"A year of a man and his motorcycle during WW2 . . . The guy was catapulted from teenager to soldier in a few short bounds." — War History OnlineIn 1944, Ray Mitchell landed in Normandy with his unit 41 Royal Marine Commando. His role in bringing the Third Reich to its knees was that of despatch rider. Often operating alone in totally unfamiliar and hostile terrain, he and his motorbike delivered vital messages to forward units. This is a fighting soldier's...

In the bitter winter of 1947, in a train rattling through the bleak flatlands of eastern England, a small boy clutches his teddy bear and wonders what the new school he has been shipped off to will prove to be like. Meanwhile on another train, a young man fresh from war service is heading gloomily towards the same, destination, where he hopes to escape from a confused sexual past and start a new life as a schoolmaster. Little do either imagine what horrors the brutal regime of Saint Eusebi...

"If you survive your first day, I'll promote you."So promised George Wilson's World War II commanding officer in the hedgerows of Normandy -- and it was to be a promise dramatically fulfilled. From July, 1944, to the closing days of the war, from the first penetration of the Siegfried Line to the Nazis' last desperate charge in the Battle of the Bulge, Wilson fought in the thickest of the action, helping take the small towns of northern France and Belgium building by building....

How the miracle on the beaches saved a nation. A gripping account of one of the most famous episodes of the Second World WarIn May 1940 British and Allied troops on mainland Europe were in a perilous situation: cut off and surrounded, at the conclusion of the bloody Battle of France they faced complete annihilation. It would be a devastating blow, handing Europe to the Nazis.But over a few frantic days, the greatest evacuation in history managed to salvage hope, saving the ...

Here are thirty true and graphic accounts of the most heroic SAS and special-forces missions ever undertaken into the most dangerous place of all - behind enemy lines. Bang up to date, this unputdownable collection includes the most recent operations into Iraq in 2003, Afghanistan and Bosnia, and features the entire range of special forces from SAS, Commandos and Rangers to Navy SEALS and Paratroopers.Also included are several accounts that lift the veil - clandestine 'eyes-only' o...

In 1942 radar expert Jack Nissenthall volunteered for a suicidal mission to join a combat team who were making a surprise landing at Dieppe in occupied France. His assignment was to penetrate a German radar station on a cliff above “Green Beach”. Because Nissenthall knew the secrets of British and US radar technology, he was awarded a personal bodyguard of sharpshooters. Their orders were to protect him, but in the event of possible capture lo kill him. .His choice was to succeed or die. T...

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...

The first thrilling instalment in a legendary historical adventure series.Paris, 1307. The Knights Templar have been destroyed by Pope Clement, having been persuaded by a jealous king that they are corrupt devil worshippers. There is one survivor a knight who swears vengeance.Devon, 1316. A charred body is discovered in a burned-out cottage, and newly appointed Bailiff, Simon Puttock, believes it to be accidental. Until the new master of ...

6 June 1944: the day Allied forces crossed the Channel and began fighting their way into Nazi-occupied Northwest Europe. Initiated by airborne units and covered by air and naval bombardment, the Normandy landings were the most ambitious combined airborne and amphibious assault ever attempted. Their success marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.Drawing on thousands of hours of eyewitness testimony recorded by the Imperial War Museum, Forgotten Voices ...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Rutherford brings England’s New Forest to life” (The Seattle Times) in this companion to the critically acclaimed SarumFrom the time of the Norman Conquest to the present day, the New Forest, along England’s southern coast, has remained an almost mythical place. It is here that Saxon and Norman kings rode forth with their hunting parties, and where William the Conqueror’s son Rufus was mysteriously killed. T...

"A superb and well written book, highly recommended as a true account of one man's war from Pegasus Bridge to the Baltic during WWII." —The ArmourerAlthough strictly forbidden to keep diaries, Denis Edwards managed to record his experiences throughout nearly all his time in Europe in 1944–45. He brilliantly conveys what it was like to be facing death, day after day, night after night, with never a bed to sleep in nor a hot meal to go home to. This is warfare in the ...

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...