This WWII journal takes readers inside an elite reconnaissance and raiding unit operating behind enemy lines in the North African campaign.As a young man entering the maelstrom of World War II, Alastair Timpson had the good fortune to find his way into the most romantic of special force units, the Long Range Desert Group. In Rommel's Backyard describes the various roles of the LRDG, all of which involved great daring and endurance deep behind enemy lines. T...

"A very engaging and fine tribute to a small band of men whose impact on the North African campaign in particular was quite immense." —Pegasus ArchiveThis splendid record takes the reader behind enemy lines not only in North Africa but in Italy, the Aegean and the Balkans. The author, who commanded the LRDG, paints a vivid picture of the unit's colorful characters: for example, Ralph Bagnold who put to good use the knowledge he gained from his pre-war desert travels...

The author of Storm Clouds Over the Pacific, 1931–1941 chronicles Japan's dramatic reversal of fortune as Allied forces gained advantage during WWII.In early 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy were advancing on all fronts, humiliating Allied forces throughout the Pacific. In a matter of months, Japan had conquered an area larger than Hitler's empire at its apex. Hawaiians and Australians feared a future under Hirohito. The fate of half of mankind wa...

From the author of D-Day: "an amazing tale of how the world's very first special force was created specifically for North Africa during WWII" ( Books Monthly).The origins of most of the West's Special Forces can be traced back to the Long Range Desert Group, which operated across the limitless expanses of the Libyan Desert, an area the size of India, during the whole of the Desert War from 1940 to 1943. After the defeat of the Axis in North Africa,...

A "moving, exciting and authentic" chronicle of the British Army's legendary recon and raiding unit in the desert of North African during WWII ( The Observer).During its two-and-a-half years fighting in North Africa, from 1940 to 1943, the Long Range Desert Group became the acknowledged master of the desert. This small, highly mobile force made a name for itself through daring exploits and vital reconnaissance far behind enemy lines. Emerging from the depth...

The author of Case White offers an extensive history of German and Soviet armored warfare toward the end of World War II.By 1943, after the catastrophic German defeat at Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht's panzer armies gradually lost the initiative on the Eastern Front. The tide of the war had turned. Their combined arms technique, which had swept Soviet forces before it during 1941 and 1942, had lost its edge. Thereafter the war on the Eastern Front was dominated...

This WWII memoir gives the inside story of Britain's legendary demolition squadron and their daring escapades in Italy and Norther Africa.During the Second World War, a Russian-born emigre named Vladimir Peniakoff emerged as a decorated officer of the British Special Forces in Cairo. Code-named Popski, he started the No. 1 Demolition Squadron—known as Popski's Private Army—charged with thwarting Field-Marshal Rommel's fuel supply in Northern Africa. This is the sto...

The author of Case White: The Invasion of Poland delves into the strategy and weaponry of armored warfare during the early years of the Russo-German War.The German panzer armies that swept into the Soviet Union in 1941 were an undefeated force that had honed their skill in combined arms warfare to a fine edge. The Germans focused their panzers and tactical air support at points on the battlefield defined as Schwerpunkt—main effort—to smash through any defe...

A detailed military biography of the most highly decorated Nazi regimental commander in WWII.The most highly decorated German regimental commander of World War II, Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz first won the Iron Cross in the Great War. He was serving with the 1st Panzer Division when the Polish campaign inaugurated World War II. Strachwitz's exploits as commander of a panzer battalion during the French campaign earned him further decorations before he transferred to th...

A remarkable World War II survival story and combat memoir by "an indestructible wartime tank commander" ( The Telegraph).In campaign after campaign, from the defense of Calais in 1940 to the defeat of Germany in 1945, Bill Close served as a tank commander in Britain's Royal Tank Regiment—and he survived.His tanks were hit eleven times by enemy shellfire and he bailed out. He was wounded three times. He finished the war as one of the most experienc...

An "excellent" history of the often overlooked WWII campaign in which Hitler secured a vital resource lifeline for the Third Reich ( Library Journal).After Hitler conquered Poland and was still fine-tuning his plans against France, the British began to exert control over the coastline of neutral Norway, an action that threatened to cut off Germany's iron-ore conduit to Sweden and outflank from the start its hegemony on the Continent. The Germans responded ...

"Uses modern methods of operational analysis to determine exactly how the Japanese planned and executed the great raid . . . a worthy, useful analysis" ( Naval History).The December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor has been portrayed by historians as a dazzling success. With most American historians concentrating on command errors and the story of participants' experiences, the Japanese attack has never been subjected to a comprehensive critical analysis of t...