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Books > Fiction > True stories > War / combat / elite forces
Rob Driscoll, former sergeant with 42 Commando, Royal Marines,
served tours in Iraq, Kuwait and Kosovo. A born leader of fighting
men, he also endured three tours in Afghanistan. The third of those
will go down in history as one of the UK military's darkest hours,
for it marked the first time a British serviceman has been tried
for a murder on the battlefield since the Second World War. That
man was 'Marine A', Sergeant Alexander Blackman, Rob Driscoll's
friend and fellow NCO in 42 Commando, and on the day in question
they were commanding patrols within a few hundred yards of each
other. Few men know what really went on that day in Helmand
Province. Rob Driscoll is one, and, like Blackman, knew only too
well the privations and frustrations of fighting an ubiquitous and
tenacious enemy without sufficient resources and support. Yet
Lethal Shot is more than a compelling insight into one of the most
controversial and divisive cases in recent military history. It is
a clear-eyed account of life on active service with the Royal
Marines, of incursions into war-torn countries where chaos and
anarchy ruled - and of men risking their lives daily only too often
to find that they would not be backed up by politicians at home. In
charting its author's career as a Royal Marine Commando, it
unflinchingly demonstrates the real-life horrors of engaging at
close quarters with enemies such as the Taliban. Rob Driscoll
received a Mention in Despatches for his last tour of 'Afghan', the
citation reading: 'He never bows to fatigue or danger and there is
no doubt that his remarkable acts of selflessness saved a number of
lives for which he deserves significant formal recognition.'
'Essential reading, not just for those interested in the Eastern
Front, but for anyone who wants to understand Russia.' Antony
Beevor, Sunday Times They died in their millions, shattered by
German shells and tanks, freezing behind the wire of prison camps,
driven forward in suicidal charges by the secret police. Yet in all
the books about the Second World War on the eastern front, there is
very little about how the Russian soldier lived, dreamed and died.
Catherine Merridale's discovery of archives of letters, diaries and
police reports have allowed her to write a major history of a
figure too often treated as part of a vast mechanical horde. Here
are moving and terrible stories of men and women in appalling
conditions, many not far from death. They allow us to understand
the strange mixture of courage, patriotism, anger and fear that
made it possible for these badly fed, dreadfully governed soldiers
to defeat the Nazi army that would otherwise have enslaved the
whole of Europe. The experience of the soldiers is set against a
masterly narrative of the war in Russia. Merridale also shows how
the veterans were treated with chilling ingratitude and brutality
by Stalin, and later exploited as icons of the Great Patriotic War
before being sidelined once more in Putin's new capitalist Russia.
This engaging study pits the volunteers of Kitchener's 'New Armies'
against the German veterans who defended the Somme sector in the
bloody battles of July-November 1916. The mighty struggle for the
Somme sector of the Western Front in the second half of 1916 has
come to be remembered for the dreadful toll of casualties inflicted
on Britain's 'New Armies' by the German defenders on the first day
of the offensive, 1 July. The battle continued, however, throughout
the autumn and only came to a close in the bitter cold of
mid-November. The British plan relied on the power of artillery to
suppress and destroy the German defences; the infantry were tasked
with taking and holding the German trenches, but minimal resistance
was anticipated. In the event the defences were damaged but not
destroyed, and small numbers of defenders, many of whom had
garrisoned the Somme sector for many months and knew the ground
well, inflicted appalling casualties on the British attackers. Both
sides incurred major losses, however; German doctrine emphasised
that the first line had to be held or retaken at all costs, a rigid
defensive policy that led to very high casualties as the Germans
threw survivors into ad hoc, piecemeal counterattacks all along the
line.
Featuring specially commissioned full-color artwork and based on
meticulous reassessment of the sources.
The gritty and engaging story of two brothers, Chuck and Tom Hagel,
who went to war in Vietnam, fought in the same unit, and saved each
other's life. One supported the war, the other detested it, but
they fought it together. 1968. It was the worst year of America's
most divisive war. Flag-draped caskets came home by the thousands.
Riots ravaged our cities. Assassins shot our political leaders.
Black fought white, young fought old, fathers fought sons. And it
was the year that two brothers from Nebraska went to war. In
Vietnam, Chuck and Tom Hagel served side by side in the same rifle
platoon. Together they fought in the Tet Offensive, battled snipers
in Saigon, chased the enemy through the jungle, and each saved the
other's life under fire. Yet, like so many American families, one
brother supported the war while the other detested it. Tom and
former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel never set out to be heroes,
but they epitomized the best, and lived through the worst, of the
most tumultuous, amazing, and consequential year in the last half
century. Following the brothers' paths from the prairie heartland
through a war on the far side of the world and back to a divided
America, Our Year of War tells the story of two brothers at war,
serving their divided country. It is a story that resonates to this
day, an American story.
300 million cubic miles of ocean. Stealthy, and deadly, the nuclear
submarines of the Royal Navy lie in wait in the depths of the
world's oceans, ready to listen, intercept, and attack wherever
they may be needed - from the coastline of Libya to the ice caps of
the Arctic. If the UK is hit by a devastating nuclear strike,
they'll be the last military force standing. 200 million pounds of
hardware. Award-winning journalist Danny Danziger has been allowed
unprecedented access to the elite crew of one of the UK's attack
class submarines, joining them on operations and hearing their
stories. Unrestricted, and uncompromising, Sub paints a vivid
picture of this fascinating, little-known branch of our armed
forces. One incredible hunter-killer. In an increasingly unstable
world, these are the people who keep us safe. It is time for the
silent service to be heard.
