I Am Not Afraid of Looking into the Rifles: Women of the Resistance in World War One

History

Rick Stroud

Military

Simon Schuster Ltd

In 1940 a group of artists, sculptors, film makers, theatre designers and set painters came together to form the Camouflage Unit. They were so successful that in August 1942 Montgomery ordered them to to hide the preparations for the Battle of Alamein. In six weeks two entire divisions were conjured from the sand, while real units, stores and men vanished into thin air. Then, right in front of the German's eyes they made 600 tanks disappear and reappear fifty miles away disguised as lorries. Rommel had been bamboozled by an army made of nothing but string and straw and bits of wood.

The Phantom Army of Alamein: The Men Who Hoodwinked Rommel

Africa

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Soldier, Spy: A Survivor's Tale

Soldier, Spy is the astonishing memoir of one ordinary man and soldier, Victor Gregg, as he resumes civilian life after the Second World War. As for so many others, picking up where he had left off proved far from simple for Gregg; he had fought many battles, lost many friends and been deeply damaged psychologically by his experiences as a prisoner of war in Dresden. To escape the memories and the emotional trauma, he moved from one job and distraction to the next: from immersing himself in the adrenaline-fuelled competitive cycling to working as a long distance lorry driver, from becoming a Communist Party member to becoming a spy and, by his seventieth birthday, helping bring about the fall of the Berlin Wall. This honest and gritty account is the third book in a remarkable trilogy that both explores the permanent and damaging consequences of a life at war and tells the story of one ordinary man who went on to lead the most extraordinary life.

Biographies & Memoirs

Victor Gregg

Leaders & Notable People

Bloomsbury Publishing

<p>‘ A fascinating, superbly researched and revelatory book – told with tremendous pace and excitement ’ William Boyd 'This compelling and complete account of the extraordinarily courageous women of SOE is at turns enthralling, edge-of-smart exciting and also heart-breaking. The way in which they were sent into Nazi-occupied Europe and left to face unspeakable danger remains astonishing and Stroud's book is a reminder and fitting testimony to their immense bravery.' James Holland On 18 June 1940 General de Gaulle broadcast from London to his countrymen in France about the catastrophe that had overtaken their nation – the victory of the invading Germans. He declared ‘Is defeat final?  No! . . . the flame of French Resistance must not and will not be extinguished’.   The Resistance began almost immediately. At first it was made up of small, disorganised groups working in isolation. But by the time of the liberation in 1944 around 400,000 French citizens, nearly 2 per cent of the population, were involved.   The Special Operations Executive (SOE) set up by Winston Churchill in 1941 saw its role in France as helping the Resistance by recruiting and organising guerrilla fighters; supplying and training them; and then disrupting the invaders by any means necessary. The basic SOE unit was a team of three: a leader, a wireless operator and a courier. These teams operated in Resistance circuits and the agents were given random codenames. The aim of this work was to prepare for the invasion of Europe by Allied forces and the eventual liberation of France. It was soon decided that women would play a vital role.   There were 39 female agents recruited from all walks of life, ranging from a London shop assistant to a Polish aristocrat. What linked them was that they knew France well, were fluent in French and were prepared to sacrifice everything to help defeat the enemy. The women trained alongside the men, learning how to disappear into the background, how to operate a radio transmitter and how to kill a man with their bare hands. Once trained they were infiltrated behind the lines by parachute or tiny aircraft that could land in remote fields. Some of the women went on to lead thousands of Resistance fighters, while others were arrested, brutally interrogated and sent to concentration camps where they endured torment and death.     Lonely Courage tells their story and sheds light on what life was really like for these brave women who tumbled from the sky.</p>

Lonely Courage

Europe

Simon Schuster(uk)

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Books by Rick Stroud