Summer 1942, and the nascent French Resistance is asking the Allies for help as they become increasingly active against the German occupiers. Their requests for arms and equipment are urgent, but the Allies are hesitant to respond until they know more about the willingness of the French to fight. The decision is made to parachute special operatives – Jedburghs – into France to determine the state of the Resistance. The Jedburghs follows one of these clandestine three-person commando team attached to the super-secret British Special Operations command. The team parachutes into Nazi-occupied France to lead the local Resistance forces in conducting sabotage and guerrilla warfare against the German occupiers in a deadly kill or be killed series of sabotage operations. The specially selected team members – a combat-hardened U.S. Marine, a tough-as-nails French commando, and a female French émigré out for revenge – must first undergo a series of tests and field operations to determine if they have what it takes to be a behind-the-lines agent. In the process they develop an unbreakable bond of loyalty that unites them as they lead the fractious members of the Resistance against the battle-hardened Germans and face the ultimate test of loyalty when one of their number is captured.

This second of two volumes recounts the WWII history of B Company, 756th Tank Battalion in vivid detail. The outfit, since upgraded from M5 light tanks to M4 'Sherman' mediums, claws through some of the toughest battles of WWII – from a horrific stalemate at Cassino in February 1944, through the bloody Operation Diadem May breakout, to the stunning capture of Rome on 4th June 1944. This unique multi-volume history covers the full spectrum of experiences of the men in one tank company from inception in June 1941 through the occupation of Germany in 1945. An American tank company in WWII consisted of only five officers and approximately 100 enlisted men – all living, travelling and fighting in seventeen tanks, two jeeps, one truck, one half-track and one tank retriever. Uniting the official record with the rich, personal accounts of the participants, this volume sweeps the reader along a highly detailed and shocking journey chronicling the evolution of American armour doctrine and tank design from June 1941 through to VE Day. The B Company tankers often fought at a disadvantage – struggling to survive a myriad of battlefield challenges and triumph against enemy armour better armed and better protected. What was once envisioned as a warfare of sweeping armoured formations managed by West Point lieutenant colonels and ROTC captains quickly devolved into small unit street fights relying more and more on the initiative, resourcefulness and cunning of lowly OCS lieutenants and combat-seasoned sergeants. The journey is long, unforgiving and brutal, and 47 tankers would be lost along the way.

Michael Crescenz grew up in one of Philadelphia’s booming post-war Catholic neighbourhoods, distinguishing himself early on as a leader, brother and friend who fearlessly rose to the defense of others in need. The second of six sons born to a World War II veteran, Michael was known for his big smile, athletic abilities, toughness and fierce competitive spirit. Growing up, Michael’s world revolved around his family, parish, local playgrounds, and the bustling Catholic schools he attended from first grade through high school graduation. All these influences shaped the man he would become – the one who felt a sense of duty to serve his country and enlisted in the U.S. Army to do his part during the Vietnam War. He was in Vietnam barely two months when his unit, the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, was sent into battle against deeply entrenched enemy forces on Nui Chom Mountain, the fortress in the clouds tucked away in the far northwest corner of South Vietnam near the borders with North Vietnam and Laos. Commanders knew they were in for a fight, but didn’t know the enemy had more than 250 machine gun bunkers deployed along the mountain’s slopes. On November 20, 1968, Alpha Company was ambushed on the wet jungle mountainside, the NVA taking down the two men up front and pinning down the rest with relentless fire. Thinking first of the danger to those around him, Private First Class Michael J. Crescenz picked up an M60 machine gun and charged the enemy bunkers. He did not survive but his actions saved the lives of his fellow soldiers and allowed them to advance and ultimately prevail. For his valour and sacrifice, Michael was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. No Greater Love tells this story from the perspective of those who loved Michael Crescenz most, close friends, family, Michael’s commanding officer in Vietnam, retired Lieutenant General Sam Wetzel, and medic William 'Doc' Stafford, the soldier closest to Michael when he was cut down by enemy fire, and who believes to this day that he survived Nui Chom only because of the selfless actions of Private First Class Crescenz.

