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The Battle of the Bridges: The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Operation Market Garden
by Frank van Lunteren&“On these pages, the human story comes to life, sometimes tragic, sometimes amusing, but always poignant and compelling&” (John C. McManus, author of Fire and Fortitude). Operation Market Garden has been recorded as a complete Allied failure in World War II, an overreach that resulted in an entire airborne division being destroyed at its apex. However, within that operation were episodes of heroism that still remain unsung. On September, 17, 1944, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, floated down across the Dutch countryside, in the midst of German forces, and proceeded to fight their way to vital bridges to enable the Allied offensive to go forward. The 101st Airborne was behind them; the British 1st Airborne was far advanced. In the 82nd&’s sector, the crucial conduits needed to be seized. The Germans were as aware of the importance of the bridge over the Waal River at Nijmegen as James Gavin and his 82nd troopers were. Thus began a desperate fight for the Americans to seize it, no matter what the cost. The Germans would not give up, however, and fought tenaciously in the town and fortified the bridge. On September 20, Gavin turned his paratroopers into sailors and conducted a deadly daylight amphibious assault in small plywood and canvas craft across the Waal River to secure the north end of the highway bridge in Nijmegen. German machine guns and mortars boiled the water on the crossing, but somehow, a number of paratroopers made it to the far bank. Their ferocity rolled up the German defenses, and by the end of the day, the bridge had fallen. This book by Dutch historian Frank van Lunteren draws on a plethora of previously unpublished sources to shed new light on the exploits of the &“Devils in Baggy Pants.&” A native of Arnhem—the site of the &“Bridge Too Far&”—the author draws on nearly 130 interviews he personally conducted with veterans of the 504th, plus Dutch civilians and British and German soldiers, who here tell their story for the first time.
Race to the Rhine: Liberating France and the Low Countries 1944-45 (Then And Now Ser.)
by Simon Forty Leo MarriottTravel across the battlefields of WWII with this beautiful book combining historical images, full-color aerial photography, and informative text. In June 1944, Allied forces invaded Nazi-occupied France, beginning a sweep of fierce battles that would eventually liberate Western Europe. With aerial photography, historic images, maps, and other illustrations, Race to the Rhine brings readers to the fateful grounds where men sacrificed their lives for freedom. The destruction of German forces in Normandy&’s Falaise pocket was a decisive victory: by September, British troops were in Ghent and Liege; Canadian forces liberated Ostend, and in northeast France, Patton&’s Third Army was moving rapidly to the German border. The liberation of the Low Countries would not prove as straightforward, however. Operation Market Garden—Montgomery&’s brave thrust toward the Rhine at Arnhem—ended in failure with over six thousand paratroopers captured. In late October, belated operations began to clear the Scheldt Estuary and open the port of Antwerp to the Allies. Belgium was almost free of the Nazi yoke, and the Netherlands looked likely to be cleared before Christmas. Then, on December 16, came a major German counter-offensive in the Ardennes. It turned out to be Hitler&’s last try: the American defenders held, and in the spring, the Rhine was finally gained. Perfect for the armchair traveler or for those who want a historic guide as they visit significant sites, Race to the Rhine supplies essential information on the places that best represent the battles today.
My Dark Room: Spaces of the Inner Self in Eighteenth-Century England
by Julie ParkExamines spaces of inner life in eighteenth-century England to shed new light on interiority in literature and visual and material culture. In what kinds of spaces do we become most aware of the thoughts in our own heads? In My Dark Room, Julie Park explores places of solitude and enclosure that gave eighteenth-century subjects closer access to their inner worlds: grottos, writing closets, landscape follies, and the camera obscura, that beguiling “dark room” inside which the outside world in all its motion and color is projected. The camera obscura and its dreamlike projections within it served as a paradigm for the everyday spaces, whether in built environments or in imaginative writing, that generated the fleeting states of interiority eighteenth-century subjects were compelled to experience and inhabit.My Dark Room illuminates the spatial and physical dimensions of inner life in the long eighteenth century by synthesizing material analyses of diverse media, from optical devices and landscape architecture to women’s intimate dress, with close readings of literary texts not traditionally considered together, among them Andrew Marvell’s country house poem Upon Appleton House, Margaret Cavendish’s experimental epistolary work Sociable Letters, Alexander Pope’s heroic verse epistle Eloisa to Abelard, and Samuel Richardson’s novel Pamela. Park also analyzes letters and diaries, architectural plans, prints, drawings, paintings, and more, drawing our attention to the lively interactions between spaces and psyches in private environments. Park’s innovative method of “spatial formalism” reveals how physical settings enable psychic interiors to achieve vitality in lives both real and imagined.
