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Books > Fiction > True stories > War / combat / elite forces > General
The successful evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from
Belgium and northern France through the port of Dunkirk and across
adjacent beaches is rightly regarded as one of the most significant
episodes in the nation's long history, although Winston Churchill
sagely cautioned in Parliament on 4th June that the country "must
be careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a
victory. Wars are not won by evacuations". Nevertheless, the
Dunkirk evacuation, Operation "Dynamo", was a victory and, like
many others before it, it was a victory of sea power. The Royal
Navy achieved what it set out to do, despite grievous losses, in
the teeth of determined opposition. It denied an aggressive and
ruthless continental power a potentially war-winning total victory
that could have changed the direction of civilization for
generations to come. The loss of the main British field army would
have enfeebled the nation militarily and psychologically, prompting
political upheaval, potentially resulting in a negotiated peace
with Nazi Germany on unfavourable terms dictated by Adolf Hitler.
The undeniable success of the evacuation was certainly a crucial
naval and military achievement but its positive effect on the
nation's morale was just as important, instilling confidence in the
eventual outcome of the war, whatever the immediate future might
hold, and creating optimism in the face of adversity that added
"the Dunkirk spirit" to the English language. This edition of
Dunkirk, Operation "Dynamo" 26th May - 4th June 1940, An Epic of
Gallantry, publishes the now declassified Battle Summary No 41, a
document once classified as 'Restricted' and produced in small
numbers only for official government purposes. This Summary, The
Evacuation from Dunkirk, lodged in the archive at Britannia Royal
Naval College, Dartmouth, is one of the very few surviving copies
in existence and records events in minute detail, being written
soon after the evacuation using the words of the naval officers
involved. This makes it a unique record and a primary source for
the history of Operation "Dynamo" from mid-May 1940 until its
conclusion on 4th June. The original document has been supplemented
in this title by a Foreword written by Admiral Sir James
Burnell-Nugent, formerly the Royal Navy's Commander-in-Chief,
Fleet, whose father commanded one of the destroyers sunk off
Dunkirk when rescuing troops. In addition, there is a modern
historical introduction and commentary, putting the evacuation into
context and this edition is enhanced by the inclusion of a large
number of previously unpublished photographs of the beaches, town,
and harbour of Dunkirk taken immediately after the conclusion of
the operation, together with others illustrating many of the ships
that took part. Britannia Naval Histories of World War II - an
important source in understanding the critical naval actions of the
period.
'A COMPELLING, FAST-PACED NARRATIVE THAT THRUSTS US INTO THE
COCKPIT. A MUST-READ!' Dan Hampton April 1982. Argentina invades
the Falkland Islands. In response, Britain dispatches a naval Task
Force. Eight thousand miles from home, its fate hinges on just
twenty Sea Harrier fighters against the two hundred-strong might of
the Argentine Air Force. The odds against them are overwhelming.
British Defense Chiefs' own estimates suggest that half the
Harriers will be lost within a week. Against this background, 809
Naval Air Squadron is reformed, trained and sent south to fight.
Not since WWII had so much been expected of such a small band of
pilots... Combining groundbreaking research with the pace of a
thriller, Rowland White reveals the full story of the fleet's
knife-edge fight for survival for the first time, and shows how the
little jump jet went from airshow novelty to writing its name in
aviation legend. And of how a small band of heroes won victory
against impossible odds. 'A military adventure, written with
expertise...a tale of initiative, skill and courage, of pushing
beyond the rules.' THE SPECTATOR 'Harrier 809 reads like a
fast-paced military adventure novel only better because every word
is true. White has brought us an up-close, inside-the-cockpit saga
of a band of heroes. Riveting.' ROBERT GANDT, author of Skygods
'Utterly thrilling and totally absorbing. White conveys brilliantly
the spirit of a great aircraft - and the men who flew it.' PATRICK
BISHOP 'Utterly brilliant. The very best kind of narrative history,
Harrier 809 is a fantastically exciting book. It reads like a
thriller and has some of the best aerial action sequences I've ever
read. A page-turner from start to finish.' JAMES HOLLAND, author of
Normandy '44 'Set against the broader context of the Falklands War,
Harrier 809 brings the squadron's story to life in fine and highly
readable detail.' GARTH ENNIS, author of The Boys, Preacher and
Hellblazer
In terms of enemy aircraft shot down or destroyed, Squadron Leader
Thomas 'Pat' Pattle was the greatest fighter pilot of the Second
World War.A South African who flew with the RAF, Pattle was an
airman of outstanding skills and leadership who became the Allies'
top-scoring fighter pilot after winning scores of stunning
victories in deadly aerial combat. But for years after the war
ended, Pattle was virtually an unsung hero because the records of
his extraordinary achievements were destroyed amid the turmoil of
war. Compiled with the help of surviving pilots and members of the
squadrons with which Pattle fought in the air over Greece, ACE OF
ACES is a gripping and authoritative account of his amazing flying
career, and the book which finally brought Pattle the recognition
he so richly deserved.
It was Christmas 1942 when eleven young women boarded the troopship
Strathaird and braved the attentions of U-Boats in the deep
Atlantic. Borrowing a cricketing phrase, they called themselves the
First Eleven. But they were not the first to arrive at the Special
Operations Executive's secret North African base near Algiers.
Code-named Massingham, it was formed by SOE to spearhead subversion
and sabotage in what Winston Churchill called 'the soft underbelly'
of Europe. Massingham was hidden away at the Club des Pins, a
former luxury resort nestling among pines next to a Mediterranean
beach. By the time SOE had got to work, there was little luxury
left. Setting the Med Ablaze tells the true stories of the men and
women of Churchill's secret base. Its life was short. Less than two
years after its formation, its job was done. But Massingham played
a key role in the Allied offensive in the Mediterranean islands,
Italy and France. If you enjoy historical nonfiction, this book is
for you.
In 1940 a first-year student at Oxford gave up his legal studies to
serve his country in its time of need. He served with valour and
distinction, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for
developing and then delivering battlewinning tactics that protected
the flanks of the D-Day landings. But Guy Hudson also saw things
that cannot be unseen, and experienced the horrors of war that
become tattooed on one's soul. This is the story of a brave and
patriotic sailor who helped sink the German battleship Bismarck,
drove his Motor Torpedo Boat into enemy harbours right under the
muzzles of Axis guns, and then pioneered radar control procedures
for the small torpedo and gun boats that careered across pitch-dark
maritime battlefields to guard the Allied landings in northern
France. It is also the story of a man who turned to alcohol to
control the darker memories created by war, and whose life and
business collapsed due to the demon of drink, before he was rescued
by his second wife. His legacy now lives on at the University of
Oxford through the Guy Hudson Memorial Trust - this biography is
his tribute.
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