Author : Steven J. Zaloga
Publisher : The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
Page : 66 pages
File Size : 48,22 MB
Release : 2011-01-15
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 1448818672
Describes the 1944 Allied raid to secure Pointe-du-Hoc during D-Day in World War II, including the army forces who executed the raid, the challenges of securing the area, and how the raid affected the outcome of the invasion at Normandy.
Author : Bruce Henderson
Publisher : Harper Collins
Page : 346 pages
File Size : 21,29 MB
Release : 2015-03-31
Category : History
ISBN : 0062325086
From the New York Times bestselling author of Sons and Soldiers comes the incredible true story of one of the greatest military rescues of all time, the 1945 World War II prison camp raid at Los Baños in the Philippines—a tale of daring, courage, and heroism that joins the ranks of Ghost Soldiers, Unbroken, and The Boys of Pointe du Hoc. In February 1945, as the U.S. victory in the Pacific drew nearer, the Japanese army grew desperate, and its soldiers guarding U.S. and Allied POWs more sadistic. Starved, shot and beaten, many of the 2,146 prisoners of the Los Baños prison camp in the Philippines—most of them American men, women and children—would not survive much longer unless rescued soon. Deeply concerned about the half-starved and ill-treated prisoners, General Douglas MacArthur assigned to the 11th Airborne Division a dangerous rescue mission deep behind enemy lines that became a deadly race against the clock. The Los Baños raid would become one of the greatest triumphs of that war or any war; hailed years later by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell: “I doubt that any airborne unit in the world will ever be able to rival the Los Baños prison raid. It is the textbook operation for all ages and all armies.” Combining personal interviews, diaries, correspondence, memoirs, and archival research, Rescue at Los Baños tells the story of a remarkable group of prisoners—whose courage and fortitude helped them overcome hardship, deprivation, and cruelty—and of the young American soldiers and Filipino guerrillas who risked their lives to save them.
Author : Paddy Ashdown
Publisher : Aurum
Page : 416 pages
File Size : 18,73 MB
Release : 2013-05-02
Category : History
ISBN : 1781310831
The complete story of the remarkable canoe raid on German ships in Bordeaux Harbour – by the man who himself served in the Special Boat Squadron. In 1942, before El Alamein turned the tide of war, the German merchant fleet was re-supplying its war machine with impunity. So Operation Frankton, a daring and secret raid, was launched by Mountbatten’s Combined Operations and led by the enigmatic ‘Blondie’ Hasler – to paddle ‘Cockleshell’ canoes right into Bordeaux harbour and sink the ships at anchor. It was a desperately hazardous mission from the start – dropped by submarine to canoe some hundred miles up the Gironde into the heart of Vichy France, surviving terrifying tidal races, only to face the biggest challenge of all: escaping across the Pyrenees. Fewer than half the men made it to Bordeaux; only four laid their mines; just two got back alive. But the most damage was done to the Germans’ sense of impregnability. Paddy Ashdown, himself a member of the Royal Marines’ elite Special Boat Squadron formed as a consequence of Frankton, has always been fascinated by this classic story of bravery and ingenuity - as a young man even meeting his hero Hasler once. Now, after researching previously unseen archives and tracing surviving witnesses, he has written the definitive account of the raid. The real truth, he discovers – a deplorable tale of Whitehall rivalry and breakdowns in communication – serves only to make the achievements of the ‘Cockleshell’ heroes all the more heroic.
Author : Mark Felton
Publisher : Icon Books Ltd
Page : 422 pages
File Size : 31,64 MB
Release : 2015-07-30
Category : History
ISBN : 1848319096
July 1945. Eighteen young British, Australian and New Zealand special forces from a top-secret underwater warfare unit prepare to undertake three audacious missions against the Japanese. Using XE-craft midget submarines, the raiders will creep deep behind Japanese lines to sink two huge warships off Singapore and sever two vitally important undersea communications cables. Success will hasten ultimate victory over Japan; but if any of the men are captured they can expect a gruesome execution. Can the Sea Devils overcome Japanese defences, mechanical failures, oxygen poisoning and submarine disasters to fulfil their missions? Mark Felton tells the true story of a band of young men living on raw courage, nerves and adrenalin as they attempt to pull off what could be the last great raid of World War Two.
Author : Giles Whittell
Publisher : Penguin UK
Page : 216 pages
File Size : 42,97 MB
Release : 2022-03-17
Category : History
ISBN : 0241992265
'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
Author : Cecil Ernest Lucas Phillips
Publisher : Pan Publishing
Page : 283 pages
File Size : 18,59 MB
Release : 2000
Category : Saint Nazaire Raid, 1942
ISBN : 9780330480703
'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
Author : Peter Jacobs
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 32,73 MB
Release : 2015-06-30
Category : History
ISBN : 1783463333
The Second World War saw a host of heroic raids enacted across the various theatres, all delivered valiantly in a variety of ways by British combatants; on land, by sea and from the air. Daring exploits such as the raid on Rommel, the endeavours of the Cockleshell Heroes and the Dam Busters have become legendary in the annals of warfare. All feature here, alongside details of fascinating lesser-known operations.??It goes without saying that not all the raids were a success; in fact, some went disastrously wrong but the men who carried them out did so with extreme courage and in the knowledge that they might not return. Here, Peter Jacobs tells the gripping stories of some of the most heroic raids of the entire conflict. These include the disastrous landings at Dieppe; the amphibious assault on the dry dock at St Nazaire (more Victoria Crosses were won during this raid than in any other operation of the war); the airborne assaults on the German radar installation at Bruneval and later on Pegasus Bridge as a prelude to D-Day; and the low-level raid by RAF Mosquitos on the prison at Amiens to release members of the French Resistance.??This is an intriguing and insightful historical record of thirty of the most daring and strategic raids of military history and is sure to appeal to all enthusiasts of the genre.
Author : Will Fowler
Publisher : The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
Page : 66 pages
File Size : 19,2 MB
Release : 2011-01-15
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 1448818710
This book offers a scene-by-scene account of the SAS (Special Air Service) and Operation Barras in Sierra Leone in 2000. Written by a military expert, the narrative offers a gripping description of the events that led up to the operation and the outcome. Fascinating photographs and illustrations provide a full experience of this daring and successful rescue mission.
Author : Simon Dunstan
Publisher : The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
Page : 66 pages
File Size : 38,3 MB
Release : 2011-01-15
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 1448818680
The Israeli Forces' operation at Entebbe was one of the most daring counter-terrorist assaults of all time. This book explores this important piece of history with lively narration and accessible illustrations and diagrams. Sidebars and maps round out the learning experience.
Author : Morgan Servin
Publisher : The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
Page : 72 pages
File Size : 23,34 MB
Release : 2015-07-15
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 1499461666
This encyclopedic account of the Second World War is an exhaustive resource for school reports and war buffs alike. Through daily entries that chart the rise, peak years, and ultimate close to the war, this volume provides readers with a comprehensive examination of World War II, the war that affected Europe for decades after and made the United States into a world power. Rich prose capsules and vivid historical photographs bring to life the famous battles, key figures, and important treaties that made up the greatest worldwide conflict in modern history.
