It was also one of the war's bloodiest and most pivotal battles, whose outcome would shape international politics for decades to come.Cornelius Ryan's compelling account of this final battle is a story of brutal extremes, of stunning military triumph alongside the stark conditions that the civilians of Berlin experienced in the face of the Allied assault. As always, Ryan delves beneath the military and political forces that were dictating events to explore the more immediate imperatives of survival, where, as the author describes it, “to eat had become more important than to love, to burrow more dignified than to fight, to exist more militarily correct than to win.”It is the story of ordinary people, both soldiers and civilians, caught up in the despair, frustration, and terror of defeat. It is history at its best, a masterful illumination of the effects of war on the lives of individuals, and one of the enduring works on World War II.

    To reconstruct the tumultuous hundred days between Yalta and the fall of Berlin, John Toland traveled more than 100,000 miles in twenty-one countries and interviewed more than six hundred people—from Hitler’s personal chauffeur to Generals von Manteuffel, Wenck, and Heinrici; from underground leaders to diplomats; from top Allied field commanders to brave young GIs. Toland adeptly weaves together these interviews using research from thousands of primary sources. When it was first published, The Last 100 Days made history, revealing after-action reports, staff journals, and top-secret messages and personal documents previously unavailable to historians. Since that time, it has come to be regarded as one of the greatest historical narratives of the twentieth century.

    On that day 600 prisoners armed with stolen guns and grenades attacked the Nazi guards, burned the camp, and fled into the nearby Polish forests. Of these, forty survived to bear witness to man's courage in the face of the greatest evil human history has produced.

    Tow ferocious, excruciating years later, his forces met a final devastating defeat in the frozen streets of Stalingrad. Now this entire campaign has been recreated so accurately and vividly by the author of The Foxes of the Desert that you can hear its noise, feel its exhaustion, gasp at the blunders on both sides, follow every movement of the great armies.

    It was the beginning of Hitler's Operation Barbarossa, one of the most brutal campaigns in the history of warfare. Four years later, the victorious Red Army has suffered a loss of seven million lives. Alan Clark's incisive analysis succeeds in explaining how a fighting force that in one two-month period lost two million men was nevertheless able to rally to defeat the Wehrmacht. The Barbarossa campaign included some of the greatest episodes in military history: the futile attack on Moscow in the winter of 1941-42, the siege of Stalingrad, the great Russian offensive beginning in 1944 that would lead the Red Army to the historic meeting with the Americans at the Elbe and on to victory in Berlin.Barbarossa is a classic of miltary history. This paperback edition contains a new preface by the author.

    A Pictoral history of World War II; More than 720 great photographs from World War II

     Now only fifteen are left to call themselves the Glasshouse Gang Commando Unit, and live on their wits and their desert knowledge and their fighting skills, and evade both the Eighth Army and Rommel’s Afrika Korps. One far-sighted general at Cairo H.Q. had seen a use for John Offer’s misfits and sent them to wreak death and destruction behind Rommel’s lines. And now the Germans hold hostages—two of the Glasshouse Gang, prisoners in the hands of the S.S. in Benghazi. They will not live long unless their comrades can pull off another of their daring exploits... Praise for Gordon Landsborough “An exciting tough, fast and moving novel” – Times Literary Supplement “It has everything…supremely good characterisation, descriptive brilliance, and masterly in its simplicity" - Birmingham Post "A punchy tale coupled with plenty of action - an engaging read!" - Philip McCormac Gordon Landsborough was a publisher, author and bookseller. In the 1950s to 1980s, the publishing industry went through significant changes. Landsborough found himself at the forefront of this and used this opportunity to bring forth his innovative ideas. Other works by Landsborough included, The Violent People (1960), The Dead Commando (1976) and Black Death (1951), among many more.

    He intended it, prepared for it, chose the moment for launching it, planned its course, and, on several occasions between 1939 and 1942, claimed to have won it. Although the aims he sought to achieve were old nationalist aspirations, the fact that the policy and strategy for their realization were imposed so completely by Hitler meant that if victory had come, it would have been very much a personal triumph: the ultimate failure was thus a personal one too. This book presents all of Hitler's directives, from preparations for the invasion of Poland (31 August 1939) to his last desperate order to his troops on the Eastern Front (15 April 1945), whom he urges to choke the Bolshevik assault 'in a bath of blood'. They provide a fascinating insight into Hitler's mind and how he interpreted and reacted to events as they unfolded. The book also has detailed notes which link the Fuhrer's orders and explain the consequences of his directives and how the Allies responded to them.

    When a postulant proves too high-spirited for the religious life, she is dispatched to serve as governess for the seven children of a widowed naval captain. Her growing rapport with the youngsters, coupled with her generosity of spirit, gradually captures the heart of the stern captain, and they marry. Upon returning from their honeymoon they discover that Austria has been invaded by the Nazis, who demand the captain's immediate service in their navy. The family's narrow escape over the mountains to Switzerland on the eve of World War II provides one of the most thrilling and inspirational finales ever presented in the theatre. The motion picture version remains the most popular movie musical of all time.

    Ferocious and stealthy combatants, they garnered their moniker from the captured diary of a German officer who wrote, The black devils are all around us every time we come into line and we never hear them. Handpicked U.S. and Canadian soldiers trained in mountaineering, airborne, and close-combat skills, they numbered more than 2,300 and saw action in the Aleutians, Italy, and the south of France.Co-written by a brigade member and a World War II combat pilot, the book explores the unit's unique characteristics, including the men's exemplary toughness and their ability to fight in any terrain against murderous opposition. It also profiles some of the unforgettable characters that comprised the near-mythical force. Conceived in Great Britain, the brigade was formed to sabotage the German submarine pens and oil storage areas along Norway's coast, but when the campaign was cancelled, the men moved on to many other missions. This World War II tale of adventure, first published in hardcover in 1966 and made into a movie not long after, is now available in paperback for the first time.

    Author Charlotte Delbo was one of the 49 who survived. Now available in English for the first time, this haunting volume is Delbo's testament to those who formed the convoy to the hell that was Auschwitz. The prisoners came from all regions of France and represented a wide range of social backgrounds and political views. With a gripping simplicity and poignancy, Delbo recounts the unique life history of each woman, from her childhood to her involvement in the Resistance, from her arrest to her horrifying experience in the concentration camp. Collectively, these stories are a powerful and stirring reminder of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis.

    Since these editions were published, other material on SOE has become available. It was, therefore, agreed in 2000 that Professor Foot should produce a revised version. In so doing, in addition to the material in the first edition, the author has had access to previously closed government records, as well as drawing upon his own invaluable wartime experiences and the recollections of those involved. SOE in France begins by explaining what SOE was, where it fitted into the Allied war machine, and how it worked in France. The narrative then recounts the adventures of its agents who worked on French soil. This intricate tale concentrates on the work of the 400 hand-picked men and women of the 'independent French' section, although it also covers SOE's five other sections that operated mainly in France. All told, the six sections despatched over 1,800 clandestine agents, who between them changed the course of the war. This updated new edition will be essential reading for scholars and for all those with an informed general interest in the activities of the SOE.

    A bedside read that offers many nights reading of true heroics with a bit of humor. Should be a required read for anyone entering any of the US Military Academies.

    

    11-7.  On cover: Special Studies. Describes battles on three fronts within the European theater: Arnaville, France; Monte Altuzzo, Italy; and Schmidt, Germany from September through November of 1944. Pictures the difficulties of small unit commanders and soldiers in executing missions assigned by higher headquarters.