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Early in 1945 the British Liberation Army (BLA), who had battled
their way from the Normandy beaches to the borders of Germany,
embarked on Operation Eclipse. This was the 'end-game' of the
Second World War, the unique military campaign to invade and
conquer Hitler's Third Reich and liberate 20 million enslaved
nationals from Holland, Denmark and Norway; to free multitudes of
displaced persons (DPs) or slaves; and inter alia to free the
survivors of twenty concentration camps and many Allied POW camps.
The Allied Military Government (AMG) brought law and order to 23
million German nationals in the allocated British zone of
occupation (BAOR) and appropriate retribution too. A thrilling race
with Stalin's Red Army ensued to reach the Baltic. A matter of a
few hours and Denmark and Norway would have been swept into the
evil Soviet empire. The author fought vigorously as a junior RHA
officer in the five great river battles - Rhine, Dortmund-Ems,
Weser, Aller and the Elbe. Soon after VE Day he was the junior
officer in War Crimes Tribunals in Hamburg and Oldenburg and
witnessed Mr Alfred Pierrepoint administering the hanging of prison
camp guards.
Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in April 1889, and shot himself in
a bunker in Berlin in April 1945 with Russian soldiers beating at
the door, surrounded by the ruins of the country he had vowed to
restore to greatness. Adolf Hitler: The Curious and Macabre
Anecdotes - part biography, part miscellany, part historical
overview - presents the life and times of der Fuhrer in a unique
and compelling manner. The early life of the loner son of an
Austrian customs official gave little clue as to his later years.
As a decorated, twice-wounded soldier of the First World War,
through shrewd manipulation of Germany's offended national pride
after the war, Hitler ascended rapidly through the political
system, rousing the masses behind him with a thundering rhetoric
that amplified the nation's growing resentment and brought him the
adulation of millions. By the age of 44, he had become both a
millionaire with secret bank accounts in Switzerland and Holland,
and the unrivalled leader of Germany, whose military might he had
resurrected; six years later, he provoked the world to war. Patrick
Delaforce's book is a masterly assessment of Hitler's life, career
and beliefs, drawn not only from its subject's own writings,
speeches, conversation, poetry and art, but also from the accounts
of those who knew him, loved him, or loathed him. The journey of an
ordinary young man to callous dictator and architect of the 'Final
Solution' makes for provocative and important - thought not always
comfortable - reading.
In this third volume on the progress of the Second World War after
the D-Day landings, Patrick Delaforce examines the final weeks of
World War Two, beyond the Yalta Conference, when the question to be
asked was not who would win, but how to prevent the war dragging on
and also how to prevent Hitler from implementing a scorched earth
policy across the Reichland. Then there was the race to win
territory as the Russians, too, clawed their way across Europe.
Operation Eclipse, begun in March1945, both prevented the Russians
from occupying Denmark in violation of the agreement at Yalta but
also occupied the Kiel naval base. The book also examines events
immediately after the surrender and Hitler's suicide, and the
creation of the short-lived fourth reich under the leadership of
Admiral Donitz. As well as Denmark, the book also covers the
liberations of both Holland and Norway. Most poignant of all, the
liberation of the prisoners of war is covered as well as the
freeing those that had toiled for Hitler against their will, as
slaves. The book ends with the famous war crimes trials and the
beginnings of the Cold War.
Monty's desert legions - 7th Armoured Division, 51st Highland
Division and 50th Northumbrian Division - helped him win at El
Alamein and throughout North Africa, and eventually in North West
Europe after D-Day. Monty's Northern Legions is the story of two
distinguished formations who played significant roles in the
liberation of North West Europe. 50th Tyne Tees Division was a fine
infantry division first blooded at El Alamein and later in Sicily.
Monty gave 50th Division the dangerous honour of attacking on D-Day
in the first wave ashore on 'Gold' Beach. The only D-Day Victoria
Cross was awarded to CSM Hollis of the Green Howards. The division
fought through the Normandy campaign up towards the German border
before disbandment in late 1944. 15th Scottish Division's three
brigades swept into Normandy in Operation 'Epsom', Monty's first
great battle for Caen. They fought their way through France and the
Low Countries and were one of two assault divisions entrusted with
storming across the Rhine in Operation 'Plunder'.
