The Battle for Antwerp (Combined Operations Book 8)
Griff Hosker - 2017
This fast moving novel shows the battles, the raids and the strategy which led to the capture of this vital port.
Beginning Of The End: The Leadership Of SS Obersturmbannführer Jochen Peiper
Han Bouwmeester - 2004
The name Peiper will always be linked to the Malmédy Massacre, the death of Belgian civilians and more than seventy American soldiers, but there is still a myth around Peiper. Why was a twenty-nine year old Waffen-SS officer chosen to lead the German spearhead unit during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944? Peiper was a special leader within the one of the most elite Waffen-SS divisions, the Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler. Peiper was charismatic and extreme loyal to his unit. His men trusted him as a leader, even under the most extreme conditions. In Germany he was a well-known war hero. It was a logical decision that Peiper became the commander of the spearhead unit, but there were other factors leading to this decision: tactical considerations, a we-know-what-to-expect-principle, and Peiper was lucky that he was still alive and serving in the Waffen-SS.
One Man's War
Joe Nethercott - 2013
Within months he was driving big lorries and cranes in the Battle of Britain, recovering crashed planes. He went on to the North African Western Desert, Egypt, Libya, Tunis and El Alamein. From there to Italy: Naples, Monte Cassino, invasion of Sicily. Then Corsica followed by France, landing near St Tropez in the D-Day of the South. Finally after four years abroad, back to the UK, a wedding and release from the RAF. Along the way he was blown up, bombed, burnt, and ill.He was not one of the commanders, or the shooting and bombing action heroes. He was responsible for the transport that contributed to everything else being possible. He tells of the problems in organising vehicles, keeping them on the road, repairing, bodging, cannibalising, improvising and inventing. This is the not often heard voice of an ordinary young bloke going through a terrible time, and doing what he could. That surely makes him a hero too.
B-24 Co-Pilot: First Lieutenant John F. Lance
Kathryn Lance - 2016
A short book detailing: The most terrifying missions: The first mission to Balikpapan, an important Japanese fuel depot, and why it was considered impossible to achieve. Coping with boredom and fear: How joking and calculating survival odds helped deal with the realities. The snafus: The time a temporary Group Commander tried to bomb the US Seventh Fleet. True stories from a man who was there--as dictated toward the end of his life.
Midway: The Battle That Made the Modern World
Richard Freeman - 2012
It was fought at a place thousands of miles from land, by hundreds of planes over distances of hundreds of miles. It saw four massive Japanese aircraft carriers pitted against three similarly huge American carriers in a battle for domination of the Pacific. The battle is the story of the young Japanese empire seeking to challenge the established industrial power of America. Japan had smashed America at Pearl Harbour, shaken her at Coral Sea. Now she was ready to risk all in one mighty attempt to drive the United States Navy from the Pacific Ocean. Japan’s admirals put to sea confident that they could take the Americans by surprise, take the Midway atoll and destroy the American carriers. American espionage ensured that Admiral Nimitz had full knowledge of the planned attack, so turning a Japanese trap into an American ambush. The battle that followed raged over three days, full of set backs and disaster for each side. But Admirals Yamamoto and Nagumo had over-reached themselves and suffered the greatest naval defeat in history. America entered Midway on the defensive, still a hesitant participant in the war. She left the battle as the world’s first super power. Richard Freeman graduated in mathematics before following a career in distance education. He now writes on naval history. His other books include 'The Great Edwardian Naval Feud'. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading publisher of digital books.
Ours to Hold It High: The History of the 77th Infantry Division in World War II
Max Myers - 2002
The soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division saw some of the bloodiest action of the Second World War. Ours to Hold It High is brilliant history of the division’s actions through the course of World War Two as it island-hopped its way towards victory in the face of ferocious Japanese resistance. The story begins in America in 1942 when the division was re-activated and the units were formed and given training before they sailed west to fight. Part one of the book covers these initial two years and the various forms of rigorous training that the men went through to prepare them for the amphibious warfare that they would meet in the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Parts two, three, four, and five of the book provides brilliant insight into the combat history of the unit from Guam to Okinawa. The actions of each unit of the division are uncovered to give a thorough overview of the tumultuous and chaotic action that the men saw. This is account is not written by a historian sitting at a desk in the United States, instead it was written by the soldiers who were there on the frontlines. Max Myers, the unit historian, has compiled their accounts to form this fascinating book. The actions of the 77th have become famous throughout the globe, particularly with the assistance of films such as Hacksaw Ridge that have immortalized the division. Almost every member of the 77th contributed in one way or another to this history. The Commanding General and members of his staff, the commanders and staff members from the organizations, and many other individuals devoted some of their time to revision and correction of preliminary manuscripts. Ours to Hold It High was initially published in 1947 and Max Myers, the main editor, passed away in 2011.
