Second World War Books

Book SynopsisAS HEARD ON RADIO 4'Utterly wonderful' NINA STIBBE, author of Love, NinaTwenty hours have gone since I last wrote. I have been thinking of you. I shall think of you until I post this, and until you get it. Can you feel, as you read these words, that I am thinking of you now; aglow, alive, alert at the thought that you are in the same world, and by some strange chance loving me. In September 1943, Chris Barker was serving as a signalman in North Africa when he decided to brighten the long days of war by writing to old friends. One of these was Bessie Moore, a former work colleague. The unexpected warmth of Bessie's reply changed their lives forever. Crossing continents and years, their funny, affectionate and intensely personal letters are a remarkable portrait of a love played out against the backdrop of the Second World War. Above all, their story is a stirring example of the power of letters to transform ordinary lives.Trade ReviewUtterly wonderful -- NINA STIBBE * * author of LOVE, NINA * *The modern reader is swept along in a gushing sea of yearning, lust, fear, regret and relentlessly candid emotion, and is constantly reminded of the enduring power of letters to transform ordinary lives * * Daily Telegraph * *An immensely affecting set of letters * * Financial Times * *A record - spontaneous, immediate and unassuming - of the implacable triumph of love -- John Carey * * Sunday Times * *These letters are magnificent * * Daily Mail * *Barker and Moore start to fall in love by letter . . . And what a sweaty, lusty love it turns out to be * * Guardian * *What, one longs to know, is going to happen next to Chris and Bessie? . . . The thrillingly intensive experience that they lived through will continue to resonate for as long as those sheets of paper are read -- DIANA ATHILL * * Literary Review * *It's a delight, from the hesitancy of the first letters to the deep, fervent and repeated declarations of love and affection later . . . But it is the openness of the letters that leaves the lasting impression - you get a sense that writing these letters was an opportunity to communicate more freely and deeply than would have been possible elsewhere, even in the most intimate whisperings of pillow talk * * Skinny * *The sheer intensity of their mutual passion, set against the volatility of the war, is heady stuff indeed * * Good Book Guide * *Anyone who has ever got a date using Facebook or Tinder should read this and see what romance really looks like * * Sun * *

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Book SynopsisAt its peak in January 1945, 10,000 people worked at Bletchley Park, reading 4000 messages a day, decrypting German and Japanese communications and helping the Allies to victory. But while we know that Bletchley was the centre of Britain’s World War II code-breaking, how did its efforts actually change the course of the war? Enigma: How Breaking the Code Helped Win World War II tells the story of Bletchley’s role in defeating U-boats in the Atlantic, breaking the Japanese codes, helping the Allies to victory in North Africa, deciphering the German military intelligence code, learning of most German positions in western Europe before the Normandy Landings, defeating the Italian Navy in the Mediterranean, and helping sink the German battleship Scharnhorst off Norway. In tracing these events, the book also delves into the stories of major Bletchley characters, ‘boffins’ such as Alan Turing and Gordon Welchman, and ‘Debs’ such as Joan Clarke and Margaret Rock. An accessible work of military history that ranges across air, land and naval warfare, the book also touches on the story of early computer science. Illustrated with 120 black-&-white and colour photographs, artworks and maps, Enigma: How Breaking the Code Helped Win World War II is an authoritative and novel perspective on WWII history.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Captain Ridley’s Shooting Party Unlocking Enigma The Battle of Cape Matapan North Africa The Atlantic War The Lorenz Code Battle of the North Cape The Eastern Front Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe events of 1939–1945 had such a dramatic impact on the world that it is easy to forget that Allied victory was far from certain, especially in the early part of the war when both the Nazis in Europe and the Japanese in the Pacific were sweeping all before them. History of World War II chronicles the war as it happened, focusing on key battles and events that act as signposts in the slow change of fortunes of either side. Divided into two sections, one on each major theatre, the book describes such famous events as the attack on Pearl Harbor, the battle of Stalingrad, the Normandy landings, the fall of Berlin, and the struggle for Iwo Jima. Linking each famous event is an in-depth chronology detailing other events happening elsewhere, building into a snapshot of the war at that point. In each section are spreads comparing and contrasting the strengths of essential weapons in that battle: fighter aircraft in the Battle of Britain, tanks at Kursk, landing aircraft at D- Day and in the Pacific. Each of these spreads is packed with colourful diagrams, graphs and charts to help you grasp the relative strengths of, for example, different aircraft carriers at the Battle of Midway, US versus Japanese small arms at Okinawa and anti- tank guns in the Normandy campaign, among many other engagements. The final part of the book provides a chronology of the war. Highly illustrated with colour maps and both colour and black-and-white photographs and colour artworks, History of World War II is a both a handy reference volume on the progress of the conflict and the weapons used to fight it.Table of ContentsPART ONE: THE WAR IN EUROPE 1. Incredible victory: The battle of the River Plate 2. Battle for Finland: The winter war 3. Breakthrough: Sedan 4. The Fall of France: Escape from Dunkirk 5. The Battle of Britain: Victory of the Few 6. Operation judgement: The Taranto raid 7. O’Connor’s victory: Operation Compass 8. Hitler Strikes South: Germany invades the Balkans 9. Death from above: The airborne invasion of Crete 10. The hunt for the Bismarck 11. Panzergruppe Guderian: The drive on Smolensk 1941 12. Stalin’s winter offensive 13. Death on the Neva: The siege of Leningrad 14. The battle of Sevastopol: Conquest of the Crimea 15. Gazala and Tobruk: The Desert Fox in action 16. Forgotten sacrifice The Arctic convoys 17. Disaster at Dieppe: No second front 18. Operation Torch: America in Europe 19. Drive for the Volga 20. El Alamein: Montgomery’s victory 21. Stalingrad - Death of an Army 22. Kasserine: The Desert Fox strikes back 23. Kharkov: Manstein’s masterpiece 24. Kursk: Turning point in the east 25. Target for tonight: The night battles over Germany 26. The Schweinfurt raids. Battle over Germany 27. Operation Husky: The invasion of Sicily 28. The Battle of the Atlantic 29. Big Week: Striking at the heart of the Reich 30. Cassino: Battle for the monastery 31. ‘A stranded whale’: The Anzio landings 32. D-Day: The Normandy landings 33. The destruction of Army Group Centre 34. Normandy breakout 35. Death of a city: The Warsaw rising 36. Operation Market Garden: The battle for Arnhem 37. The last blitzkrieg: The Ardennes offensive 38. Storming into Germany: 39. Battle for Budapest 40. The battle of the Rhine crossings 41. Battle for Berlin: The Fall of the Reich PART TWO: THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC 42. Day of infamy: Pearl Harbor 43. Fall of Empires: Japanese Blitzkrieg 44. Coral Sea: Carriers in action 45. The Battle of Midway: Decision in the Pacific 46. Battle of Guadalcanal: All for an airfield 47. Solomons: The sea battles 48. Kokoda Trail: New Guinea 1942-3 49. Bloody Tarawa: Battle for the Gilberts 50. Imphal and Kohima: Victory of the Forgotten Army 51. The great Marianas turkey shoot 52. Leyte Gulf: Final victory 53. Return to the Philippines 54. Strangling Japan: The submarine war in the Pacific 55. The sands of Iwo Jima 56. The road to Mandalay: Triumph in Burma 57. Okinawa: End of an empire PART THREE: CHRONOLOGY

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Book Synopsis'A concise study of one of the most fascinating and evil men in history... Essential for anyone interested in military history' - SoldierMillions of words have been spent and misspent on Adolf Hitler. But there remains one aspect as yet insufficiently explored: the impact of the First World War on the man who would go on to indelibly shape the Second.Hitler fought at First Ypres and he saw something on the battlefields that eluded his fellow soldiers, something that would become the cornerstone of his later life. He saw this war as heroic, noble and natural – the last act of the fittest in the great drama of the human race.Where did it all start? This is the story of how Hitler became the Fuhrer.Trade ReviewA concise study of one of the most fascinating and evil men in history . . . Essential for anyone interested in military history * Soldier *

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Book SynopsisAlongside the open conflict of World War II there were other, hidden wars - the wars of communication, in which success depended on a flow of concealed and closely-guarded information. Smuggled written messages, secretly transmitted wireless signals, or months of eavesdropping on radio traffic meant operatives could discover in advance what the enemy intended to do. This information was passed on to those who commanded the armies, the fleets and the bomber formations, as well as to the other secret agents throughout the world who were desperately trying to infiltrate enemy lines. Vital information that turned the tide of battle in North African desert and on the Pacific Ocean proved to have been obtained by the time-consuming and unglamorous work of cryptanalysts who deciphered the enemy's coded messages, and coded those for the Allies. From the stuffy huts of Bletchley Park to the battles in the Mediterranean, the French and Dutch Resistance movements and the unkempt radio operatives in Burma, the rarely-seen, outstanding stories collected here reveal the true extent of the 'secret war'. The ongoing need for secrecy for decades after the war meant that the outstanding achievements of wartime cryptanalysts could not be properly recognised. With vivid first-hand accounts and illuminating historical research, VOICES OF THE CODEBREAKERS reveals and finally celebrates the extraordinary accomplishments of these ordinary men and women.

