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The Naval War in South African Waters, 1939-1945

Author : Evert Kleynhans

Publisher : African Sun Media

Page : 323 pages

File Size : 30,19 MB

Release : 2022-03-23

Category : History

ISBN : 1991201745

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Book Description

The Naval War in South African Waters, 1939-1945 provides a critical reappraisal of the naval war waged in South African waters during the Second World War. The book investigates this broad topic by focussing on several interrelated aspects such as: the wartime strategic importance of South African waters; the rival Axis and Allied naval strategies in the southern oceans; the development of the South African coastal defence system; the full extent of the Axis naval operations in the southern oceans; the naval intelligence war; and, finally, the antisubmarine war waged in South African waters. Based on extensive archival research in South Africa and the United Kingdom, and supplemented by a wealth of secondary material, the book introduces a fresh, in-depth discussion on a largely forgotten episode of South African military history.



Hitler's Spies

Author : Evert Kleynhans

Publisher : Jonathan Ball Publishers

Page : 281 pages

File Size : 12,72 MB

Release : 2021-04-16

Category : History

ISBN : 1776190211

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Book Description

The story of the intelligence war in South Africa during the Second World War is one of suspense, drama and dogged persistence. In 1939, when the Union of South Africa entered the war on Britain's side, the German government secretly reached out to the political opposition, and to the leadership of the anti-war movement, the Ossewabrandwag. The Nazis' aim was to spread sedition in South Africa and to undermine the Allied war effort. The critical strategic importance of the sea route round the Cape of Good Hope meant that the Germans were also after naval intelligence. Soon U-boat packs were sent to operate in South African waters, to deadly effect. With the help of the Ossewabrandwag, a network of German spies was established to gather important political and military intelligence and relay it back to the Reich. Agents would use a variety of channels to send coded messages to Axis diplomats in neighbouring Mozambique. Meanwhile, police detectives and MI5 agents hunted in vain for illegal wireless transmitters. Hitler's Spies presents an unrivalled account of the German intelligence networks that operated in wartime South Africa. It also details the hunt in post-war Europe for witnesses to help the government bring charges of high treason against key Ossewabrandwag members.



The British Empire and the Second World War

Author : Ashley Jackson

Publisher : A&C Black

Page : 640 pages

File Size : 12,71 MB

Release : 2006-03-09

Category : History

ISBN : 0826440495

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Book Description

In 1939 Hitler went to war not just with Great Britain; he also went to war with the whole of the British Empire, the greatest empire that there had ever been. In the years since 1945 that empire has disappeared, and the crucial fact that the British Empire fought together as a whole during the war has been forgotten. All the parts of the empire joined the struggle and were involved in it from the beginning, undergoing huge changes and sometimes suffering great losses as a result. The war in the desert, the defence of Malta and the Malayan campaign, and the contribution of the empire as a whole in terms of supplies, communications and troops, all reflect the strategic importance of Britain's imperial status. Men and women not only from Australia, New Zealand and India but from many parts of Africa and the Middle East all played their part. Winston Churchill saw the war throughout in imperial terms. The British Empire and the Second World War emphasises a central fact about the Second World War that is often forgotten.



The Eastern Fleet and the Indian Ocean, 1942–1944

Author : Charles Stephenson

Publisher : Pen and Sword Maritime

Page : 410 pages

File Size : 31,49 MB

Release : 2022-04-06

Category : History

ISBN : 1526783622

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Book Description

The story of the British Eastern Fleet, which operated in the Indian Ocean against Japan, has rarely been told. Although it was the largest fleet deployed by the Royal Navy prior to 1945 and played a vital part in the theater it was sent to protect, it has no place in the popular consciousness of the naval history of the Second World War. So Charles Stephenson’s deeply researched and absorbing narrative gives this forgotten fleet the recognition it deserves. British prewar naval planning for the Far East is part of the story, as is the disastrous loss of the battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse in 1941, but the body of the book focuses on the new fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir James Somerville, and its operations against the Japanese navy and aircraft as well as Japanese and German submarines. Later in the war, once the fleet had been reinforced with an American aircraft carrier, it was strong enough to take more aggressive actions against the Japanese, and these are described in vivid detail. Charles Stephenson’s authoritative study should appeal to readers who have a special interest in the war with Japan, in naval history more generally and Royal Navy in particular.