The Armies of Bismarck's Wars: The Army of Prussia—History, Uniforms, Weapons & Equipment, 1860–67
by Bruce Basset-PowellThe riveting story of the nineteenth-century rise of the Prussian army—a key factor in the unification of Germany—with maps and illustrations. On July 3, 1866, a Prussian force overwhelmed and defeated an Austrian army near the fortress city of Königgrätz in a bloody battle that lasted all day. At a stroke, the foremost power in Germany and central Europe had been reduced to a second rate player. The event caused anxiety and alarm in the capitals of the western world. How was an upstart country like Prussia able to upset the balance of power in Europe? Only sixteen years before, it had been put in its place by Austria with the treaty of Olmütz. Its performance as an Austrian ally had been less than stellar in the Second Schleswig War of 1864, despite its defeat of the Danes at Düppel. Yet within five years, a Prussian-led army would humble France and a Prussian king would be crowned emperor of a united Germany. The history of the world would be changed forever. This book tells the story of this army, chronicling its growth from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the reforms of the 1860s, then offering a full account of the wars against Denmark in 1864 and Austria in 1866. The author shows how the confluence of three men&’s lives—King William I, Helmuth von Moltke, and Otto von Bismarck—provided the essential ingredients that created this victorious army. The growth and influence of the General Staff is examined, along with the recruitment and training of officers and men. Powell fully describes the organization of the army and the fledgling navy, as well as the weapons with which they fought.
Landing in Hell: The Pyrrhic Victory of the First Marine Division on Peleliu, 1944
by Peter MargaritisA detailed history and analysis of the most controversial amphibious operation in the Pacific during WWII: the Battle for Peleliu. On September 15, 1944, the United States invaded the tiny Pacific island of Peleliu, located at the southern end of the Palau Islands. Boasting a large airfield from which the Americans could mount bomber campaigns, Peleliu was a strategically essential part of Gen. MacArthur&’s long-awaited liberation of the Philippines. With the famed 1st Marine Division making the amphibious assault, Pacific High Command was confident that victory would be theirs in just a few days. They were drastically wrong. A mere week after landing, having sustained terrific losses in fierce combat, the 1st Marine Regiment was withdrawn. The entire division would be out of action for six months after sustaining the highest unit losses in Marine Corps history. This book analyzes the many things that went wrong in the Battle for Peleliu, and in doing so, corrects several earlier accounts of the campaign. It includes a comprehensive account of the presidential summit that determined the operation, details of how new weapons were deployed, a new enemy strategy, and command failure in what became the most controversial amphibious operation in the Pacific during WWII.
The Fugitive Heiress
by Amanda ScottFleeing a proposal and in search of a fortune, one headstrong young lady moves to London to play the high-stakes game of loveCatheryn Westering has no intention of marrying her respectable but boring cousin,, Edmund Caston, and her aunt and uncle have no intention of giving her access to her newly discovered fortune. Daringly, she rushes to London to appeal to her distant, very attractive kinsman, the Earl of Dambroke, for help. Before Dambroke knows it, she&’s become an essential part of his household: an eager participant in the London social whirl; a protégée of his mother; a confidante to his spoilt sister and his mischievous younger brother; and a thorn in the masterful Earl&’s side. But London is a dangerous place, and although Dambroke frequently objects to Catheryn&’s &“interference&” in his family and social affairs, is it possible that, beneath his exasperation, much warmer feelings for Catheryn have already ignited?