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Book SynopsisSeventy years after the end of World War II, the full story of Britain's secret Antarctic expedition has still never been told. Launched in 1943, Operation Tabarin was an expedition to secretly establish bases, keep a watchful eye on German and Japanese activities, and curb opportunistic Argentinian incursions. Ivan Mackenzie Lamb was the expedition's botanist but, until now, his narrative has never been published. His account provides a fascinating insight into this top secret military operation. He was a member of the naval party that established three manned bases, he remained in the field throughout the operation's two-year duration and took part in all three major sledging expeditions. After the war, he used his diary to complete a vivid story of his time in Antarctica. It is a key eyewitness account and has been illustrated with contemporary photos and expedition maps. Operation Tabarin is without doubt one of the most significant expeditions of what might be described as the 'post-Heroic' phase of Antarctic exploration; ultimately it would develop into the British Antarctic Survey, arguably the most important and enduring of all government-sponsored programmes of research in the Antarctic. Operation Tabarin also set in train a series of events that would lead, ultimately, to the Falklands War of 1982.

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Book SynopsisThe Special Boat Service was a small force during World War II, never more than about 300 men. But that did not stop it from inflicting great damage on the enemy. In the Mediterranean arena and in the Aegean, which the Germans controlled after the fall of Greece and Crete, this small commando force kept up a constant campaign of harassment, thus pinning down enemy forces and preventing their joining other fronts. They travelled by night to their targets, using submarines, small surface vessels or canoes, with the commanders of the vessels often putting themselves in danger in order to help the men carry out their dangerous and secret missions. They were reliant on the co-operation of the fiercely independent Greeks and in particular the Cretans, all working together in their common objective against the German invaders. John Lodwick took part in the SBS Mediterranean campaign and writes from personal experience with the panache and verve of the squadron itself. For it is more than the story of the remarkable men who made up the force: men such as Anders Lassen, 'the Dreadful Dane' who was awarded a posthumous VC, Fitzroy Maclean, Eric Newby, Jock Lapraik, and Lord Jellicoe, who commanded the squadron for almost two years and who contributed a memorable foreword to this memoir. Strong, determined individuals, together the men of the Special Boat Service formed a deadly, cohesive fighting force which contributed much to the war in the Mediterranean and to whom John Lodwick's book is an excitingly readable tribute.

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Book SynopsisA visceral account from contemporaneous diaries of a soldier who frequently came close to death but somehow survived. Following his Abitur (A-levels) in 1940, Rehfeldt volunteered for the Panzer Arm but was trained on the heavy mortar and heavy MG with Grossdeutschland Division. He was on the Front from 1941 fighting for the city of Tula, south of Moscow. Battling in freezing conditions, at its lowest -52?, the descriptions of the privations are vivid and terrifying. With no winter clothes they resorted to using those taken from Soviet corpses. In 1942, fighting near Oriel, however, his batallion suffered heavy losses and was disbanded. Ill with frostbitten legs, Rehfeldt was treated in hospital and once recovered was dispatched to the Front. Following various battles (Werch, Bolchov) his batallion again suffered heavy losses and it merged. In agony from severe frostbite to his legs, Rehfeldt defied the odds and astonished his surgeon when he walked again. He was promoted from Gunner to Trained Private Soldier in 1942, and to Corporal for bravery in the field in 1943. He was awarded numerous honours including the Wound Badge and the Infantry Assault Badge. On 3 May 1945 he was captured by US Forces and held as PoW for one month in a camp at Waschow before internment in Holstein from where he was released in July 1945 after agreeing to work on the land. In December 1945 he began studying veterinary medicine: his future career. This astonishing account of a man who kept bouncing back from near death is a testament to the author's determination and sheer strength of spirit.

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Book Synopsis"A spellbinding tale of those who paid the ultimate price for freedom. - Damien Lewis, author of _SAS Shadow Raiders: The Ultra-Secret Mission that Changed the Course of WWII. _ In the final days of World War II in Europe, Georgians serving in the Wehrmacht on Texel island off the Dutch coast rose up and slaughtered their German masters. Hitler ordered the island to be retaken and fighting continued for weeks, well after the war's end. The uprising had it origins in the bloody history of Georgia in the twentieth century, a history that saw the country move from German occupation, to three short years of independence, to Soviet rule after it was conquered by the Red Army in 1921\. A bloody rebellion against the Soviets took place in 1924, but it remained under Russian Soviet rule. Thousands of Georgians served in the Soviet forces during World War II and among those who were captured, given the choice of starve or fight , some took up the German offer to don Wehrmacht uniforms. The loyalty of the Georgians was always in doubt, as Hitler himself suspected, and once deployed to the Netherlands, the Georgian soldiers made contact with the local Communist resistance. When the opportunity arose, the Georgians took the decision to rise up and slaughter the Germans, seizing control of the island. In just a few hours, they massacred some 400 German officers using knives and bayonets to avoid raising the alarm. An enraged Hitler learned about the mutiny and ordered the Germans to fight back, showing no mercy to either the Georgians or the Dutch civilians who hid them. It was not until 20 May, 12 days after the war had ended, that Canadian forces landed on the island and finally put an end to the slaughter. Eric Lee explores this fascinating but little known last battle of the Second World War: its origins, the incredible details of the battle and its ongoing legacy.Trade Review"A fascinating account of the little-known final battle of World War II in Europe."--The Bookseller "A spellbinding tale of those who paid the ultimate price for freedom."--Damien Lewis, author of SAS Shadow Raiders

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Book Synopsis_ May the army of millions of dead of all nations bear witness to humanity for the hope that future generations may learn to discard war as the best way to resolve their differences.'_ Helmut Schneider This is the little-known story of Heavy Panzer (Tiger) Battalion 507 told through the recollections of the men who fought with the unit. The book was conceived during a reunion of the 507' at Rohrdorf in 1982, where it was agreed to set up an editorial committee under Helmut Schneider, himself a veteran of the battalion, to search for as many survivors of the unit as possible and gather their reminiscences. The resulting account is a treasure trove of first-hand material, from personal memories, diary entries and letters to leave passes, wartime newspaper cuttings, Wehrmacht bulletins and more than 160 photographs. The account follows the unit from its formation in 1943 and the catastrophic events on the Eastern Front, through battles on the Western Front and engagements against the American 3rd Armoured Division to the confusion of retreat, panic-stricken flight and Soviet captivity in the closing stages of the war. Honest and unflinching, this remarkable collection of autobiographies offers a glimpse into life in Hitler's panzer division and is a stark testimony of a generation that sacrificed its best years to the war. This is the first English-language translation of the work.

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Book SynopsisJ. R. D. 'Bob' Braham was Britain's most-decorated fighter pilot and one of the most successful fighter pilots of World War II. Joining the RAF in 1938 at the age of 18, he was posted to No. 29 Squadron at Debdon, where he learned to fly the Hawker Hurricane and Bristol Blenheim. By 1939, the squadron had become a specialised night fighting unit and Braham gained his first victory in August 1940. From that point on, he was constantly in action. Famed for his individual night-time intruder sorties, he also took part in the Peenemiinde raid, the Battle of Britain, and the fight against the V1s and V2s during the Blitz. In 1943, battle fatigued, he moved into an operational role but continued to fly operations until June 1944 when he was shot down and captured. Having completed 316 missions, he spent the next eleven months as a Prisoner of War, and was finally liberated in May 1945. With 29 confirmed combat victories, Braham achieved more success in night fighting than almost any other RAF pilot and was awarded the triple Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), the triple Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the Air Force Cross (AFC). Told in his own words, with all the spirit and dynamism for which he was known as a pilot, this is Braham's extraordinary story.

