Download or read book The Extraordinary Life of Mike Cumberlege SOE written by Robin Knight and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2018-11-10 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first-ever biography of of Lt. Cdr. Mike Cumberlege DSO & Bar, Greek Medal of Honour, murdered in Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Feb/March 1945, recalls a man who was `truly Elizabethan in character-a combination of gaiety and solidity and sensitiveness and poetry with daring and adventurousness-and great courage.' Cumberlege came from a maverick sea-going family. He was highly resourceful and lived by his wits, skippering ocean-going yachts for wealthy Americans before the war. In 1936 he married Nancy; their relationship was close and, with the sea, forms a thread in the book. From 1940 Cumberlege and served in undercover roles in the Royal Navy in Marseilles and Cape Verde and was on the staff of General de Gaulle in London. Posted to Egypt in 1941 in the SOE, he formed a para-naval force of fishing vessels, took part in fighting in Greece, attacked the Corinth Canal, escaped from Crete, was wounded and returned three times to Crete clandestinely. On a second operation to destroy the Corinth Canal in 1943 he was captured. Tortured in Mauthausen concentration camp, he was transferred to Sachsenhausen and spent 21 months in solitary confinement. The book contains unique material gathered from the family and from well-wishers in places as far apart as Ukraine, Australia and the USA.

Download or read book The Great Northern Railway Through Time written by Dale Peterka and published by America Through Time. This book was released on 2016-05-19 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Great Northern Railway Through Time takes us on a tour of the American Northwest―the last American frontier―from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington. The Great Northern opened up the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, the dramatic Cascade Mountains of Washington and the Continental Divide at Marias Pass. President James J. Hill intended the Great Northern to be a freight hauling road, but tourists riding on the GN's premier passenger train, The Empire Builder were delighted by the prairie, the farmland, the Big Sky Country, the mountains, and Glacier National Park. The G.N.'s reputation grew. Today, Amtrak's Empire Builder traverses the same territory. The Great Northern Railway Through Time presents photos taken over the course of seventy five years by photographers of the era. The author has provided ample photo captions pointing out features that have changed over the years and features that have ​stayed the same. The early photos are fresh―never before published. The more recent shots were made by twenty of America's finest rail enthusiast photographers.

Download or read book Target Corinth Canal written by Platon Alexiades and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2015-04-30 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Second World War the Corinth Canal assumed an importance disproportionate to its size. It was the focus of numerous special Allied operations to prevent oil from the Black Sea reaching Italy, to delay the invasion of Crete and severing the vital German supply lines to Rommel's Army in North Africa.German airborne forces occupied the Canal to cut off the ANZAC retreat and Hitler needed the Canal kept open to maintain control of the Aegean Sea. Were this lost, he feared Turkey entering the War on the Allied side.Target Corinth Canal unearths a treasure trove of facts on the little known operations by SOE and other special force units. Heroes such as Mike Cumberlege emerge from the pages of this splendid work of military history.

Download or read book SBS written by John Parker and published by Headline. This book was released on 2013-02-28 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The men of the SBS are the maritime equivalent of their counterparts in the SAS; they are the elite of the British Special Forces and also the most secretive. Although SAS activity has been extensively documented, the SBS has remained in the state it prefers - a shadowy silhouette, with identities protected and missions kept from public view. Formed during the Second World War, when they took part in many daring raids (one of which was filmed as The Cockleshell Heroes), they were active in the jungle campaigns in the Far East, in the Falklands, the Gulf War and Bosnia. Since this seminal book was published in 1997, John Parker has been privy to much more inside information about the SBS's original operations and he brings the book right up to date with accounts of their exploits in East Timor, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Kosovo and most recently in Iraq.

Download or read book SOE The Scientific Secrets written by Fredric Boyce and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-11-08 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of Special Operations Executive (SOE) seems to spring a never-ending run of surprises, and here are some more. This book explores the mysterious world of the tools SOE used for their missions of subversion and sabotage. An often grim reality is confronted that is more akin with the world of James Bond and Q's workshop than previously believed. Written by two scientists, one of whom served in the SOE and one who was tasked with clearing up after it was disbanded; their insider knowledge presents a clear account of the way in which SOE's inventors worked. From high explosive technology to chemical and biological devices; from the techniques of air supply to incendiarism; from camouflage to underwater warfare; and from radio communications to weaponry. SOE: The Scientific Secrets is a revelation about the tools that allowed the murky world of spying and spies to operate during wartime.