20 Battles

Author : Evert Kleynhans

Publisher : Jonathan Ball Publishers

Page : 365 pages

File Size : 28,10 MB

Release : 2023-07-28

Category : History

ISBN : 1928248233

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Book Description

Favouring manoeuvre over attrition and often punching above their weight, South African soldiers have become known for their tenacity, dash and ability to defy the odds. Their unique directive command style has also helped them to excel in defining battles and operations, from the campaign in German South West Africa in 1915 to the cross-border operations in Angola during the Border War. In 20 Battles, military historians Evert Kleynhans and David Brock Katz investigate the evolution of South Africa's armed forces over a century from 1913 to 2013. They track the evolution of the doctrine and structure of the defence force, uncovering historical continuity and the lessons learned from past battles and operations. What is clear is that when South African soldiers have the freedom to operate according to their manoeuvre doctrine, as they had in East Africa in 1916 and southern Ethiopia in 1941, they can achieve stunning results. But when hemmed in by rigid doctrine and a top-down command style, as at Delville Wood in 1916 and Tobruk in 1942, the results can be tragic. 20 Battles combines both battlefield drama and crisp analysis and in the process provides a much-needed perspective on the South African way of war.



World War II: The Mediterranean 1940-1945

Author : Paul Collier

Publisher : The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc

Page : 97 pages

File Size : 16,73 MB

Release : 2010-01-15

Category : Juvenile Nonfiction

ISBN : 1435891325

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Book Description

Discusses World War II with attention to events in the Mediterranean, from Italy's declaration of war in 1940 to its surrender in 1945.



The Sea and the Second World War

Author : Marcus Faulkner

Publisher : University Press of Kentucky

Page : 327 pages

File Size : 13,21 MB

Release : 2019-12-10

Category : History

ISBN : 1949668061

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Book Description

The sea shaped the course and conduct of World War II, from the first moments of the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, to the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. The impact could be felt far beyond the shoreline, as the arms and armies carried across the oceans were ultimately destined to wage war ashore. Populations and industries depended on the raw materials and supplies in a war that increasingly became a contest of national will and economic might. Ultimately, it was the war at sea that linked numerous regional conflicts and theaters of operation into a global war. As the war grew in complexity and covered an increasingly larger geographical area, the organization of the maritime effort and the impact it had on the formulation of national strategy also evolved. This volume illustrates the impact of naval operations on the Second World War by highlighting topics previously neglected in the scholarship. In doing so, it provides new insights into political, strategic, administrative, and operational aspects of the maritime dimension of the war.



The Island

Author : Harriet Deacon

Publisher : New Africa Books

Page : 198 pages

File Size : 40,80 MB

Release : 1996

Category : History

ISBN : 9780864862990

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Book Description

Robben Island is a low-lying outcrop of rock and sand guarding the entrance to South Africa's Table Bay. Although it is just a few kilometres long and a barely swimmable distance from Cape Town, it may well be the most significant historical site in South Africa today.



The British Navy in Eastern Waters

Author : John D. Grainger

Publisher : Boydell & Brewer

Page : 331 pages

File Size : 11,55 MB

Release : 2022

Category : Great Britain

ISBN : 1783276770

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Book Description

Provides a comprehensive overview of the activities of the British navy in the Indian and Pacific Oceans from the earliest times to the present. This book outlines the early voyages of the English East India Company, its building of its own naval forces and its conflicts with Indian states. It examines the opening up of the Pacific Ocean, the wars with the French in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and the activities of the British navy in the later nineteenth century, both off the coasts of China and Japan, and also in the many other places to which the navy's very great power extended. It goes on to consider the wars of the twentieth century, Britain's withdrawal from east of Suez, and Britain's continuing relative decline. Throughout, the book provides accounts of battles and other actions, and relates the activities of the British navy to the wider political situation and to the activities of other European and Asian navies.