Exocet Falklands: The Untold Story of Special Forces Operations


Ewen Southby-Tailyour - 2014
    In that context alone this book is of international military importance. Using previously unknown material and through interviewing key players who have remained silent for 30 years, Ewen Southby-Tailyour has finally established the truth: that it has taken so long reflects the sensitivities, both military and personal, involved. Interviews with the SAS officer commanding Operation Plum Duff, members of the reconnaissance patrol for Operation Mikado, plus the navigator of the helicopter that flew eight troopers into Tierra del Fuego, has allowed the author to describe the tortuous events that led, instead, to a significant survival story. The RAF [pilots tasked with ' crash-landing' two Hercules onto Rio Grande during Operation Mikado have spoken of the extraordinary procedures they developed: so has the captain of the British submarine involved. The Super Etendard pilots who sank HMS Sheffield and MV Atlantic Conveyor and then 'attacked' HMS Invincible, plus a key member of the Argentine special forces and the brigadier defending Rio Grande, add credence, depth and gravitas to the saga. Exocet Falklands is a ground-breaking work of investigative military history.

World War II: The Resistance


C. David North - 2015
    It was not until 1942 that widely dispersed underground organizations would band together to form a united opposition to the occupying Germans. It was not until then that resistance would become the Resistance - a disciplined multi-national movement that would play a significant part in the outcome of World War II. In each occupied nation, resistance groups would grow, gathering and sending information to London, planning increasingly complex sabotage operations, and assisting thousands of people, particularly Jews, in fleeing Nazi-occupied territories. Their actions would eventually become a focused counteroffensive against the German army in 1944, when Allied troops gathered in Great Britain to prepare for the invasion of France. As their widespread activity weakened German outposts in France and other occupied countries, the Allies would gain the foothold they needed to win the war. This is their story.

Chickenhawk: Back in the World Again: Life After Vietnam


Robert Mason - 1994
    Follow-up to _Chickenhawk_ covers his post-Vietnam struggles with PTSD and civilian life.

Flying to the Limit: Testing World War II Single-Engined Fighter Aircraft


Peter Caygill - 2005
    During the lend-lease agreement with the USA, the RAF and Fleet Air Arm operated several American designs, each of which was tested to evaluate its potential.This book looks at the key area of fighter aircraft and includes the test results and pilot's own first-hand accounts of flying seventeen different models, designed in the UK, America and Germany. The reader will learn of the possibilities of air superiority offered by these types and also their weaknesses. Types included are The Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, Boulton Paul Defiant, Hawker Tempest and Typhoon, Bell Airacobra, Messerschmitt Bf 109, Focke-Wulf Fw 190, Brewster Buffalo, Curtiss Tomahawk, North American Mustang, Grumman Martlet, Republic Thunderbolt, and Vought Corsair. All aircraft that saw a great deal of action throughout the War and which are now part of legend.

Call Sign Dracula: My Tour with the Black Scarves April 1969 to March 1970


Joe Fair - 2014
    It is a genuine, firsthand account of a one-year tour that shows how a soldier grew and matured from an awkward, bewildered, inexperienced, eighteen year-old country “bumpkin” from Kentucky, to a tough, battle hardened, fighting soldier. You will laugh, cry and stand in awe at the true life experiences shared in this memoir. The awfulness of battle, fear beyond description, the sorrow and anguish of losing friends, extreme weariness, the dealing with the scalding sun, torrential rain, cold, heat, humidity, insects and the daily effort just to maintain sanity were struggles faced virtually every day. And yet, there were the good times. There was the coming together to laugh, joke, and share stories from home. There was the warmth and compassion shown by men to each other in such an unreal environment. You will see where color, race or where you were from had no bearing on the tight-knit group of young men that was formed from the necessity to survive. What a “bunch” they were! ... then the return to home and all the adjustments and struggles to once again fit into a world that was now strange and uncomfortable. "Call Sign Dracula" is an excellent and genuine memoir of an infantry soldier in the Vietnam War.