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Book Synopsis"This was Der Tag for 617 Squadron [...] from eight o'clock onwards the scenes outside the crew rooms were something to be remembered." "I watched each Lancaster become airborne from the window of my office but I did go outside to see all the boys roaring away into the fast approaching twilight, and that was a great thrill because they were flying at less than 150 feet from the ground. I just stood and gaped, hardly able to realise the significance of it all." On the evening of Sunday 16 May, 1943, the sound of Lancaster bombers fills the night air around Lincolnshire as two waves of Allied aircraft start their engines and take off from RAF Scampton in the direction of the Ruhr Valley. The mission? Attack the German dams on the Eder, Moehne and Sorpe rivers using special "bouncing bombs". This was Operation Chastise. In this remarkable work, No. 617 Squadron expert Dr Robert Owen takes a microscope to the raid, guiding readers through the events of 16 and 17 May 1943 in astounding chronological detail. Each action leading up to, throughout, and following the raid is signposted with a precise time stamp, affording readers an informative, gripping and easy-to-follow reading experience. Owen's compilation of a wide range of first-hand accounts from those involved in the Dambusters Raid complements this minute-by-minute retelling perfectly, and adds to the readers' understanding and appreciation of this astonishing military operation. With a foreword by World War II aviation expert and author James Holland, Breaking the German Dams is a hugely impressive feat of non-fiction writing about one of the most awe-inspiring operations in British military history. Readers will be left incredibly well-versed in - and moved by - the extraordinary story of Operation Chastise.

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Book SynopsisAn illustrated introduction to how British industries, supported by thousands of newly recruited women, strove to meet the nation’s wartime need for munitions, armour, shipping, uniforms and aircraft. During the Second World War (1939–45), Britain stretched every sinew of its industrial might to fend off a Nazi invasion. As the nation stood alone against Fortress Europe, it harnessed, coordinated and maximised its resources, firstly to defend itself and then to help liberate Axis-occupied countries. Wartime Industry uses informative text and beautiful illustrations to show how the men and women of Britain met this unprecedented demand for military and home-front materials. It explores the work of Lord Beaverbrook’s highly organised Ministry of Aircraft Production; the ‘Shadow Factories’ that enabled manufacturers such as Vauxhall and Rootes to make tanks and aircraft; the Royal Ordnance Factories that produced firearms and explosives; the ‘Bevin Boys’ conscripted to work in the coal mines; the Women’s Timber Corps; and war workers – who, together, helped the nation to make it.Table of ContentsIntroduction Raw Materials and Salvage Shipyards Munitions, Tanks and Military Motors Battle Dress, Boots and Utility Goods The Workforce Further Reading Places to Visit Index

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Book Synopsis'Remarkable and compelling. I loved this book' EDMUND DE WAAL'An exemplary sleuth, both astute and open-minded . . . Manera Sambuy writes with impassioned style and insight' TELEGRAPHA lost princess and a vanished world: a remarkable true story that moves from the Punjab of the Raj to 1930s Paris and the cataclysm of the Second World WarOn a sweltering day in 2007, Italian writer Livia Manera Sambuy encounters a photograph of Princess Amrit Kaur in a Mumbai museum. The picture is arresting, gorgeous - but the caption will change Livia's life forever. It claims that the Punjabi princess sold her jewels in occupied Paris to save Jewish lives, only to be arrested by the Gestapo and sent to a concentration camp where she died within a year.It's a sensational story - and for Livia, the beginning of a compulsive search for the truth as she delves into the history of the British Raj, the diamonds and sapphires of the twentieth-century aristocracy, and the lives of extraordinary figures: bankers, jewellers, explorers and spies. Past and present converge when Livia travels to meet Bubbles, the princess's daughter, now in her eighties. Striving to reconnect Bubbles with the elusive woman who abandoned her in 1933, Livia unearths a strange and complicated family history; one that diverges unexpectedly from the story that she set out to uncover.Filled with glamour and terror, beauty and sorrow, In Search of Amrit Kaur is an engrossing detective story, a kaleidoscopic history lesson, and a moving portrait of mothers, lovers and daughters across the century, seeking personal freedom.* WINNER OF THE CAPALBIO PIAZZA MAGENTA LITERARY PRIZE 2023 *Trade ReviewLivia Manera is a wonderful detective-companion to lead us through this rich and complex world of princesses and prisoners of war, love and deceit, secrets and discovery... a thoroughly engaging read -- Kamila Shamsie, author of HOME FIRE'Remarkable and compelling. I loved this book' * Edmund de Waal *Nuanced but relentlessly curious, Livia Manera Sambuy has a gift not only for listening to other people's stories but for probing and unfolding exceptional narratives. In Search of Amrit Kaur - an ambitious, absorbing work that peels back the layers of its enigmatic subject and digs deeply into the author's own emotional vicissitudes - is her crowning jewel -- Jhumpa Lahiri, author of WHEREABOUTS'An exemplary sleuth, both astute and open-minded . . . Manera Sambuy writes with impassioned style and insight' * Telegraph *Fascinating * TLS *

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Book SynopsisThe British and Commonwealth Soldier 1939-45, British soldiers, with their old-fashioned helmets, spring-powered PIAT anti-tank guns and veneration of heroic defeats, may have lost the propaganda war, but their record speaks for itself: they may have started badly in France in 1940 and the Far East in 1941, but they were victorious in the North African desert, in Europe and in India and Burma where the 'Forgotten Army' first held the Japanese and then inflicted at Imphal and Kohima the greatest loss to the Japanese on land. They held back the might of the Panzers in Normandy in 1944, chased the Germans back into Holland and came within a whisker at Arnhem of circumventing the Siegfried Line, and won battle after battle against a fanatical defence on their way to final victory., This book doesn't cover the progress of the Second World War, but looks in detail at the weapons, uniform, accoutrements, equipment and tactics of the Second World War British infantryman, following the themes of the Haynes Great War British Tommy and German Infantryman Manuals., Author: Simon Forty was educated at Sedbergh School and London University's School of Slavonic and East European Studies. He has been involved in publishing for over three decades and specializes in military history having contributed to a large number of books. He was also general editor of World War I: A Visual Encyclopedia. Simon lives in Devon with his wife and two children.Table of ContentsChapter 1 The lessons of WW1 The Hundred Days, pacifism; interwar doctrinal theories: Fuller, mechanised warfare and the cavalry; the arms race of the 1930s; and the birth of the Paras. Chapter 2 Organisation The army of empire: Australia, Canada, India; the organisation of the army and how it changed during the war; manpower crises, arms and services; the regimental system; new arms: the Paras, Commandos, the Territorials, and Dad’s Army. Chapter 3 The soldier National Service: militia and conscription; training; personal documentation; life in the field. Chapter 4 Uniform and equipment Rank and insignia; medals, badges and other titles; decorations; trade and specialist badges; proficiency badges; other badges. Uniforms and equipment: the standard combat uniform and headgear; equipment: gasmask etc, webbing, packs and tools; camouflage; winter clothing; desert clothing; jungle clothing; amphibious warfare; the Paras. Chapter 5 Weapons Pistols, rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, hand grenades, mortars, mines, anti-tank guns, flamethrowers, anti-aircraft guns, infantry guns and howitzers, ammunition. Chapter 7 Medical services RAMC; the infantryman; battalion; regiment; division; corps; army. System of aid to/evacuation of casualties; Commonwealth War Graves Committee. Chapter 8 Women soldiers ATS, FANY, QAIMNS. Chapter 9 Tactics Introduction, in the attack; the squad in combat; in the defence; airpower; artillery; tanks.