Essex Class Aircraft Carriers of the Second World War (ShipCraft)
by Steve BackerA stern-to-bow look at the most powerful aircraft carrier design of World War Two from the author of Bismarck and Tirpitz in the ShipCraft series. The latest volume covers the hugely important American carrier of the Second World War. Built in larger numbers than any fleet carrier before or since, the Essex class can claim to be the US Navy&’s most significant weapon in the defeat of Japan. Carrying up to 100 aircraft and capable of absorbing enormous punishment (not one was sunk), they spearheaded the Fast Carrier Task Forces for most of the Pacific War. The heavily illustrated work contains everything a modeller needs to know about this prolific class. &“This book is well written and the text is supported by good sharp photos and illustrations. If your interest is World War II warships or ship modelling, this book should be in your library.&”—PowerShips
British Destroyers A-I and Tribal Classes: A-i And Tribal Classes (Shipcraft Ser. #Vol. 11)
by Les BrownThe 'ShipCraft' series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject class, then moves to an extensive photographic survey of either a high-quality model or a surviving example of the ship. Hints on building the model, and on modifying and improving the basic kit, are followed by a section on paint schemes and camouflage, featuring numerous colour profiles and highly-detailed line drawings. The strengths and weaknesses of available kits of the ships are reviewed, and the book concludes with a section on research references—books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites.This new volume deals with the classes which represent the whole inter-war development of British destroyers, from the prototypes Amazon and Ambuscade of 1926—the first new post World War I design—to the powerful and radically different 'Tribal' class a decade later. These ships formed the backbone of Royal Navy destroyer flotillas in the Second World War.
Tales of Nevèrÿon (Return to Nevèrÿon #1)
by Samuel R. DelanyHugo and Nebula Award–winning author Samuel R. Delany&’s epic fantasy—the first in a series—explores power, gender, and the nature of civilization. A boy of the bustling, colorful docks of port Kolhari, during a political coup, fifteen-year-old Gorgik, once his parents are killed, is taken a slave and transported to the government obsidian mines at the foot of the Faltha mountains. When, in the savagely primitive land of Nevèrÿon, finally he wins his freedom, Gorgik is ready to lead a rebellion against the rulers of this barely civilized land. His is the through-story that, now in the background, now in the foreground, connects these first five stories, in Tales of Nevèrÿon—and, indeed, all the eleven stories, novellas, and novels that comprise Delany&’s epic fantasy series, Return to Nevèrÿon, where we can watch civilization first develop money, writing, labor, and that grounding of all civilizations since: capital itself. In these sagas of barbarism, new knowledge, and sex, you&’ll find far more than in most sword-and-sorcery. They are an epic feat of language, an ironic analysis of the foundations of civilization, and a reminder that no weapon is more powerful than a well-honed legend. This &“eminently readable and gorgeously entertaining&” (The Washington Post Book World) novel reads &“as if Umberto Eco had written about Conan the Barbarian&” (USA Today). This ebook features an illustrated biography of Samuel R. Delany including rare images from his early career.
