Search results for ""Author Gary Sterne""

Gary Sterne, a keen collector of militaria and co-founder of The Armourer and Skirmish Magazines, has always been fascinated by the D-Day landings. In particular he was intrigued by the lack of precise information relating to the mystery of the `missing guns' of Pointe du Hoc. His research led to the finding of a map which indicated the position of an `unknown' German gun position buried in the village of Maisy. The re-discovery of the Maisy Batteries made headline news around the world and his best-selling book Cover Up at Omaha Beach subsequently changed the history of the Omaha sector and made many start to question the Rangers' Pointe du Hoc mission. The Maisy site is now one of the major Normandy D-Day attractions. For the first time ever this follow-up book now offers complete Rangers history for the seven months prior to D-Day and does so using period documents, many of which have only recently been released from TOP SECRET status in US Archives. The author fills in the gaps that many have only guessed at concerning the Rangers' real missions on D-Day, he explains why a battalion commander was removed hours before the landings, why the Rangers were not briefed on their actual D-Day missions and the extraordinary role that Lt. Col. Rudder played at Pointe du Hoc. This book is a historical game-changer that pulls no punches.

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In December 1944 the Third Reich was retreating. It was almost inconceivable that they could mount a counter offensive. To the Allies, the capitulation of the Third Reich was just around the corner. Or was it? Could the Battle of the Bulge succeed in turning the tide of the war for the German high command ? The US 101st Airborne were the only Allied unit capable of slowing down the German advance towards Antwerp - and they were ordered to do just that - at a place called Bastogne. The battle for the small Belgium cross-roads town is now world famous and to add to that historical narrative, the author has located de-classified interviews with the German unit commanders who took part. Brought together for the first time - they provide a unique perspective on the battle as the Germans were forced to make continuous alterations to their plans - and the 101st resisted every attempt to dislodge them. This book offers significant and fresh research on this famous battle and the narrative unfolds in words of the men who were actually there.

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Volume 1 of this two-part work puts the reader firmly into the footsteps of the 2nd and 5th Rangers as they arrive in England in 1943\. It follows them during their intensive training with the Commandos and the Royal Navy as they head towards D-Day - including cliff climbing, assault landings and the Slapton Sands dress rehearsal'. The orders given to the Rangers, along with dozens of aerial reconnaissance photographs of Omaha Beach, Pointe et Raz de la Perc e, Pointe du Hoc and Maisy - as well as French Resistance reports - detail the information given to the Rangers' commander Lt. Col. Rudder. Shown in chronological order and in their original format, many of the documents are still marked TOP SECRET and were only recently released after nearly 70 years. The author fills in the gaps that many have only guessed at concerning the Rangers' real missions on D-Day, and in Volume 2 he explains why a battalion commander was removed whilst onboard ship prior to the landings, why the individual Rangers were not briefed on all of their D-Day objectives - as well as the extraordinary role that Lt. Col. Rudder played at Pointe du Hoc. Described by US historians as 'one of the most detailed works about the D-Day Rangers ever written', this work is the culmination of four years of detailed research within the US Archives and backed up by evidence uncovered in Normandy. It is a real historical game-changer that pulls no punches as it challenges conventional studies of one of the most iconic battles of WWII. There can be no doubt that this work will change the way that historians view the Pointe du Hoc battle from now on.

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