The Greatest Raid

The Greatest Raid PDF

Author: Giles Whittell

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2022-03-17

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 0241992265

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'I loved this book, as I love any good adventure story sublimely told . . . a gloriously exciting high, followed by a crushing realisation of war's enormous waste' Gerard deGroot, The Times 'Absorbing . . . The extraordinary bravery of the participants shines out from the narrative' Patrick Bishop, Sunday Telegraph _________________________________ FROM THE AUTHOR OF BRIDGE OF SPIES: A dramatic and colourful new account of the most daring British commando raid of World War Two In the darkest months of the Second World War, Churchill approved what seemed to many like a suicide mission. Under orders to attack the St Nazaire U-boat base on the Atlantic seaboard, British commandos undertook "the greatest raid of all", turning an old destroyer into a live bomb and using it to ram the gates of a Nazi stronghold. Five Victoria Crosses were awarded -- more than in any similar operation. Drawing on official documents, interviews, unknown accounts and the astonished reactions of French civilians and German forces, The Greatest Raid recreates in cinematic detail the hours in which the "Charioteers" fought and died, from Lt Gerard Brett, the curator at the V & A, to "Bertie" Burtinshaw, who went into battle humming There'll Always be an England, and from Lt Stuart Chant, who set the fuses with 90 seconds to escape, to the epic solo reconnaissance of the legendary Times journalist Capt Micky Burn. Unearthing the untold human stories of Operation Chariot, Bridge of Spies author Giles Whittell reveals it to be a fundamentally misconceived raid whose impact and legacy was secured by astonishing bravery. _________________________________ 'Enthralling . . . the heroism on display that night was unsurpassed, and Whittell is right to call his book The Greatest Raid' Simon Griffith, Mail on Sunday 'A compelling page-turner, the work of a master storyteller. The drama of the March 1942 operation is cinematic in its sweep and detail -- and Whittell's detective work on the real reasons for the raid is extraordinary. Beautifully written' Matthew d'Ancona

Zeebrugge

Zeebrugge PDF

Author: Christopher Sandford

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2018-05-19

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1612005055

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“A gripping new history of the British naval raid in April 1918 on the German-held Belgian port of that name” (Chronicles). The combined-forces invasion of the Belgian port of Zeebrugge on April 23, 1918, remains one of the most dramatic stories of the First World War, and in this book, it’s recounted in vivid detail. A force drawn from Britain’s Royal Navy and Royal Marines set out on ships and submarines to try to block the key strategic port in a bold attempt to stem the catastrophic losses being inflicted on British shipping by German submarines. It meant attacking a heavily fortified German naval base. The tide, calm weather, and the right wind direction for a smoke screen were crucial to the plan. Judged purely on results, it can only be considered a partial strategic success. Casualties were high and the base only partially blocked. Nonetheless, it came to represent the embodiment of the bulldog spirit, the peculiarly British fighting élan—the belief that anything was possible with enough dash and daring. The essential story of the Zeebrugge mission has been told before, but never through the direct, firsthand accounts of its survivors—including that of Lt. Richard Sandford, VC, the acknowledged hero of the day and the author’s great uncle. The fire and bloodshed of the occasion is the book’s centerpiece—but there is also room for the family and private lives of the men who volunteered in the hundreds for what they knew to be, effectively, a suicide mission.

Ride Around Missouri

Ride Around Missouri PDF

Author: Sean McLachlan

Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Published: 2011-10-18

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781849084291

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In July of 1863, Federal forces, emboldened by the victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg, moved across the Missouri state line south into Confederate-held Arkansas, advancing from the northwest and northeast in a pincer movement that took all of the northern half of the state, including the prosperous Arkansas river valley and the state capital at Little Rock, by September 11. Secure in their position, the Federals began to transfer men to the campaigns east of the Mississippi. This new title's detailed and exciting account will highlight all aspects of the raid into Missouri planned by Colonel Jo Shelby, whose famed "Iron Brigade" was the boldest and most accomplished cavalry outfit in the Trans-Mississippi Theatre. An indispensible source for anyone interested in Civil War history.

The Night Of The New Moon

The Night Of The New Moon PDF

Author: Laurens Van Der Post

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2011-09-30

Total Pages: 94

ISBN-13: 140707315X

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This book is the remarkable story of his experiences in the prison camp, but it is also a meditation on the morality of the Bomb, a compassionate and moving contemplation of human violence.