SOG Medic: Stories from Vietnam and Over the Fence
by Robert Dumont Joe ParnarThe “hair-raising details of the second-by-second events” of a Special Forces medic’s covert operations during the Vietnam War (On Point: The Journal of Army History Online).In the years since the Vietnam War, the elite unit known as the Studies and Observations Group (SOG) has spawned many myths, legends, and war stories. Special Forces medic Joe Parnar served with SOG during 1968 in FOB2/CCC near the tri-border region that gave them access to the forbidden areas of Laos and Cambodia. Parnar recounts his time with the recon men of this highly classified unit, as his job involved a unique combination of soldiering and lifesaving. His stories capture the extraordinary commitment made by all the men of SOG and reveal the special dedication of the medics, who put their own lives at risk to save the lives of their teammates. Parnar also discusses his medical training with the Special Forces.“A well-written, interesting account of Parnar’s three-year term of enlistment in the US Army, culminating as a Special Forces medic in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 . . . Parnar takes the time to provide context, circumstance and motivation for heroism and tragedy—for US soldiers and the indigenous Vietnamese soldiers and civilians with whom he worked . . . The service, sacrifice and valor of a generation are vividly documented in the pages of SOG Medic.” —ARMY Magazine
Bismarck and Tirpitz: Bismarck And Tirpitz (Shipcraft Ser. #Vol. 10)
by Steve BackerA treasury of useful facts, plans, and photos for modelers. The ShipCraft series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeler through a brief history of the subject class, highlighting differences between sister-ships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring color profiles and highly detailed line drawings and scale plans. The modeling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the ships, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit. This is followed by an extensive photographic gallery of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references—books, monographs, large-scale plans, and relevant websites. This volume covers the famous German sister-ships whose fates were so very different—Bismarck had a short but glorious career, first sinking HMS Hood and then in turn being sunk by the Home Fleet, whereas the Tirpitz spent most of the war skulking in Norwegian fjords, fending off attacks by midget submarines and carrier aircraft before being finally sunk by enormous, specially designed bombs dropped by RAF Lancasters.
Barrel of a Gun: A War Correspondent's Misspent Moments in Combat
by Al J. VenterA colorful, wide-ranging memoir of danger and adventure in wars around the world.Anybody who says that the pen is mightier than the sword hasn’t spent time in Somalia . . .So begins this memoir of a career spent examining warfare—on the ground and as the bullets are flying. While many are intrigued by these violent conflicts, Al Venter feels compelled to see them in person, preferably at the center of the action.Born in South Africa, Venter has found no shortage of horrific battles on his own continent, from Rhodesia to Biafra and Angola to Somalia. He has ridden with the legendary mercenary group Executive Outcomes; jumped into combat with South Africa’s crack Parachute Regiment, the Parabats; and traipsed through jungles with both guerrillas and national troops. During Sierra Leone’s civil war, he flew in the government’s lone Mi-24 helicopter gunship as it blasted apart rebel villages and convoys, complaining that the Soviet-made craft leaked when it rained.In the Mideast, he went into Lebanon with the Israeli army as it encountered resistance from multiple militant groups, including the newly formed Hezbollah. Curious about the other side of the hill, he joined up with General Aoun’s Christian militias while that conflict was at its height. Touching down in Croatia during the Balkan wars, and in Congo during their perpetual one, as well as the Uganda of Idi Amin, Venter never lost his lust for action, even as he sometimes had to put down his camera or notebook to pick up an AK-47.In his journeys, Venter associated with an array of similarly daring soldiers and journalists, from “Mad Mike” Hoare to Danny Pearl, as well as elite soldiers from around the world, many of whom, he sadly relates, never emerged from the war zones they entered. A renowned journalist and documentarian who has worked with the BBC, PBS, Jane’s, and other outlets, Al Venter here offers the reader his own personal experiences with combat.
The Way of the Eagle (Vintage Aviation Library)
by Charles J. BiddleA classic aviation memoir: an American pilot&’s account of air combat in the First World War. Charles J. Biddle, a Philadelphia native, was active in France beginning in 1917, where he flew as a volunteer, initially for the French in Escadrille 73, and then in the American 103rd Aero Squadron, the Lafayette Escadrille, and then the 13th Aero Squadron and 4th Pursuit Group, which he commanded. His memoir was published shortly after his return to the United States and provides an immediacy lacking in other books that were written later. Accounts of US pilots from this period are relatively rare, and this one paints a compelling picture of a group of Americans fighting as volunteers for the French. Biddle&’s US compatriots soon established their own capability and wrung free of French direction—and as this book reveals, it was largely because of their combat prowess. For his service, Biddle was awarded the French Legion of Honour, the Croix de Guerre, the American Distinguished Service Cross, and the Belgian Order of Leopold II. This memoir gives us a unique perspective on America&’s participation in the Great War.
