LITMIR.BIZ

A college student in Maryland when World War II began, Betty Lussier went to England to help the British fight off an impending invasion. Armed with a private pilot s license, she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary and was soon ferrying planes and pilots for the RAF, and her memoir describes those days in thrilling detail. After the Normandy invasion, when women pilots were barred from delivering planes to the combat zones on the continent, she complained to Sir William S. Stephenson, who was in the RAF with her father in World War I and headed British intelligence in the States. He steered her to the newly formed American Office of Strategic Services, which was recruiting field agents. Her experiences with a special liaison unit in Algeria, Sicily, Italy, and France helping to set up a chain of double agents and transmit misinformation to the enemy are described in compelling detail as she takes the reader step-by-step through some memorable cases that helped bring the war to an end.

Подробнее

The geopolitical situation in the Mediterranean before the First World War has been generally ignored by historians. However, in the years before the War, the fact that the Mediterranean was shifting from British control to a wide open, anarchic state occupied the minds of many leaders in Austria-Hungary, Italy, France and Great Britain. This change was driven by three largely understudied events: the weakening of the British Mediterranean Fleet to provide more ships for the North Sea, Austria-Hungary's decision to build a navy capable of operating in the Mediterranean, and Italy's decision to seek naval security in the Triple Alliance after the Italo-Turkish War. These three factors radically altered the Mediterranean situation in the years leading up to the First World War, forcing Britain and France to seek accommodation with each other and France to begin rapidly building ships to defend both British and French interests. However, all of this activity has been largely obscured by the July Crisis of 1914 and the ensuing World War. Traditional history has looked backward from these events, and, in so doing, ignored the turbulent seas building in the Mediterranean. Conversely, this dissertation seeks to understand these events as they unfolded, to understand how policymakers understood the changing Mediterranean world. Ultimately, this dissertation seeks to redress the imbalance between historians, who have viewed the history of the Mediterranean in the early 20th century as a largely stable one, and policymakers in the Great Powers, who viewed the Mediterranean as a highly unstable region, and struggled to come to terms with that instability.

Подробнее

The USS Bullhead was the last American naval vessel lost in World War II. This is the submarine's history – from launch to disappearance – as told by the only war correspondent allowed on a wartime submarine patrol. Narrow escapes from floating mines, diving to avoid enemy aircraft, and a daring sortie to rescue three badly hurt Army survivors of a downed B-52.crew are just a few of the adventures recounted. Trained as a feature writer, author Martin Sheridan knew how to share his experiences, the intangible spirit of camaraderie and sense of danger, as well as the humorous and poignant incidents of everyday living. First published in 1947, the narrative is based on a journal kept by the author during the Bullhead's first war patrol in March-April 1945 and supplemental information from official Navy reports. It captures the perilous undersea war in the Pacific as only a first-hand account can, supported by a unique collection of period photographs.

Подробнее

On 31 May 1968, Navy Lt. Kenny Fields catapulted off USS America, in his A-7 Corsair II on his first combat mission. His target was in Laos, which at the time was officially off-limits for U.S. attacks. Fields call sign Streetcar 304 was the first to roll in and destroyed the target with a direct hit. Three AAA guns began to fire, but, following his wingman, he rolled in again. This time many more AAA guns opened up and Fields was shot down hitting the ground with enemy troop in hot pursuit. The Rescue of Streetcar 304 is Fields exhilarating narrative of the 40-hour ordeal that followed, in what turned out to be one of the largest and harrowing air rescues of the war. Before it was over, the U.S. Air Force had flown 189 sorties to rescue Fields, and in the process four pilots had ejected, seven planes were lost or heavily damaged, and one pilot became a POW for five years. This tale of a Navy fighter pilot s escape and rescue is a gripping story of courage and brotherhood during the Vietnam War.

Подробнее

This remarkable memoir tells the compelling story of the near-mythic British district officer who helped shape the first great Allied counteroffensive. Scottish-born and Cambridge-educated, Martin Clemens managed to survive months behind Japanese lines in one of the most unfriendly climates and terrains in the world. After countless partisan and spy missions, in 1942 he emerged from the jungle and integrated his Melanesian commando force into the heart of the 1st Marine Division's operations, earning the unfettered admiration of such legendary Marine officers as Vandegrift, Thomas, Twining, Edson, and Pate. The book is based on a journal Clemens kept during the war and might well be the last critical source of analysis of the Solomon's campaign. His eyewitness accounts of harrowing long-distance patrols and life on the run from shadowy Japanese intelligence operatives and treacherous islanders are unmatched in the literature of the Pacific War. First published in 1998, the story is essential and enjoyable reading.