This well researched and well written book covers the early
campaigns and battles that earned The Desert Rats their fame and
name. This volume covers the difficult early years when ultimate
victory was less than certain. The Nazis were victorious on many
fronts and Britain stood alone. Indeed it was at El Alamein that 7
Armoured Division and the rest of Montgomerys Eighth Army turned
the tide. The church bells rang out in Britain and a new spirit was
born. But much fighting lay ahead and many were to die. The
successful completion of the North African campaign led to the
invasion of Sicily and the long slog up Italy. The Desert Rats were
at the forefront of these campaigns. Three Victoria Crosses were
won in the desert and many famous names were associated with the
Division, such as Field Marshal Lord Carver and Major General Pip
Roberts. The Divisions story is told by many first hand
contributions and is the result of painstaking research by the
author who was also a Desert Rat.
On 6 June 1944, Major-General Bernard Montgomery chose his 'Iron
Sides', the famous British 3rd Division, to spearhead the Allied
attack on the Normandy beaches on D-Day. As the only division in
the British Liberation Army to participate in the savage fighting
from D-Day all the way through to VE-Day, the Iron Sides'
contribution to victory in Europe was immense. Their courageous
efforts won them two Victoria Crosses, but the price in lives was
high; the division suffered 15,000 casualties including 2,586
killed in action. The 3rd was probably the most 'British' of all
the divisions fighting in North-West Europe. It included the King's
Own Scottish Borderers, a Highland gunner regiment, the Royal
Ulster Rifles, the two roses of East Yorkshire and South
Lancashire, the East Anglians (Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolns) and the
Midlands (Warwick and Shropshire), besides cockneys from the
Middlesex Regiment and the Recce Regiment from Northumberland.
Following the successful formula adopted in his other divisional
histories, Patrick Delaforce draws on the personal experiences of
privates, NCOs and young officers from the dozen fighting regiments
of the 3rd Division - the words of the soldiers who fought at the
sharp end of war.
The 11th Armoured Division, famous for its Black Bull insignia, was
widely recognized as being among the best armoured divisions in
north-west Europe during the Second World War. This book tells the
story of the Division in the words of the soldiers who fought with
it: of its part in the three ferocious battles in Normandy
Operations EPSOM, GOODWOOD and BLUECOAT, the great Swan to Amiens,
the taking of Antwerp; right flanking for MARKET GARDEN, back-up in
the Ardennes and the final slog into Germany across well-defended
river barriers, to the liberation of Belsen, Lbeck and the Danish
frontier. The Division suffered 10,000 casualties, with almost
2,000 lost in action, and so this is also a story of courage and
the hardships of a winter campaign, of being wounded, comradeship
and fighting fear. Contributions are included from twelve of the
regiments who proudly wore the sign of the Black Bull. Memories
from troop commanders and riflemen, bombardiers and signalmen, tank
crews, troop leaders and from the dashing GOC are brought together
to reveal what life was like at the sharp end. The Black Bull is
liberally illustrated with contemporary photographs showing the
Division in action. It will appeal not only to those who still have
memories of the battles and to those who fought in the Second World
War, but also to readers interested in the day-to-day actions and
thoughts of soldiers in the front line for almost a year.
Beginning on the night of 23 March 1945, Operation Plunder was the
crossing of the River Rhine at Rees, Wesel, and south of the Lippe
River by the British 2nd Army, under Lieutenant-General Miles
Dempsey. At 17:00, 1,300 guns of the 21st Army Group unleashed a
terrific bombardment of the east bank of the Rhine. The
bombardment, continuing for four hours and was the largest
undertaken by the Royal Artillery during the War. This was just the
first phase of Montgomery's plan to cross Hitler's last obstacle to
the attacking forces of the Western Allies-the River Rhine. The
plans were broken into smaller operations, Turnscrew-a diversion
ten miles to the north of where the main attack was to take place
with the assault elements of the 51st (Highland) Division and 9th
Canadian Infantry Brigade; Widgeon-a subordinate operation by 1st
Commando Brigade to capture and hold Wesel; and Torchlight-the
second major operation for 15th Scottish Division to capture the
key area between Bislich and Rees. A fourth-and controversial
component with the benefit of hindsight-was Operation Varsity
consisting of the British 6th Airborne Division and the US 17th
Airborne Division, conducting parachute landings on the east bank
in support of the operation. The American and Canadian forces south
and north of Plunder were part of Field Marshal Bernard
Montgomery's huge army. This was part of a coordinated set of Rhine
crossings and the race to the Baltic.
