Tom's story, told in his own words, let's us share in his transformation from a college boy to a skilled fighter pilot, taking on the best the Luftwaffe has to offer. Excitement and surprises abound! Tom experiences the best—and the worst—of not only the skilled and ruthless enemy, but of our own military as well. Ranging from patient flight instructors to a psycho in the back seat, you can face it along with Tom. Join in the shocking realization of what the war means—REALLY means—as he and his mates witness devastation and heartbreak such as they never dreamed possible. Providing high altitude, high speed fighter escort for the growing numbers of Eighth Air Force bombers puts him in the midst of the most transformative period of the air war, including the famed "Big Week". Drawn from authorized Eighth Air Force mission descriptions, and supported by extensive historical research, "Red Flight, Break!" takes you on the long journey to victory. The story is fiction, but the history is real! Fasten your seat belt and come along!

    Offering a record of one of the pivotal events of World War II, as told through the personal accounts of the German and Soviet soldiers who fought in it, this book features photographs from the Battle of Stalingrad, from both sides of the front.

    Big & sweeping, hotly recalling & recording many sensationalized episodes, often igniting all the powderkeg suspense of a thriller, this appears to be a work of popular punch & persuasion, undoubtedly destined for some best-seller notchings. Based on documents, manuscripts, private diaries, letters, hundreds of interviews in 8 countries with generals & admirals, privates & civilians, including Homilo, Nimitz & Akirn Nara, But Not in Shame has both the aura of authenticity & the sting of a not-till-now-could-it-be-told disclosure. It tackles much of the sub-rosa political intrigue & hysteria of American & British policy, the agonizing early Pacific defeats, Singapore's shocking downfall, MacArthur's escape to Australia, the unplanned, gratuitous barbarism of the average Japanese soldier towards American & Filipino prisoners on the infamous Death March, the brutal Java Sea battle, Bataan's tragic surrender & the ultimate Midway victory. It analyses Japanese tactics, our own shortsightedness, unpreparedness & confusion, along with many telling portraits of Roosevelt, Wainwright, Colin Kelly, Doolittle, Colonel Hattori, Halsey, Tom Dooley & all the other famous figures & the myths & tales that rose around them. This is hard-hitting, snappy, gripping & gritty set-the-record-straight reporting, a major addition to the coverage of the Pacific WWII campaign, one which will hardly go unnoticed.--Kirkus (edited)Part I - Timetable for ConquestPart II - The Defenses CrumblePart III - Battle for BataanPart IV - Death of Two EmpiresPart V - The Battling Bastards of BataanPart VI - From Humiliation to VictoryAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

    

    Leahy, Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-ChiefAside from FDR, no American did more to shape World War II than Admiral William D. Leahy--not Douglas MacArthur, not Dwight Eisenhower, and not even the legendary George Marshall. No man, including Harry Hopkins, was closer to Roosevelt, nor had earned his blind faith, like Leahy. Through the course of the war, constantly at the president's side and advising him on daily decisions, Leahy became the second most powerful man in the world.In a time of titanic personalities, Leahy regularly downplayed his influence, preferring the substance of power to the style. A stern-faced, salty sailor, his U.S. Navy career had begun as a cadet aboard a sailing ship. Four decades later, Admiral Leahy was a trusted friend and advisor to the president and his ambassador to Vichy France until the attack on Pearl Harbor. Needing one person who could help him grapple with the enormous strategic consequences of the war both at home and abroad, Roosevelt made Leahy the first presidential chief of staff--though Leahy's role embodied far more power than the position of today. Leahy's profound power was recognized by figures like Stalin and Churchill, yet historians have largely overlooked his role. In this important biography, historian Phillips Payson O'Brien illuminates the admiral's influence on the most crucial and transformative decisions of WWII and the early Cold War. From the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and France, to the allocation of resources to fight Japan, O'Brien contends that America's war largely unfolded according to Leahy's vision. Among the author's surprising revelations is that while FDR's health failed, Leahy became almost a de facto president, making decisions while FDR was too ill to work, and that much of his influence carried over to Truman's White House.

    George H. Stein examines in detail the structure and organization of the Waffen SS and describes the rigid personnel selection and intensive physical, military, and ideological training that helped to create the tough and dedicated cadre around which the larger force of the later war years was built.

    'I don't want to appear fussy, but are we going to be greeted by cheers and kisses from Norwegian blondes, or a hail of gunfire from invisible Huns?' he remarked to his officers on approaching the small town of Andalsnes. returncharacterreturncharacterHis next task - in command first of a corvette and then a destroyer - was escorting East Coast convoys, and his experiences reflect the danger of this work against the menaces of E-boats, enemy aircraft and mines. He then took part in the landings at Anzio and the Normandy landings in 1944; finally, he rescued internees from the Japanese prison camp on Stanley, Hong Kong. His career was much helped by his highly developed sixth sense for danger, the deep affection of his crews and his affinity with cats which he believed brought him luck. returncharacterreturncharacterThis record of varied and almost incessant action ranks among the most thrilling personal stories of the war at sea.

    Nimitz waited for him with what he had, placed exactly where he needed it.Both admirals depended on their fliers, some veterans of battle, others raw and unproven. Striking first meant decisive victory.This is the story of the men who fought the World War 2 Battle of Midway over three momentous days in June, 1942. Men uncertain, determined, fearful and courageous. Their story is one of daring and unfathomable loss."The Silver Waterfall" is a historic fiction novel of Midway told by today's master of carrier aviation fiction about those who fought in one of the most pivotal and epic naval battles in world history.

