Search results for ""Author James P. Duffy""

Packed with rich detail and analysis of what often transpired when merchant ships were sunk by U-boats, this dramatic book highlights the hazards of World War II at sea. At its center, James P. Duffy relates the story of the sinking of the British liner Laconia by the German U-boat U-156. On September 12, 1942, as Laconia sailed crowded with 1,800 Italian prisoners of war, 103 Polish soldiers, 286 mostly severely wounded British military personnel, 80 civilians, and 463 officers and crew, she was hit by two torpedoes fired by U-156. Laconia’s captain ordered the vessel abandoned, and within an hour, she sank. Perhaps surprisingly, the German U-boat then surfaced and sent a signal that brought two other U-boats, an Italian submarine, and three Vichy French warships to assist with rescue operations.The rescue operation by German ships and the subsequent bombing raid by Allied aircraft are both compelling stories and events that had major repercussions for the conduct of the war. In the wake of the incident, German admiral Karl Dönitz issued instructions known as the Laconia Order demanding that all attempts to rescue survivors from Allied merchant ships be ended. The order provoked an international outcry against inhumane treatment of survivors stranded at sea. After the war, Dönitz was charged with and acquitted of war crimes in connection with this order.

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They were the deadliest ships of World War II—nine German commerce raiders disguised as peaceful cargo ships, flying the flags of neutral and allied nations. In reality these heavily armed warships roamed the world’s oceans at will, like twentieth-century pirates. They struck unsuspecting freighters and tankers out of the darkness of night or from behind a curtain of fog and mist. For almost three years they led the Royal Navy on a deadly chase from sea to sea and sank or captured more than a million tons of allied shipping. Masquerading as unarmed merchantmen, the raiders carried an awesome array of weapons cleverly hidden behind false structures and concealed inside empty packing crates on their decks. They fed off their unsuspecting targets, pumping fuel from their prey into their own tanks and taking food from captured pantries to feed their own crews and the thousands of prisoners that they picked up along the way. These secret ships also acted as supply ships for U-boats, helping their fellow hunters remain at large for longer periods. At sea for months—or even years—those raider sailors lucky enough to survive were hailed as heroes when they returned home. In this fascinating and high-tension account of the German Navy’s “pirate” fleet, James P. Duffy provides detailed descriptions of each of the nine raiders, presented in chronological order based on the date each ship first sailed, revealing a significant but little-known aspect of World War II naval history

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It had been two and a half difficult years since General Douglas MacArthur had reluctantly obeyed a presidential order to abandon his American and Filipino forces on the Bataan Peninsula and slip away to Australia to organize the Allied resistance. From Australia, he had famously vowed to return to liberate the Philippines. And the people had believed his vow, their faith in him almost spiritual. Believers snuck out at night to paint his words on city walls; resisters secretly printed them on matchbook covers and gum wrappers and carried the oath in their pockets.The Philippine Islands were among the most important strongholds for the preservation of the Japanese Empire. As consequential as New Guinea had been, the Empire faced inevitable defeat if the Philippines were lost. The more than 7,000 islands of the archipelago dominated the shipping lanes that brought much needed oil to the home islands from the resource rich East Indies. The Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet said he was willing to sacrifice every ship in his fleet to prevent MacArthur from regaining control of the Philippines. The fleet would be useless, he said, without the East Indies fuel.Return to Victory is the story of MacArthur's liberation of the Philippines as told from the perspectives of the three major combatants: the Americans, the Japanese, and the Filipinos themselves. It will examine the strategic and tactical aspects of the campaign through the participation of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen, as well as the experiences of leaders such as General MacArthur, Admiral Halsey, General Walter Krueger, General George Kenney, Admiral Kinkaid, Colonel Ruberto Kangleon, and General Yamashita.

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