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France and Belgium / Paul's Letters to His Kinsfolk

France and Belgium / Paul's Letters to His Kinsfolk

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Isle of Man in the Great War

Isle of Man in the Great War

In August 1914, the Isle of Man was in the middle of a very successful summer season. The tourist industry was crucial to the island, but suddenly holiday-makers left and the Steam Packet vessels that normally brought them were requisitioned. The future was uncertain for those who relied on the season and their pleas for assistance were ignored. For some, the cost of living became impossibly high and without the welfare measures that had been brought about in Britain, many faced destitution. Others however, particularly farmers and those involved with the internment camps, would find war very profitable. The divisions between rich and poor grew creating much social disaffection and a bitter battle for reform was fought. As arguments raged over conscription, taxation, the economy and the housing of enemy aliens, the personalities of the period came to prominence. The unprecedented scenes of direct action and several dramatic court cases are brought to life in this account of how the island began its path to progress. The Isle of Man played an important role in World War One, supplying troops and vessels and running special camps for the internment of enemy. 8,261 men enlisted in the armed forces, which was 82.3% of the Isle of Man’s male population of military age. Of these, 1,165 gave their lives and 987 were wounded. The experience of war significantly impacted on the Island, from the initial enthusiasm for sorting out the German Kaiser in time for Christmas 1914, to the gradual realization of the enormity of human sacrifice the families of the Isle were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. The Great War affected everyone. At home there were wounded soldiers in military hospitals, refugees from Belgium and later on German prisoners of war. There were food and fuel shortages and disruption to schooling. The role of women changed dramatically and they undertook a variety of work undreamed of in peacetime. Extracts from contemporary letters reveal their heroism and give insights into what it was like under battle conditions.

Jochen Peiper: Battle Commander SS Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler

Jochen Peiper: Battle Commander SS Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler

Jochen Peiper was one of the most colourful and ruthless of the unconventional type of leader thrown up by the SS in the Second World War. Notorious for his participation in the massacre of American soldiers at Malmedy in December 1944, he might have felt he had paid the price when he was released from prison in 1957. But as Charles Whiting vividly demonstrates, a grisly end still awaited him.

The Devil's Bridge: The German Victory at Arnhem, 1944

The Devil's Bridge: The German Victory at Arnhem, 1944

This fascinating title offers a new look at Operation Market Garden and the Arnhem campaign from the perspective of the German forces who defended against the Allied offensive. In the late summer of 1944, SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm “Willi” Bittrich found himself in the Netherlands surveying his II SS Panzer Corps, which was in a poor state having narrowly escaped the defeat in Normandy. He was completely unaware that his command lay directly in the path of a major Allied thrust: the September 17, 1944, launch of the largest airborne and glider operation in the history of warfare. Codenamed Operation Market Garden , it was intended to outflank the German West Wall and “bounce” the Rhine at Arnhem, from where the Allies could strike into the Ruhr, Nazi Germany's industrial heartland. Such a move could have ended the war. However, Market Garden and the battle for Arnhem were a disaster for the Allies. Put together in little over a week and lacking in flexibility, the operation became an all-or-nothing race against time. The plan to link the airborne divisions by pushing an armored division up a sixty-five-mile corridor was optimistic at best, and the British drop zones were not only too far from Arnhem Bridge, but also directly above two recuperating SS Panzer divisions. This new book explores the operation from the perspective of the Germans as renowned historian Anthony Tucker-Jones examines how they were able to mobilize so swiftly and effectively in spite of depleted troops and limited intelligence.

The Devil's Bridge: The German Victory at Arnhem, 1944

The Devil's Bridge: The German Victory at Arnhem, 1944

This fascinating title offers a new look at Operation Market Garden and the Arnhem campaign from the perspective of the German forces who defended against the Allied offensive. In the late summer of 1944, SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm “Willi” Bittrich found himself in the Netherlands surveying his II SS Panzer Corps, which was in a poor state having narrowly escaped the defeat in Normandy. He was completely unaware that his command lay directly in the path of a major Allied thrust: the September 17, 1944, launch of the largest airborne and glider operation in the history of warfare. Codenamed Operation Market Garden , it was intended to outflank the German West Wall and “bounce” the Rhine at Arnhem, from where the Allies could strike into the Ruhr, Nazi Germany's industrial heartland. Such a move could have ended the war. However, Market Garden and the battle for Arnhem were a disaster for the Allies. Put together in little over a week and lacking in flexibility, the operation became an all-or-nothing race against time. The plan to link the airborne divisions by pushing an armored division up a sixty-five-mile corridor was optimistic at best, and the British drop zones were not only too far from Arnhem Bridge, but also directly above two recuperating SS Panzer divisions. This new book explores the operation from the perspective of the Germans as renowned historian Anthony Tucker-Jones examines how they were able to mobilize so swiftly and effectively in spite of depleted troops and limited intelligence.

The Devil's Bridge: The German Victory at Arnhem, 1944

The Devil's Bridge: The German Victory at Arnhem, 1944

This fascinating title offers a new look at Operation Market Garden and the Arnhem campaign from the perspective of the German forces who defended against the Allied offensive. In the late summer of 1944, SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm “Willi” Bittrich found himself in the Netherlands surveying his II SS Panzer Corps, which was in a poor state having narrowly escaped the defeat in Normandy. He was completely unaware that his command lay directly in the path of a major Allied thrust: the September 17, 1944, launch of the largest airborne and glider operation in the history of warfare. Codenamed Operation Market Garden , it was intended to outflank the German West Wall and “bounce” the Rhine at Arnhem, from where the Allies could strike into the Ruhr, Nazi Germany's industrial heartland. Such a move could have ended the war. However, Market Garden and the battle for Arnhem were a disaster for the Allies. Put together in little over a week and lacking in flexibility, the operation became an all-or-nothing race against time. The plan to link the airborne divisions by pushing an armored division up a sixty-five-mile corridor was optimistic at best, and the British drop zones were not only too far from Arnhem Bridge, but also directly above two recuperating SS Panzer divisions. This new book explores the operation from the perspective of the Germans as renowned historian Anthony Tucker-Jones examines how they were able to mobilize so swiftly and effectively in spite of depleted troops and limited intelligence.