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Book Synopsis'A lively and readable account' Spectator'A fine book ... well-written and well-researched' Washington TimesIn less than six hours in August 1942, nearly 1,000 British, Canadian and American commandos died in the French port of Dieppe in an operation that for decades seemed to have no real purpose. Was it a dry-run for D-Day, or perhaps a gesture by the Allies to placate Stalin's impatience for a second front in the west? Historian David O'Keefe uses hitherto classified intelligence archives to prove that this catastrophic and apparently futile raid was in fact a mission, set up by Ian Fleming of British Naval Intelligence as part of a 'pinch' policy designed to capture material relating to the four-rotor Enigma Machine that would permit codebreakers like Alan Turing at Bletchley Park to turn the tide of the Second World War.'A fast-paced and convincing book ... that clears up decades of misinformation about the ignoble raid' Toronto StarTrade ReviewA fast-paced and convincing book ... that clears up decades of misinformation about the ignoble raid -- Toronto StarA lively and readable account * The Spectator *Magnificent and engrossing, this is a deep dive into one of the most fascinating and clandestine mysteries, which O'Keefe has cracked open. With extensive research, he produces a captivating and revealing narrative full of intricate detail and written in an accessible and flowing manner. Much of the information is new and I can safely say this will appeal to those interested in history, in particular, that of WWII, and those who find strange and enduring mysteries compelling. A compulsive, informative and eminently readable book, One Day in August is a multilayered and deeply thrilling expose. -- The Book Doctor[A] fine book ... well-written and well-researched * Washington Times *Simply put - One Day in August is a game-changer. David O'Keefe makes a bold claim about the real purpose of the Dieppe raid but does so with eloquence and clarity. Through his masterful analysis of thousands of pages of documents and sources, he builds a compelling case that finally answers our questions about the events of August 1942. * Paul Woodadge, WW2TV *A must-read if one is to really understand the Dieppe raid. * Julian Thompson *Based on extensive original research ... O'Keefe's landmark new book presents a new and original explanation of what happened on that fateful August day in 1942. * The Globe and Mail (Best Book) *Highly original and bracingly revisionist, One Day in August is that rare book that is able to say something new about something so familiar. Based on extensive research in official records in Canada and Britain, many of them previously undiscovered or long-forgotten, One Day in August is historical writing at its best: engrossing, revealing, and enlightening. * Citation, RBC Taylor Prize *O'Keefe has definitely made the biggest breakthrough of the last twenty years in our understanding of the raid ... His principal research achievement is to have kept digging in the British archives with such persistence that the keepers of the British code-breaking secrets conceded that there was no point holding back the remaining records linking Bletchley Park, Ian Fleming and the Dieppe raid. * Peter Henshaw, Dieppe scholar and intelligence analyst, Privy Council Office *In the same way that intelligence in the Second World War had to be based on multiple sources rather than a single thunderclap moment or dramatic source, David has built this case through a whole series of small pieces of evidence ... [He] has certainly changed our view of Dieppe into the future; he has added a new dimension that we really weren't aware of before. * Stephen Prince, Head, Naval Historical Branch, Royal Navy *The most important work on the [Dieppe] raid since it occurred in 1942. * Rocky Mountain Outlook *O'Keefe tells a masterful story of the intrigue and cryptology behind the fighting forces ... I will be among the first to say that any subsequent book on Dieppe or Ultra intelligence will have to take into account his stunning new research and bold claims ... For years, popular histories were derided, especially by academics, as all story and no analysis, and for offering few new contributions to understanding the past. But that seems to be changing in recent years, as the best popularizers find new hooks and angles for their histories, and employ new evidence - usually oral histories, or, in O'Keefe's case, deep archival research - in innovative and revealing ways. * The Globe and Mail *

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Book SynopsisMany of the most famous escapes in history took place during the Second World War. These daring flights from Nazi-occupied Europe would never have been possible but for the assistance of a hitherto secret British service: MI9. This small, dedicated and endlessly inventive team gave hope to the men who had fallen into enemy hands, and aid to resistance fighters in occupied territory. It sent money, maps, clothes, compasses, even hacksaws - and in return coded letters from the prisoner-of-war camps and provided invaluable news of what was happening in the enemy's homeland. Understaffed and under-resourced, MI9 nonetheless made a terrific contribution to the Allied war effort. First published in 1979, this book tells the full, inside story of an extraordinary organisation.

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Book SynopsisMary Berg was fifteen when the German army poured into Poland in 1939. She survived four years of Nazi terror, and managed to keep a diary throughout. This astonishing, vivid portrayal of life inside the Warsaw Ghetto ranks with the most significant documents of the Second World War. Mary Berg candidly chronicles not only the daily deprivations and mass deportations, but also the resistance and resilience of the inhabitants, their secret societies, and the youth at the forefront of the fight against Nazi terror. Above all The Diary of Mary Berg is a uniquely personal story of a life-loving girl’s encounter with unparalleled human suffering, and offers an extraordinary insight into one of the darkest chapters of human history.Trade Review"Without qualification, this reviewer recommends Mary Berg's diary to everybody" * The New York Times *"A moving record of terrorism" * Kirkus Reviews *"Berg’s powerful record of those terrible times is astonishingly lucid. The strength of her memories and the intensity of her experiences are naturally heart-breaking. This extraordinary, chilling memoir is essential reading for everyone" * Independent *"One of the most important documents in the age of Hitler" * San Francisco Chronicle *"What makes her account stand out is her novelist's eye: this is not just a crucial historical document but a classic read." * Scotsman *"Mary Berg’s diary records the dignity of man, his moral consciousness. Once again we are reminded that amid blazing homes, flame-swept streets and mass murders there were human beings who admitted no defeat." * The New York Times *"Direct, sharp-eyed and full of compelling detail, this Diary is both a major resource for historians and a richly compelling human document" * The Times Literary Supplement *"What makes her account stand out is her novelist's eye: this is not just a crucial historical document but a classic read" * Scotsman *"Mary Berg’s diary records the dignity of man, his moral consciousness. Once again we are reminded that amid blazing homes, flame-swept streets and mass murders there were human beings who admitted no defeat." * The New York Times *"Direct, sharp-eyed and full of compelling detail, this Diary is both a major resource for historians and a richly compelling human document." * The Times Literary Supplement *"This powerful testament documents Nazi brutalities. Berg is a remarkably clear-eyed, skillful and heart-breaking recorder of thos terrible years." * Publishers Weekly *"this is not just a crucial historical document but a classic read." * Scotsman *"This book […] gave me nightmares. But that is how colourful the writing of Berg is, how intense this one family’s story is and how it can have an impact on the world. A must-read for everyone" * Atlanta Jewish Times *"…book is gripping and reads well. It is hard to put the book down because Berg’s Writings…to share it with the world so many years later is a treasure. I believe it is a must-read for everyone" * Atlanta Jewish Times *"Mary Berg’s diary reminds us, Jewish life under the Nazis consisted of light as well as shade" * Jewish Chronicle *Short announcement of books existence * Detroit Jewish News *"A heartbreaking record of [Mary Berg's] experiences growing up in the Warsaw Ghetto" * The Good Book Guide *"The Richness of Berg’s memories and the intensity of here experiences record for posterity a chilling account of childhood during the Holocaust." * Booklist *

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Book SynopsisSELECTED AS A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEKA SUNDAY TIMES BEST PAPERBACK OF 2022Born and raised in America, Mildred Harnack was twenty-six and living in Germany when she witnessed the meteoric rise of the Nazi party. She began holding secret meetings in her apartment, forming a small band of political activists set on helping Jews escape, denouncing Hitler and calling for revolution. When the Second World War began, she became a spy, couriering top-secret intelligence to the Allies.In this astonishing work of non-fiction, Harnack's great-great-niece Rebecca Donner draws on extensive archival research, fusing elements of biography, political thriller and scholarly detective story to tell a powerful, epic tale of an enigmatic woman nearly erased by history.Trade ReviewReads like a thriller . . . Written in a pacey, suspenseful present tense, it's biography with a pulse . . . a superb, sure-footed work of historical detection conceived with a powerful intelligence * * Sunday Times * *Astonishing . . . wilder and more expansive than a standard-issue biography . . . a real-life thriller with a cruel ending * * New York Times * *A beautifully rich portrait of a very brave woman. While never less than scrupulously researched, this biography explodes the genre of "biography": experimental but achieved, Donner's story reads with the speed of a thriller, the depth of a novel and the urgency of an essay, like some deeply compelling blend of Alan Furst and W.G. Sebald -- JAMES WOODDonner questions what motivates someone to risk their life for the sake of their beliefs in a gripping story that reads like a political thriller * * Observer * *Written in a fizzing present tense, the book in places reads like a spy novel . . . Donner writes in beautiful, crisp prose (like her great-great-aunt, as quotes from Mildred's letters reveal) . . . The result is a work that transports us to a period now slipping from living memory but that contains vital lessons for our own time * * Herald * *A tour de force of investigation . . . gripping * * Economist * *A thrilling and inspiring book. It is a treasure trove for lovers of biography, new writing and the history of the Third Reich * * Scotsman * *A stunning literary achievement. Rebecca Donner forges a new kind of biography - almost novelistic in style and tone, this scholarly work resurrects the courageous life of Mildred Harnack. A relentless sleuth in the archives, Donner has written a page-turner story of espionage, love and betrayal -- KAI BIRD, winner of the Pulitzer PrizeA lively read . . . Mildred Harnack has received proper recognition at last * * Financial Times * *Pacey . . . an impressive piecing together of fragments . . . a memorial to Mildred Harnack * * Spectator * *