The Pacific Profiles series presents the most accurate WWII profiles of aircraft which served throughout the South Pacific. Volume Nine covers the P-38 and variants including the photo-reconnaissance F-4 and F-5, along with field-modified P-38G night-fighters. The P-38 flew combat in the SWPA and SOPAC theatres until mid-1944, serving a total of nineteen Fifth and Thirteenth Air Force USAAF combat Squadrons, one service squadron, Fifth Fighter Command, and finally with the Combat Replacement Training Center at Nadzab. Most profiles are presented for the first time, alongside an explanation of markings, including squadron heraldry and squadron codes. Until now there has been a paucity of accurate information about some markings, especially those which attend the Thirteenth Air Force, night-fighter and photo-reconnaissance units. Each profile has been produced by citing wide-ranging reference material, including official squadron records, colour movies, maintenance logs, diaries, wreck site inspections and thousands of photos including colour slides. A brief summary history of each unit and the rationale of its markings completes the text. The author, Michael Claringbould, is world-renown for his expertise on the Pacific air war. Never before have Pacific P-38s and their colourful derivatives been illustrated with such accuracy and detail.

This book is a compilation in which we will find in one place (two volumes) the stories of all the German cruisers that were in Kriegsmarine service.Author describes their history in the order in which they entered the service, devoting much attention to their construction, precisely describing the differences among others. Going back to the history of the service, trying not to forget about the many curiosities in this policy and people who have a direct influence on their fate. Many excellent quality photographs primarily from private collections.All the ships are described and illustrated with full technical specifications. Profusely illustrated with scale drawings and color illustrations.Cruisers describes in vol. 1:NurnbergAdmiral HipperBlucherPrinz EugenLutzow/Seydlitz

December 1942 saw the bloodiest Christmas in the history of mankind. From the islands in the Pacific to the China front, from the trenches in Russia to the battle lines in North Africa, in the skies over Europe and in the depths of the Atlantic, men were killing each other in greater numbers than ever before. The Holocaust continued, and innocent civilians were murdered by the thousands throughout the evil Nazi empire, even as the perpetrators celebrated the birth of Christ. Millions stationed in far-off lands amid the greatest conflict in human history feared this was their last Christmas in freedom, or their last Christmas alive. At the same time as the slaughter continued unabated, throughout the world there were random acts of kindness, born out of an instinctive feeling of the essential brotherhood of man. These gestures also straddled religious barriers and sometimes included those of non-Christian faiths. Even some Japanese, otherwise embarked on a self-declared crusade against the West, relented for a few precious hours in acknowledgment of the holiday. At the same time, Christmas 1942 saw the injunction of ‘good will to man’ distorted in ugly and callous ways. At Auschwitz, SS guards played cruel games with their prisoners. In Berlin, the German heart of darkness, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels spent time with his family while still buried in feverish fantasies about the Jewish world conspiracy. Christmas 1942 saw the entire range of man’s conduct towards his fellow man, reflecting the extremes of behaviour, good and bad, that World War II gave rise to. The way the holiday was marked around the world tells a deeper and more universal story of the human condition in extraordinary times.

John Wilson “Iron Mike” O’Daniel was one of the U.S. Army’s great fighting generals of the 20th century. He began his military career with the Delaware Militia in 1914, served on the Mexican border in 1916, received a Distinguished Service Cross in World War I, was Mark Clark’s man for hard jobs in the early days of World War II, and commanded the storied 3rd Infantry Division from Anzio to the end of the war in Europe, ending the war in Salzburg after liberating Munich, and Hitler’s Berghof and Eagle’s Nest on the Obersalzberg, Bavaria, Germany. “Iron Mike “commanded I Corps in Korea 1951–1952 and ended his career as the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam in the early days of American involvement there. LTC Stoy paints a vivid picture of this great American warrior who played an important role in World War II, became an ardent anti-Communist crusader after duty in Moscow as Military Attaché 1948–1950 as the Cold War intensified, laid the foundation for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and remained an ardent supporter of President Ngo Dinh Diem while serving as Chairman of the American Friends of Vietnam from his retirement in 1956 until 1963, shortly before Diem’s assassination.