Mutiny at Salerno, 1943: An Injustice Exposed


Saul David - 1995
    Within six weeks, all but one had been found guilty of mutiny, their sentences ranging from five years’ penal servitude to death. Fifty years on, Saul David became the first military historian to gain access to the court martial papers – normally restricted for 75 years. In addition to crucial defence documents and the testimony of eye-witnesses, these papers have enabled Saul David to expose: •How poorly-equipped Eighth Army veterans, some still recovering from wounds and illness, were needlessly sent as reinforcements to Salerno when Fifth Army men were available.•How transit camp authorities deliberately deceived the reinforcements as to their destination.•How the defence team at the trial was forced, by lack of time, lack of witnesses and the hostility of the court, to offer a case based on no evidence and doomed to fail.•How, after the humane intervention of the adjutant-general and the suspension of the sentences, insensitive staff officers and victimization in their new units caused many mutineers to desert.•How, as a result of their convictions, the former war heroes were stripped of their campaign and gallantry medals and branded as cowards. Concluding that the men were victims of a terrible injustice, Mutiny at Salerno provides a compelling case for a free pardon. It is a book that no one interested in World War Two will want to miss. 'Mutiny' has been critically acclaimed: 'An important book' (Military Illustrated) 'Mr David has added considerably to the knowledge of the Salerno mutiny. This book should be read by anyone with an interest in the episode.' (Prof. Peter Rowe,RUSI Journal)'A thoroughly enjoyable and interesting book and the author makes his case well' (Journal of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst) 'A detailed account... David is right to stress that the mutiny stemmed from the men's reluctance to fight amongst strangers rather than their reluctance to fight at all, and that many of the mutineers preserved a dignified and soldierly attitude throughout the proceedings.' (Richard Holmes, TLS)Saul David is Professor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham and the author of several critically acclaimed history books, including The Indian Mutiny: 1857 (short-listed for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature), Prince of Pleasure: The Prince of Wales and the Making of the Regency, Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879 (a Waterstones Military History Book of the Year) and, most recently, Victoria's Wars: The Rise of Empire.He has also written two best-selling historical novels set in the wars of the late 19th Century, Zulu Hart and Hart of Empire. An experienced broadcaster, he has presented and appeared in history programmes for all the major TV channels and is a regular contributor to Radio 4.Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher.

Torpedo 8: The Story of Swede Larsen’s Bomber Squadron


Ira Wolfert - 1943
    VT-8 rose from the ashes of the Battle of Midway to become an indispensable air arm in the series of engagements for the Solomon Islands and beyond. In three months, the crack squadron carried out thirty-nine attack missions, sixteen against ships, twenty-three against ground targets. Their motto following the tragedy at Midway was "Attack and Revenge." Herman Wouk paid homage to the squadron in his 1971 novel War and Remembrance, referring to the pilots as, "The soul of America in action." *Includes annotations and images.

Gunner Officer on the Western Front: The Story of a Prime Minister's Son at War


Herbert Asquith - 2018
    The author witnessed the mud-soaked agony of the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, and the rapidly moving events of the following year. The book contains one of the most extraordinary accounts of the German spring offensive in 1918, from the point of view of a gunner officer with a grandstand view of the ruthless German advance.The author's father was Prime Minister at the outbreak of the first world war. The author's three brothers also served during the war; his eldest brother died during the Battle of the Somme.

The Line Upon a Wind: An Intimate History of the Last and Greatest War Fought at Sea Under Sail: 1793-1815


Noel Mostert - 2007
    The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars that raged for the next twenty-two years saw European powers manoeuvering for mercantile and political advantage in a complex and ever-changing web of alliances and coalitions. By 1815, the world was a different place; age-old certainties were shattered, established dynasties and kingdoms overthrown, the United States emerged as a world power, and a new age was dawning.This was to be the longest, hardest and cruelest war ever fought at sea, on a scale comparable only with the Second World War. Methods of battle under sail, little changed for centuries, would be forced to adapt at an unprecedented pace that brought with it the fearsome power of rockets, torpedoes and submarines. The Line Upon a Wind is also the story of the daily lives of the sailors on board the fighting ships, the blood and guts ferocity of engagement in an age of gentility, the struggle of ships’ surgeons to repair broken bodies and the daily struggle to keep the men fed and free of disease. It is a story of ordinary men and extraordinary bravery. The Great War, as it was known to contemporaries, spanned generations and continents. Noel Mostert has achieved a work of unparalleled research, rousing descriptions and illuminating analysis — maritime history at its very best.

