All the books on my list are exciting readings and tales of daring do. I loved these books because of the intimate personal details and accounts they give of war. They give a great impression of the challenges the men face and the dangers flung up by fighting and close combat. They also tell of the comradeship between men in war.
This book relates the recollections of the men of the Levant Schooner Flotilla, The Sacred Company, and the Aegean Raiding Forces. The author was a young officer in the Royal Naval Reserve who commanded a flotilla of raiding caiques on undercover operations in the Greek Islands.
These men were involved in naval operations in WWII. A mixed bag of volunteers, their task was to carry out Allied raiding parties in enemy-held territory. In total secrecy, under the cover of darkness, they navigated the seas, scuttled enemy boats, and blew up enemy ammunition.
This is an anthology of true stories about a little-known episode in the Mediterranean during World War II. The author formed and commanded a flotilla of caiques on undercover operations in the Greek islands whose task was to smuggle Allied raiding parties and their supplies in and out of enemy held territory, in total secrecy and under cover of darkness - risky undertakings that required high levels of navigational and seamanship skills from the skippers. This clandestine war is recounted by the author, 12 skippers of caiques, one of a motor launch and an RAF officer, who were actually involved…
Most of the action is set in the Aegean, where the author served with the Special Boat Service, an off-shoot of the Special Air Service. Their aim was to raid airfields on the German-held islands.
He tells not only of the daring adventures but his admiration of the Greek resistance fighters who risked not only their own loves, but that of whole villages, to offer their support to the British.
Over fifty years having now passed since the Second World War ended, it is surprising that there are any first-hand accounts left that are worth the telling. The fact that there are, and that they have remained untold, can only be ascribed to modesty and to the fact that fifty years ago what seems to be the post-war generation to be the exclusive province of thriller writers was to David Sutherland's generation the only adult world they had ever known. It needs someone to say: "You'd better write it down before it's too late" or a grandchild to ask: "What…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
An officer in the Faughs, the Royal Irish Fusiliers, Ted (whom I interviewed), recounts here the events of the Battle of Leros and his time on the island.
The Faughs were just one of the companies sent to Leros to protect its important naval base from the German invasion. He gives battle details but also tells of the sadness of friends lost in the fray.
This is the story of the men from the New Zealand R Patrol, Long Range Desert Group. Their stories are told mostly in the words of the participants themselves through wartime operational reports, diaries, personal letters, and post-war interviews.
Owen was an officer in the LRDG and recollects various escapades he was involved in during operations. Lloyd Owen took command of the LRDG after being involved in the Battle of Leros.
Established to operate deep behind enemy lines in North Africa, the Long Range Desert Group was the first of the special forces to make a significant contribution. This is a definitive history of this elite organisation, by a former commander of the unit.'
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
These are recollections of a Parish as a serving officer with Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry. He was involved in fighting in Greece, starting with the Battle of Crete in 1941 and culminating in the capture of Leros in November 1943.
He addresses the failures of the events and why these happened.
I try to bring to life the story of the men caught up in the Battle of Leros in 1943 based on first-hand interviews and written accounts, including diaries, letters, and journals. From the Italian capitulation on 8 September 1943 to the end of the battle on 16 November, thousands of British, Italian, and German men lost their lives, and thousands more ended up in prisoner-of-war camps. I write about the members of the elite Special Boat Service.
The officers had special training in knife fighting, mountain climbing, and parachuting in preparation for their raids. Others, such as the army soldiers, told me their stories of the desperate hand-to-hand combat and the suffering endured from continual bombings.
