Wordsworth military library
3 total works
The little band of military chiefs entrusted with the historic task of the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe were allies, but more often antagonists, scrapping amongst themselves for power and prestige. David Irving reveals the war as the generals lived it.
Field-Marshall Rommel has been described as one of the ten greatest military commanders of all time. This biography of the charismatic leader relies almost entirely on the original of the period. David Irving's exhaustive research has led him to a dusty personnel file on the young Rommel applying - and being turned down - for army commissions, the long-lost "Rommel Diaries", dictated day-by-day to an army corporal and covering two momentous years of his triumphs and defeats in North Africa and numerous other private papers. From them emerges the picture of both an outstanding soldier and military commander, whose tactical genius, brilliance on the battlefields and extraordinary exploits captures the imagination of the world, and Rommel as a husband and father.
During World War II, the beleaguered Russians depended on supplies shipped by the merchant navies of Britain and the USA to maintain their war effort. Under pressure from President Roosevelt, it was decided to run convoys past Nazi-occupied Norway in summer when it was light for 24 hours a day. Convoy PQ17 set out from Iceland in June 1942 and all was going well until it entered the Barents Sea. Then the British Admiralty learnt of the presence of three powerful German warships, and gave the controversial order to the escorting ships to abandon the convoy and for the convoy to scatter. German U-boats and aircrafts pounced. Twenty-four merchant ships out of 35 were sunk a total of 142,000 tons, together with 430 tanks, 210 bombers, 3350 motor vehicles, and 153 seamen lost their lives. This text relates the event.