On 9 November 1939, two unsuspecting British agents of the Special Intelligence Services walked into a trap set by German Spymaster Reinhard Heydrich. Believing that they were meeting a dissident German general for talks about helping German military opposition to bring down Hitler and end the war, they were instead taken captive in the Dutch village of Venlo and whisked away to Germany for interrogation by the Gestapo. The incident was a huge embarrassment for the Dutch government and provided the Germans with significant intelligence about SIS operations throughout Europe. The incident itself was an intelligence catastrophe but it also acts as a prism through which a number of other important narrative strands pass. Fundamental to the subterfuge perpetrated at Venlo were unsubstantiated but insistent rumours of high-ranking Germany generals plotting to overthrow the Nazi regime from within. After the humiliation suffered when Hitler tore up the Munich Agreement, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was anxious to see just how much truth there was in these stories; keen to rehabilitate his reputation through one last effort to find a peaceful rapprochement with Germany. When Franz Fischer, a small-time petty crook and agent provocateur, persuaded British SIS operatives in the Netherlands that he could act as a go-between for the British government with disaffected German generals, the German Security chief Reinhard Heydrich stepped in and quietly took control of the operation. Heydrich’s boss, head of the Gestapo Heinrich Himmler, was anxious to explore the possibility of peace negotiations with Britain and saw an opportunity to exploit the situation for his personal benefit.On the day before a crucial meeting of conspirators and British agents on the Dutch-German border, a bomb exploded in the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich in the exact spot where Hitler had stood to deliver a speech only minutes earlier. The perpetrator was quickly arrested, and Hitler demanded that Himmler find evidence to show that the two events were intimately connected—the British agents were snatched hours later. While the world was coming to terms with the fearsome power of German military might the British intelligence capability in northern Europe was consigned to the dustbin in the sleepy Dutch town of Venlo. This first full account of the Venlo incident explores the wider context of this German intelligence coup, and its consequences.

Thirteen Months in Dixie, or, the Adventures of a Federal Prisoner in Texas, is a frolicking true tale of adventure, hardship, and heroism during the last days of the Civil War - in the protagonist's own words. And it is finally available to the general public after being hidden away for decades as a family heirloom. Oscar Federhen was a new recruit to the 13th Massachusetts Light Artillery when he shipped out to Louisiana in the spring of 1864 to participate in the Red River Campaign. Not long after his arrival at the front, a combination of ill-luck and bad timing led to his capture. Federhen was marched overland to Tyler, Texas, where he was held as a prisoner of war in Camp Ford, the largest POW camp west of the Mississippi River. Thirteen Months in Dixie recounts Federhen's often horrifying and sometimes thrilling ordeals as a starving prisoner. The captured artillerist tried to escape many times and faced sadistic guards and vicious hounds before making good his deadly effort. And his ordeal was just beginning. Making his way back to Union lines forced him to range cross-country through northeast Texas. He had to dodge regular Confederates, irregulars, and Comanches, but was captured a second time and escaped yet again, finally witnessing the collapse of Confederate army in the spring of 1865 in freedom. Jeaninne Honstein and Steven Knowlton have carefully transcribed and annotated this incredible manuscript to orient the reader to the places, people, and manners described within it. Prominent within its pages are numerous illustrations, including two from Federhen's own pen. Thirteen Months in Dixie is not only a gripping true story of courage, adventure, and devotion to duty, but a valuable primary source about the lives of Civil War prisoners and everyday Texans during the conflict.