The Great Secret: The Classified World War II Disaster that Launched the War on Cancer

The Great Secret: The Classified World War II Disaster that Launched the War on Cancer PDF

Author: Jennet Conant

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2020-09-08

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 1324002514

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The gripping story of a chemical weapons catastrophe, the cover-up, and how one American Army doctor’s discovery led to the development of the first drug to combat cancer, known today as chemotherapy. On the night of December 2, 1943, the Luftwaffe bombed a critical Allied port in Bari, Italy, sinking seventeen ships and killing over a thousand servicemen and hundreds of civilians. Caught in the surprise air raid was the John Harvey, an American Liberty ship carrying a top-secret cargo of 2,000 mustard bombs to be used in retaliation if the Germans resorted to gas warfare. When one young sailor after another began suddenly dying of mysterious symptoms, Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Alexander, a doctor and chemical weapons expert, was dispatched to investigate. He quickly diagnosed mustard gas exposure, but was overruled by British officials determined to cover up the presence of poison gas in the devastating naval disaster, which the press dubbed "little Pearl Harbor." Prime Minister Winston Churchill and General Dwight D. Eisenhower acted in concert to suppress the truth, insisting the censorship was necessitated by military security. Alexander defied British port officials and heroically persevered in his investigation. His final report on the Bari casualties was immediately classified, but not before his breakthrough observations about the toxic effects of mustard on white blood cells caught the attention of Colonel Cornelius P. Rhoads—a pioneering physician and research scientist as brilliant as he was arrogant and self-destructive—who recognized that the poison was both a killer and a cure, and ushered in a new era of cancer research led by the Sloan Kettering Institute. Meanwhile, the Bari incident remained cloaked in military secrecy, resulting in lost records, misinformation, and considerable confusion about how a deadly chemical weapon came to be tamed for medical use. Deeply researched and beautifully written, The Great Secret is the remarkable story of how horrific tragedy gave birth to medical triumph.

Before the Fall

Before the Fall PDF

Author: Dula

Publisher: Chaosium

Published: 1998-09

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781568821351

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Four dangerous adventures concerning the quaint hamlet of Innsmouth, Massachusetts, in whose harbor the fish always seem to bite unusually well. Tone and atmosphere are more significant here than quick shocks and visible gore. Useful as stand-alone adventures, or for insertion into campaigns as changes of pace. These four adventures are all set in Innsmouth prior to the government raid of 1928. Keepers may also be interested in Escape From Innsmouth, a background book describing Innsmouth, and the raid itself.

Ploesti 1943

Ploesti 1943 PDF

Author: Steven J. Zaloga

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-10-31

Total Pages: 97

ISBN-13: 1472831969

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Operation Tidal Wave was one of the boldest and most controversial air raids by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). At the time, the Romanian Ploesti oil fields produced about a third of all Axis oil, and was Germany's single most important fuel source. In the summer of 1943, the USAAF decided to stage a major raid on Ploesti from air bases in Libya. The resulting Operation Tidal Wave raid on 1 August 1943 was one of the costliest to date, losing 53 aircraft, about a third of the starting force. Of the more than 150 bombers that took part in the raid, only 88 B-24s returned to Libya, 55 of which were damaged. On the other hand, of the 17 Medals of Honor awarded to US soldiers and airmen from Pearl Harbor in 1941 to D-Day in 1944, 5 were awarded to pilots of the Tidal Wave mission in recognition of their extraordinary performance. Although undoubtedly bold and heroic, the mission had questionable results. Initial assessments argued that the mission caused 40% of the refinery capacity at Ploesti to be lost but subsequent studies concluded that the damage was quickly repaired and that output had exceeded August levels within a month. This new study examines the raid in detail, exploring the reasons why its dubious success came at such a high price. Supported by maps, diagrams, and full-colour artwork including battlescenes and bird's-eye views, this is the full story of the audacious Ploesti raid of 1943.

Ghost Soldiers

Ghost Soldiers PDF

Author: Hampton Sides

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2002-05-07

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 038549565X

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “The greatest World War II story never told” (Esquire)—an enthralling account of the heroic mission to rescue the last survivors of the Bataan Death March—from the author of Blood and Thunder. On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected U.S. troops slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty rugged miles to rescue 513 POWs languishing in a hellish camp, among them the last survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March. A recent prison massacre by Japanese soldiers elsewhere in the Philippines made the stakes impossibly high and left little time to plan the complex operation. In Ghost Soldiers Hampton Sides vividly re-creates this daring raid, offering a minute-by-minute narration that unfolds alongside intimate portraits of the prisoners and their lives in the camp. Sides shows how the POWs banded together to survive, defying the Japanese authorities even as they endured starvation, tropical diseases, and torture. Harrowing, poignant, and inspiring, Ghost Soldiers is the mesmerizing story of a remarkable mission. It is also a testament to the human spirit, an account of enormous bravery and self-sacrifice amid the most trying conditions.

The Greatest Raid of All

The Greatest Raid of All PDF

Author: Cecil Ernest Lucas Phillips

Publisher: Pan Publishing

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 9780330480703

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'A deed of glory intimately involved in high strategy' - Winston Churchill St Nazaire, 1.34am March 28th, 1942 - the destroyer HMS Campbeltown , with her Oerlikons blazing at the enemy guns only a few yards away, crashed with terrific force into one of the enormous lock gates of the Normandie Dock. Operation Chariot had reached its climax. Its object was to destroy the essential gear of the largest dock in the world, so that it could not be used by German battleships, and it was brilliantly successful in its main purpose. The story of the assault, under a storm of enemy fire at point-blank range which set the sea itself on fire, and of the heroism of the men in the 'little ships' raid, carried out by Royal Navy forces - no fewer than five VC's were awarded - is one of the most thrilling and vivid to come out of any war. 'Exciting and moving account of a great epic' Observer