Commanded by the controversial Major-General Ivo Thomas, the 43rd
(Wessex) Division was branded the Fighting Yellow Devils' out of
respect by its Wehrmacht and Waffen SS opponents. The 43rd's
distinctive divisional badge of a golden Wyvern - half-serpent
half-dragon - was to be seen in all the ferocious battles in
Normandy, the Low Countries and Germany between June 1944 and May
1945. They suffered 12,500 casualties including 3,000 killed in
action. The 43rd had its roots firmly in the West of England,
drawing its infantry battalions from the county regiments of
Cornwall, Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset, Wiltshire and Worcester,
with occasional reinforcements during the Normandy campaign by
'foreign' regiments from Berkshire, Essex and other counties. This
book tells the story of the division's campaign in Northwest
Europe, from Normandy to Bremerhaven, in the words of the soldiers
who actually fought with it: privates, sergeants and young company
commanders, all have their individual tales to tell. Here are
first-hand accounts of the landings on the shores of Normandy; the
battles for the River Odon, Hill 112, Maltot and Mont Pincon; the
break-out to the River Seine and the forcing of the vital
bridgehead at Vernon; the only infantry division to make a
single-handed attempt to relieve Arnhem - a gallant and costly
failure; the clearance of the Roer triangle (Operation Blackcock)
and the Reichswald (Operation Veritable); the crossing of the River
Rhine and the advance northwards to take the port of Bremen; and
the final triumphant advance to the Cuxhaven peninsula northwest of
Hamburg.
The 7th Armoured Division was widely recognized as being the most
powerful in Europe during World War II. Its emblem of a scarlet
desert rat became famous throughout the British Army and to the
war-torn British public as a symbol of heroism in their time of
need. This volume sees the Desert Rats fighting in North Africa,
Burma, Sicily and Italy. Their bravery is relived through the words
of the combatant soldiers - the author has interviewed troopers,
gunners and infantrymen to tell this story of Churchill's favourite
division. Patrick Delaforce fought with the 11th Armoured Division
as a troop leader in Normandy and as FOO in Holland and Germany
during World War II.
In 'Marching to the Sound of Gunfire' scores of soldiers from
almost every echelon of the British Army tell their amazing stories
of life - and death - at the sharp end. In the eleven frenzied
months of warfare that followed D-Day, these soldiers successfully
drove the Nazi hordes back into their Fatherland, and beat them
into surrender. There are stories from the 'poor bloody infantry'
with their machine-gunners, mortar men, stretcher bearers and
pioneers; the brave assault troops who stormed the Normandy beaches
and forced bridgeheads over rivers and canals in four countries;
the outgunned 'tankies' in their Shermans, Cromwells and
Churchills, slogging it out against the mighty German Tigers and
Panthers, and the fearsome dug-in 'eighty-eights'; the dashing
recce types in their thin-skinned armored cars and carriers,
sending back vital radio reports; the sappers building bridges and
clearing minefields under fire; the gunners with their dedicated
FOOs bringing down furious and accurate barrages; the signalers,
patching up communication links; the non-combatant
stretcher-bearers picking up the dead and dying from the
battlefield, their Red Cross armbands no guarantee of immunity from
fire; the RAMC doctors and orderlies tending the wounded in their
RAP under the most terrible conditions; the immediate support
services of the RASC, bringing up vital food and ammunition for the
morrow; and the REME repairing armored vehicles to fight another
day.
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