Download or read book Ill Met By Moonlight written by W. Stanley Moss and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2014-03-27 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NOW WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY W. STANLEY MOSS'S DAUGHTER GABRIELLA BULLOCK AND AN AFTERWORD BY PATRICK LEIGH FERMOR Ill Met By Moonlight is the true story of one of the most hazardous missions of the Second World War. W. Stanley Moss is a young British officer who, along with Major Patrick Leigh Fermor, sets out in Nazi-occupied Crete to kidnap General Kreipe, Commander of the Sevastopool Division, and narrowly escaping the German manhunt, bring him off the island - a vital prisoner for British intelligence. As an account of derring-do and wartime adventure, made into a classic film starring Dirk Bogarde, Ill Met By Moonlight is one of the most brilliantly written, exciting and compelling stories to come out of the Second World War.

Download or read book Jump Commander written by Mark Alexander and published by Casemate Pub & Book Dist Llc. This book was released on 2012-03-15 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Col. Mark James Alexander was the only airborne officer to lead three different battalions into combat in World War II, successively commanding the 2d and 1st Battalions, 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion, 508 PIR, of the 82nd Airborne Division. A legend in his own time, he fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and France, and even after being seriously wounded in Normandy, insisted on playing a role in the Battle of the Bulge. Airborne Generals Gavin and Ridgway recognized Alexander's superior battle skills and were more than happy to use him to plug holes in the ranks. His reputation excelled among the rank and file, right down to the lowest private. He led from the front, pressing the attack while simultaneously looking out for his men. In Sicily, Alexander's battalion landed 25 miles from its drop zone, into a network of Italian pillboxes, upon which the Colonel personally directed fire, thence captured hundreds of prisoners. Dropped into the desperate inferno at Salerno, he refused to give ground against German counterattacks, forming his paratroopers against enemy efforts to push Allied forces back into the sea. At Normandy one seasoned lieutenant, John "Red Dog" Dolan, 505 PIR, called him "the finest battalion commander I ever served under," after Alexander had led the 1/505 for ten days through the bloody battle for La Fière Bridge and Causeway. Alexander's passion and truest talent was leading men in the field, and he insisted on sharing their risks. On one occasion in Normandy he and his runner (he went through several) were caught behind German lines and encountered a platoon of SS. Opening fire, the Colonel killed or wounded several and brought the rest in as prisoners. An 88mm shell finally got the best of him, shrapnel tearing through his lungs, and while the 82nd was engaged in the Bulge, Alexander was only allowed to run its base camps in France— despite his protests—as General Gavin noted that he was still coughing up blood. This memoir is based on the transcription of hundreds of hours of recorded interviews made by Alexander's grandson, John Sparry, over a period of years late in his life. Providing valuable insight into the beloved commander who led three of the most storied battalions in the US Army, Jump Commander also contains a wealth of new detail on 82nd Airborne operations, and casts insight on some of the most crucial battles in the ETO. This highly readable and action-packed narrative may well be the last remaining memoir to be written in the voice of a major airborne officer of the Greatest Generation.

Download or read book Words of Mercury written by Patrick Leigh Fermor and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-06-03 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A career-spanning anthology from the greatest traveler—and travel writer—of the twentieth century. The adventures of Patrick “Paddy” Leigh Fermor, Britain’s most beloved traveler, began in 1933, when he embarked on a walk from Holland to Constantinople—the entire length of Europe—at the tender age of eighteen. Sleeping in barns, monasteries, and, on occasion, aristocratic country houses, the young adventurer made way his through the Old World just as everything was about to change. Words of Mercury collects pieces from every stage of Leigh Fermor’s life, from his journey through Eastern Europe just before the outbreak of the Second World War—described in gorgeous, meditative detail—to his encounter with voodoo in Haiti, to a monastic retreat to Normandy to try to write a book. Also included is the story of one of his most well-known exploits from the war—his planned and executed kidnap of a German general under British orders. Ever the student, “Paddy” also wrote extensively on his encounters with polymaths, linguists, and artists all over the world. Over the course of his illustrious lifetime, Leigh Fermor wrote several acclaimed travel books, countless essays, translations, and book reviews, many of which are compiled in this anthology. His unique experiences out in the world fed his insatiable curiosity and voracious appetite for scholarship. His tales, written in a singular, elegant style, have inspired generations of writers and continue to shape the language of travel.

