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Operation NEPTUNE was the codeword for the naval side of the OVERLORD plan for the historic June 1944 landings in Normandy. Massive in its scale, its tasks were wide-ranging and varied, from beach reconnaissance, minesweeping, shore bombardment as well as the organisation of loading, assembly and disembarkation; it was also responsible for positioning two Mulberry artificial harbours and Pluto: the laying of the cross-channel fuel pipeline under the sea. Operation NEPTUNE may not have been a naval battle in the traditional sense, but it ranks as one of the greatest naval exploits in history. In this timeless book, Vice Admiral Schofield describes the great events of June 1944 which, as Captain of HMS Dryad, the Royal Naval shore establishment which housed General Dwight Eisenhowers Supreme Allied Headquarters before the landing, he witnessed at first hand.

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The Rescue Ships and the Convoys tells the history of one of the least known aspects of Second World War maritime history. Despite the threat of heavy losses of ships and lives, no hospital ships, which had to be lit, could accompany the convoys as they would betray a convoy's position. The solution was to create a fleet of 30 small Merchant Navy vessels of about 1,500 gross tons, mostly from coastal trade. These Rescue Ships', commanded and manned by Merchant Navy personnel, carried medical teams, and life-saving equipment including operating theatres, hospital beds, Carley' floats, and hoists. Undeterred either by either enemy action or atrocious weather conditions, these vessels accompanied close to 800 convoys and saved 4,194 lives from ships sunk in the North Atlantic and with the Arctic convoys. During their service, seven Rescue Ships were lost. This is a story packed with suspense, danger, achievement and tragedy. As the author, Vice Admiral Schofield, who was closely inv

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