I Survived, Didn't I?: The Great War Reminiscences of Private 'Ginger' Byrne
by Joy Cave4124 Private Byrne, C,. 2nd Battalion the Hampshire Regiment, latterly transferred to the Machine Gun Corps; served Egypt, 1915; France and Belgium, 1916–1918; Germany 1918–1919; honourably discharged, 1919. Behind that bold statement lies a remarkable account of en infantrymans service on the Western Front during the Great War. Charlie 'Ginger' Byrne was a typical young volunteer soldier of 1915, a soldier's son seeking a part in what seemed a great adventure. If his experiences may be said to mirror those of thousands of others, his account stands out from so many because it is set down in the authentic voice of the soldier. Unlike hundreds of thousands of his contemporaries, Charlie Byrne survived into old age. Sound in body and mind, and blessed with almost total recall, he was persuaded to tell his tale to an interested, informed, and acute listener. Now Joy Cave has triumphantly made the transition into print of Charlie's war. It is not a tale of strategy, a recital of epic heroism, but a trench's-eye view of the great tragedy. In that, it perhaps conveys a truth that may sometimes elude the literary memoirists, the heroes and commanders, even the ever rising tide of Great War historians. All have had their say, and more; Charlie Byne speaks for the lost thousands who, for whatever reason, never had a voice. In the often searing descriptions of going into the action with the Newfoundland Regiment on the Somme on 1st of July 1916 (and he was one of the very few survivors of that doomed advance near Beaumont-Hamel); of a catastrophic gas attack in the Ypres Salient; of raids, wiring -and ration- parties; of work details and transport duties; of front line and reserve trenches, and life in billets behind the lines; of the endless incomprehensible moves, and the shattered landscapes of France and Flanders; of the ever-present dangers and the ever present evidence of their effects- there shines through the chaos the good humour and forbearance of the soldier who fought and survived. There is much to be learned from Private Bryne about tolerance and the virtue of simple humanity. He adds to the cataract of words about the Great War his own his own drop of impish comprehension; in doing so, his narrative forms an excellent counterpoint to the reminiscence and other writings that that form the litany of the First World War. Gallant, proud humorous, and enduring, Charlie Byrne reminds us that wars are fought by ordinary people, but that in each of them there is always something extraordinary.
Babel-17: Babel-17, Nova, And Stars In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #No.6)
by Samuel R. DelanyThe Nebula Award Winner: &“By looking at a typical space opera adventure from a different angle, Delany . . . give[s] us a weird, welcoming book&” (Tor.com). At twenty-six, Rydra Wong is the most popular poet in the five settled galaxies. Almost telepathically perceptive, she has written poems that capture the mood of mankind after two decades of savage war. Since the invasion, Earth has endured famine, plague, and cannibalism—but its greatest catastrophe will be Babel-17. Sabotage threatens to undermine the war effort, and the military calls in Rydra. Random attacks lay waste to warships, weapons factories, and munitions dumps, and all are tied together by strings of sound, broadcast over the radio before and after each accident. In that gibberish Rydra recognizes a coherent message, with all of the beauty, persuasive power, and order that only language possesses. To save humanity, she will master this strange tongue. But the more she learns, the more she is tempted to join the other side . . . This ebook features an illustrated biography of Samuel R. Delany including rare images from his early career.
The Deadly Travellers
by Dorothy EdenRomantic suspense meets Hitchcockian storytelling in New York Times–bestselling author Dorothy Eden&’s nail-biter of a novel about a little girl who vanishes on a trainThe job is simple: to escort seven-year-old Francesca from Rome to England. But it quickly becomes a nightmare for Kate Tempest when Francesca vanishes aboard the Paris Express. Not a single one of Kate&’s fellow passengers admits to seeing the girl. In fact, nobody remembers her getting onboard at all. But Kate&’s discovery of Francesca&’s beloved doll convinces her that Francesca is the victim of foul play.Who took her off the train—and why? And who is the insolent, dark-eyed stranger who keeps turning up? Kate&’s desperate search takes her across Europe . . . and into the arms of a man she is not sure she can trust as she searches for a way out of a tightening web of lies, deception, and deadly malice.
