Search results for ""Author Patrick Delaforce""

Early in 1945 the British Liberation Army (BLA), who had battled their way from the Normandy beaches to the borders of Germany, embarked on Operation Eclipse. This was the 'end-game' of the Second World War, the unique military campaign to invade and conquer Hitler's Third Reich and liberate 20 million enslaved nationals from Holland, Denmark and Norway; to free multitudes of displaced persons (DPs) or slaves; and inter alia to free the survivors of twenty concentration camps and many Allied POW camps. The Allied Military Government (AMG) brought law and order to 23 million German nationals in the allocated British zone of occupation (BAOR) and appropriate retribution too. A thrilling race with Stalin's Red Army ensued to reach the Baltic. A matter of a few hours and Denmark and Norway would have been swept into the evil Soviet empire. The author fought vigorously as a junior RHA officer in the five great river battles - Rhine, Dortmund-Ems, Weser, Aller and the Elbe. Soon after VE Day he was the junior officer in War Crimes Tribunals in Hamburg and Oldenburg and witnessed Mr Alfred Pierrepoint administering the hanging of prison camp guards.

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The 11th Armoured Division, famous for its Black Bull insignia, was widely recognized as being among the best armoured divisions in north-west Europe during the Second World War. This book tells the story of the Division in the words of the soldiers who fought with it: of its part in the three ferocious battles in Normandy Operations EPSOM, GOODWOOD and BLUECOAT, the great Swan to Amiens, the taking of Antwerp; right flanking for MARKET GARDEN, back-up in the Ardennes and the final slog into Germany across well-defended river barriers, to the liberation of Belsen, Lbeck and the Danish frontier. The Division suffered 10,000 casualties, with almost 2,000 lost in action, and so this is also a story of courage and the hardships of a winter campaign, of being wounded, comradeship and fighting fear. Contributions are included from twelve of the regiments who proudly wore the sign of the Black Bull. Memories from troop commanders and riflemen, bombardiers and signalmen, tank crews, troop leaders and from the dashing GOC are brought together to reveal what life was like at the sharp end. The Black Bull is liberally illustrated with contemporary photographs showing the Division in action. It will appeal not only to those who still have memories of the battles and to those who fought in the Second World War, but also to readers interested in the day-to-day actions and thoughts of soldiers in the front line for almost a year.

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By late 1944 the Allies were poised to smash the Siegfried Line and break into Germany. Supply lines were shorter thanks to the port of Antwerp. Arnhem aside, there had been a long run of victories and there was no intelligence even from ULTRA to suggest a German counter-offensive. So the major December attack through the mountainous Ardennes by massed Panzers and infantry took the Allies totally by surprise. Fog and low cloud negated the Allies' air supremacy, English-speaking German commandos in captured jeeps created panic and withdrawal of US forces became a near rout with morale all but broken. For ten days the situation worsened and Antwerp was seriously threatened and 21st Army Group in danger of being cut off. Clear skies for the Thunderbolts and coherent counter-attacks by rapidly deployed reinforcements turned the tide in the nick of time, so preventing a catastrophic defeat for the Allies. All this and more is graphically narrated in this fine study of a pivotal battle, that so nearly changed the course of war.

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Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in April 1889, and shot himself in a bunker in Berlin in April 1945 with Russian soldiers beating at the door, surrounded by the ruins of the country he had vowed to restore to greatness. Adolf Hitler: The Curious and Macabre Anecdotes - part biography, part miscellany, part historical overview - presents the life and times of der Fuhrer in a unique and compelling manner. The early life of the loner son of an Austrian customs official gave little clue as to his later years. As a decorated, twice-wounded soldier of the First World War, through shrewd manipulation of Germany's offended national pride after the war, Hitler ascended rapidly through the political system, rousing the masses behind him with a thundering rhetoric that amplified the nation's growing resentment and brought him the adulation of millions. By the age of 44, he had become both a millionaire with secret bank accounts in Switzerland and Holland, and the unrivalled leader of Germany, whose military might he had resurrected; six years later, he provoked the world to war. Patrick Delaforce's book is a masterly assessment of Hitler's life, career and beliefs, drawn not only from its subject's own writings, speeches, conversation, poetry and art, but also from the accounts of those who knew him, loved him, or loathed him. The journey of an ordinary young man to callous dictator and architect of the 'Final Solution' makes for provocative and important - thought not always comfortable - reading.