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Book SynopsisSerena Katt’s grandfather, whom she knew as Opa, was a ‘Sunday’s Child’, one of the lucky ones for whom everything always went right. Opa left a brief account of his childhood and teenage years, but it is opaque, a story of prizes won and boyish adventures. In Sunday’s Child, Serena Katt interrogates Opa’s version of his life. Was it really so innocent? Did he really not know what the Nazis were doing? He joined the Hitler Youth at the age of ten, swearing an oath of loyalty to the Fuhrer. From then on the games he played were actually military training, designed to produce a ‘new German youth … violent, domineering, unafraid, cruel … which the world will fear’. At seventeen, in the final desperate days of the war, he is called up but his luck holds. He is sent home and thus survives the war.Sunday’s Child marks the debut of a remarkable graphic novelist. Serena Katt’s book is powerful, eloquent and moving, and her drawing is superb.Trade ReviewMagnificently unsettling… beautiful and extraordinary… [There's] real daring here, as well as empathy and imagination. -- Rachel Cooke * Observer *A beautifully drawn and very melancholic book. * Strong Words *Katt’s visual reimagining of that time…has more than enough texture and terror in it to make an impact. * Herald *

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Book SynopsisAs commander of the Allied Military Mission to the Greek guerrillas in Greece in 1943-4, C.M. Woodhouse has to hold an uneasy balance between the communist and government sides. Against a background of conflicting communist doctrine, shifting foreign alliances, territorial disputes and personality differences, the communist struggle for Greece unfolded in three rounds. The first began in 1941 with the German occupation of Greece when the National Liberation Front attempted to regain control of the country and overthrow the monarchy. In the second round, the communists tried to seize power at the end of the German occupation in December 1944 and were frustrated by the intervention of British forces. The third round (1946-9) was marked by US intervention, UN fact-finding missions, and the shift from guerrilla tactics to conventional warfare. The communists were weakened by internal feuding and overcome by the US forces. The author based his research on interviews with participants, documentary sources and his own experience. He analyzes the characters, ideologies and events behind one of the longest and most bitter civil wars of modern times.Trade Review'This is the story of the communist and non-communist resistance to the Germans that sprang up in the Greek mountains, and its interaction with the politics of the old political world of Greece and the strategies of the allies. No one was better placed to describe the events of this turbulent period than C. M. Woodhouse, who came to know Greece intimately. The Struggle for Greece is his masterful telling of the story.' -- Michael Llewellyn-Smith, historian and former British Ambassador to GreeceTable of ContentsContents: I: The First Round Prelude to Revolution - Resistance and Reaction - War on Two Fronts - II: The Second Round Return to Legality - The December Events - The Bitter Truce - III: The Third Round Disorder into Guerrilla War - Guerrillas into Battle Order - Deadlock and Stalemate - The Final Breakthrough.

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Book SynopsisThe history of the Second World War in Yugoslavia was for a long time the preserve of the Communist regime led by Marshal Tito. It was written by those who had battled hard to come out on top of the many-sided war fought across the territory of that Balkan state after the Axis Powers had destroyed it in 1941, just before Hitler's invasion of the USSR. It was an ideological and ethnic war under occupation by rival enemy powers and armies, between many insurgents, armed bands and militias, for the survival of one group, for the elimination of another, for belief in this or that ideology, for a return to an imagined past within the Nazi New Order, or for the reconstruction of a new Yugoslavia on the side of the Allies. In fact, many wars were fought alongside, and under cover of, the Great War waged by the Allies against Hitler's New Order which, in Yugoslavia at least, turned out to be a 'new disorder'. Most surviving participants have since told their stories; most archival sources are now available. Pavlowitch uses them, as well as the works of historians in several languages, to understand what actually happened on the ground. He poses more questions than he provides answers, as he attempts a synoptic and chronological analysis of the confused yet interrelated struggles fought in 1941-5, during the short but tragic period of Hitler's failed 'New Order', over the territory that was no longer the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and not yet the Federal Peoples' Republic of Yugoslavia, but that is now definitely 'former Yugoslavia'.Trade ReviewPavlowitch has brought fresh interest to the study of the Second World War in Yugoslavia, in an elegantly written history. -- Professor James Gow, King’s College University of Londonreading your manuscript has provided me with many new insights and has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience -- Dr Klaus Schmider, Royal Military Academy, SandhurstHighly recommended. * Choice *'Hitler's New Disorder' promises to become essential reading . . . Pavlowitch has made an outstanding contribution. -- Christof N. Morrissey, H-GermanAn indispensable addition to the library of every Balkan historian or student. -- Marcus Tanner, Balkan InsightPresents the clearest analyses that this reviewer has seen of the complicated interactions of the various political and military forces engaged . . . this is detailed, fine-grained history . . . a major achievement. -- Robert M. Hayden, International History ReviewA very solid 'synthetic treatment' that has long been needed. It must have been a herculean effort to keep track of various events, let alone make sense of all of the interweaving elements. * Historian *

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Book SynopsisWhen Japanese signals were decoded at Bletchley Park, who translated them into English? When Japanese soldiers were taken as prisoners of war, who interrogated them? When Japanese maps and plans were captured on the battlefield, who deciphered them for Britain? When Great Britain found itself at war with Japan in December 1941, there was a linguistic battle to be fought--but Britain was hopelessly unprepared. Eavesdropping on the Emperor traces the men and women with a talent for languages who were put on crash courses in Japanese, and unfolds the history of their war. Some were sent with their new skills to India; others to Mauritius, where there was a secret radio intercept station; or to Australia, where they worked with Australian and American codebreakers. Translating the despatches of the Japanese ambassador in Berlin after his conversations with Hitler; retrieving filthy but valuable documents from the battlefield in Burma; monitoring Japanese airwaves to warn of air-raids--Britain depended on these forgotten 'war heroes'. The accuracy of their translations was a matter of life or death, and they rose to the challenge. Based on declassified archives and interviews with the few survivors, this fascinating, globe-trotting book tells their stories.Trade Review'Fascinating. Peter Kornicki has produced a brilliantly researched account of British intelligence operations in the Far East during the Second World War, featuring a host of intriguing characters from codebreakers at Bletchley Park to interrogators operating across South-East Asia.' -- Michael Smith, author of 'The Emperor’s Codes: Bletchley Park’s Role in the Breaking of Japan’s Secret Ciphers''A detailed and enjoyable account of how Britain overcame provincial attitudes and limited vision in order to train specialists in Japanese at a time of total war. Never again should we underestimate the importance of languages in a complex, dangerous and interconnected world.' -- Aaron William Moore, Handa Chair of Japanese-Chinese Relations, University of Edinburgh, and author of 'Bombing the City: Civilian Accounts of the Air War in Britain and Japan, 1939-1945''A fascinating story of the men and women who provided military intelligence in Britain's war with Japan. The most comprehensive "connecting-the-dots" presentation of the backgrounds, recruitment and wartime activities of these linguists. Original, ambitious and engaging in style--a great read.' -- Kayoko Takeda, Professor of Translation and Interpreting Studies, College of Intercultural Communication, Rikkyo University

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Book Synopsis"A revelatory and wholly fascinating work of history. Superbly researched and written with gripping fluency, this lost secret of World War II espionage finally has its expert chronicler." - WILLIAM BOYD'Gripping and intoxicating, it unfolds like the best screenplay.'NICHOLAS SHAKESPEAREThe gripping story of a propaganda campaign like no other: the covert British operation to manipulate American public opinion and bring the US into the Second World War.When William Stephenson - "our man in New York" - arrived in the United States towards the end of June 1940 with instructions from the head of MI6 to 'organise' American public opinion, Britain was on the verge of defeat. Surveys showed that just 14% of the US population wanted to go to war against Nazi Germany. But soon that began to change...Those campaigning against America's entry into the war, such as legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh, talked of a British-led plot to drag the US into the conflict. They feared that the British were somehow flooding the American media with 'fake news', infiltrating pressure groups, rigging opinion polls and meddling in US politics.These claims were shocking and wild: they were also true. That truth is revealed here for the first time by bestselling author Henry Hemming, using hitherto private and classified documents, including the diaries of his own grandparents, who were briefly part of Stephenson's extraordinary influence campaign that was later described in the Washington Post as 'arguably the most effective in history'. Stephenson - who saved the life of Hemming's father - was a flawed maverick, full of contradictions, but one whose work changed the course of the war, and whose story can now be told in full.