Precarious Partners: Horses and Their Humans in Nineteenth-Century France (Animal Lives Ser.)
by Kari WeilFrom the recent spate of equine deaths on racetracks to protests demanding the removal of mounted Confederate soldier statues to the success and appeal of War Horse, there is no question that horses still play a role in our lives—though fewer and fewer of us actually interact with them. In Precarious Partners, Kari Weil takes readers back to a time in France when horses were an inescapable part of daily life. This was a time when horse ownership became an attainable dream not just for soldiers but also for middle-class children; when natural historians argued about animal intelligence; when the prevalence of horse beatings led to the first animal protection laws; and when the combined magnificence and abuse of these animals inspired artists, writers, and riders alike. Weil traces the evolving partnerships established between French citizens and their horses through this era. She considers the newly designed “races” of workhorses who carried men from the battlefield to the hippodrome, lugged heavy loads through the boulevards, or paraded women riders, amazones, in the parks or circus halls—as well as those unfortunate horses who found their fate on a dinner plate. Moving between literature, painting, natural philosophy, popular cartoons, sports manuals, and tracts of public hygiene, Precarious Partners traces the changing social, political, and emotional relations with these charismatic creatures who straddled conceptions of pet and livestock in nineteenth-century France.
The Miko: The Ninja, The Miko, And White Ninja (The Nicholas Linnear Series #Bk. 2)
by Eric Van LustbaderA New York Times bestseller by the author of The Ninja: An American martial artist travels to Tokyo and becomes the target of an international conspiracy. When his best friend dies under suspicious circumstances, martial arts expert Nicholas Linnear vows revenge. And while he may look American, Linnear&’s childhood spent in the dojos of Japan taught him that vengeance must never be hurried. He takes a job for the billionaire industrialist who ordered the murder, planning to befriend his target during a trip to Tokyo. But even for a modern-day ninja, there is such a thing as too close for comfort. In the bustling city, Linnear finds far more to worry about than the intricacies of Japanese business. He is being pursued by a miko: a female assassin, part ninja and part sorceress, whose beauty is matched only by her skill in combat. Drawn into a tangle of corporate intrigue, international espionage, and hedonistic sex, Linnear will have to put revenge on hold if he is to leave Japan alive. From the #1 New York Times–bestselling author who currently writes the Jason Bourne novels, this is a &“swiftly paced and fascinating&” thriller that offers &“an intricately designed puzzle&” (Chicago Sun-Times).
German Pocket Battleships (ShipCraft #Vol. 1)
by Roger ChesneauEverything the ship modeller needs to know about building a famous warship Numerous detailed plans and colour illustrations Focuses on very popular modelling subjects which are represented by a wide selection of kits The 'ShipCraft' series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject class, using scale plans to highlight differences between sisterships and changes in their appearance over their careers, then moves to an extensive photographic survey of either a high-quality model or a surviving example of the ship. Hints on building the model, and on modifying and improving the basic kit, are followed by a section on paint schemes and camouflage, featuring numerous colour profiles and highly-detailed line drawings. The strengths and weaknesses of available kits of the ships are reviewed, and the book concludes with a section on research references—books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites. For the first volume in this series, the author has chosen the German 'pocket battleships' of WW2, the best-known of which was the Graf Spee of Battle of the River Plate fame. This innovative and infamous class of surface raiders has long been a popular subject for ship modellers, many manufacturers producing kits of the Graf Spee and the rather different Admiral Scheer and Ltzow. This book will show ship modellers how to turn their kits into something really special, but its unparalleled level of visual information will also appeal to the more general warship enthusiast. Roger Chesneau is a lifelong ship modeller and author of numerous naval books, including Ship Models in Plastic.
Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Super Battleship
by Niklas Zetterling Michael TamelanderThe authors of Bismarck deliver &“a very good account of the Tirpitz and of the naval war in the North Atlantic and Norwegian waters&” during World War II (NYMAS Review). After the Royal Navy&’s bloody high seas campaign to kill the mighty Bismarck, the Allies were left with an uncomfortable truth—the German behemoth had a twin sister. Slightly larger than her sibling, the Tirpitz was equally capable of destroying any other battleship afloat, as well as wreaking havoc on Allied troop and supply convoys. For the next three and a half years, the Allies launched a variety of attacks to remove Germany&’s last serious surface threat, hidden within fjords along the Norwegian coast. Trying an indirect approach, the British launched one of the war&’s most daring commando raids—at St. Nazaire—in order to knock out the last drydock in Europe capable of servicing the Tirpitz. Of over six hundred commandos and sailors in the raid, more than half were lost during an all-night battle that succeeded, at least, in knocking out the drydock. It was not until November 1944 that the Tirpitz finally succumbed to British aircraft armed with ten-thousand–pound Tallboy bombs, the ship capsizing at last with the loss of one thousand sailors. In this book, military historians Niklas Zetterling and Michael Tamelander, authors of Bismarck: The Final Days of Germany&’s Greatest Battleship, illuminate the strategic implications and dramatic battles surrounding the Tirpitz, a ship that may have had greater influence on the course of World War II than her more famous sister. &“A riveting story . . . keeps the reader engaged.&” —Nautilus, A Maritime Journal of Literature, History and Culture
Eisenhower's Thorn on the Rhine: The Battles for the Colmar Pocket, 1944–45
by Nathan N. Prefer&“The difficult fighting in the Colmar Pocket is brought to vivid life&” in this WWII chronicle of the Allied 6th Army Group (WWII History). By the fall of 1944, the Western Allied forces appeared to be unstoppable. The summer&’s Normandy invasion had driven the Germans out of northern France and most of the Low Countries. In September, they liberated France&’s southern coast with little opposition. Then, Allied divisions began lining up along the Rhine. While the Americans met a nasty surprise in the Ardennes, the Germans also held on to the province of Alsace, maintaining a hard pocket around the city of Colmar. On New Year&’s Eve, they launched Operation Northwind, a counteroffensive that nearly put Allied forces back on their heels. On January 12, 1945, Eisenhower could only tell George Marshall that Colmar was &“a very bad thorn in our side today.&” This is the story of the Sixth Army Group, a unit that combined US and French forces, and its unexpectedly bloody and protracted battle for the Colmar Pocket. Amidst a horrific winter and rough terrain, interspersed by demolished towns, the Allied Army Group traded blows with the German 19th in a ferocious campaign. This book informs us fully of the tremendous and costly struggle waged in an often-neglected sector of World War II&’s European Theater.
Bloody Angle: Hancock's Assault on the Mule Shoe Salient, May 12, 1864
by John CannonDawn was breaking in the hard rain on the morning of 12 May 1864. It was then that tired Union soldiers under General Hancock's command launched a daring assault on the apex of heavily defended Confederate line outside Spotsylvania.
Death on the Victorian Beat: The Shocking Story of Police Deaths
by Martin BaggoleyDeath on the Victorian Beat is the first book dedicated solely to the murders of police officers in the Victorian era, recalling numerous cases from across the United Kingdom. Martin Baggoley highlights the resistance faced everyday by officers of all ranks, in both the great cities and in the supposedly peaceful countryside, during this important and sometimes turbulent period in our history.Many cases are unveiled by the author, including those of: Sergeant Charles Brett, murdered on the streets of Manchester by Fenians attempting to release two of their leaders from a police van; Detective Inspector Charles Thain, fatally wounded at sea by a prisoner he was escorting back from Germany; Constable William Jump lost his life during a bitter industrial dispute involving brickmakers in Ashton-under-Lyne; and Inspector Joseph Drewitt and Constable Thomas Shorter murdered in a confrontation with poachers in Hungerford, to name but a few.This book is bursting with accounts of danger and great courage urging to be read, as the author allows the lives of these gallant officers to run through the pages.