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Monty's desert legions - 7th Armoured Division, 51st Highland Division and 50th Northumbrian Division - helped him win at El Alamein and throughout North Africa, and eventually in North West Europe after D-Day. Monty's Northern Legions is the story of two distinguished formations who played significant roles in the liberation of North West Europe. 50th Tyne Tees Division was a fine infantry division first blooded at El Alamein and later in Sicily. Monty gave 50th Division the dangerous honour of attacking on D-Day in the first wave ashore on 'Gold' Beach. The only D-Day Victoria Cross was awarded to CSM Hollis of the Green Howards. The division fought through the Normandy campaign up towards the German border before disbandment in late 1944. 15th Scottish Division's three brigades swept into Normandy in Operation 'Epsom', Monty's first great battle for Caen. They fought their way through France and the Low Countries and were one of two assault divisions entrusted with storming across the Rhine in Operation 'Plunder'.

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In the welter of popular and well-known stories and reminiscences about Churchill (many of them more legend than fact), it can be easy to forget that he was more than an inspirational leader and figurehead to a nation and its allies. For in spite of his many and varied successes, Britain's last great wartime Prime Minister was also a full-blooded human being, with all of the foibles, fallibility, bad temper, pig-headedness and vanity that are so often the shadows of such greatness. Ebullient, sometimes moody, and often mischievous, he lived a full and varied life beyond the demands of Parliament: sailing with his beloved wife, Clemmie, on the Admiralty yacht Enchantress, owning racehorses, playing polo, entertaining friends and family, all of which, and more, find a place in Winston Churchill: Anecdotes. With a light touch and a great, though not always uncritical, affection for its subject, Patrick Delaforce's wide-ranging collection reveals many little known facets of this illustrious man and his incredible life. It is at once a treasury of anecdote and recollection, an insight into Churchill's larger-than-life personality, a record of his often caustic, yet brilliant wit, and, by the use of long out of print and forgotten sources, a lasting testament to his remarkable, indeed immeasurable contribution to the modern world.

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From-the-turret story of a British tank division in World War II Follows the division through the Normandy campaign, the liberation of Amiens and Antwerp, flank protection during Operation Market Garden, and the final drive into Germany Raw firsthand accounts from commanders, riflemen, bombardiers, and tank crews Reveals what life was like at the sharp end of the Allies' war effort"

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In this third volume on the progress of the Second World War after the D-Day landings, Patrick Delaforce examines the final weeks of World War Two, beyond the Yalta Conference, when the question to be asked was not who would win, but how to prevent the war dragging on and also how to prevent Hitler from implementing a scorched earth policy across the Reichland. Then there was the race to win territory as the Russians, too, clawed their way across Europe. Operation Eclipse, begun in March1945, both prevented the Russians from occupying Denmark in violation of the agreement at Yalta but also occupied the Kiel naval base. The book also examines events immediately after the surrender and Hitler's suicide, and the creation of the short-lived fourth reich under the leadership of Admiral Donitz. As well as Denmark, the book also covers the liberations of both Holland and Norway. Most poignant of all, the liberation of the prisoners of war is covered as well as the freeing those that had toiled for Hitler against their will, as slaves. The book ends with the famous war crimes trials and the beginnings of the Cold War.

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This well researched and well written book covers the early campaigns and battles that earned The Desert Rats their fame and name. This volume covers the difficult early years when ultimate victory was less than certain. The Nazis were victorious on many fronts and Britain stood alone. Indeed it was at El Alamein that 7 Armoured Division and the rest of Montgomerys Eighth Army turned the tide. The church bells rang out in Britain and a new spirit was born. But much fighting lay ahead and many were to die. The successful completion of the North African campaign led to the invasion of Sicily and the long slog up Italy. The Desert Rats were at the forefront of these campaigns. Three Victoria Crosses were won in the desert and many famous names were associated with the Division, such as Field Marshal Lord Carver and Major General Pip Roberts. The Divisions story is told by many first hand contributions and is the result of painstaking research by the author who was also a Desert Rat.

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The battles of the courageous British 3rd Division, 'Monty's Iron Sides', in North West Europe in 1944-5, retold by the men who fought in them.

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When Monty was given Allied command of the D Day landings he wasted no time gathering around him individuals and formations he could trust. Foremost among the latter were two armoured brigades: 4th (Black Desert Rats) and 8th (Red Fox's Mask). Both these brigades had unrivalled fighting records whether in North Africa, Sicily or Italy. They had proved themselves in bitter fighting against Rommel's Afrika Korps and the Italians. Once ashore in Normandy the two superb brigades went on to enhance their reputations on the journey to the heartland of Hitler's Third Reich and final victory. The author has written a fast moving and enthralling account of war at the sharp end.

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