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Book SynopsisFor fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Librarian of Auschwitz and The Choice, this is the incredible true story of a British soldier POW. In 1942, young British soldier Arthur Dodd was taken prisoner by the German Army and transported to Oswiecim in Polish Upper Silesia. The Germans gave it another name, now synonymous with mankind’s darkest hours. They called it Auschwitz. Forced to do hard labour, starved and savagely beaten, Arthur thought his life would end in Auschwitz. Determined to go down fighting, he sabotaged Nazi industrial work, risked his life to alleviate the suffering of the Jewish prisoners and aided a partisan group planning a mass break-out. This shocking true story sheds new light on the operations at the camp, exposes a hierarchy of prisoner treatment by the SS and presents the largely unknown story of the military POWs held there.Trade Review'compelling' * The Guardian *'An extraordinary book.' * Military Illustrated *'A human witness to inhumanity: Arthur Dodd’s account is another important piece of evidence.' * Legion, the Royal British Legion magazine *'Colin Rushton’s masterly account… is a harrowing addition to public knowledge of the Holocaust.' * Soldier magazine *'It is a riveting story and it is true.' * Barnes & Noble *'If we do not remember the past, we will repeat it. Truly an extraordinary book.' * Defence Focus, the House Journal of the Ministry of Defence *'a pertinent historical account' * Jewish Chronicle *'Simple sentences add a terrible innocence in keeping with Arthur’s ordinariness, struggling against the unimaginably extraordinary. History will be grateful that Arthur Dodd’s story was told.' * Scottish Legion News *

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Book Synopsis'Oldfield's thoroughly researched and fascinating historical biography explores the lives of many of the 2,600 citizens who attracted Hitler's ire, ranging from high-profile entertainers and writers to those naturalised refugees who doggedly resisted the Nazis from afar' - Observer In 1939, the Gestapo created a list of names: the Britons whose removal would be the Nazis' priority in the event of a successful invasion. Who were they? What had they done to provoke Germany? For the first time, the historian Sybil Oldfield uncovers their stories and reveals why the Nazis feared their influence. Those on the hitlist - many of them naturalised refugees - were some of Britain's most gifted and humane inhabitants. They included writers, humanitarians, religious leaders, scientists, artists, and social reformers. By examining these targets of Nazi hatred, Oldfield not only sheds light on the Gestapo worldview but also movingly reveals a network of truly exemplary Britons: mavericks, moral visionaries and unsung heroes.Trade ReviewThis meticulous account ... demonstrates not only the passionate anti-fascist resistance in Britain but yet again the incredible richness of culture, science and education brought by the refugees ... Oldfield's conclusion comes in the form of an unanswerable and unsettling question: would we today, in modern Britain, champion the rights these people fought for with the same doggedness and courage? -- Caroline Moorehead * TLS *A fascinating book ... it serves as a timely reminder of the dangers of intolerance and the politics of hate * Daily Express *Oldfield's thoroughly researched and fascinating historical biography explores the lives of many of the 2,600 citizens who attracted Hitler's ire, ranging from high-profile entertainers and writers to those naturalised refugees who doggedly resisted the Nazis from afar * Observer *Fascinating ... It is as though someone compiled an edition of the Dictionary of National Biography for the year 1940 with the qualification for each entry being that the Nazis hated them -- Robert Hutton * BBC History *A veritable who's who of the people who tried to sound the alarm about the Nazi threat, fight fascism and assist the imperiled Jews of Germany and Austria ... From art historians to musicologists, political thinkers to scientists and classists, [Oldfield demonstrates] the wider contribution that the refugees from Nazism listed in the Black Book made to their adopted country -- Robert Philpot * The Times of Israel *A protean and wondrous document, a fascinating and formidable piece of scholarship, a combative testament to those whom Oldfield calls throughout "heroes of humanity" ... It is, above all, deeply human, and unabashedly focused on the spirit and the soul of the past as well as of the present -- Mika Provata-Carlone * Bookanista *Revelatory ... not just a valuable historical document but also an apposite warning * Morning Star *An outstandingly valuable piece of work ... [This is] a unique record of Britain as Hitler's target and what it escaped, thanks largely to the individuals and organisations so lucidly and painstakingly described here -- Nicolas Jacobs * Camden New Journal *Extremely thorough ... Oldfield's book brings it all to light in great depth * Budapest Times *

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Book SynopsisThe subject of numerous biographies and history books, Winston Churchill has been repeatedly voted as one of the greatest of Englishmen. Even today, Boris Johnson in his failing attempts to be magisterial, has adopted many of his hero's mannerism! And, as Tariq Ali agrees, Churchill was undoubtedly right in 1940-41 to refuse to capitulate to fascism. However, he was also one of the staunchest defenders of empire and of Britain's imperial doctrine. In this coruscating biography, Tariq Ali challenges Churchill's vaulted record. Throughout his long career as journalist, adventurer, MP, military leader, statesman, and historian, nationalist self belief influenced Churchill's every step, with catastrophic effects. As a young man he rode into battle in South Africa, Sudan and India in order to maintain the Imperial order. As a minister during the first World War, he was responsible for a series of calamitous errors that cost thousands of lives. His attempt to crush the Irish nationalists left scars that have not yet healed. Despite his record as a defender of his homeland during the Second World War, he was willing to sacrifice more distant domains. Singapore fell due to his hubris. Over 3 Millions Bengalis starved in 1943 as a consequence of his policies. As a peace time leader, even as the Empire was starting to crumble, Churchill never questioned his imperial philosophy as he became one of the architects of the postwar world we live in today.Trade ReviewIncluded in The Independent's Books of the month for May 2022 * Independent *For Tariq Ali, Churchill debunking, like Churchill worship, is a political act. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *In Ali's telling, which draws on more honest existing historical scholarship than most popular biographies of Churchill, the two-times prime minister emerges not so much as deeply racist - some of his contemporaries remarked on it in shock - as profoundly authoritarian, with a soft spot for fascist strongmen, and a hostility to working-class assertion. -- Priyamvada Gopal * Prospect *Ali portrays Churchill as cruel, incompetent and blinded by prejudice * Spectator *A Marxist insult to history. -- Simon Heffer * The Telegraph *A powerful corrective...shining a light on the nasty parts of the Churchill story that his supporters conveniently ignore. This book is an unreserved polemic against the man usually celebrated for standing up to Hitler -- Martin Chilton * Independent *An essential antidote to the Churchill myth...This book could not be more timely. -- Lindsey German * Counterfire *A counter to popular mythology; an effort to peel back the curtain of propaganda and locate truth ... a worthy contribution in a crowded field -- Labour Hub * Talal Hangari *[Ali] seeks not so much to flush WC down the toilet of history, but to reassign him to his rightful place as one of history's most over-rated figures ... [a] highly readable book -- Donald Sassoon * Political Quarterly *The important thing about Ali's book, even after a thousand on the same subject, is that it is primarily interested in Churchill's years in service to British imperialism, and only secondarily interested in World War II, inverting the usual balance...a vital corrective. -- Alex Skopic * Current Affairs *Ali's book is a helpful corrective to the cult of Churchill that has come to dominate British culture. His study makes one thing clear: there is ultimately no path to a socialist and internationalist future without challenging this legacy. -- Liam Kennedy * Jacobin *Ali's examination remains an important corrective to the hagiographic praise that Churchill receives to this day. -- Andrew Moravcsik * Foreign Affairs *

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Book SynopsisTony Brooks was unique. He was barely out of school when recruited in 1941 by the Special Operations Executive (SOE), the wartime secret service established by Churchill to 'set Europe ablaze'. After extensive training he was parachuted into France in July 1942 - being among the first (and youngest) British agents sent to support the nascent French Resistance. Brook's success was primarily due to his exceptional qualities as a secret agent, although he was aided by large and frequent slices of luck. Among much else, he survived brushes with a British traitor and a notorious double agent; the Gestapo's capture of his wireless operator and subsequent attempts to trap Brooks; brief incarceration in a Spanish concentration camp; injuries resulting from a parachute jump into France; and even capture and interrogation by the Gestapo - although his cover story held and he was released.In an age when we so often take our heroes from the worlds of sport, film, television, music, fashion, or just 'celebrity', it is perhaps salutary to be reminded of a young man who ended the war in command of a disparate force of some 10,000 armed resistance fighters, and decorated with two of this country's highest awards for gallantry, the DSO and MC. At the time, he was just twenty-three years old.This remarkable, detailed and intimate account of a clandestine agent's dangerous wartime career combines the historian's expert eye with the narrative colour of remembered events. As a study in courage, it has few, if any, equals.