I Felt No Sorrow - This Was War: Burma 1942-45
Gordon Heynes - 2019
He trained as a tank gunner and was drafted overseas to join the Allied campaign in South Asia. After further training in India, his regiment, the 25th Dragoons, was deployed to Burma, taking part in deadly combat as the Allies fought to contain the invading Japanese forces. Gordon was seriously injured, but recovered to be able to re-join his squadron, before eventually returning home after almost four years, when the war ended.Some time after returning to civilian life Gordon Heynes wrote a fascinating account of experiences, and it is that account that is contained in this book, published by his grandsons, Neal and Gary Bircher. Gordon’s story serves as a valuable historical document, but is also much more than that. His captivating matter-of-fact style – for example, infusing depictions of bloody battle scenes with observations of local wildlife – brings his story starkly to life, and it makes for truly compelling reading.
Attack Transport (Illustrated): The Story of the U.S.S. Doyen
Lawrence A. Marsden - 2020
Doyen is a fast-paced action-adventure story from World War 2 detailing the birth of modern amphibious warfare. The book follows the US Navy attack transport ship the Doyen (AP-1), the first of its kind, from its exciting launch on the California coast to its deadly assaults on the shores of Saipan, Leyte, Luzon, and Iwo Jima.
Meeting Steve Canyon . . . and Flying with the CIA in Laos
Karl L. Polifka - 2013
This account has many illustrations of the grinding stress of intense combat in Laos, and the periodic clashes with the distant headquarters that had little knowledge of an extremely complex combat environment and was more focused on control rather than results.
POINT: WILDERNESS WAR IN VIETNAM AND CAMBODIA - A MEMOIR
Jamie Thompson - 2019
It’s a memoir of the author’s service as an infantry sergeant, squad leader and point man in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
Al-Qaeda Dawn
P.M. Crowley - 2011
They intend to make a political statement by slamming a hijacked aircraft with hundreds of innocent people on board into an unknown target, possibly a nuclear power station, on the British mainland. As MI5 and Special Branch closely monitor the terrorist cell, a second al-Qaeda team arrive. MI5 have to make a quick decision, split their resources in two or take a chance and let them run. With no prior knowledge of what's about to happen on the other side of the pond, they decide to let them run. Bad call! With the Heathrow team safely apprehended, and a D Notice placed on the media, British Military Intelligence considers their efforts enough to protect the people of the United Kingdom. How wrong they'll be proved.Once news of the cowardly, indiscriminate attacks on the Twin Towers in the US start to filter through, MI5 realise their mistake. With their only credible agent in Afghanistan down, and no more information available, British Intelligence decide to send in a team to retrieve as much intelligence as possible. MI5 contact one of their Black Ops personnel. Jonny Davies, an ordinary guy, with extraordinary talents is asked to undertake an exceptional mission to liberate the information MI5 need if they're to stop the other terrorist cell before they can act against British targets. Reluctant to go at first, Ex-SAS Ops Sergeant Davies is persuaded with a million pounds to go; but he'll only accept the job if he can take a team with him. Even Jonny Davies won't do the Afghan run on his own. MI5 have no choice, it's accept Davies' terms or do it themselves. In this warts and all novel we see the raw nature of ordinary men pushed to the extreme. Davies will use any means necessary to achieve his objective. Against international law, he's driving into Afghanistan in a large white 4x4 with UN markings, flying a UN flag and Irish tricolour. It's what Jonny Davies does; he lies, cheats, bluffs, bribes and chances his luck. And if that doesn't work, he embraces the extreme alternative of military fire-power. He locks and loads and shoots whatever's in front of him.Once inside Afghanistan fire-fights with bandits, tribal factions and drugs runners soon follow. When he and his team reach Jalalabad they're expected to infiltrate the Devil's lair, immobilise the guards with a blade, enter the compound, extract the information and then blow the compound to smithereens. MI5 want it to look as though a US air strike has destroyed the place, and thus act on the information retrieved without al-Qaeda being any the wiser.Back home, and with the mission complete, Jonny Davies and his team look forwards to a big pay-day, only to find MI5 have an extended agenda.If the boys want paying, they'll have to go morally, a lot further than they've already been. What price a man's conscience? Would you kill for your country? Would you kill innocent women and children for your country? Unarmed civilians? This is what the British Secret Intelligent Service will ask Davies and his team to do if they want paying. On the horns of a dilemma the boys will have to make a difficult choice, commit an act of murder for the State, or wave their wages goodbye. What would you do? Honestly!
