Download or read book Strafer Desert General written by N.S. Nash and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2013-09-18 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unexpectedly selected by Churchill to command 8th Army in 1942 in place of the sacked Auchinleck, 'Strafer' Gott was targeted by German intelligence as he flew to Cairo to take up his new post. Six ME109s intercepted his aircraft and, after shooting it down, deliberately machine-gunned the crash scene. Gott became the only Allied general to be successfully targeted by the Germans and, as a result, Montgomery was given command and the rest is history.??But as this long overdue and well researched biography reveals, 'Strafer' deserves to be remembered for his exceptional?talents, meteoric career and record of gallantry. As a young officer in The Great War he won the Military Cross (many thought a VC would have been more appropriate) and he repeatedly attempted to escape. In 1939 he was commanding his Battalion as a Lieutenant Colonel and two years later he became a Lieutenant General. He was recognised as a superb Desert General whose aggression, originality and leadership qualities were supported by charm, warmth and compassion.??While it is fascinating, if unproductive, to surmise what would have happened had Gott and not Monty fought Rommel, it can be confidently said that relations with our allies would have benefitted.??Drawing on primary source material, this first biography of an outstanding soldier and commander is not only a rewarding and revealing read but an important addition to the bibliography of the Second World War.???As featured in the Dover Express, Ashford Herald and Folkestone Herald.
Download or read book Strafer Desert General written by N. S. Nash and published by . This book was released on 2013-09-18 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unexpectedly selected by Churchill to command 8th Army in 1942 in place of the sacked Auchinleck, ''Strafer'' Gott was targeted by German intelligence as he flew to Cairo to take up his new post. Six ME109s intercepted his aircraft and, after shooting it down, deliberately machine-gunned the crash scene. Gott became the only Allied general to be successfully targeted by the Germans and, as a result, Montgomery was given command and the rest is history. But as this long overdue and well researched biography reveals, ''Strafer'' deserves to be remembered for his exceptional talents, meteoric career and record of gallantry. As a young officer in The Great War he won the Military Cross (many thought a VC would have been more appropriate) and he repeatedly attempted to escape. In 1939 he was commanding his Battalion as a Lieutenant Colonel and two years later he became a Lieutenant General. He was recognised as a superb Desert General whose aggression, originality and leadership qualities were supported by charm, warmth and compassion. While it is fascinating, if unproductive, to surmise what would have happened had Gott and not Monty fought Rommel, it can be confidently said that relations with our allies would have benefitted. Drawing on primary source material, this first biography of an outstanding soldier and commander is not only a rewarding and revealing read but an important addition to the bibliography of the Second World War. As featured in the Dover Express, Ashford Herald and Folkestone Herald.
Download or read book The Desert Generals written by Correlli Barnett and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2011-07-14 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A classic account of the Desert Campaign of 1940-43, by a renowned military historian. The distinguished historian Correlli Barnett gives here a complete and full account of the Desert Campaign 1940-43, an epic story set in a wasteland where soldiers fought for victory in a tumult of mechanical warfare. But THE DESERT GENERALS is also the story of five men under the strain of command in battle, the commanders who successively led the Allied forces against first the Italians and then the Germans in the ebb and flow of the desert war, culminating in the myth of Montgomery and the battle of Alamein, a myth that Correlli Barnett sets out to expose as ill-founded. Brilliantly written, THE DESERT GENERALS captures at every level the intensity and human drama of a unique and compelling episode in the history of war and warfare.
Download or read book Yank written by and published by . This book was released on 1942 with total page 1076 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book In the Service of the Emperor written by N.S. Nash and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2022-09-21 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The expansion of the Japanese Empire between 1931 until its defeat in 1945 is one of the most extraordinary yet shocking episodes in human history. Extraordinary in that a relatively non-industrialised island nation was prepared to go to war, concurrently, with China, the most populous country, Great Britain with its world-wide empire and the USA, the wealthiest and most powerful country on earth. Shocking, as those 'in the service of the Emperor’ practiced persistent and unrestrained brutality as they conquered and occupied swathes of South East Asia. But, as this superbly researched work reveals, there is no denying their fighting and logistical expertise. The author examines the political, economic and strategic effects of the rapid Japanese expansion and explores the cult of deity that surrounded the Emperor. The contribution of the Allied forces and their leadership is given due attention. When retribution duly came, it was focussed on the military leadership responsible for unspeakable atrocities on their military and civilian victims. The physical perpetrators remaining largely unpunished. Japan, today, has still not acknowledged its wartime guilt. The result is an authoritative, balanced and highly readable account of a chapter of world history that must never be forgotten.