Download or read book Historical Dictionary of British Intelligence written by Nigel West and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2014-02-18 with total page 787 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: British Intelligence is the oldest, most experienced organization of its kind in the world, the unseen hand behind so many world events, and glamorized by James Bond. Despite the change in role, from a global power controlling an Empire that covered much of the world, to a mere partner in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union, the country’s famed security and intelligence apparatus continues largely intact, and recognized as “punching above its weight.” Feared by the Soviets, admired and trusted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), British Intelligence has provided the hidden dimension to the conduct of domestic and foreign policy, with the added mystique of Whitehall secrecy, a shroud that for years protected the identities of the shadowy figures who recruited the sources, broke the codes, and caught the spies. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the British Intelligence covers the history through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1,000 cross-referenced entries on specific operations, spies and their handlers, the moles and defectors, top leaders, and main organizations. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the British Intelligence.

Download or read book The Archaeology of Crete written by John D. Pendlebury and published by Biblo & Tannen Publishers. This book was released on 1969-03 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book 3 Para Mount Longdon written by Jon Cooksey and published by Pen & Sword Military. This book was released on 2004 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: June 1982, and in the middle of a South Atlantic winter, the Falklands War is at its height. The Parachute Regiment has already been in action - 2 Para securing a hard fought victory at Darwin-Goose Green at a heavy price in killed and wounded including their CO, Lieutenant Colonel 'H' Jones, later awarded a posthumous VC. Now, two weeks later, as they look up at the long, frost shattered spines of rock which stab the air from the summit of Mount Longdon on the outer ring of the Stanley defences, the 'toms' of 3 Para know it is their turn. As they prepare to assault their objectives - features code named 'wing forward', 'fly half' and 'full back'- the men of 3 Para know they are in for a fight. Just before 'zero' some of them are simply told to pray. This, the first in a new series on Special Operations, tells the story of 3 Para and the often-neglected struggle for Mount Longdon. It was a battle which tested the discipline, comradeship and professionalism of the paras to the limit; it was a battle which witnessed another posthumous VC; it turned out to be the bloodiest battle of the entire Falklands Campaign.

Download or read book Abducting a General written by Patrick Leigh Fermor and published by New York Review of Books. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most daring feats in Patrick Leigh Fermor’s daring life was the kidnapping of General Kreipe, the German commander in Crete, on April 26, 1944. Abducting a General, now published for the first time in the United States, is Leigh Fermor’s own account of the kidnapping. Written in his inimitable prose, and introduced by the acclaimed Special Operations Executive historian Roderick Bailey, it is a glorious firsthand account of one of the great adventures of the Second World War. Also included in this book are Leigh Fermor’s intelligence reports sent from caves deep within Crete, which bring the immediacy of SOE operations vividly alive, as well as the peril under which the SOE and Resistance were operating, and a guide to the journey that Kreipe took, from the abandonment of his car to the embarkation site, so that the modern visitor to Crete can relive this extraordinary trip.

Download or read book Three Letters from the Andes written by Patrick Leigh Fermor and published by John Murray Publishers. This book was released on 2005 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1971 the celebrated traveller Patrick Leigh Fermor accompanied five friends on a remarkable journey into the high Andes of Peru. His adventure took him from Cuzco to Urubamba, on to Puno and Juli on Lake Titicaca, down to Arequipa and finally back to Lima. The expedition was led by a writer and poet and the party included a Swiss international skier and jeweller, a social anthropologist from Provence and a Nottinghamshire farming squire - all seasoned mountaineers. The other two participants - the author himself and a botany-loving duke - were complete novices. As the group travelled from Lima into increasingly remote parts of the country, Leigh Fermor captured their experiences in a series of letters to his wife. Whether recounting the thrill of crossing a glacier, the rigours of campsite life under a blanket of snow, their lively encounters with locals or the strangely moving sight of a lone condor circling in the sky, the author vividly conveys the excitement of discovery and the intense uniqueness of the land.