The Battle of Antietam, fought in and around Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest day in American history. Despite the large number of books and articles on the subject, the horrendous effect that the battle had on area civilians is rarely discussed. When Hell Came to Sharpsburg: The Battle of Antietam and its Impact on the Civilians Who Called it Home by Steven Cowie rectifies this oversight. By the time the battle ended about dusk that day, more than 23,000 men had been killed, wounded, or captured in just a dozen hours of combat—a grim statistic that tells only part of the story. The epicenter of that deadly day was the small community of Sharpsburg. Families lived, worked, and worshipped there. It was their home. And the horrific fighting turned their lives upside down.When Hell Came to Sharpsburg investigates how the battle and its armies wreaked emotional, physical, and financial havoc on the people of Sharpsburg. For proper context, the author explores the savage struggle and its gory aftermath and explains how soldiers stripped the community of resources and spread diseases. Cowie carefully and meticulously follows fortunes of individual families like the Mummas, Roulettes, Millers, and many others—ordinary folk thrust into harrowing circumstances—and their struggle to recover from their unexpected and often devastating losses.Cowie's comprehensive study is grounded in years of careful research. He unearthed a trove of previously unused archival accounts and examined scores of primary sources such as letters, diaries, regimental histories, and official reports. Packed with explanatory footnotes, original maps, and photographs, Cowie's richly detailed book is a must-read for those seeking new information on the battle and the perspective of the citizens who suffered because of it. Antietam's impact on the local community was an American tragedy, and it is told here completely for the first time.

The small, curiously named village of Secessionville, just outside of Charleston, South Carolina was the site of an early war skirmish, the consequences of which might have been enormous had the outcome been different. It quickly would be forgotten, however, as the Seven Days battles, fought shortly afterward and far to the north, attracted the attention of Americans on both sides of the conflict. The battle at Secessionville was as bloody and hard fought as any similar sized encounter during the war. But it was poorly planned and poorly led by the Union commanders whose behavior did not do justice to the courage of their men. That courage was acknowledged by Confederate Lt. Iredell Jones who wrote, "let us never again disparage our enemy and call them cowards, for nothing was ever more glorious than their three charges in the face of a raking fire of grape and canister." For the Federals, the campaign on James Island was a joint Army-Navy operation which suffered from inter-service rivalries and no small amount of mutual contempt. Brig. Gen. David Hunter, the overall Union commander, lost interest in the campaign and turned effective control over to his subordinate Brig. Gen. Henry Benham whose ego and abrasive personality was a significant problem for the officers who served directly under him. On the Confederate side were men like John C. Pemberton, oddly enough a West Point classmate of Benham, who never gained the respect of his subordinates either. The civilian authorities diligently worked behind his back to have him relieved and replaced. He did, however, oversee the construction of a formidable line of defensive works which proved strong enough in the end to save Charleston for much of the war. In Six Miles from Charleston, Five Minutes to Hell, historian Jim Morgan examines the lead up to the James Island campaign as well as the skirmish itself on June 16, 1862 and its aftermath. By including several original sources not previously explored, he takes a fresh look at this small, but potentially game-changing fight, and shows that it was of much more than merely local interest at the time.

