Spies, Supplies and Moonlit Skies, Volume II: The French Connection, April-June 1944: Code Name Neptune During the critical period of World War II leading up to D-Day the United States Army Air Force activated the first Special Operations Group for clandestine activity against the Nazi enemy in Occupied Europe. While the daylight Air Force cleared the skies of Nazi planes in a brutal war of attrition before the invasion, the 801st Bombardment Group, on night operations from their secret base near Harrington in the United Kingdom dropped supplies and agents to the Resistance forces of Europe in preparation for D-Day on the beaches of Normandy on 6 June 1944. This is their story.

An examination of the life of General Manton S. Eddy, this study details his experiences in World War II as leader of the U.S. 9th Infantry Division through North Africa, Sicily and France, and subsequently, as commander of XII Corps, into the heart of Germany. While much has been written about the top military leaders of this era, there is little information about corps commanders whose missions were limited to doing battle and whose organizations were tailored exclusively for this task. Eddy's career provides a model for the Army's most ambitious officers, particularly those who, like Eddy, faced the challenge without family connections or the traditional West Point education. He devoted his life to the U.S. Army, enhancing his innate talents through the incorporation of a daily program of self-education.

Eddy had an excellent grasp of the basic principles of military tactics and strategy. He attained this art through home study and assiduous application at the Army's professional education institutions, in particular at the Command and General Staff College, where he served as an instructor for four years. He focused on people, quickly learning and applying basic skills to draw out their best efforts. He came to know what to expect from them in the chaos and under the pressure of combat. This facilitated his development of strong, mission-oriented subordinates. His personal goal was always to maximize all available power at the correct point for crushing his nation's enemies, and to this end, he was extraordinarily successful.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the Nanjing Massacre, together with an in-depth analysis of various aspects of the event and related issues. Drawing on original source materials collected from various national archives, national libraries, church historical society archives, and university libraries in China, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States, it represents the first English-language academic attempt to analyze the Nanjing Massacre in such detail and scope. The book examines massacres and other killings, in addition to other war crimes, such as rape, looting, and burning. These atrocities are then explored further via a historical analysis of Chinese survivors' testimony, Japanese soldiers' diaries, Westerners' eyewitness accounts, the news coverage from American and British correspondents, and American, British and German diplomatic dispatches. Further, the book explores issues such as the role and function of the International Committee for Nanking Safety Zone, burial records of massacre victims, post-war military tribunals, controversies over the Nanjing Massacre, and the 100-Man Killing Contest. This book is intended for all researchers, scholars, graduate and undergraduate students, and members of the general public who are interested in Second World War issues, Sino-Japanese conflicts, Sino-Japan relations, war crimes, atrocity and holocaust studies, military tribunals for war crimes, Japanese atrocities in China, and the Nanjing Massacre.

Experience Iwo Jima, arguably the bloodiest battle of the modern era, from the perspective of an extraordinary battlefield medic, George Wahlen. As a Navy corpsman he was targeted by the Japanese, making his job of saving the injured even that much more deadly. How he saved so many lives is among the many mysteries of his incredible story. After earning three purple hearts in a matter of days, witnesses of Wahlen's heroics remain dumbfounded that he actually survived. For his actions he was awarded the Medal of Honor, America's highest military honor. But after the war, he told no one about the medal. Even his wife didn't know he was a national hero for many years after their marriage. For more than six decades he has kept the details of his story to himself, but family and friends have since convinced him to tell the gritty details of his war-time experience. His story is told using over 180 rare and unpublished photographs, many of which were previously censored for being too graphic for public sensitivities. As many now learn of Wahlen's survival, sacrifice and bravery, his story is considered among the most dramatic accounts of heroism in U.S. military history.

This book examines the role of Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest commercial bank, during the Nazi dictatorship, and asks how the bank changed and accommodated to a transition from democracy and a market economy to dictatorship and a planned economy. Set against the background of the world depression and the German banking crisis of 1931, the book looks at the restructuring of German banking and offers new material on the bank's expansion in central and eastern Europe. As well as summarizing recent research on the bank's controversial role in gold transactions and the financing of the construction of Auschwitz, the book also examines the role played by particular personalities in the development of the bank, such as Emil Georg von Strauss and Hermann Abs.