    His true story is the kind that should be remembered by future generations.' Ken Follett

     Manila had fallen and MacArthur had retreated with the famous words, “I shall return.” Many thousands of American and Filipino prisoners of war were forced to march in atrocious conditions from Bataan to various prison camps with huge numbers dying along the way. Yet the Imperial Japanese Army was not able to subdue all of its enemies. A motley group of American and Filipino soldiers escaped into the depths of Mindanao and began to form a new force that would fight with coordinated guerrilla tactics against the occupying forces. Charles “Chick” Parsons, who previously had been in charge of the naval docks of Manila, led his men to cause terror among the Japanese as they stuck time and again in hit-and-run raids. Endlessly spying on the Japanese forces they became the eyes and ears for MacArthur’s forces who were preparing to retake the Philippines. Parsons became instrumental in organization of the guerrilla movement as they moved ammunition, medicine and arms from under the noses of the Japanese, installed coast watchers and radio stations, evacuated American and Allied personnel and civilians, and undertaking secret submarine missions to the Philippines. Travis Ingram drew much of the material for this book directly from Parsons who frequently interjects through the book with his own opinion of certain situations. This is the remarkable story of the man that MacArthur described as “the bravest man I ever met” and deserves to be read by all who wish to find out more about individual acts of heroism that took place in the most trying of circumstances. “A story of military and morale building that paid dividends to our advantage, told with the flourish and zest it deserves.” Kirkus Reviews “No small part of the credit for the reconquest of the Philippines goes to an American businessman turned Navy Commander — Mr. Charles Parsons — who organized guerrilla forces in a number of islands. This is the exciting narrative of how he did this job.” Foreign Affairs Travis Ingham was an American writer. His book Rendezvous By Submarine: The Story Of Charles Parsons And The Guerrilla-Soldiers In The Philippines was first published in 1945. He passed away in 1969.

    From the moment the author joins his first operational Spitfire squadron in August 1940, the reader is taken on an epic journey through the great aerial fighter actions of the war including the Battle of Britain, sweeps across the Channel and over France, Dieppe and Normandy; and finally, operations across the Rhine and into Germany itself.

    On May 11, 1945, McKinney returned fire on the Japanese attacking his unit, using every available weapon-even his fists-standing alone against wave after wave of dedicated Japanese soldiers. At the end, John McKinney was alive-with over forty Japanese bodies before him. This is the story of an extraordinary man whose courage and fortitude in battle saved many American lives, and whose legacy has been sadly forgotten by all but a few. Here, the proud legacy of John McKinney lives on.

    Told by a German naval officer who witnessed both sinkings, the book chronicles the brief but sensational career of what was thought to be the grandest weapon of the Third Reich. Burkard Baron von Mullenheim-Rechberg, the Bismarck's top-ranking survivor, tells the battleship's story from commissioning to the moment when the captain gave a final salute and went down with his ship.The epic battle between the two great enemy ships captured the imagination of an entire generation and became a popular subject for movies and songs. With the discovery a few years ago of the Bismarck's sunken hull off the coast of France, worldwide attention has focused again on the famous ship. Reprinted now in paperback for the first time, the work presents the human dimensions of the event without neglecting the technical side and includes information on rudder damage and repair, overall ship damage, and code breaking. The book also provides insights into the author's life as a prisoner of war in England and Canada and the friction that existed between the Nazis and non-Nazis Germans in the camps. Such a personal look at one of the most famous sea encounters in the history of World War II makes absorbing reading.

    Pilot to crew. Bail out! Bail out!” On 19th October, 1944, 2/Lt Kenneth W. Simmons was forced to jump from the damaged B-24 aircraft while in a bombing raid over Germany. Once he landed he quickly became a ‘kriegie’, a prisoner of war, which he remained until General Patton’s men freed him in late April 1945. Much of these seven months of captivity were spent in the dismal conditions of the prison camp Stalag Luft II. Simmons provides fascinating insight into what life was like be an American prisoner of war in Nazi Germany, from undergoing interrogations to suffering cruelty and abuse from the guards. He records not only the mundane day to day life of the prisoners but also their private projects, from forging documents to using the latrine to dispose of waste material from their tunneling projects. “steadily interesting … due to the small details of everyday existence” Kirkus Reviews “The march of death … is one of the most impressive scenes to be portrayed of World War II.” Houston Chronicle “a story of hellish and holy experiences undergone by the men who became PW of the Nazis.” Daily Democrat Kenneth Simmons was an American airman with the 8th Air Force who was forced to bail out of his plane just north of Bad Kreuznach in Germany. His work Kreigie records his experiences as a prisoner of war and was first published in 1960. Simmons passed away in 1969.

    Using eye-witness accounts from tank crews and infantry, Ken Tout reveals how on 7 August 1944 a combined Canadian and British force sent four armoured columns south of Caen to close the Falaise gap. Caen had been an objective of the British forces assaulting Sword Beach on D-Day. However, the German defences were strongest in this sector, and most of the German reinforcements sent to Normandy were committed to the defence of the city.Driving through the night, the British tanks reached their objectives behind German lines and linked up with their Canadian colleagues.The elite Wittman Troop counter-attacked with Tiger tanks, the most feared weapon of the Normandy campaign, only to be wiped out for minimal Allied loss. Operation Totalize I was a stunning success and sealed the fate of the German forces now encircled and trapped in the Falaise Pocket.Ken Tout served with the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry during the Second World War, fighting in Sherman tanks and seeing action in Operation ‘Totalize I’. Tout’s books have attracted many plaudits and have been described as Second World War classics. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.