Download or read book MI5 written by Nigel West and published by Scarborough House. This book was released on 1982 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "MI5 is arguably the most secret and most misunderstood of all government departments. Its enigmatic title - much more than its proper name, the Security Service - stands in the public mind for the dark world of the secret services in general. In reality it has a very specific brief: counter-intelligence. Its object is to combat espionage, sabotage and subversion directed against the UK. Nigel West's book traces the history of MI5 clearly and accurately from its modest beginnings in 1909 until 1945. Many of its operations both at home and abroad are described for the first time."--Source : inconnue.

Download or read book In Tearing Haste written by Patrick Leigh Fermor and published by New York Review of Books. This book was released on 2017-11-14 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback, Patrick Leigh Fermor and Deborah Devonshire's witty, informative, and altogether delightful correspondence. In the spring of 1956, Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, youngest of the six legendary Mitford sisters, invited the writer and war hero Patrick Leigh Fermor to visit Lismore Castle, the Devonshires’ house in Ireland. The halcyon visit sparked a deep friendship and a lifelong exchange of highly entertaining correspondence.

Download or read book The Sabotage Diaries written by Katherine Barnes and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2015-05-01 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on the wartime diaries of Allied soldier and saboteur Tom Barnes, this account of thrilling WWII wartime deeds deep behind enemy lines in Greece is based on fact but reads like fiction. A thrilling read of wartime exploits, daring, intrigue and resourcefulness, The Sabotage Diaries is the astonishing true story of Allied engineer Tom Barnes, who was parachuted behind enemy lines in Greece in October 1942 with a small team of sappers and special operations officers. Their brief was to work with the Greek resistance in sabotage operations against the German and Italian occupation forces. Under-equipped and under-prepared but with courage to spare, their initial mission was to blow up a key railway bridge, cutting Rommel's supply lines to North Africa, where the battle of El Alamein was about to begin. But Operation Harling-as it was known-was only the start of a lengthy and perilous clandestine mission. Written by Tom Barnes' daughter-in-law, award-winning author Katherine Barnes, and drawn from Tom's wartime diaries, reports and letters, plus many other historical sources and first-hand accounts, this is a vivid and gripping tale of the often desperate and dangerous reality behind sabotage operations. 'A thrilling tale that could be straight out of the pages of an action adventure novel ... a remarkable and highly readable tale of a little known World War II operation.' Daily Telegraph 'Think the Guns of Navarone, but for real ... Explosions, mountains, dashing male partisans, dashing female partisans, big fat village weddings, treachery – it's all here in this thrilling and informative salute to an unsung hero of the Second World War.' Sunday Express UK 'Exciting and informative' Hobart Mercury 'The Sabotage Diaries has fantastically broad appeal ... Like a saboteur under the cover of dark, the book will stealthily administer a solid history lesson cloaked in an enthralling personal tale of struggle, success and longing.' Neos Kosmos

Download or read book Fighting Scared written by Robin Horsfall and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2018-01-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robin Horsfall shot and killed one of the leading terrorists inside the Iranian Embassy when the SAS stormed the building. He served with the SAS during the Falklands War and on subsequent counter-terrorist operations. He tells his personal odyssey from boy-soldier to paratrooper with insight and wisdom. His enemies were not just terrorists: he fought the institutionalized brutality of the Parachute Regiment -- and his own inner demons. He learned the difference between physical and moral courage; between officers who expect you to be ready to die for them, and those who actually want you to get killed so they can win a medal. It's an action-packed narrative, but much more than another RAMBO-style romp. Robin reveals some painful truths, not least the ordinary SAS men's view of General de la Billiere and his orders for a kamikaze mission to Argentina. This is the best, no-holds barred, personal account of an SAS trooper ever published.