Search results for ""author tony redding""

Life and Death in Bomber Command is an intimate account of the human cost of the bombing offensive against Nazi Germany and targets in occupied Europe. The story of Lancaster rear gunner W/O Sidney Knott, DFC, unfolds within a detailed assessment of the bomber war by author Tony Redding. Sidney Knott survived sixty-four operations. The first tour, beginning in January 1943, included many 'Battle of the Ruhr' targets. His aircraft attacked Duisburg five times and Essen on three occasions. They also participated in three raids on Berlin. In April 1944, Knott began a second tour as a Pathfinder. Another thirty-five operations included attacks on German cities, but the focus was the assault on V1 and V2 sites and French rail targets prior to D-Day and the Normandy landings. This unique combination of dramatic narrative and strategic overview includes controversial views about post-war perspectives on the morality of area bombing and its contribution to victory in Europe. It is a moving account of squadron life and describes how every individual lived with unspoken fears. The story is complete as it also portrays how former aircrew struggled to set aside traumatic wartime experiences and adjust to life on 'civvy street'.

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War in the Wilderness is the most comprehensive account ever published of the human aspects of the Chindit war in Burma. The word ‘Chindit’ will always have a special resonance in military circles. Every Chindit endured what is widely regarded as the toughest sustained Allied combat experience of the Second World War. The Chindit expeditions behind Japanese lines in occupied Burma 1943–1944 transformed the morale of British forces after the crushing defeats of 1942. The Chindits provided the springboard for the Allies’ later offensives. The two expeditions extended the boundaries of human endurance. The Chindits suffered slow starvation and exposure to dysentery, malaria, typhus and a catalogue of other diseases. They endured the intense mental strain of living and fighting under the jungle canopy, with the ever-present threat of ambush or simply ‘bumping’ the enemy. Every Chindit carried his kit and weapons (equivalent to two heavy suitcases) in the tropical heat and humidity. A disabling wound or sickness frequently meant a lonely death. Those who could no longer march were often left behind with virtually no hope of survival. Some severely wounded were shot or given a lethal dose of morphia to ensure they would not be captured alive by the Japanese. Fifty veterans of the Chindit expeditions kindly gave interviews for this book. Many remarked on the self-reliance that sprang from living and fighting as a Chindit. Whatever happened to them after their experiences in Burma, they knew that nothing else would ever be as bad. There are first-hand accounts of the bitter and costly battles and the final, wasteful weeks, when men were forced to continue fighting long after their health and strength had collapsed. War in the Wilderness continues the story as the survivors returned to civilian life. They remained Chindits for the rest of their days, members of a brotherhood forged in extreme adversity.

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During 1942 and 1943 the striking power of RAF Bomber Command was transformed by the arrival of heavy bombers, advanced navigation and blind bombing systems, and new tactics to concentrate the bombers over the target and swamp the German defences. By October 1944 most of Germanys cities were in ruins, yet the bombing continued to intensify, reaching unprecedented levels in the final seven months of the air campaign. The value of further area raids was questioned during the opening months of 1945, yet the Allies destroyed the remaining cities in a bid to hasten the end of the war. The handful of German cities still largely unscathed in early February 1945 included Dresden, which was obliterated on 13 February. Ten days later, the South German city of Pforzheim was destined to suffer the same fate. This book commemorates the efforts of the aircrew members who risked their lives, consolidating a host of intriguing first-hand accounts. It also considers Pforzheim as a representative community under National Socialist rule. The citys survivors remember the horror of the raid and its aftermath, including eventual occupation by French Colonial troops and, subsequently, American forces. Tony does an admirable job of presenting historical context when considering actions in times of extreme trauma and his narrative offers an intriguing, engaging and poignant evocation of the closing months of Bomber Commands war.

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