Download or read book The Siege that Changed the World written by N S Nash and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2021-09-15 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating account of the dramatic events leading up to the Siege and the four month siege itself. The Siege of Paris from September 1870 to the city’s capitulation in January 1871 was the result of Louis Napoleon III, Emperor of France’s disastrous decision to declare war on Prussia. The Prussian Army of King William I proved vastly superior to their adversaries. After victories at Metz and Sedan, the Prussians marched on Paris virtually unopposed. By 19 September the city was encircled with the population discontented, disillusioned and rebellious. Civil disorder was rife as starvation took a grip. On the inevitable surrender in late January and the declaration of the German Empire, France’s humiliation was complete. This in turn led to the temporary establishment of the Paris Commune an embryonic communist government, and civil war. As well as providing a vivid description of the siege and fighting, the author of this well researched account analyses the long-term effects be they social, military and political both on France and wider Europe. He argues that while the siege was not particularly costly in terms of human life, its legacy was the reduction of French global influence, the growth of German militarism, the evolution of international communism and changes in the world order.
Download or read book Betrayal of an Army written by N. S. Nash and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-10-14 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The British invasion of Mesopotamia was initially successful in securing the oil fields around Basra by November 1914.Despite evidence of stiffening Turkish resistance and inadequate supply lines which relied solely on the River Tigris, the Expeditionary Force was disastrously ordered to advance on Baghdad under the command of the ambitious, capable but flawed Major General Charles Townshend. After a pyrrhic victory at Ctesiphon in November 1915 the British were forced to withdraw to Kut. After a five month siege Townshend had little option but to surrender due to heavy losses and inadequate supplies.Such was the humiliation and loss of life that the British Parliament ordered a Mesopotamia Commission to be set up. This attributed responsibility and blame to the toxic combination of incompetent leadership and wholesale military misjudgement.This fine book re-examines the circumstances and personalities that brought about such a disastrous and costly outcome to a classic example of mission creep.
Download or read book Hunger written by N S Nash and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2023-11-01 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the ages, more combatants and civilians have died in war of the effects of starvation and resulting disease than have been killed by bullet or bomb. The author of this fascinating work argues that, over the last 160 years, conflicts have been decided not just on the battlefield but by the denial of an adversarys access to food. The starvation that followed led to military indiscipline, social unrest, and a failure of governance. Numerous examples prove his point, not least Germany in 1919. The Union blockade of the Confederacy in 1861 was a major factor in the outcome of the Civil War as was the American strategy against Japan in 1943-1945. The fates of besieged forces both at Vicksburg in 1863 and the British at Kut in 1916 were sealed when control of their respective supply routes was lost. Churchills fears over Hitlers U-boat campaign were well justified. Logistics is a modern word, but it describes a fundamental element of generalship, amply demonstrated at Metz in 1870 when logistic illiteracy resulted in a vast and hitherto undefeated French army having no option but to surrender. This thought-provoking book vividly demonstrates that extreme hunger is the precursor to starvation and, consequently, almost inevitable defeat. It proves that deprivation of food is a potent weapon that no commander can ignore.
Download or read book Logistics in the Vietnam Wars 1945 1975 written by N.S. Nash and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2022-01-28 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of the supply methods implemented by combatants in the Vietnam Wars in the mid-twentieth-century, and the aftermath. The combatants in the three Vietnam wars from 1945 to 1975 employed widely contrasting supply methods. This fascinating book reveals that basic traditional techniques proved superior to expensive state of the art systems. During the Indochina or “French” war, France’s initial use of wheeled transport and finally air supply proved vulnerable given the terrain, climate, and communist adaptability. The colonial power gave up the unequal struggle after the catastrophic defeat at Dien Bien Phu. To stem the advance of Communism throughout the region, the Americans stepped in to support the pro-Western South Vietnam regime and threw vast quantities of manpower and money at the problem. The cost became increasingly unpopular at home. General Giap’s and Ho Chi Minh’s ruthless use of coolies most famously on the Ho Chi Minh Trail proved resistant to carpet-bombing and Agent Orange defoliation. The outcome of the final war between the Communist North Vietnam and the corrupt Southern leadership, now with minimal U.S. support, was almost a forgone conclusion. The author is superbly qualified to examine these three wars from the logistic perspective. His conclusions make for compelling reading and will be instructive to acting practitioners and enquiring minds. Praise for Logistics in the Vietnam Wars “The author has provided the best analysis of logistics through the Vietnam Wars to be published. The battle for independence from French rule began as the Japanese were being driven out of Indo China. Logistics were one of the critical keys to eventual victory.—Very Highly Recommended.” —Firetrench
Download or read book Churchill and the Generals written by Barrie Pitt and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2004-06-30 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book vividly brings alive the dramatic situation facing Europe and the Allies after the loss of Dunkirk. Churchill and his generals - Alexander, Brooke, Wavell and Montgomery - were faced with many disasters that required courageous decisions in order to pursue their aim of victory. This is the inside story of the situations they faced, the decisions they made and the outcome of those choices. An incredible portrayal of the courage, the nerve and the commitment of those brave men who affected the course of history.
Download or read book South Africans versus Rommel written by David Brock Katz and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-11-15 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After bitter debate, South Africa, a dominion of the British Empire at the time, declared war on Germany five days after the invasion of Poland in September 1939. Thrust by the British into the campaign against Erwin Rommel’s German Afrika Korps in North Africa, the South Africans fought a see-saw war of defeats followed by successes, culminating in the Battle of El Alamein, where South African soldiers made a significant contribution to halting the Desert Fox’s advance into Egypt. This is the story of an army committed somewhat reluctantly to a war it didn’t fully support, ill-prepared for the battles it was tasked with fighting, and sent into action on the orders of its senior alliance partner. At its heart, however, this is the story of men at war.