This year is the eightieth anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War. In that year, Lizzy Schwarz was a teenage Jew enjoying life in Boskovice, Czechoslovakia. Far to the east in Poland, teenage Jerzy Dyszkiewicz had recently qualified as an Officer Cadet in the Polish Army. During the war, Lizzy and her family were interned in Nazi concentration camps. Lizzy's mother died from ill health brought on by cruel treatment, her sister and father later died at the Auschwitz death camp. Lizzy however miraculously survived three of those horrendous camps. In September 1939, Jerzy's unit was moving west to meet the invading Germans when they were captured by the Soviet Army advancing east. They were handed over to the Germans and sent to a series of POW camps to work. In 1942, Jerzy and three close comrades escaped from a camp near the Belgian border and, surviving many close shaves, finally made it to England. After the war Lizzy and Jerzy coincidentally met and later married in London on 17th September 1955. This is their incredible story of a double escape from Nazis with an ultimate happy ending.

The name...oft heard and heralded during and after World War II PAPPY GUNN ordinarily speaks for itself..............however in this book, the unforgettable, untold to this day, human story of the legendary "Pappy Gunn," hero of the Pacific Air War and to his family who knew and loved him ....this story is told with the understanding of one who had the foreknowledge and burning determination to sort out the facts and myths about him, Nathaniel Gunn, the author, fellow lover of flying, and his youngest son, who was with him until his untimely crash in Civilian life doing what he loved to do - flying, flying, flying You'll find the story intriguing in its discoveries, packed with Pappy's own personal original files, long forgotten letters, documents and photographs spanning Pappy's youth into the U.S. Navy, marriage, retirement in Hawaii and move to the Philippine Islands. Then, the untimely entrance of the United States in the WWII bombing and capture of Manila. Most of all, this story draws a perceptive focus on ..the man..as the person and courageous patriot he truly was, joining the U. S.Air Force he was at this time.. Fighting 3 wars at once .His family imprisoned by the Japanese.. .The brass who needed him to accomplish the impossible .And, the enemy who had the upperhand, but not for long Thank God - his was a triumphant battle in all three

The Holocaust did not introduce the phenomenon of the bystander, but it did illustrate the terrible consequences of indifference and passivity towards the persecution of others. Although the term was initially applied only to the good Germans--the apathetic citizens who made genocide possible through unquestioning obedience to evil leaders--recent Holocaust scholarship has shown that it applies to most of the world, including parts of the population in Nazi-occupied countries, some sectors within the international Christian and Jewish communities, and the Allied governments themselves. This work analyzes why this happened, drawing on the insights of historians, Holocaust survivors, and Christian and Jewish ethicists. The author argues that bystander behavior cannot be attributed to a single cause, such as anti-Semitism, but can only be understood within a complex framework of factors that shape human behavior individually, socially, and politically.

Wide is the Gate, written in 1943, is the fourth of the epic eleven part classic Lanny Budd Series written by Upton Sinclair. Wide is the Gate followed the 1943 Pulitzer Prize Winning Dragon's Teeth. This book covers the period of 1934-1937 and introduces Lanny as a secret double agent fighting the Nazi's as a supporter of the resistance movement in Germany. Lanny is living primarily in England with his wife of almost five years, Irma Barnes, the 23 million dollar heiress. Irma does not share Lanny's "red" view of the world. Lanny's is conflicted continuously in his heart and soul for the workers and social justice. Lanny attempts to commit to Irma to "behave" himself and lead a normal aristocratic life. But foremost he is committed to ending Nazism, Fascism and the over throw of the democratically elected Spanish government. Irma believes she is entitled to live in the style of the aristocrats of Europe, she having inherited 23 million dollars from her late father, J. Paramount Barnes. She cares not at all for anything Lanny believes in. Lanny is awakened at the end of Dragon's Teeth to the oncoming dangers of the Nazi's. He sees the armament build-up and the militarism building in the Fatherland. Goring is not to be trusted. But both English and French leaders fail to recognize the menacing threat of the new Germany. Leading politician believe the threat of the Bolsheviks and the Red Menace poses a greater threat to European stability, aka, the ruling classes, than do the Nazi's in Germany, and the Fascist in Italy and Spain. Lanny involves himself in a double agent role by helping a new friend, one who will be us through the remaining books, Monck. Monck is a German socialist who is part of the underground and works with the resistance movement to alert the German people to the terrors of the Nazi's. Lanny helps a friend and colleague of the late Fredi Robin, Trudi, through which he meets Monck. Many adventures and dangers present themselves as Lanny travels back into Germany as an Art expert, eventually dealing directly and on a friendship basis with Hermann Goring. He uses the proceeds of the confiscated artwork masterpieces stolen by Goring from Johannes Robin to help finance and support the underground movement from inside the heart of Naziland. Lanny and Irma also have an eventful evening with Hitler, while hiding a hunted resistance worker in their car while visiting Hitler's Berghof estate. Robbie Budd, Lanny's father, has conceived the next great industrial advancement on a grand scale, the airplane. Having lost Budd Gunmakers to the Wall Street tycoons, Robbie sets out to develop the mass production of airplanes. He offers first to England, and then to France, the opportunity to build their air forces as protection in case of another armed conflict, but facing the intransigence of both countries politicians, he next offers his new high speed and potentially deadly product to Goring and they thus become close business associates. This alliance between Robbie and Goring offers Lanny cover for his duplicitous activities against the Nazi's. As alluded to at the end of Dragon's Teeth, Lan