To the Walls of France (105th Foot. The Prince of Wales Wessex Regiment Book 5)
Martin McDowell - 2020
At the end of 1811, after four years of hard warfare against the forces of Napoleon, Wellington was not prepared to waste the Winter months and therefore he used them to capture, at great cost, the two ‘keys of Spain’: Cuidad Rodrigo and Badajoz. With these two now in Allied possession the story continues with Wellington advancing forward into Spain at the head of an Allied army to begin the campaigns of 1812. During this momentous year huge questions dominate the European stage, not least the aftermath of Napoleon’s disastrous invasion of Russia and the loss of an army of 600,000 men and all their horses and equipment. The following twelve months extending into 1813 is a year of titanic set-piece battles which will settle, one way or another, the fate of Spain and Portugal within the French Empire and also events far away over the Atlantic will have their own part to play, with the armies of the new Republic chancing their arm with their own invasions of Canada. Both triumph and tragedy befall the Allied army during 1812, first the complete victory of Salamanca, then the near farce and tragedy of the Burgos siege, followed by a retreat back to Cuidad Rodrigo, worse than that of Coruna due to acute starvation. British Intelligence makes full use of Napoleon’s tragedy, weaving deceit on both sides of the Atlantic, such that El Rey Joseph is ordered to send men back to France and then in 1813 the Allies spring forward from the Portuguese border, with an advance so rapid that within three weeks there comes the triumph of Vitoria and then fighting to open the passes over the Pyrenees into France itself. As part of what is now a formidable army, the 105th Foot Wessex The Prince of Wales Own, must first contend with the retirement of their Colonel, Bertram Lacey, finally worn down by years of intense campaigning and finally the horrors of Badajoz. His replacement is Carr’s old enemy from his last visit back to England after Talavera, this replacement being Sir Ambrose Brockenhurst MP, the Colonel of the 105th’s Militia, him arrived from England to take over from Lacey and the result is incompetence and even humiliation. Carr is promoted to temporary Brevet-Colonel, but their reputation is now sullied, yet the 105th play their part in Salamanca and endure the retreat from Burgos. With the Spring of 1813, all Allied armies advance to Vitoria to play their part in this momentous battle and take part in the conflicts in the Pyrenees, where, on the far right of Wellington’s line at the battle of Sorauren outside Pamplona, the 105th’s reputation is finally restored. Throughout all, the band led by Colour-Sergeant Jedediah Deakin hold together, giving mutual support and comfort, and taking advantage of any opportunity that comes their way which may soften the hard and dangerous life they necessarily lead.
Rebel Tribe
Ramy Vance - 2021
What do you do if you wake up hundreds of light-years from home in a strange ship and someone is trying to eat you?Jaeger can’t remember who she is or anything about her life, but she knows that's just wrong.The ship's AI tells her there are thousands of other lifeforms on board, but the instruments say she's alone—except for the killer.Something deep inside her screams that humanity’s fate hinges on her completing her mission…whatever it is.Jaeger must repair the ship and figure out her past while fighting for her life.Will she survive? If she can’t recall her mission, will humanity?
Into Infamy: A Marine Sniper's War
Joe Chamblin - 2015
The new book Into Infamy is Staff Sergeant Joe Chamblin's account of the men and Marines behind the video and what they accomplished in the War on Terror.Remembered for the video, for the first time anywhere Staff Sergeant Chamblin tells his story of the brave young men who've been so vilified by the media and their superiors when they should have been honored for the trail blazing work they performed as Marine Snipers in combat.They were so effective as snipers, introducing new tactics to the battlefield and killing nearly three hundred enemy combatants that the Commandant of the Marine Corps held a private breakfast for Chamblin's teams, along with the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps.Read their story and how everyone suddenly forgot their accomplishments when a seconds long video appeared on YouTube. These men are victims of, yes, a their own 17 second lapse in judgment ... but more importantly the political correctness that is destroying America.