An Earthly Crown: Jaran, An Earthly Crown, His Conquering Sword, And The Law Of Becoming (The Novels of the Jaran #2)
by Kate ElliottIn the second book of Kate Elliott&’s Novels of the Jaran, Tess Soerensen is pulled between two powerful men—her brother and her husband—and their competing revolutionsOn the planet Rhui, the nomadic tribes of the jaran are uniting the settled cities of their homeland one by one. Their charismatic leader, Ilya Bakhtiian, has his loyal wife by his side, but there is something about her he doesn&’t know: Tess Soerensen is a human. And not just any human—back home, her brother, Charles, led an unsuccessful revolt against the all-powerful Chapalii empire. Even though Charles was later made a duke in the Chapalii system, his revolutionary bent has not faded, and he is traveling to Rhui to locate Tess and uncover precious information about a past insurgency. Charles&’s insistence that Tess join him is as strong as Ilya&’s reluctance to part with his beloved wife—and neither considers that Tess may have her own plans for the future. As three fiercely independent spirits struggle for a solution, the fates of both the human race and the jaran hang in the balance. An Earthly Crown is the second volume of the Novels of the Jaran, which also include Jaran, His Conquering Sword, and The Law of Becoming.
War Dog: Fighting Other People's Wars: The Modern Mercenary in Combat
by Al J. VenterMercenaries have been with us since the dawn of civilization, yet in the modern world they are little understood. While many of today&’s freelance fighters provide support for larger military establishments, others wage war where the great powers refuse to tread. In War Dog, Al Venter examines the latter world of mercenary fighters effecting decisions by themselves. In the process he unveils a remarkable array of close-quarters combat action. Having personally visited every locale he describes throughout Africa and the Middle East, Venter is the rare correspondent who had to carry an AK-47 in his research along with his notebook and camera. To him, covering mercenary actions meant accompanying the men into the thick of combat. During Sierra Leone&’s civil war, he flew in the front bubble of the government&’s lone Hind gunship—piloted by the heroic chopper ace &“Nellis&”—as it flew daily missions to blast apart rebel positions. In this book the author not only describes the battles of the legendary South African mercenary company Executive Outcomes, he knew the founders personally and joined them on a number of actions. After stemming the tide of Jonas Savimbi&’s UNITA army in Angola (an outfit many of the SA operators had previously trained), Executive Outcomes headed north to hold back vicious rebels in West Africa. This book is not only about triumph against adversity but also losses, as Venter relates the death and subsequent cannibalistic fate of his American friend, Bob MacKenzie, in Sierra Leone. Here we see the plight of thousands of civilians fleeing from homicidal jungle warriors, as well as the professionalism of the mercenaries who fought back with one hand and attempted to train government troops with the other, in hopes that they would someday be able to stand on their own. The American public, as well as its military, largely sidestepped the horrific conflicts that embroiled Africa during the past two decades. But as Venter informs us, there were indeed small numbers of professional fighters on the ground, defending civilians and attempting to conjure order from chaos. In the process their heroism went unrecorded and their combat skill became known only to each other. In this book we gain an intimate glimpse of this modern breed of warrior in combat. Not laden with medals, ribbons, civic parades, or even guaranteed income, they have nevertheless fought some of the toughest battles in the post- Cold War era. They simply are, and perhaps always will be, &“War Dogs.&” AL J. VENTER has been an international war correspondent for nearly thirty years, primarily for the Jane&’s Information Group. He has also produced documentary television films on subjects from the wars in Africa and Afghanistan to sharkhunting off the Cape of Good Hope. Among his previous works are The Iraqi War Debrief: Why Saddam Hussein Was Toppled and Iran&’s Nuclear Option: Tehran&’s Quest for the Atomic Bomb. A native of South Africa, he is currently resident in the United Kingdom.