A fascinating and exhaustive examination of the Second World War. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. Contents Include The Experiences of The Second World War Military Preparations Diplomatic Preparations The Polish Campaign Eight Months of "All Quiet" The Russo Finnish War The Norwegian Campaign The Crisis of French War Doctrine The Crisis of British War Doctrine The Total Crisis of France The Super Battle In The West: Allied Warfare The Super Battle In The West: German Warfare After The Defeat of France: From European War To The World War British Resistance The War In Africa and The Balkans The Foreign Policy of The Soviet Union Strategy and Politics The Decisions Facing America Afterword

Despite heavy censorship and sometimes outright control by either Vichy or the Germans, the authorized press is a useful and necessary source for anyone studying the period of German occupation and the Vichy government in France. The daily and weekly political press, the press created by Vichy for its Chantiers de la Jeunesse youth movement, its Legion of War veterans and its Peasant Corporation for agriculture show the regime's ideology and priorities. A wide variety of other periodicals, including religious publications, advertising papers, trade papers, and sports papers, provides insights into the professional and local life of the period. This book provides a guide to the authorized press of the occupation period.

With a list of 2500 periodicals, the book covers the more important daily, weekly, bimonthly, monthly, and quarterly publications in Paris and the departments. The periodicals are listed by subject for Paris, alphabetically for the departments. For each periodical, the book gives city of publication, approximate beginning and ending dates, and library or archive where the periodical is held as well as other available information such as the periodical's prewar political position, what the periodical said about itself, its relationship with Vichy or the Germans, and successor publication. If a book or article has been written about the periodical, it is also included.

What follows here, just a brief insight into Pain and Purpose in the Pacific. This book did not begin with the idea of a chronology of the battles of the Pacific War, although an overview is included. But instead it was intended to be a brief account of the battles on Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa as I retrace the travels of one Marine from the farmland of Minnesota to Japan and back. Carl J. Johnson spent 30 months in the Pacific. Four of those months were in bitter combat on the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa. He is my uncle. I have been blessed to travel, & to spend time at many of the places he traveled during World War II. My travels didn't stop there.

As a Continental Airlines pilot based in Guam, now retired and having lived on Saipan, I have had the opportunity over a seven year period to visit other islands that were the scene of horrific battles of World War II. In addition to Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa, I will mention a few of them. Included are Guam where I was based during the closing years of my airline career; also Belau, which is Palau, and includes Peleliu. Included too in this book are Iwo Jima, Corregidor and the Philippines. In my travels beyond Hawaii and Pearl Harbor, which was my introduction into the Pacific, were Yap, and Truk, which is Chuuk, and Pohnpei in the Carolines. And I've spent time in Japan.

During my time in the Pacific, I have been presented with the opportunity to speak with several of the veterans of the Pacific War. Doing so has in some cases allowed me in some small way to understand a sense of the hell they had to suffer through. Included in this report are a few of their stories, as well as stories from some of the people of the islands who in one way or another were involved in the conflict.

It is with a depth of gratitude that I acknowledge the Military Historical Tours of Alexandria, Virginia for allowing me to be a part of their tours to the islands of Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, as well as Guam, Tinian and Saipan. I appreciate this organization, dedicated to preserving the memories of the war, and to the honoring of the military personnel who were there at the time. While living on either Guam or Saipan I also was able to visit on my own most of the islands mentioned on this page. But it was the Military Historical Tours, and it's President USMC Colonel Warren Wiedhahn ([email protected]) that made it possible for me to visit Iwo Jima. They allowed me to join them once a year for 4 consecutive years. I have since returned a 5th time in March of 2010. It was through this great organization that over a 7 year period (while living on both Guam and Saipan in the Marianas Islands), I was able to meet most of the WWII veterans mentioned here; and these aging veterans of the War in the Pacific whom I have met, have touched my heart. In addition to my uncle, this book is for them too.

Eddie Slovik was the most famous American soldier to come out of World War Two. Or was infamous a better description? For 24 year old Slovik, Polish-American, petty thief and ex-con, was the only Allied soldier to be shot for desertion in the course of that long conflict. For nearly ten years the US Dept. of Defence tried to keep the Slovik case secret and even when it was revealed the American military hid the place of the condemned man's burial for a further thirty years. Thus when the details of the Slovik case were finally brought out into the open, there was much talk of an official cover-up. Now veteran military historian, Charles Whiting has attempted to dig up the final truth. He reveals in this fast paced intriguing book that Slovik was not the innocent victim that his advocate had maintained he was. In that year in which he was sentenced to death for desertion in the 'face of the enemy', he played a calculating game with the US Army -and lost. Whiting also reveals another secret: the man who would approve Slovik's death sentence and have him shot in a remote French mountain village, General (and future President) Dwight D. Eisenhower was also under a sentence of death that winter himself.

