By the spring of 1941, the enemy had taken much of Southern Europe: Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, and with Italy in the Axis it stood to dominate. The powerful British Naval Fleet and the amassed allied infantry of Britain, New Zealand, Australia, disposed Greeks, and the good people of Crete stood between the Axis powers and total control of the Mediterranean. This is the story of a soldier involved in the defense of Crete. The Luftwaffe commanded the air with their Stuka, Junker...

A biography of the second most successful sniper of the German Wehrmacht and one of the few private soldiers to be honored with the Knights Cross award.An Austrian conscript who qualified as a Wehrmacht machine gunner, Josef "Sepp" Allerberger was drafted to the southern sector of the Russian Front in July 1942. Wounded at Voroshilovsk, he experimented with a Russian sniper-rifle while convalescing and so impressed his superiors with his proficiency that he was retu...

A rare, first-hand account from a Swedish Waffen-SS soldier who fought against the Red Army on the Eastern Front during World War II.Few new personal accounts by Waffen-SS soldiers appear in English; even fewer originate from the multitude of non-German European volunteers who formed such an important proportion of this service's manpower. Twilight of the Gods was originally written in Swedish, and published in Buenos Aires shortly after the end of WWII. It...

The personal memoir of a Nazi soldier, from joining the German Army in 1941 through his time as a Panzer on the Eastern Front.Originally written only for his daughter, Armin Schedierbauer's Adventures in My Youth chronicles his time as a solider during World War II. As an infantry officer with the 252nd Infantry Division, German Army, Schedierbauer saw four years of combat on the Eastern Front.After joining his unit during the winter of 1942, he wa...

An Aussie soldier's diary of the first World War - by turns compelling, illuminating, funny, touching and sad - and absolutely unputdownable.Archie Albert Barwick was an enthusiastic young 24 year old when he joined the First AIF in late August 1914 - his service number was 914. When he learnt that he'd been accepted into the army, he was so happy he turned two somersaults for pure joy. this is his diary, that he kept throughout the war - from Cairo to Gallipoli, from Marseilles thr...

"James is the sort of person they write legends about. A participant in the mass escape that was the basis for the movie The Great Escape." — AudioFileFrom the moment he was shot down to the final whistle, Jimmy James' one aim as a POW of the Germans was to escape. Moonless Night describes his experiences and those of his fellow prisoners in the most gripping and thrilling manner. The author made more than twelve escape attempts including ...

A British infantryman shares his harrowing story of life on the frontlines of WWII, from the North African Campaign to the invasion of Germany.In April 1939, when Bill Cheall joined the famous Yorkshire infantry regiment known as the Green Howards, he could not have imagined the drama, trauma, rewards and anguish that awaited him. But he recounts it all here, in this vivid memoir of service and courage under fire.As a Green Howard, Cheall was on the receivin...

Born into a working-class family in London in 1919, Victor Gregg enlisted in the Rifle Brigade at nineteen, was sent to the Middle East and saw action in Palestine. Following service in the western desert and at the battle of Alamein, he joined the Parachute Regiment and in September 1944 found himself at the battle of Arnhem. When the paratroopers were forced to withdraw, Gregg was captured. He attempted to escape, but was caught and became a prisoner of war; sentenced to death in Dresden...

The memoir of a reluctant soldier coerced into military service by the Nazis and driven from his homeland by the Russians.Following the conquest of his native Latvia by the Nazis, Mintauts Blosfelds was given the stark choice: service in the SS or forced labor in a slave camp. So he "volunteered" to fight for the Nazis.In this memoir he describes his training and how he became an instructor before being sent into Russia. He nearly perished during the terrib...

The first volume of the World War II diaries of Nazi mortar gunner constantly pushed to the brink of death while fighting against Russia.Following his Abitur (A-levels) in 1940, Hans Heinz Rehfeldt volunteered for Germany's Panzer Arm but was trained on the heavy mortar and heavy MG with Grossdeutschland Division.In 1941, he was on the Front fighting for the city of Tula, south of Moscow. Battling in freezing conditions without winter clothes, they resorted...

One of the great war memoirs, now featuring a foreword by the New York Times bestselling author of Matterhorn in time for the centenary of World War I and the Battle of the SommeA worldwide bestseller published shortly after the end of World War I, Storm of Steel is a memoir of astonishing power, savagery, and ashen lyricism. Itilluminates not only the horrors but also the fascination of total war, as seen through the eyes of an ordinary ...

In writing his `one and only' book, George Elder, a proud Geordie, detailed many of his experiences endured whilst serving in the British Army during World War 1. Many of his tales would not have been appreciated by his peers, but they actually happened and would have been recognised by the common soldier. From Geordie Land to No Mans land was written to inform his family, friends and anyone buying his book of the real life events that occurred. How an ordinary man survived 4 years in the ...