Download or read book Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery 1887 1976 written by Colin F. Baxter and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1999-10-30 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the desperate summer of 1942, Hitler seemed to be on the verge of victory in Russia and the Middle East. With Rommel nearing Cairo, a little known lieutenant-general, Bernard Montgomery, took charge of what Churchill called a baffled and bewildered British 8th Army. Assuming command, Montgomery issued his famous order, Here we will stand and fight;...If we can't stay here alive, then let us stay here dead, and led the Army to one of the Allies' greatest victories—El Alamein. Monty became an instantly recognizable Allied leader, but as a man with strong views, unbending principles, and outspoken frankness, he was both loved and disliked, praised and criticized. This bibliography presents and evaluates the extensive body of literature that has grown up around the controversial Field Marshal. Any serious study of World War II military campaigns must confront Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, an individualist with both admirers and detractors. This book provides an extensive historiographical overview of the literature in Part I and a bibliography of significant works in Part II. It is a basic reference and research guide for the student, scholar, and general reader.
Download or read book Our War written by Christopher Somerville and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2020-04-16 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Never heard before real stories of soldiers who fought in WW2 'Extraordinary ...If they had not made our war their war also, victory might not have come in 1945' DAILY TELEGRAPH In this powerful and moving narrative, Christopher Somerville skilfully links personal testimonies to present an epic which embraces comedy and tragedy, pride and degradation, close comradeship and stark racial prejudice, devotion to the benign Mother Country and a burning desire to see the back of her. Many of the veterans had never previously talked of their experiences, even to close loved ones. They cover such topics as attitudes to Britain before and after the war, why Commonwealth citizens offered to fight, and how some volunteers were inspired by their wartime service while others were thoroughly disillusioned. The result is a rare and faithful memoir to the five million Commonwealth citizens who fought for the Allies and the 170,000 who died or went missing.
Download or read book Third Reich Victorious written by Peter G Tsouras and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2016-11-30 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: War is a deadly game of chance where a single detail or decision can have far-reaching consequences. What if Hitlers generals had captured the cream of the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk? What if Turkey had sided with Germany and smashed through Russias' back door to claim the prized Caucasus oil fields? What if Rommel had driven the British back into the sea on D-Day and the Luftwaffe had defeated the RAF in the Battle of Britain. The Allies could have lost the Second World War in many ways, and ten noted historians show clearly how in this collection of fascinating, provocative scenarios, based on meticulous research. By turns gripping and chilling, Third Reich Victorious offers a fresh insight into the vagaries of war that can make all the difference between the victor and the vanquished.
Download or read book Deceiving Hitler written by Terry Crowdy and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-12-20 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the war against Hitler, the Allies had to use every ounce of cunning and trickery that they possessed. Combining military deceptions with the double-agent network run by the intelligence services, they were able to send the enemy misleading information about Allied troops, plans and operations. From moving imaginary armies around the desert to putting a corpse with false papers floating in the Mediterranean, and from faking successful bombing campaigns to the convoluted deceptions which kept part of the German forces away from Normandy prior to D-Day, Terry Crowdy explores the deception war that combined the double-agent network with ingenious plans to confuse and hoodwink the Führer.
Download or read book Gazala 1942 written by Ken Ford and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-03-15 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Illustrated by contemporary photos and specially commissioned maps, this book is a fascinating account of Rommel's greatest victory. Following a lull in the desert war which saw the Germans and British reinforce their armies, Rommel suddenly attacked British fortifications with an assault on the northern sector of the British line near Gazala. Pinning down the British in the north and outflanking the 1st Free French Brigade, Rommel succeeded in encircling the main British positions, trapping them in what became known as 'The Cauldron'. With thousands of British soldiers killed or taken prisoner, this was a devastating defeat for the Allies. Accompanied by contemporary photographs and maps depicting the movement of both armies, Ken Ford provides a masterful study of Rommel, the 'Desert Fox', at the height of his powers as he swept the British army back to the site of their final stand at El Alamein.
Download or read book The Invasion of Sicily 1943 written by Jon Diamond and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2017-08-30 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With victory in North Africa complete, the Allies had a choice. The Americans wanted an early cross channel attack from Britain on North West Europe. Churchill favored invading the soft underbelly of Italy to weaken the Axis forces and gain Italian surrender. With Eisenhowers army and battle-hardened Eighth Army in North Africa, Churchill prevailed.The ambitious Operation HUSKY required meticulous planning. Montgomery's Eighth Army and Patton's Seventh landed successfully although the air landing proved costly. While the outcome was not in doubt the mountainous terrain acted in the defenders favor. The German presence was higher than expected and the vast bulk of the enemy were Italian. In little over a month, the first Americans reached Messina.The strategic plan was successful: the Italian capitulated, Hitler had to reinforce his Southern flank relieving pressure on the Soviets and valuable lessons were learned by Allied for D-Day.