In this sequel to the hugely-popular This Man's Wee Boy, young Tony
Doherty struggles to come to terms with the murder of his father,
Paddy, on Bloody Sunday and the impact it has on his mother,
Eileen, and his brothers and sisters. At nine years old, he knows a
terrible wrong has been committed against his family but lacks the
understanding or the means to do anything about it - yet. For his
fractured family, life goes on, with Tony determined to preserve
the memory of his father and the bond they shared, even as he
becomes increasingly immersed in the violent conflict raging on
Derry's streets. As the 1970s unfold his father's absence remains
the backdrop to the teenage Tony's newfound friendships and
relationships, an ever-present ache amidst the craic and excitement
of Sunday dances, first kisses and a trip to Butlins. Then, at
seventeen, Tony decides it's time to join the fight.
Nice One Centurion tells the individual personal, funny stories of
men who have served in the RAF & RAF Regiment. All the stories
that have been compiled date from the very beginning of the
formation of the RAF Regiment up to present-day operations. The
reader of this book will be amused and highly entertained at some
of the antics that occurred not only in war, but in peacetime as
well. The fabulous illustrations by Tim Parker highlight what this
book is all about: making a difference with humour. Nice One
Centurion was born out of an idea to help fellow servicemen who
suffer with PTSD. A percentage of the proceeds from this book will
be donated to the RAF Benevolent Fund, Help 4 Heroes, and the RAF
Regiment Museum.
Following the success of Nice One Centurion the second volume in
the Centurion series, 'Are You Tittering Centurion?' chronicles the
true, personal and hilarious antics of an RAF Regiment Gunner and
his fellow Penguin counterparts. Featuring more illustrations from
Tim Parker, this volume continues the tales of the nitty-gritty
life of training, exercises, deployment, war, and the general
mayhem that followed the RAF Regiment wherever it went.Born out of
an idea to help fellow service members who suffer with PTSD, a
percentage of proceeds is going to Help 4 Heroes, the RAF Regiment
Museum and the RAF Benevolent Fund.
Untold secrets of a post-war childhood. A true story of a child
born in war-torn London soon after the Second World War whose early
memories are of the care and security given to him by his
grandmother and a guardian angel who watches over him. At six he
finds out a devastating secret that changes his life. He withdraws
into his own world, searching for understanding and meaning.
Isolated from his family and children of his own age he turns to
his angel for love and guidance but even she cannot save him from
what is to come. Unable to read and write he joins a gang and at
fourteen finds himself before the courts for the first time.
In 1945, as Allied bombers continued their final pounding of
Berlin, the panicking Nazis began moving the assets of the
Reichsbank south for safekeeping. Vast trainloads of gold and
currency were evacuated from the doomed capital of Hitler's
'Thousand-year Reich'. Nazi Gold is the real-life story of the
theft of that fabulous treasure - worth some 2,500,000,000 at the
time of the original investigation. It is also the story of a
mystery and attempted whitewash in an American scandal that
pre-dated Watergate by nearly 30 years. Investigators were impeded
at every step as they struggled to uncover the truth and were left
fearing for their lives. The authors' quest led them to a murky,
dangerous post-war world of racketeering, corruption and gang
warfare. Their brilliant reporting, matching eyewitness testimony
with declassified Top Secret documents from the US Archives, lays
bare this monumental crime in a narrative which throngs with SS
desperadoes, a red-headed queen of crime and American military
governors living like Kings. Also revealed is the authors'
discovery of some of the missing treasure in the Bank of England.
True stories from the frontlines of World War I Published to mark
the centenary of the First World War and of the RSL in 2016, this
is a collection of 100 true stories of Aussie courage from those
who were in the action. The RSL, an Australian icon, has supported
Australian veterans since 1916, pledging that their sacrifices will
never be forgotten. Now from the annals of the RSL come these
compelling yarns and memories, written by diggers for diggers and
capturing the impact of war on those who took part. With eyewitness
accounts ranging from Gallipoli to the Middle East and Western
Front, Australia's Great War is brought to life with humour, pathos
and vivid detail. Discover a rare account of the capture of German
New Guinea, the first Australian action of the war, and experience
the Gallipoli campaign through the diggers' eyes. There's the story
of how a Light Horse patrol daringly slipped through advancing
Turkish troops to warn their mates of danger, a sapper's-eye view
of the battle of Fromelles, how the Melbourne Cup was run on the
Western Front - and so much more. Collected here for the first
time, these stories are a must-read record of World War I.
Aggressive, impetuous, and dauntless, Richard Pape was never going
to sit out the war in a Nazi prison. Captured after going on the
run when his bomber crashed in occupied Holland, his thoughts
turned, at once, to escape. In the most appalling of conditions, he
did not give way. Not only did he send more than 100 coded messages
to the War Office, but he also swapped identities with a fellow
prisoner to make a breakout. His incredible escape was only the
beginning of his struggle for freedom. Hunted by the Nazis across
Europe, for Pape surrender was never an option.
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