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Book SynopsisThey were the unsung heroines of World War II; the wives and mothers and teenage girls who clocked in daily to work in vast munitions factories, helping to make explosives, bullets, shells, bombs and war machines that would ensure victory. It was dangerous, dirty and exhausting work. They worked round the clock, often exposed to toxic, lethal chemicals. A factory accident could mean blindness, loss of limb - or worse. Many went home with acid burns, yellow skin or damaged hair, others were forced to leave their loved ones and move to live with strangers in unfamiliar surroundings. Frequently, their male bosses were coarse and unsympathetic. Yet this hidden army of nearly two million women toiled on regardless through the hardest years of the war, cheerfully ignoring the dangers and the exhaustion, as bombing, rationing and the heartbreak of loss or separation took their toll on everyone in the country. Here, in their own words, are the vivid wartime memories of the 'secret army' of female munitions workers, whose resilience and sheer grit in the face of danger has only started to emerge. Republished to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of VE Day in May 1945, this revised edition now offers an entirely new, astonishing account of a young woman who worked in a vast munitions plant in Lancashire.

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Book SynopsisThe epic story of how the Second World War was won.On 4 January 1945, General ‘Blood and Guts’ Patton confided gloomily to his diary, ‘We can still lose the war.’ The Nazis were attacking in Eastern France, Luxembourg and Belgium. General Eisenhower’s allied armies had lost over 300,000 men in battle (with a similar number of non-battle casualties) and they were still in the same positions they had first captured three months before. Would the German will to resist never be broken?Veteran military historian Charles Whiting assembled individual stories from the frontline as the war entered its last bloody, but ultimately victorious phase. From material such as diaries, interviews and battalion journals he vividly builds up a picture of the soldiers and combatants. As the greatest conflict of them all came to its epic crescendo, those on the ground knew that paths that lead to glory could also lead to death…Perfect for fans of Anthony Beevor, Richard Overy and Damien Lewis.

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Book SynopsisThe end is in sight but the fight is long: the epic and terrifying conclusion to the greatest conflict in historyGoing into 1944, the Allies knew the tide was turning in their favour. But they still faced a monumental task to get to victory.From the beaches of Normandy on D-Day to those of the Pacific stormed by American marines, from the air drops at Arnhem and the Battle of the Bulge to the final dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, from the sacking of Berlin to the delicate peace that followed, this is a gripping and impeccably researched account of two years that forever changed the world.Filled with both the grand sweep of history, and small, unforgettable details and stories of ordinary soldiers, this is military writing of the very highest calibre, perfect for fans of Jonathan Dimbleby and Ben Macintyre.

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Book SynopsisUnstoppable and deadly, this is the gripping story of some of the most feared soldiers in the warThe daring, courage and skill of the highly-trained men who spearheaded German assaults in the blitzkrieg of 1940, dropping from the air to seize and overwhelm key invasion points, showed to an alarmed world that a new dimension had been added to the science of warfare.One spectacular success was the invasion and capture of Crete in May 1941, all be it achieved at a terrible price. The German paratroopers were an elite, justifying again and again their great reputation for courage and hard fighting in Russia, North Africa and Italy.Bestselling military historian James Lucas has researched deeply in Allied and German archives and interviewed many of the leading members of the Fallschirmjaegar who survived the war. This is an unmissable and dramatic account of the Second World War’s most frightening elite, perfect for readers of James Holland and Max Hastings.

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Book Synopsis From 1942 to 1950, nearly twenty thousand Poles found refuge from the horrors of war-torn Europe in camps within Britain’s African colonies, including Uganda, Tanganyika, Kenya and Northern and Southern Rhodesia. On the Edges of Whiteness tells their improbable story, tracing the manifold, complex relationships that developed among refugees, their British administrators, and their African neighbors. While intervening in key historical debates across academic disciplines, this book also gives an accessible and memorable account of survival and dramatic cultural dislocation against the backdrop of global conflict.Trade Review “Overall, Lingelbach’s work has provided a much needed spotlight onto the complex and ambivalent position of a ‘subaltern white’ and is careful to frequently reiterate to the reader that the Polish refugees were by no means a homogenous group. Taken together, the distinctions of gender, class, ethnicity and religion have made this case study an important insight into a time when British colonial rule was on the brink of collapse… This is an excellently researched book which employs the use of original oral histories, extensive archival work, and some of the most thorough footnoting ever witnessed.” • European History Quarterly “Lingelbach takes the reader through this unusual story, skilfully blending ‘global history’ approaches, refugee-, postcolonial- and subaltern studies with gender perspectives and national (Polish) history. Given his background in African studies, the author brings a fresh perspective, approaching each of these disciplines, particularly the historiography of Poland, in an admirably novel way… A fascinating study… shows that going beyond Eurocentrism can produce truly inspiring historiographical outcomes.” • War in History “Jochen Lingelbach is to be applauded for his elegant handling of a complex narrative, switching between British colonies without losing the reader; the author writes in clear prose, masterfully leads his readers through each chapter, and brings home his points powerfully in the conclusion. This enlightening study is enriched with helpful maps, drawings and photographs depicting life in the refugee settlements.” • Revue d'Histoire Contemporaine de l'Afrique “Lingelbach deserves high praises for this clever book that sets the tone for further inquiries into the place of Polish and other “subaltern whites” in colonial settings. His erudition is commendable, as is his ability to connect social and intellectual issues to broader colonial geopolitics, including the demystification of whiteness and independence of colonies in Africa after World War II…This will be an important book for years to come.” • H-Poland “Taken together, the chapters offer persuasive insights into the ambivalent position of Polish refugees in their hosting countries and their complex interactions with the different actors of colonial societies. Lingelbach convincingly argues that they were similar to many subaltern groups such as the poor, criminals, and lunatics. They were, therefore, ‘located on the edges of whiteness’…Certainly, the book significantly contributes to refugee history, whiteness studies, and the history of colonial Africa during and after the Second World War.” • Journal of Contemporary History “Lingelbach places the Polish settlers at the centre of a complicated web of relations in terms of race, gender and class, as well as processes such as the Second World War, Poland’s post-war status as a Soviet satellite, decolonisation, the new, post-war global refugee regime, etc. The story he tells is thus complex, novel and interesting.” • H-Soz-Kult “This is a solid piece of research that addresses a rarely explored aspect of the global refugee crisis of the World War II era. In drawing comparisons between the Poles' experiences in different countries and regions, it gives voice to the African perspective and provides a much-needed contextualization of the refugees' reception.” • Lynne Taylor, University of Waterloo “This fascinating book adds considerably to the literature on refugee history and whiteness studies. Tracing the experience of Polish refugees across multiple colonies, Jochen Lingelbach demonstrates the necessity of closely attending to the peculiarities of the context in which any group of refugees seeks shelter.” • Brett Shadle, Virginia TechTable of Contents List of Illustrations Preface List of Abbreviations Introduction Chapter 1. How the Poles Came to Africa Chapter 2. The Postwar Refugee Regime and the Imperial Order of Things Chapter 3. Comparing Colonialisms in Africa and Poland Chapter 4. ‘An Incredible Pool of Femininity’: Gendering the Refugees Chapter 5. Polish Refugees as Part of Colonial Society Conclusion: On the Edges of Whiteness Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the 2023 Military History Matters Book of the Year Award The only way to truly understand what it was like to fight in the Second World War is to listen to the experiences of those men who were there. And often, there was nowhere more dangerous than on the ground. In Footsloggers, Peter Hart reconstructs one infantry battalion's war in staggering detail. Based on his interviews with members of the 16th Durham Light Infantry, Hart bears witness not only to their comradeship, suffering, dreadful losses and individual tragedies, but also their courage and self-sacrifice as they fought their way across North Africa, Italy and Greece. This is a human look at the inhuman nature of war from the author of At Close Range and Burning Steel.Trade ReviewAnother powerful entry in Hart's 'British Band of Brothers' series -- Major Gordon CorriganPowerful, vivid and haunting ... the boredom, horror, humour, and everything else that went with life at the front [makes this] an emotional ride -- Andrew Mulholland * The Past *Praise for Peter Hart: 'Thought provoking, erudite, yet eminently readable and entertaining ... A historian and author at the peak of his powers -- Richard van EmdenExquisite ... Hart lets these [men] speak -- Gerard de Groot * The Times *

