Search results for ""Author Richard Collier""

'Without the networks of the French Resistance, the invasion would not have been possible' Major General Walter Bedell Smith, Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary ForceDays after France fell in June 1940, Charles de Gaulle appointed André Dewavrin to create, from scratch, the Free French Intelligence Service.Recruiting agents among the sailors, farmers, painters, housewives and children of Occupied France, he managed cells of spies across the country, and focused their attention on one goal: preparing for the Allied invasion of France, even at the risk of torture and death.Hitler’s fortifications along the European coastline – known as the Atlantic Wall – were their target. Gun battery locations, troop movements, and more... All this information was funnelled back to the Allies by a network of brave individuals, creating a living map that became essential to the planning of D-Day, and the selection of Normandy as the invasion point.Using a wealth of material both published and unpublished, including interviews with Dewavrin and de Gaulle himself, Collier has produced an authentic record of one of the most remarkable episodes of the Second World War; a human story of a group of ordinary people whose faith paved the way for Eisenhower’s great sweep across Europe. Perfect for readers of Antony Beevor and Max Hastings.

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The 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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The most shocking year in history. Week by week, hour by hour.In his brilliant reconstruction, Richard Collier vividly brings one of the most momentous years in world history to life once again.This was a time of blitzkrieg and the Blitz; of the Battle of Britain and Dunkirk. From the fighting in Finland to the destruction of Coventry, from the sinking of the French fleet in Oran to the invasion of Norway, this is history at its most extraordinary and engaging.By recounting major episodes from the viewpoint of those actually involved, Collier provides enlightening glimpses of just what war represented to both the great and to the unknown, and reveals that while 1940 was a year of incredible folly, it was also a time of inestimable bravery.Perfect for readers of Anthony Beevor and Max Hastings, this is an unforgettable book about an unforgettable year, a year that shaped the world we know today.‘Masterly… you could be reading a spine-tingling thriller’ Sunday Express‘I would like to see this book made compulsory reading’ Evening Standard

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One of the greatest and most terrible years in world history.‘This war has now assumed the character’, wrote Benito Mussolini, before 1941 was six months old, ‘of a war between two worlds’, and the Italian dictator had rarely predicted more truly.Before the year had ended, following Hitler’s surprise assault on Russia and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, thirty-seven nations were engaged in an all-out war reminiscent of Armageddon, ‘the battle of that great day of God Almighty’.Richard Collier’s latest narrative spans both this entire, devastating year, as well as the events that led up to it. From the hunting of the Bismarck through the North Atlantic to the triumphs of Rommel’s Afrika Korps, from the horror and heroism of besieged Leningrad to the debacles of Hong Kong, Malaya and the Far East, this is a panorama of truly world-wide proportions.An unputdownable narrative of the most extraordinary year in world history, perfect for readers of Max Hastings, James Holland and Antony Beevor.

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Part of the SECOND WORLD WAR VOICES series, with a new introduction by bestselling historian James Holland, and in partnership with the podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk, presented by comedian Al Murray and James HollandMay 1940: In the face of a lightning German advance, the British Army found themselves, stunned, broken, beaten, their backs truly against the wall on the sands of the north French coast.And yet it was on the beaches of Dunkirk that the seeds of a remarkable victory were sown. The evacuation of over three hundred thousand men in ships of all sizes was a logistical feat which has never been seen, before or since.This vivid, visceral story takes you inside the making of a miracle: the story of eight frantic days, as the net tightened around the beleaguered troops, told from all sides, as the enemy draws closer and the bombardment intensifies, in the words of those who were there. It is impossible to get closer to experiencing this legendary action.

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