Only at the end, when I watched the inglorious collapse and the obstinacy of his final downfall, was I able suddenly to fit together the bits of mosaic I had been amassing for twelve years into a complete picture of his opaque and sphinx like personality. If my contemporaries fail to understand me, those who came after will surely profit from this account.”—Otto Dietrich When Otto Dietrich was invited in 1933 to become Adolf Hitler’s press chief, he accepted with the simple uncritical conviction that Adolf Hitler was a great man, dedicated to promoting peace and welfare for the German people. At the end of the war, imprisoned and disillusioned, Otto Dietrich sat down to write what he had seen and heard in twelve years of the closest association with Hitler, requesting that it be published after his death. Dietrich’s role placed him in a privileged position. He was hired by Hitler in 1933, was his confidant until 1945, and he worked—and clashed—with Joseph Goebbels. His direct, personal experience of life at the heat of the Reich makes for compelling reading.

     The victories won by British arms in the years which followed that great deliverance have made men forget those soldiers – the first of the many – upon whom it fell to withstand the shock of Hitler’s great attack. It is now fitting that these men and their Commander-in-Chief, Lord Gort, should be worthily remembered, and their story fully told, from those first landings in France, in the autumn of 1939, until the climax of Dunkirk. The authors, both professional writers, themselves served as officers with the B.E.F., and have recaptured the gallantry and comradeship of that little force. The result is a moving story of courage and devotion in the face of odds which no other British Force has ever been called upon to face. It is chivalrous to admire a gallant enemy, and of that chivalry we have lately seen much. Justice demands that the courage and devotion of our own fighting men be no less clearly recognised. There were no medals for the B.E.F., hardly even today the laurels of memory. They were soldiers, doing a soldier’s job against odds which no British Force had ever been called upon to face, and which, it is to be hoped, no British Force will ever face again. What were they then, the men of that small Expeditionary Force, a mere army in one of the groups of French armies? How did they spend the months of what has been called the “twilight war”, and how, when the shock of battle came at last, did they withstand the blow? Dunkirk tells the true story of those brave men who fought to save the lives of so many. With the 2017 movie release of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk now is the time to remember the real history of the battle in the words of those who experienced it. Lt. Colonel Ewan Butler and Major J. Selby Bradford M.B.E., M.C. served in France as young officers during the last months of 1939 and the first five of 1940 with that small British Expeditionary force commanded by Lord Gort, which first faced the full might of Nazi Germany. Dunkirk was first published in 1950 under the title Keep The Memory Green. It was used as inspiration for the 1958 film, Dunkirk, starring Richard Attenborough.

    This classic insider's account has been updated and supplemented with rare photographs from the LRDG collection in the Imperial War Museum.

     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.

    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.

    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.

     By mid-1942 the Japanese forces were threatening to take the colonial capital of Port Moresby and therefore gain a base to launch their proposed invasion of Australia. The allied forces needed to blunt the Japanese thrust toward Australia and thus protect the transpacific line of communications, as well as to secure a favorable position to take the offensive to the Japanese. Yet this was easier planned than executed; the Australians had been battered through two years of combat with their enemies and although the Americans were bringing large numbers of reinforcements, they were living under intolerable conditions, plagued by disease, short of equipment, ill-prepared for jungle fighting, and pitted against a skilled and resolute foe. According to Australian military historian, John Laffin, the campaign "was arguably the most arduous fought by any Allied troops during World War II". Milner uncovers every aspect of the campaign in 1942 from its early planning stages through to the many conflicts with Japanese troops that culminated in the brutal Battle of Buna-Gona in early 1943. However, rather than simply giving an overview of these turbulent months Milner focuses particularly on the actions of the 32nd Infantry Division who were at the frontline of the offensive to give the reader a direct view of what life was like during the campaign. To develop a picture of this dramatic campaign Milner drew from not only the official records but also spoke to men who were there and saw it, including Robert L. Eichelberger, as well as drawing from many Australian sources and historians. “Samuel Milner’s Victory in Papua, the official U.S. Army history, provides a thorough narrative of the Papua New Guinea campaign and is an excellent starting point.” Major Matthew H. Fath, Intrepidity, Iron Will, and Intellect: General Robert L. Eichelberger and Military Genius “a solid and valued work.” James Jay Carafano, www.heritage.org “a thorough account of the actions of the 32nd Division in the Papuan campaign of 1942.” Henry L. Roberts, Foreign Affairs “In telling the story of a comparatively limited number of troops, the author has been able to present the combat experience of small units in sharper focus than has been possible in most of the other full-scale campaign volumes.” Maj. Gen. A. C. Smith, Chief of Military History Samuel Milner was a historian who held a graduate degree in history from the University of Alberta and had done further graduate work in political science at the University of Minnesota. He had served during the war as a historian with the Army Air Transport Command in Australia and New Guinea, and worked for the Army office of the chief of military history after the war. After this he worked as government historian for many years before passing away in 2000. His book Victory in Papua was first published in 1957.

    As the last chance to escape the dire implications of a winter campaign, Hitler directed seventy-five German divisions, almost two million men and three of Germany's four panzer groups into the offensive, resulting in huge victories at Viaz'ma and Briansk – among the biggest battles of the Second World War. David Stahel's groundbreaking new account of Operation Typhoon captures the perspectives of both the German high command and individual soldiers, revealing that despite success on the battlefield the wider German war effort was in far greater trouble than is often acknowledged. Germany's hopes of final victory depended on the success of the October offensive but the autumn conditions and the stubborn resistance of the Red Army ensured that the capture of Moscow was anything but certain.

    The story of how Hitler seized control in Germany during his ruthless quest for world domination.

    

    The B-26--dubbed Widow Maker by the press and the aircrews who flew her--was one of the most controversial aircraft produced in the United States during the war. These young men find themselves confronted not only with doubts about the airplane they are given to fly, but also the sometimes fatal choices made by a military organization unprepared to employ them in combat. Against the setting of World War II Europe, the heart and minds of these young men are revealed as they are forces to make a swift and frequently terrifying journey into manhood. The differences between them, seemingly irreconcilable at first, fade away as they form the ancient bond between men whose lives must depend upon one another in combat. But even after these young Americans make the transition into seasoned warriors, they are still faced with the grim reality that some of them will survive--and some will not.

    

    World War II's answer to Flashman, only much more honourable - Dick's a coward by name but not by nature - our hero has the uncanny knack of being in just the right place at just the wrong time.

    The astonishing true story of US Army sniper Robert Terkla, Never Fear Anything, brings a fresh and welcomed perspective to the sniper community. A journey leading us through his struggles to finding a life purpose, to operating covertly behind enemy lines attached to Navy SEALs in Afghanistan. Through the eyes of a surgeon with bullets on the battlefield, Terkla brings an extremely rare view of the hardships these modern day assassins face, while deployed in a seemingly forgotten war.

    He decided to keep a diary, where he made notes of everything that was happening. He did not know whether he would survive. When he was liberated, he gathered all the notes and deposited them with the Warsaw Jewish Historical Institute. Unfortunately, few of the survivors kept notes about the horrible events that took place.When the history of the Holocaust will be written, and when future history of the Holocaust will be written, and when future historians gather their materials from the archives, there is no doubt that they will utilize Aaron Starkman's diary with its description of the events that took place and the murders that the Hitlerite hordes committed. These facts will also serve as an example of the fate that befell most Jewish communities in Poland and Eastern Europe.