 1914 with an explosion in Westminster Abbey.Simon Webb explores the way in which the suffragette bombers have been airbrushed from history, leaving us with a distorted view of the struggle for female suffrage. Not only were the suffragettes far more aggressive than is generally known, but there exists the very real and surprising possibility that their militant activities actually delayed, rather than hastened, the granting of the parliamentary vote to British women.&“A fabulous read, filled with heroism, history, and hi-jinks, as author William F. Sine recounts his life as an Air…
Force Pararescue Jumper&” (Readers&’ Favorite). US Air Force Pararescue is the most skillful and capable rescue force in the world, taking on some of the most dangerous rescue missions imaginable. PJs (short for para-jumpers), are members of an elite unit whose commando skills are so wide-reaching they often seem like something out of science fiction. They routinely tackle perilous operations that are beyond the capabilities of other rescue organizations, and sometimes dare the seemingly impossible. Since their inception in 1947, PJs have saved more than thirty thousand lives. They can pluck near-frozen climbers off jagged mountaintops and recover shot-down jet pilots stranded deep in hostile territory. In the dead of night, the PJs parachute into ominous, black, twenty-foot-tall waves to save distressed seamen, and they brave the cruelest and most desolate deserts to recover victims. US Air Force pararescuemen have played a prominent role in every armed conflict since the Korean War, rescuing thousands of soldiers from behind enemy lines. Guardian Angel provides a rare glimpse at a PJ&’s mind-blowing adventures. You follow Sgt. Sine&’s trek across exotic lands and share his encounters with mysterious cultures. Learn what it takes to lower from a helicopter onto the slippery decks of storm-tossed ships to rescue dying sailors. Feel what it&’s like to be caught in the middle of a bomb blast so powerful that it tears high-rise buildings in half, and flattens armored vehicles hundreds of yards away. Soar high above towering jungle trees and experience the danger of swinging on a slim cable below a helicopter, while performing a mid-air rescue of a pilot, dangling from his chute a hundred feet above a mountain slope. Go to war in Afghanistan and parachute onto a nocturnal battlefield, surrounded by land mines, to help a mortally wounded soldier. This is a deadly serious business: When things go wrong, they can go terribly wrong. Aircraft crash into mountainsides, killing all onboard, while some PJs live through horrendous helicopter crashes only to struggle with freezing temperatures, snapped limbs and torn flesh in a desperate fight for survival. This book presents true stories of uncommon courage told from the perspective of the actual men in the arena. PJs belong to an exclusive brotherhood and forge unbreakable bonds of loyalty, commitment, and sacrifice. They do these things for their country, to protect their brothers in arms, and to honor their motto: &“That Others May Live.&”Wellington's Command: A Reappraisal of His Generalship in the Peninsula and at Waterloo
Par George E. Jaycock. 2020
A military historian assesses the leadership style of the man who defeated Napoleon.The Duke of Wellington’s victory at the Battle…
of Waterloo cemented his reputation as a great general, and much subsequent writing on his career has taken an uncritical, sometimes chauvinistic view of his talents. Little has been published that fully pins down the reality of Wellington’s leadership, clearly identifying his weaknesses as well as his strengths.George E. Jaycock, in this perceptive and thought-provoking reassessment, does not aim to undermine Wellington’s achievements, but to provide a more nuanced perspective. He clarifies some simple but fundamental truths regarding his leadership and his performance as a commander.Through an in-depth study of his actions over the war years of 1808 to 1815, the author reassesses Wellington’s effectiveness as a commander, the competence of his subordinates, and the qualities of the troops he led. His study gives a fascinating insight into Wellington’s career and abilities. Wellington’s Command is absorbing reading for both military historians and those with an interest in the Napoleonic period.Twenty Days in the Reich: Three Downed RAF Aircrew on the Run in Germany, 1945
Par Squire 'Tim' Scott. 2006
In this thrilling WWII memoir, a Royal Air Force navigator recounts his time as a POW in Germany just as…
Allied forces marched toward victory. On March 15th, 1945, three crew members of a Bomber Command Lancaster baled from their crippled aircraft over Germany&’s Rhur Valley. All three were soon captured and handed over to German guards who escorted them over 120 miles to a POW camp. In Twenty Days in the Reich, RAF navigator Squire &“Tim&” Scott recounts his experience behind enemy lines. With Allied forces quickly advancing, the transportation system was in chaos. The small party traveled by one of the few remaining trains and sometimes resorted to hitchhiking. Though the nights were bitterly cold, the two guards were surprisingly sympathetic. Scott was amazed by the civility of the local people, a stark contrast to the horrific tales of how Allied POWs were treated. Before they were rescued by Allied forces, twenty-twp days after baling out, the three had only spent fifteen days as prisoners and only thirty-six hours behind barbed wire.Captured at Arnhem: From Railwayman to Paratrooper
Par Norman Hicks. 2013
A memoir of a young soldier&’s training as a paratrooper during WWII, his wartime service, imprisonment and return to his…
