Showing titles in World War II

General George S. Patton Jr. is one of the most successful yet misunderstood figures in American military history. Despite the many books and articles written about him, none considers in depth how his love of history shaped the course of his life. In this thematic biography, Furman Daniel traces Patton’s obsession with history and argues that it informed and contributed to many of his successes, both on and off the battlefield. Most scholars have overlooked this element of Patton’s character, which Daniel argues is essential to understanding the man’s genius.

Most histories of the US Army in World War II view the Mediterranean Theater of Operations primarily as a deadly training ground for very green forces, where lessons learned on the beaches of Oran, in the hills of the Kasserine Pass area, and at the collapse of the Tunis bridgehead all contributed to later success in Western Europe. Steven Barry, however, contends that victory in the MTO would not have materialized without the leadership of battalion-level commanders. They operated at a high level, despite the lack of combat experience for themselves and their troops.

Stilwell and Mountbatten in Burma explores the relationship between American General Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell and British Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten in the China-Burma-India Theater (CBI) and the South East Asia Command (SEAC) between October 1943 and October 1944, within the wider context of Anglo-American relations during World War II. Jonathan Templin Ritter discusses the military, political, and diplomatic aspects of Anglo-American cooperation, the personalities involved, and where British and American policies both converged and diverged over Southeast Asia.

General George S. Patton remains a household name to this day even though he died decades ago. Not only was he a brilliant military commander, he was also a forceful personality and a flamboyant human being whose strong character led him through many difficulties. This biography aims to tell Patton's story in a captivating manner that will bring him to life for the education and enjoyment of young and old.

On August 18, 1945, US Army Sergeant Anthony J. Marchione bled to death in the clear, bright sky above Tokyo. Marchione, a gunner in the US Air Force, died, like so many before him in World War II, quietly, cradled in the arms of a buddy. Though tragic, Marchione's death would have been no more notable than any other had he not had the dubious distinction of being the last American killed in World War II combat.

>In the months before Pearl Harbor, Kerns had passed the Army's flight training admission exam with flying colors. But because he lacked a high school diploma, the Army refused to give him flying lessons. Undaunted, Private Kerns took lessons with a civilian flying school and was actually scheduled for his first solo flight on the afternoon of December 7, 1941. Notwithstanding his lack of diploma, Kerns graduated from Officer Candidate School and then completed flight training in the L-4 Piper Cub in late 1942.

Known by his troops in World War II as "The GI General" because of his close identification with the men under his command, Omar Bradley commanded the U.S. Twelfth Army Group in Europe. By the spring of 1945, this group contained four field armies, 12 corps, 48 divisions, and more than 1,300,000 men, the largest exclusively American field command in U.S. history.

October 6, 1944. Twenty-year-old Army Air Corps Second Lieutenant David "Mac" Warren MacArthur was on a strafing mission over Greece when a round of 88-mm German anti-aircraft flak turned his P-38 Lightning into a comet of fire and smoke. Dave parachuted to safety as the Lightning lived up to her name and struck the Adriatic Sea like a bolt of flames. In minutes, he was plucked from the water - only to find himself on the wrong end of a German rifle pointing straight at his head.

The Final Flight of Maggie's Drawers is the true story of Joe Maloney, a B-24 tail gunner during WWII. HIs story unfolds as he describes, in detail, life in the military, from living in a tent city to countless bombing runs over Nazi-held Europe.

Virginia Hall was the spy the Nazis couldn’t catch. Operating behind enemy lines with a wooden leg she nicknamed “Cuthbert,” Hall organized sabotage missions, trained the French Resistance, and sent life-saving intelligence to the Allies. Despite being hunted by the Gestapo, she returned to France again and again—risking everything to liberate a country that wasn’t her own.

Nancy Wake was a brave woman. She risked her life behind enemy lines during the Nazi occupation of France in the Second World War. The Gestapo dubbed her “The White Mouse” for her uncanny ability to evade their traps. When it became too dangerous, she left France—not to flee—but to join the resistance. Before the war, Nancy lived a life of luxury with her husband, a wealthy French industrialist.

