Killing Rommel

A thrilling WWII tale based on the real-life exploits of the Long Range Desert Group, an elite British special forces unit that took on the German Afrika Korps and its legendary commander, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, "the Desert Fox." Autumn 1942. Hitler’s legions have swept across Europe; France has fallen; Churchill and the English are isolated on their island. In North Africa, Rommel and his Panzers have routed the British Eighth Army and stand poised to overrun Egypt, Suez, and the oilfields of the Middle East. With the outcome of the war hanging in the balance, the British hatch a desperate plan—send a small, highly mobile, and heavily armed force behind German lines to strike the blow that will stop the Afrika Korps in its tracks. Narrated from the point of view of a young lieutenant, Killing Rommel brings to life the flair, agility, and daring of this extraordinary secret unit, the Long Range Desert Group. Stealthy and lethal as the scorpion that serves as their insignia, they live by their motto: Non Vi Sed Arte—Not by Strength, by Guile as they gather intelligence, set up ambushes, and execute raids. Killing Rommel chronicles the tactics, weaponry, and specialized skills needed for combat, under extreme desert conditions. And it captures the camaraderie of this “band of brothers” as they perform the acts of courage and cunning crucial to the Allies’ victory in North Africa. Combining scrupulous historical detail and accuracy with remarkable narrative momentum, Pressfield powerfully renders the drama and intensity of warfare, the bonds of men in close combat, and the surprising human emotions and frailties that come into play on the battlefield to create a vivid and authoritative depiction of the desert war.

In summer 1941 Erwin Rommel was Hitler's favourite general: he had driven the British out of Libya and stood poised to invade Egypt. He seemed unbeatable. So the British decided to have him killed. The British opened their counter-attack with a series of special forces raids, the first ever operation by the newly formed SAS. Rommel was one of the targets. Michael Asher reveals how poor planning and incompetence in high places led to disaster in the desert-- and how fantastic bravery and brilliant improvisation enabled a handful of men to escape. Classic real life adventure, written by best-selling desert expert and novelist Michael Asher.

A detailed, illustrated analysis of the British Commandos' audacious attempt to assassinate Rommel in 1941. In November 1941, a small party of British Commandos landed by submarine in Libya, tasked with the assassination of General Erwin Rommel, commander of the German forces in North Africa, who was believed to be staying in a villa near the coast. Three men – Lt-Col Geoffrey Keyes, Capt Robin Campbell and Sgt Jack Terry – stormed the villa, but the German general was nowhere to be found. In the confused fighting Keyes was killed and Campbell wounded; only two raiders would escape, one of whom was Terry. The raid made headlines round the free world, and Keyes was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. Yet in truth the raid had been a glorious failure, a mission bedevilled by bad planning and poor intelligence. Even so, crucial lessons were learned, particularly by the Special Air Service – who carried out their first mission on the same night as the raid on Rommel's HQ.

A thrilling WWII tale based on the real-life exploits of the Long Range Desert Group, an elite British special forces unit that took on the German Afrika Korps and its legendary commander, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, "the Desert Fox." Autumn 1942. Hitler’s legions have swept across Europe; France has fallen; Churchill and the English are isolated on their island. In North Africa, Rommel and his Panzers have routed the British Eighth Army and stand poised to overrun Egypt, Suez, and the oilfields of the Middle East. With the outcome of the war hanging in the balance, the British hatch a desperate plan—send a small, highly mobile, and heavily armed force behind German lines to strike the blow that will stop the Afrika Korps in its tracks. Narrated from the point of view of a young lieutenant, Killing Rommel brings to life the flair, agility, and daring of this extraordinary secret unit, the Long Range Desert Group. Stealthy and lethal as the scorpion that serves as their insignia, they live by their motto: Non Vi Sed Arte—Not by Strength, by Guile as they gather intelligence, set up ambushes, and execute raids. Killing Rommel chronicles the tactics, weaponry, and specialized skills needed for combat, under extreme desert conditions. And it captures the camaraderie of this “band of brothers” as they perform the acts of courage and cunning crucial to the Allies’ victory in North Africa. Combining scrupulous historical detail and accuracy with remarkable narrative momentum, Pressfield powerfully renders the drama and intensity of warfare, the bonds of men in close combat, and the surprising human emotions and frailties that come into play on the battlefield to create a vivid and authoritative depiction of the desert war.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Steven Pressfield brings the battle of Thermopylae to brilliant life.”—Pat Conroy At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army. Day after bloody day they withstood the terrible onslaught, buying time for the Greeks to rally their forces. Born into a cult of spiritual courage, physical endurance, and unmatched battle skill, the Spartans would be remembered for the greatest military stand in history—one that would not end until the rocks were awash with blood, leaving only one gravely injured Spartan squire to tell the tale. . . .

Erwin Rommel was the outstanding Axis field commander of the Second World War, respected, even admired, by his opponents. Here it seemed to the Allies, was a supremely professional soldier: chivalrous, decent, largely untainted by the crimes of the Nazi regime, carrying out his duty with often dazzling success. David Fraser's definitive study brings to Rommel's career not only the insights of an acclaimed biographer, but also those of a distinguished soldier. He shows how inspiringly spontaneous and superficially haphazard Rommel's style of leadership could be; how his hallmarks of boldness of manoeuvre, ferocity in attack and tenacity in pursuit, which characterised his great campaign in North Africa, were evident from his earliest battles in the First World War. Knight's Cross is first and foremost hte biography of a soldier, but Rommel reached a position in which he almost inevitably became embroiled in politics, including his alleged involvement in the plot to kill Hitler, which condemned him in the eyes of the Fuhrer he had served so loyally. Rommel is not, to David Fraser, a flawless hero: his failing as well as his genuis are recorded here. But he had that instinct for battle and leadership which set him apart from contemporaries, and places him among the truly great commanders of history.

Rainer is a successful doctor and father of two. He's a celebrated member of the community for his exceptional care and charity work. Brick is a local street thug that can't keep his nose clean. When fate brings the two together through tragedy, the life of Rainer is changed dramatically. Glenn is a seasoned cop and Rainer's younger brother. Trusting the justice system, he keeps his desire for revenge in check as Brick is brought to trial. But when the jury hands Brick a lean sentence, Glenn sets out to avenge his family's suffering. But what he forgets in his rage is that for every action, there is a reaction.