Подробнее

Air Force navigators and bombardiers have long labored under the shadow of pilots–their contributions undervalued, misunderstood, or simply unknown to the general public. This was especially the case with the non-pilot officer aircrew in the Vietnam and Cold War-era B-52 Stratofortress. Of the six people who operated the bomber, three wore navigator wings–two of those men were also bombardiers, the other an electronic warfare officer. Without the navigator-bombardiers in particular, executing the nuclear war strike plan or flying Southeast Asian conventional bombing sorties would have been impossible. This book reveals who these men were and what they did down in the «Black Hole,» a story told by one of their own.

Подробнее

A research analyst for the Center for Naval Analyses offers a rare historical account of the Royal and U.S. Navies' involvement in one of the greatest amphibious assaults of modern history. It is a story of cooperation and, at times, discord, between the two navies as they planned the naval portion of the Allied invasion of Normandy. With the evolution of amphibious warfare as a backdrop, the book has sufficient technical detail to satisfy the modern day practitioner of amphibious warfare, yet is written in a style that makes it accessible to the general public. Thoroughly researched at the U.S. National Archives and the Naval Historical Center, the book takes the reader from the initial plans created by the Anglo-American Allies in 1942, through the first draft of Operation Overlord, to the final naval plan set down in 1944. It then presents a detailed description of the invasion itself. Christopher Yung covers every obstacle confronted by the naval planners, from the shifting tides of the English Channel to overcoming the European coastal defenses and dealing with the submarine threat. Despite his attention to historical detail, he brings to life the personalities of those who brought Operation Neptune from concept to reality.

Подробнее

Refighting the Pacific War presents the viewpoints of more than thirty historians, authors, and veterans regarding what happened and what might have happened if events in the Pacific had unfolded differently during World War II. Contributors to this alternative history include the noted military historians William Bartsch, John Burton, Donald Goldstein, John Lundstrom, Robert Mrazek, Jon Parshall, Douglas Smith, Peter Smith, Barrett Tillman, Anthony Tully, and H. P. Willmott. In chapters organized in a roundtable discussion format, the contributors present their differing views on the possible outcomes of the major campaigns of the Pacific War and the implications of those changes on the course of history. The result is a thought-provoking collection of divergent views about the outcome of the war that will be certain to stimulate debate. The naval campaigns and battles discussed include Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, Philippine Sea, and Leyte Gulf. Additionally, the book delves into key island battles like Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, as well as prewar and postwar political issues: Could Japan have inflicted even greater damage at Pearl Harbor? How might Admiral Yamamoto have achieved victory at Midway? What would have been the impact of that victory on the direction of the war? These are just some of the discussion points posed in Refighting the Pacific War. In addition, the book explores whether the war was inevitable, includes an extensive study of the opening year of the war when the Japanese war machine seemed unstoppable, and considers if the conflict could have ended without the use of the atomic bomb.Vice Admiral Yoji Koda, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (Ret.), Yamamoto’s successor as commander of Japan’s combined fleet and a pillar of the postwar alliance between the United States and Japan, provides the book’s introduction, in which he places the book in the context of the frequently told stories and views from the Japanese side.

Подробнее

An international team of naval historians and scholars has pooled their expertise for this definitive reference on how the great navies of World War II were organized and how they trained, operated, and fought. They provide a point-by-point evaluation on the inner workings of the navies of the United States, the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, and the Soviet Union. Each navy has its own chapter, which covers such key features as weaponry, training, logistics, and doctrine. In bringing together data buried in specialized works in various languages, the authors deliver a fresh, multinational view of the naval war.

Подробнее

The Purge of the Thirtieth Division by Major General Henry Dozier Russell is the only known written work by any of the eighteen National Guard division commanders mobilized in1940 and 1941. It chronicles from a National Guard perspective many of the challenges and growing pains experienced by the Army in the critical months leading up to its entry into World War II. Through Russell, the reader gains insight into the vast cultural differences between the Regular Army and the National Guard at the time.Russell’s memoir offer an invaluable source of a commander’s first-hand account of how his division trained and fared during the 1940 Louisiana Maneuvers, and 1941 Tennessee and Carolina Maneuvers, respectively, in its preparation for overseas deployment. The narrative also contains a compelling account of the relations and tensions between Regulars and National Guardsmen. It was a scathing indictment of the Regular Army high command for what he perceived to be unfair treatment of National Guard officers during World War II. He cited many examples to bolster his claims, and contended that the U.S. Army, under Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, was out to “get” the Thirtieth Division and other National Guard divisions. He further contended that the Army believed that a non-Regular officer should not advance beyond the grade of lieutenant colonel. His memoir, which he privately printed, pulled no punches. His first-hand account was very critical of how a number of senior Regular Army officers handled affairs with his division that led to his relief as the division commander. Russell completed his memoir in 1947 and subsequently printed 500 copies, which he distributed to senior National Guard officers. He did not sell any of the books, nor were they intended for or made available to the general public. Although there was a demand for additional copies, he did not print any more. The republication of The Purge of the Thirtieth Division is intended to expand the scholarship on the history of World War II and the history of the U.S. Army.

Подробнее