The book explores how Churchill was portrayed in the UK press during the Second World War, comparing his depictions in Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, and provincial English newspapers. By using a variety of newspapers from these areas, it examines local opinions about Churchill at the time he was the wartime prime minister. It analyses how Churchill was received and depicted by newspapers in the UK and why differences in these depictions emerged in each area. It contributes to the study of public opinion in the war and of Churchill's reputation, of the British media, as well as to the study of the notion of Britishness, focusing on local perspectives.

The Japanese bombing of Wake Island began a mere few hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 8, 1941. Thirty-six Japanese aircraft blasted the atoll's US base and destroyed eight of twelve aircraft. For fifteen days American troops suffered endless bombardments until the second major Japanese offensive was launched on 23rd December. The battle took place on and around the atoll and its minor islets by the air, land, and naval forces of the Japanese Empire against those of the United States, with Marines playing a prominent role on both sides. Against overwhelming forces the Marines and other troops that were stationed on the island fought valiantly, but after forty-nine men had lost their lives in the fight, the remaining American men and civilians were captured by the Japanese.

This new, updated edition of The Battle of Britain on Screen examines in depth the origins, development and reception of the major dramatic screen representations of 'The Few' in the Battle of Britain produced over the past 75 years. Paul MacKenzie explores both continuity and change in the presentation of a wartime event that acquired and retains near-mythical dimensions in popular consciousness and has been represented many times in feature films and television dramas. Alongside relevant technical developments, the book also examines the social, cultural, and political changes occurring in the second half of the 20th century and first decade of current century that helped shape how the battle came to be framed dramatically. This edition contains a new chapter looking at the portrayal of the Battle of Britain at the time of its 70th anniversary. Through its perceptive demonstration of how our memory of the battle has been constantly reshaped through film and television, The Battle of Britain on Screen provides students of the Second World War, 20th-century Britain and film history with a thorough and complex understanding of an iconic historical event.

WE ALL MADE HISTORY is a collection of personal stories from people who were in the military. Many military have put their lives on the line for you to be free. The real Heroes never returned. When you see a veteran, shake their hand and thank them for their service.

Black journalists have vigorously exercised their First Amendment right since the founding of Freedom's Journal in 1827. World War II was no different in this regard, and Paul Alkebulan argues that it was the most important moment in the long history of that important institution. American historians have often postulated that WWII was a pivotal moment for the modern civil rights movement. This argument is partially based on the pressing need to convincingly appeal to the patriotism and self-interest of black citizens in the fight against fascism and its racial doctrines. This appeal would have to recognize long standing and well-known grievances of African Americans and offer some immediate resolution to these problems, such as increased access to better housing and improved job prospects. 230 African American newspapers were prime actors in this struggle. Black editors and journalists gave a coherent and organized voice to the legitimate aspirations and grievances of African Americans for decades prior to WWII. In addition, they presented an alternative and more inclusive vision of democracy. The African American Press in World War II: Toward Victory at Home and Abroad shows how they accomplished this goal, and is different from other works in this field because it interprets WWII at home and abroad through the eyes of a diverse black press. Alkebulan shows the wide ranging interest of the press prior to the war and during the conflict. Labor union struggles, equal funding for black education, the criminal justice system, and the Italian invasion of Ethiopia were some of subjects covered before and during the war. Historians tend to write as if the African American press was ideologically homogenous, but, according to Alkebulan, this is not the case. For example, prior to the war, African American journalists were both sympathetic and opposed to Japanese ambitions in the Pacific. A. Philip Randolph's socialist journal The Messenger accurately warned against Imperial Japan's activities in Asia during WWI. There are other instances that run counter to the common wisdom. During World War II the Negro Newspaper Publishers Association not only pursued equal rights at home but also lectured blacks (military and civilian) about the need to avoid any behavior that would have a negative impact on the public image of the civil rights movement. The African American Press in World War II explores press coverage of international affairs in more depth than similar works. The African American press tended to conflate the civil rights movement with the anti-colonial struggle taking place in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Alkebulan demonstrates how George Padmore and W.E.B. Du Bois were instrumental in this trend. While it heightened interest in anti-colonialism, it also failed to delineate crucial differences between fighting for national independence and demanding equal citizenship rights in one's native land.