The Second World War, Vol. 3: The War at Sea (Essential Histories Book 1)


Philip D. Grove - 2003
    The war at sea was a critical contest, as sea-lanes provided the logistical arteries for British and subsequent Allied armies fighting on the three continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe. Land forces ultimately won World War II, but the battles at sea fundamentally altered the balance of military power on the ground.

Can Do!: The Story of the Seabees


William Bradford Huie - 1944
    — Admiral Ernest J. King, Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, and Chief of Naval Operations. Three hundred and twenty five thousand men served as Seabees through the course of World War Two. During those years they constructed over four hundred advanced bases in both the Atlantic and the Pacific theaters. Their bravery and determination enabled the Allied Forces to gain the upper hand over the enemy by quickly reconstructing harbors, repairing airstrips and laying thousands of miles of roads. Can Do! The Story of the Seabees by William Bradford Huie is a fascinating examination one the most interesting forces in the Second World War. The impact that they made upon the war can be seen from the following statements from leaders from across the military: “. . . the Seabees are the find of this war.” — Major General H. M. Smith, USMC “. . . It had been a constant source of wonder to me how one unit — the Seabees — could possess so many skills and accomplish such a huge amount and variety of work.” — Major General A. M. Patch, USA, Commanding General, the Seventh Army “. . . The Navy will remember this war by its Seabees.” — Vice-Admiral W. L. Calhoun, USN “. . . the Seabees are proving themselves one of our most important military units in this life-and-death struggle throughout the world.” — Captain Edward V. Rickenbacker “. . . no obstacle was ever too great for the Seabees.” — Brigadier General Henry L. Larsen, USMC This book should be essential reading for anyone interested in the military history of World War Two and finding out more about one of the United States’ most effective forces William Bradford Huie was an American journalist and novelist. During the Second world War Huie served in the United States Navy, for a time as aide to Vice Admiral Ben Moreell of the Seabees, and it was during this time that he chronicled the wartime activity of these battalions. This book was first published in 1944 and Huie passed away in 1986.

Lion Rampant: The Memoirs of an Infantry Officer from D-Day to the Rhineland


Robert Woollcombe - 1970
    Vividly evoking the confusion, horror and comradeship of war - from the killing fields of Normandy bocage, through house-to-house fighting in shattered Flemish towns, to the final Rhine crossing - Lion Rampant is a powerful, authentic and moving story, telling with extraordinary clarity how the author, his fellow officers and the men of his company lived through one of the most bitter campaigns in history.

The Rescue of Bat 21


Darrel D. Whitcomb - 1998
    forces had nearly perfected the art of Search and Rescue. But in the maelstrom of a battle on Easter Day of that year, an operation unlike any other was set in motion to save Lt. Col. Iceal "Gene" Hambleton -- call sign Bat 21 Bravo. For the next eleven days, an extraordinary group of U.S. airmen, soldiers, sailors, and Navy Seals braved one of the largest North Vietnamese Army offensives of the war to rescue one of their own.The legendary and controversial operation, which demanded heart-stopping heroics from every man involved, is relived in this unforgettable testament.

Seize the Fire: Heroism, Duty, and Nelson's Battle of Trafalgar


Adam Nicolson - 2005
    . . . Mr. Nicolson brings to life superbly the horror, devastation, and gore of Trafalgar.”—The EconomistAdam Nicolson takes the great naval battle of Trafalgar, fought between the British and Franco-Spanish fleets in October 1805, and uses it to examine our idea of heroism and the heroic. A story rich with modern resonance, Seize the Fire reveals the economic impact of the battle as a victorious Great Britain emerged as a global commercial empire.Nicolson not only vividly describes describes the brutal realities of battle but enters the hearts and minds of the men who were there. HIs masterful history is a portrait of a moment, a close and passionately engaged depiction of a frame of mind at a turning point in world history.

STUPID WAR STORIES: Tales from the Wonder War, Vietnam 1970-1971


Keith Pomeroy - 2015
    The Atomic Outhouse, Hot Extractions, Listening Out, and Best Vacation Ever, will have you enthralled. These stories and sixty more like them pull no punches to give you a genuine understanding of a war that was more bizarre than you ever imagined.