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive account of the part played by Wales in WWII and the conflict''s impact on every area of the country and all involved: civilians, factory workers, children (those evacuated to and those from Wales), national and regional politicians, soldiers, pacifists, writers, film-makers and artists.

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Book Synopsis"Stunningly descriptive, compelling writing. I was moved close to tears on several occasions.” - Peter James, international bestselling crime writer 'A fabulous story guaranteed to capture people’s imagination' - Mail on Sunday In 1930, at the age of twenty-seven, Liesl Herbst was the Austrian National Tennis Champion, a celebrity in Vienna. Liesl, her husband David and their daughter Dorli came to Britain after escaping the Nazis. In London, though initially stripped of their Austrian passports and rendered stateless aliens, both Liesl and her daughter Dorli competed at Wimbledon. They remain the only mother and daughter ever to have played doubles together at Wimbledon. This moving story of escape and survival is told by Liesl’s grand-daughter. It is as much a search for the author’s own identity as for her own children and grandchildren to ensure that their remarkable family history is never lost again. Illustrated throughout with family photographs and original documents, this is a story of survival against terrible odds, an inspiring tale of resilience and hope.Trade Review"Stunningly descriptive, compelling writing. I was moved close to tears on several occasions.” * Peter James, international bestselling crime writer *'A fabulous story guaranteed to capture people’s imagination' * Mail on Sunday *'Absolutely fascinating.' * BBC Breakfast *

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Book SynopsisThere are over 40 surviving World War Two tanks, self-propelled guns, tank destroyers, tank hunters and tank turrets in the Belgium and Luxembourg Ardennes. Not all the tanks on display fought in the December 1944 German offensive, the Battle of the Bulge. Some, such as the Matilda II, were the type of tank that defended France during the Blitzkrieg of May 1940. Others, such as the British Comet tank, were deployed in 1945 during the crossing of the Rhine and the push into Germany. There are also plenty of German Panzers to examine close up, including a Tiger II, three Panther Ausf.G tanks, three Jagdpanzer 38 (G13 Hetzer) tank hunters, a Panzer IV command tank and a StuG III assault tank. Illustrated with over 150 images, and containing detailed descriptions of the tanks and where to find them, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone visiting the Ardennes.

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Book SynopsisThis book gives the reader, be they well-versed in Luftwaffe matters or just simply curious to know more, an insight into the main Luftwaffe fighters of World War Two. It details the genesis of many of the well-known types, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or Focke Wulf Fw 190 single-engined fighters, as well as illustrating the lesser-known types such as the Bachem Ba 349 Natter single-seat rocket fighter. The book also includes unit, campaign and combat histories so as to give an idea of what it was like to fly or fight in these aircraft between 1939 and 1945. The book is richly illustrated throughout with over 200 black and white and colourised photographs and full-colour profiles.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisCousins, Captain Chris Waters of the Royal Engineers and Captain Jimmy Johnson of the Royal Welch Fusiliers were with the British Expeditionary Force in the defence of Dunkirk. In late May 1940, Jimmy (son-in-law of Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Keyes) was shot and captured near the Belgium border. Chris was captured after his regiment, which was attached to the 51st Highland Division, was forced to surrender at St-Valéry. Both men managed to escape their German captors and, accompanied by fellow officers, began separately to work their way through France into Spain. Having crossed the Pyrenees they were both re-captured but by an extraordinary coincidence met up in Barcelona. Chris and Jimmy recorded their escape in journals with Jimmy also writing many letters home from internment in France. Eventually the escapees, now in a large group, were released and arrived in Gibraltar. It was not the safe haven they had hoped for. One last cruel twist of fate would deny some of them a return home.

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Book SynopsisThis is the story of the London Blitz of 1940-41 and is a combination of social and military history of this time. The title emphasises bombing over blitz as the word 'Blitz' has now taken on a much more general meaning associated with Britain's wartime spirit. This book describes how the Blitz progressed from the daylight attacks of the summer of 1940 through to the major raids of the spring of 1941, and looks at exactly what happened in the metropolis in those years. During the course of these attacks thousands of bombs fell on London, many triggering an ‘incident, a bland word that on hundreds of occasions effectively resulted in a disaster which in peacetime would have made national headlines. A chronology of the London Blitz forms the centrepiece of this account, exploring the progress of the aerial attack, what happened in each raid, the human cost and material destruction, the buildings destroyed or damaged and the people killed and injured. These major bombing incidents and bomb-related events have remained little-known since the War. The Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour and the London Gazette – sources of which only limited use has been previously made – are used to investigate these events. The damage to London’s buildings has also seldom been fully explored. The book covers all the major losses suffered during the war, what happened to the damaged buildings after it and how that destruction has influenced today’s townscape. It will help readers appreciate what happened in the capital in the grim years 1940-41, and celebrate and recognise those Londoners who endured it.

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Book SynopsisImagine how it would feel to be plucked from your daily life and transported far from home and forced to work in some unknown and terrible place. Imagine being treated with violence, never having enough to eat, living in bestial conditions, and never knowing if you would see your home again. Imagine feeling so completely powerless. This is what happened to young Frenchman Roland Chopard, who was arrested by the German SS during a brutal roundup in the Lot et Garonne region in May 1944, just before D-Day. This was the start of a period of forced labour during which he was moved to different places, including Dachau, BMW’s Eisenach factory and ultimately Buchenwald. Roland survived. Many did not. After his return home in 1945, Roland wrote a compelling account of his experiences. It lay, unread, in the family house in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, until it was found by his son Alex some years after Roland’s death in 2006. This book is based on Roland’s memoir, the family’s own papers, interviews with his daughter Annie, and the memories of others whose relatives were caught in the same roundup as Roland. It is a personal story set in a particular time, nothing more but nothing less.

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Book SynopsisSeptember 1940: In the midst of the Second World War, The Luftwaffe unleashed a series of devastating raids on Southampton, all but destroying its Spitfire factories.But production didn’t stop. Instead, manufacturing of this iconic fighter moved underground, to secret locations staffed by women, children and non-combatant men. With little engineering experience between them, they built a fleet of one of the greatest war planes that has ever existed.This is their story.

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Book SynopsisIn Hitler’s Foreign Executioners, Heinrich Himmler’s secret master plan for Europe is revealed: an SS empire that would have no place for either the Nazi Party or Adolf Hitler. His astonishingly ambitious plan depended on the recruitment of tens of thousands of ‘Germanic’ peoples from every corner of Europe, and even parts of Asia, to build an ‘SS Europa’. This revised and fully updated book, researched in archives all over Europe and using first-hand testimony, exposes Europe’s dirty secret: nearly half a million Europeans and more than a million Soviet citizens enlisted in the armed forces of the Third Reich to fight a deadly crusade against a mythic foe, Jewish Bolshevism.Even today, some apologists claim that these foreign SS volunteers were merely soldiers ‘like any other’ and fought a decent war against Stalin’s Red Army. Historian Christopher Hale demonstrates conclusively that these surprisingly common views are mistaken. By taking part in Himmler’s murderous master plan, these foreign executioners hoped to prove that they were worthy of joining his future ‘SS Europa’. But as the Reich collapsed in 1944, Himmler’s monstrous scheme led to bitter confrontations with Hitler – and to the downfall of the man once known as ‘loyal Heinrich’.

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