career for the British railways. After spending the 1930s working for the London Midland Scottish railways, Tom Hicks volunteered for war service in 1939 and was initially placed in the military railway of the Royal Engineers. In search of adventure, he successfully applied to join the newly formed 1st Parachute Squadron of the Royal Engineers. The intensity and rigors of parachute training are described in detail, as are the comradeship and humor that came to the fore as this small 150-man unit fought throughout the Second World War as part of the 1st Parachute Brigade. The excitement of the first parachute jumps is relived together with the parachute operations in North Africa, Sicily, and the Battle of Arnhem. It was here after nine days&’ fighting with his mates falling around him that Tom was wounded and taken prisoner. Following the battle, Tom was transported in a cattle truck to Germany where he was used as forced labor in a lead mine until being liberated by the Americans in 1945. With insightful commentary from Tom&’s son Norman, this is the story of an ordinary soldier, who was motivated by pride in his unit. Tom has recounted his experiences with a keen eye and a sense of humor that has always enabled him to triumph in the face of adversity.Warsaw 1944: An Insurgent's Journal of the Uprising
Par Zbigniew Czajkowski. 2012
&“Built around a journal written in the months just after the Warsaw uprising by . . . a teenage fighter in the Polish…
underground . . . a compelling account.&” —HistoryOfWar.org This remarkable journal, written shortly after the event, describes not only the author&’s own experiences of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising but the wider picture. With the Soviet Army&’s arrival imminent, the Polish Underground fighters decided to wage open warfare against the hated Nazi occupiers. This courageous decision was taken despite the Poles chronic shortage of arms, ammunition, and medical support. They fully expected the Soviets to relieve them gratefully for hastening the defeat of the Germans. With cruel and calculated cynicism, the Soviets halted their offensive and let the uneven match be settled without their involvement. The outcome was inevitable Warsaw was largely destroyed, the Polish men, women, and children fighters crushed and the Nazis weakened. The Soviets then moved in. This journal is a unique record of the bitter fighting when neither side was prepared to give quarter. &“Authentic, dramatically realistic, showing the tragedy of a generation thrown into a hopeless battle. A priceless treasure against which other memoirs pale in comparison.&” —Lech Dzikiewicz &“The author has described the scenes of fighting so vividly almost impossible to believe he had come out unscathed.&” —Kultura &“An exceptionally valuable document—great historical and literary value.&” —Dziennik PolskiFighting for Napoleon: French Soldiers' Letters, 1799–1815
Par Bernard Wilkin, René Wilkin. 2015
True, first-hand accounts of combat and soldiering from the men who fought for Napoleon Bonparte and the First French Empire:…
&“Fascinating stuff&” (Stuart Asquith, author of Military Modelling). The French side of the Napoleonic Wars is often presented from a strategic point of view, or in terms of military organization and battlefield tactics, or through officers&’ memoirs. Fighting for Napoleon:French Soldiers&’ Letters, 1799–1815, based on more than sixteen hundred letters written by French soldiers of the Napoleonic armies, shares the perspectives and experiences of the lowest, ordinary ranks of the army who fought on the frontlines. Authors Bernard Wilkin and René Wilkin provide an informative read of common soldiers&’ lives for military and cultural historians as well as a fascinating counterpoint to the memoirs of Cpt. Jean-Roch Coignet, Col. Marcellin de Marbot, or Sgt. Adrien Bourgogne. &“A superb guide to the experience and motivation of military service that is based on a wide trawl of relevant letters . . . A first-rate work that is of much wider significance.&” —Professor Jeremy Black, author of The Battle of Waterloo &“Provides the reader with a good insight into the lives of ordinary French of the Napoleonic Wars . . . Direct accounts of campaigns and battle, recruitment and training, barrack life, the experience of captivity and being wounded are all here, based on letters written most by uneducated men to their immediate family . . . This really is fascinating stuff, and surely a &‘must&’ for students of Napoleonic warfare.&” —Stuart Asquith, author of Military Modelling: Guide to Solo WargamingEscaping with His Life: From Dunkirk to D-Day & Beyond
Par Nicholas Young. 2019
&“A fitting tribute . . . exceptional in covering the duration of WWII as a soldier, commando, POW, escaper, and…
on through D-Day to Victory.&” —Firetrench Very few British soldiers could lay claim to such a full war as Leslie Young. Having survived the retreat to and evacuation from Dunkirk, he volunteered for the newly formed Commandos and took part in their first operation, the raid on the Lofoten Islands. He fought and was captured in Tunisia. He went on the run before his POW camp at Fontanellato was taken over by the Nazis after the September 1943 Italian armistice. He spent six months on the run in the Apennine mountains aided by brave and selfless Italians. Many of whom were actively fighting their occupiers. He eventually reached Allied lines but not before several of his companions were tragically killed by both German and American fire. On return to England, he immediately signed up for the invasion of North West Europe and despite being wounded eventually fought through to Germany. It is thanks to his son&’s research that Major Young&’s story can now be told. It is an inspiring and thrilling account which demands to be read. &“Nicely retold by his son, Nicholas, this memoir ticks all the boxes . . . An incredible story of one man&’s war. It&’s excellent.&” —WW2Talk &“This wonderful account of the military life of Leslie Young is pure Boys&’ Own Paper stuff, a tale of heroism and daring, of courage and fortitude. An amazing story, brilliantly told.&” —Books Monthly