"The Importance of the North River (the Hudson), and the sanguine wishes of all to prevent the enemy from possessing it, have been the causes of this unhappy catastrophe." So wrote General George Washington in 1776 as the British invaded New Jersey. Worse was to come, as the British overran the state, and the Americans suffered one unhappy catastrophe after another. Central New Jersey witnessed many small battles and important events during the Revolution. This area saw it all: from spies and espionage, to military encampments like Morristown and Middlebrook, to mutinies, raids, and full blown engagements like Bound Brook, Short Hills, and Springfield. The British had their own catastrophes too. So did civilians caught in the middle. In the fall of 1776, British forces drove the Americans out and secured the state. Following the battles of Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey became a battleground. The spring of 1777 saw the formation of a new Continental Army, one that served the rest of the war. That spring British and American forces clashed in a series of small but sharp battles. By summer, British general Howe tried to lure Washington into a major engagement, but the Americans avoided the trap. As the conflict dragged on, civilians became engulfed in the fray, and a bitter civil war erupted, continuing until the end of the conflict. In Unhappy Catastrophes: The American Revolution in Central New Jersey, author Robert M. Dunkerly follows the course of the war through its various phases, and details lesser-known battles, military campsites, raids, espionage, and more. The book features historic sites to visit, markers, and websites for further research and study. This part of New Jersey saw more action during the Revolution than anywhere else in the young nation. It has been called the Cockpit of the Revolution. To truly understand the war, look at central New Jersey.

Robert Foley had only been in Vietnam for six months when he was promoted to captain and given command of a rifle company. In November 1966, Foley led his men on a mission to rescue another company that had been pinned down by Viet Cong forces. His leadership that day inspired his men and led to a successful operation – and the Medal of Honor. His actions in Vietnam were only a small portion of a long and varied career of service in the US Army, but Foley did not always seem marked for success. Coming from a blue-collar suburb of Boston, his years in West Point were marked by poor grades, injuries, and sickness. With a determination to lead by example and inspire trust among others, Foley served across the globe and rose through the ranks. He even returned to West Point as Commandant of Cadets, later retiring as a 3-star general and commander of Fifth Army. "Standing Tall is a terrific book following a true American hero's journey during a stellar career in the U.S. Army. Lieutenant General (Retired) Bob Foley has written a must read for anyone interested in learning leadership lessons during the toughest situations imaginable."General Robert B. Brown, US Army Retired, former Commanding General, US Army Pacific, President & Chief Executive Officer, Association of the US Army

This new photo album is number 28 in the MMP Books/Stratus "Camera On" series. It is the first to cover in such photographic detail the German usage of both the 2 cm Flak 28 and the Flak 30. Both of these weapons saw extensive action on all battle fronts of the Second World War wherever the German armed forces saw service. While they were both excellent weapons at their time of development, they both rapidly became less effective as ever faster and higher flying aircraft were produced by Germany's enemies. This book contains 140+ photographs taken by the average German soldier of both the 2 cm Flak 28 and 30 as well as their crews while in service and many of the environments they had to operate within. This volume illustrates these weapons as the soldiers themselves viewed them in both their fighting environment and, in many cases, just as a tool they lived with and had to look after on a daily basis, not the highly polished and sanitized views of the official photographers. This book is an invaluable reference for military historians and modelers alike.

This new photo album is number 29 in the MMP Books/Stratus "Camera On" series. It is the first to cover in such photographic detail the German usage of the 2 cm Flak 38 and its quadruple mounting the Flakvierling 38. These weapons saw extensive action on all battlefronts of the Second World War wherever the German armed forces saw service. While the 2 cm Flak 38 was an excellent weapon when first developed, by the time it entered service even the German army knew that it was in need of a replacement weapon system. The Germans concentrated on 37mm weapons and above from then on, however the Flak 38 still gave valued service against low flying aircraft and ground targets and proved to be a valued weapon throughout the war, it even saw service with some other nations well into the 1970’s. This book contains 140+ photographs taken by the average German soldier of both the 2 cm Flak 38 and the Flakvierling 38 as well as their crews in many of the areas they operated within. This volume illustrates these weapons as the soldiers themselves viewed them in both their fighting environment and, in many cases, just as a tool they lived with and had to look after on a daily basis, not the highly polished and sanitized views of the official photographers. This book is an invaluable reference for military historians and modelers alike. A4 size, 80 pages.

This book compiles the color profiles, scale plans, and photo details of the single variant of the 7TP Polish light tank used in 1939. Scale plans are in 1/35 scale, plus drawings from wartime technical manuals. Also contains photos of the details in black and white.