This second of three volumes of Patton’s War picks up where the first one left off, examining General George S. Patton’s leadership of the U.S. Third Army. The book follows Patton’s contributions to both the Normandy and Brittany campaigns—the closing of the Falaise Pocket in Normandy, and racing to the port cities in Brittany. It ends with Patton and his corps rescuing the besieged town of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge. As he did in the preceding volume, Hymel relies not only on Patton’s diaries and letters, but countless veteran interviews, sur­veys, and memoirs.

De danske jøder flygtede over hals og hoved i oktober 1943 og måtte de forlade deres hjem, ejendele, formue, arbejde, virksomheder osv. uden varsel. Bogen følger en række familiers skæbne og fortæller den hidtil ukendte historie om jødernes hjemkomst. Hvad skete der, mens de var væk, og hvordan blev de taget imod, da de vendte hjem i 1945? Af danskerne som medmennesker og af den danske stat. Det er fortællingen om, at Danmark også her var et særtilfælde under Holocaust, men også en rystende historie om svigt og misbrug.

Under besættelsen var det danske politi aktivt frem til 1944, hvor det blev interneret af tyskerne. De cirka 30 medlemmer arbejdede effektivt og diskret og førte til flere likvideringer af danske modstandsmænd. Niels-Birger Danielsen og Erland Leth Pedersen fortæller den rystende historie om Svend Staal-gruppen og dens mange ugerninger og forbrydelser mod deres eget folk og de frygtelige konsekvenser, deres forræderi fik for de mennesker, der satte livet på spil for deres land.

EJ Johnson's story of nine young men who overcame unbelievable odds with the 8th Air Force 490th Bomb Group flying missions over Germany during the 1944-1945 era of World War II - and lived to tell about it. After qualifying as a navigator in the Army Air Corps during World War II, E.J. Johnson went on to serve with the 490th Bomb Group of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. His crew led by Pilot Roy Hann, flew some of the most harrowing campaigns of the war including many to Berlin, the heart of the German war machine.

Med Fortrængt grusomhed. Danske SS-vagter 1941-45 dokumenteres det for første gang med udgangspunkt i hidtil ukendt materiale fra danske og udenlandske arkiver, at danske SS-frivillige deltog i krigs- og folkedrabsforbrydelser de nazistiske koncentrationslejre. Nogle danskere blev uddannet og trænet i vold direkte ved kz-lejre som Sachsenhausen, Dachau og Neuengamme, andre blev overført til vagttjeneste i kz-lejre efter at have været sårede ved fronten.

Born in Germany in 1922, Colin Anson's (Claus Ascher) childhood was marked by the trials of Nazism. His father was arrested by the Gestapo in 1937 and transported to Dachau, where he died shortly after. Colin, aged just seventeen, escaped to Britain in the Kindertransport. As soon as he was old enough, Colin volunteered in the Pioneer Corps. Then, in 1942, he was recruited for the elite commando unit X-Troop. Colin took part in the invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943, where he sustained a near-fatal injury. But just months later, he returned to duty.

British Heroes of World War II: True Stories of Individual Bravery from the Battlefields of World War II tells the incredible true stories of men and women whose bravery left a lasting impact on the Allies' victory. From covert operations behind enemy lines to heroic acts in fierce battlefield confrontations, these stories showcase the unbreakable human spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Dive into a riveting historical journey that reveals the courageous triumph of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, even if history tried to silence them. Have you ever wondered about the unsung heroes who dared to stand against tyranny? Does mainstream history leave you yearning for compelling stories of the figures who defied the odds? Are you searching for an engaging narrative that will challenge your intellect and resonate deeply with your sense of justice?

The untold WWII story of a former NFL player turned White House insider who worked with Churchill’s undercover agents in New York City to conduct the biggest foreign spy operation ever within the US, and inspired Ian Fleming's James Bond, for fans of Ben Macintyre and Erik Larson. As a tough...