Night Of The Bayonets

In the final days of World War II in Europe, Georgians serving in the Wehrmacht on Texel island off the Dutch coast rose up and slaughtered their German masters. Hitler ordered the island to be retaken and fighting continued for weeks, well after the war's end. The uprising had it origins in the bloody history of Georgia in the twentieth century, a history that saw the country move from German occupation, to three short years of independence, to Soviet rule after it was conquered by the Red Army in 1921. A bloody rebellion against the Soviets took place in 1924, but it remained under Russian Soviet rule. Thousands of Georgians served in the Soviet forces during World War II and among those who were captured, given the choice of “starve or fight”, some took up the German offer to don Wehrmacht uniforms. The loyalty of the Georgians was always in doubt, as Hitler himself suspected, and once deployed to the Netherlands, the Georgian soldiers made contact with the local Communist resistance. When the opportunity arose, the Georgians took the decision to rise up and slaughter the Germans, seizing control of the island. In just a few hours, they massacred some 400 German officers using knives and bayonets to avoid raising the alarm. An enraged Hitler learned about the mutiny and ordered the Germans to fight back, showing no mercy to either the Georgians or the Dutch civilians who hid them. It was not until 20 May, 12 days after the war had ended, that Canadian forces landed on the island and finally put an end to the slaughter. Eric Lee explores this fascinating but little known last battle of the Second World War: its origins, the incredible details of the battle and its ongoing legacy.

In the final days of World War II in Europe, Georgians serving in the Wehrmacht on Texel island off the Dutch coast rose up and slaughtered their German masters. Hitler ordered the island to be retaken and fighting continued for weeks, well after the war's end. The uprising had it origins in the bloody history of Georgia in the twentieth century, a history that saw the country move from German occupation, to three short years of independence, to Soviet rule after it was conquered by the Red Army in 1921. A bloody rebellion against the Soviets took place in 1924, but it remained under Russian Soviet rule. Thousands of Georgians served in the Soviet forces during World War II and among those who were captured, given the choice of "starve or fight", some took up the German offer to don Wehrmacht uniforms. The loyalty of the Georgians was always in doubt, as Hitler himself suspected, and once deployed to the Netherlands, the Georgian soldiers made contact with the local Communist resistance. When the opportunity arose, the Georgians took the decision to rise up and slaughter the Germans, seizing control of the island. In just a few hours, they massacred some 400 German officers using knives and bayonets to avoid raising the alarm. An enraged Hitler learned about the mutiny and ordered the Germans to fight back, showing no mercy to either the Georgians or the Dutch civilians who hid them. It was not until 20 May, 12 days after the war had ended, that Canadian forces landed on the island and finally put an end to the slaughter.Eric Lee explores this fascinating but little known last battle of the Second World War: its origins, the incredible details of the battle and its ongoing legacy.

This fascinating third volume in the Britannia's Fist series will have you pondering how easily history could have been swayed differently. What if other countries had become involved in America’s Civil War? Historian Peter G. Tsouras presents the third installment in his Britannia’s Fist alternate history series. The winter of 1863 lowered a white curtain on the desperate struggle for North America. The United States and Great Britain fought each other to a bitter draw. On both sides of the Atlantic, the forges of battle glowed as they poured out new technologies of war. British and French aid transformed the ragged Confederate armies and filled them with new confidence. Both sides strained to be ready for the coming campaign season. Both sides seek to anticipate each other. The British strike suddenly at Hooker’s strung-out army in winter quarters in upstate New York in a brutal, swirling, late battle across frozen fields and streams. Besieged Portland shudders relentless assault. The French attack Fort Hudson on the Mississippi. At Lincoln’s direction, two great raids are launched at the United Kingdom itself as Russia enters the war on the side of the Union to raid the Irish Sea. These are only preliminaries to the great gathering of modernized armies and ironclad fleets, and with them are deadly submersibles and balloons. Battles rage from Maine to northern Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay, down to steamy Louisiana. And far away across the sea, Dublin stands siege as Russia simultaneously eyes Constantinople. For Americans (blue and gray), Britons, Irish, Frenchmen, and Russians, the summer of 1864 is the crescendo battle of destinies and dreams. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

The bayonet is an essential item of a soldier's kit even on today's modern hi-tech battlefield. This work examines the origins of this humble weapon and the 'cult of the bayonet' as espoused by the Russian General Alexander Suvorov who asserted that The bullet misses, the bayonet does not. The first bayonets appeared in France in the early 17th century and soon they were being used by every army in Europe. The author examines the spread of this simple weapon and how it led to fundamental changes being made in battlefield tactics. Over 300 years later, in the age of hi-tech warfare and weapons of mass destruction, the bayonet is still in service with armies around the world. British and US forces in Afghanistan regularly have their bayonets fixed. Fix Bayonets illustrates how tactics changed and the design of the weapon, although fundamentally the same, has evolved over the centuries.Much myth and legend surrounds the subject of bayonet charges and the weapon has become an icon of defiance and the determination to do whatever it takes to win. The author examines evidence for the reality of such actions. How did the ordinary soldier feel to be told 'fix bayonets'? John Norris draws on personal accounts of soldiers using bayonets in combat from the Napoleonic and Crimean Wars, various Colonial campaigns, through the World Wars, Falklands War and into the 21st century in Afghanistan. In so doing he explains the seemingly anachronistic survival of this simple weapon on the modern battlefield.

Bayonets and Lace is the true story of James and Kitty set against the spectacular and tragic landscape of the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland. Without question, it is a love story of epic proportions, that defied all boundaries across the social, religious and political divide. James and Kitty, whose hearts were destined to unite forever on a journey that Destiny commanded them to follow, knew not hesitation. [email protected]

Hate Prejudice and Racism provides a comprehensive overview of the problems created by prejudiced attitudes, racist beliefs, and acts of discrimination, from the casual racial or ethnic joke to the unrestrained violence of a lynch mob. It addresses such topics as the nature of ethnicity, stereotyping, aggression, and hate groups and individuals who promote ethnic and racial hatred. Kleg's discussion of ethnicity and ethnic groups challenges us to reexamine the meaning of a multicultural society. He traces the history of race as a scientific concept and its use as a social concept designed to stigmatize and subordinate members of minority racial and ethnic groups. Chapters on prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination scapegoating provide a foundation for the chapter on hate groups and haters, which includes in-depth descriptions of beliefs and activities of white-supremacist groups and individuals who promote racism and anti-Semitism. Finally, Kleg outlines implications of hate prejudice and racism for educators and all cultural workers, outlining suggestions on how to approach and study this important and controversial topic.

General Richard Henry Pratt, best known as the founder and longtime superintendent of the influential Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, profoundly shaped Indian education and federal Indian policy at the turn of the twentieth century. His experiences led him to dedicate himself to Indian education, and from 1879 to 1904 he directed the Carlisle school, believing that the only way to save Indians from extinction was to remove Indian youth to nonreservation settings and there inculcate in them what he considered civilized ways.

A collection of picturesque and observant stories about the hard-fighting Fifth Marine Regiment in France by a writer who has been called the Kipling of the Marines Corps. During his 27 years as a Marine officer, John W. Thomason also became one of America s foremost illustrators and by virtue of his singular combination of talents, Thomason immortalized the Marines who served in World War I. These stories follow their grim daily lives with ironic humor, acute observation and sympathy from Belleau Wood to the march to the Rhine.— Print Ed.