Summary Of Damien Lewis S Churchill S Great Escapes

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The first Allied airborne operation was codenamed Operation Colossus, and it took place in September 1943. It involved the British Special Air Service dropping into the heart of Mussolini’s Fascist Italy to blow up the country’s life-giving watercourse, the Aqueduct Pugliese. #2 The mission was successful, and the aqueduct was destroyed. However, the mission commander, Pritchard, brought the team of sappers up to speed on two matters: the Whitley carrying the main team of sappers was missing, along with the majority of their explosives; and as the raiders gathered together all their explosives, the total amounted to just seven hundred pounds. #3 The British raiders were captured and taken to a small village. They were handed over to the Italian military police, and transported to Naples. They were interrogated by the Questura, Fascist Italy’s secret police. But despite their many attempts to extract information, Paterson maintained a rigid silence. #4 The Colossus prisoners were transferred to a camp in the mountains, at Sulmona. They were given half a litre of wine per day, and most saved it up to have a party. But Paterson was appointed Dominion House Wine Secretary, and he tried to limit their consumption.

From Damien Lewis, bestselling author and award-winning historian and war reporter, comes the thrillingly told stories of seven dramatic and epic WWII escapes executed by members of one of the world’s legendary military fighting forces: the British Special Air Service. No food. No water. Out of ammo. Hunted and on the run. The dreaded certainty of discovery looming between recapture and safe haven. What would you do? Give up? For the seven heroes of Churchill’s Great Escapes the answer was simple: keep moving against all odds. These are the extraordinary stories of the bravery and endurance of the men of SAS, legendary pioneers of escape and evasion who, through the darkest of days and nights of World War II, endeavored and succeeded in slipping through the clutches of the enemy. Based on in-the-moment personal diaries and notebooks, mission reports, debriefings and letters, Damien Lewis recounts the most terrifying and adrenaline-fueled days and nights in the lives of men for whom survival was the only option. We follow every desperate step, facing unknowable threats and death around every corner, and share in the breathtaking endurance that brought them freedom against the most formidable of threats: the seemingly invincible Nazi war machine.

'Riveting. Extraordinary. A real-life thriller.' - Dan Snow In SAS Great Escapes, bestselling author Damien Lewis tells the story of seven of the most dramatic and daring escapes executed during WWII by what is arguably the world's most famous military fighting force - the SAS. With each story comes a nail-biting, rollercoaster ride in classic Damien Lewis style - readers join individual escapees and experience events through their own words, taken from contemporaneous diaries, mission reports, debriefings and letters - recapturing the most terrifying and exhilarating moments of their lives. These tales of almost unbelievable derring-do reveal the most desperate of times, when men were cornered by the enemy and were forced to fight their way out of certain death or capture. Around every corner, upon every decision and every movement lurked the possibility of discovery.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The two men were disguised as goatherds, and they were sent to check out the airbase. They didn’t take into account the inate stubbornness of the animals, especially when they were hungry. The guard grew suspicious when the two men didn’t understand him. #2 Lassen and his men were dropped off at the start of the operation by a British warship, and they took out some Schnellbombers, German planes used for anti-submarine and anti-ship patrols. #3 The codewords were made up from the first few letters of the men’s name and rank. There were five raiders on the Kastelli mission: Georgios included. They planned to cut the perimeter wire, and then blow up the airbase. #4 The plan was to attack the airbase and blow it up, but if any of them were spotted, they would blow it all up and get moving. They all knew the emergency rendezvous point: meat.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Stirling was the first four-engine heavy bomber to serve with the RAF. It was largely obsolete by 1942, but it went on to acquire a second lease of life as the foremost aircraft delivering SAS raiding parties and agents of the SOE deep into enemy-occupied lands. #2 The Stirling, a bomber, was used to transport the SAS raiding party to France. The exit point, known as the trap, was a large bathtub-like aperture through which to jump. It was much better than the dorsal gun turret in the Whitley, which was replaced by a narrow steel tube. #3 The interior of the thundered as it crossed the night-dark waters of the Channel. Lieutenant John H. Wiehe, one of the two French-speakers on the team, was in charge of remembering the all-important rum. #4 In the summer of 1944, Captain Patrick Garstin was twenty-four years old and serving with the Royal Ulster Rifles. He had had to fight every inch of the way to be allowed a frontline role. He was heading deep into enemy-occupied France with fiery havoc and mayhem in mind.

'SAS Great Escapes' tells the story of seven of the most dramatic and daring escapes executed during WWII by what is arguably the world's most famous military fighting force - the SAS. With each story comes a nail-biting, rollercoaster ride in classic Damien Lewis style - readers join individual escapees and experience events through their own words, taken from contemporaneous diaries, mission reports, debriefings and letters - recapturing the most terrifying and exhilarating moments of their lives.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The six men were wedged into the aircraft’s narrow hold like the proverbial sardines in a tin. They were prepared for the long flight ahead, and their commander, Trevor Alan Gordon Pritchard, was a ten-year Army veteran and a tough-as-old-boots regular. #2 The first British airborne raid was codenamed Operation Colossus, and it was led by Tait. The Whitley aircraft flew with a pronounced nose-down attitude, making the hold pitch at a bizarre angle. With no side-door, the only means for the men to exit was via a dark, narrow hole in the floor. #3 The first Allied airborne raiders were sent to the Scottish Highlands to train. The Scottish Highlands were not too different from the kind of terrain that Pritchard’s SAS would be deployed to, and they were there to learn how to fight and survive in such an environment. #4 The raiders were taught to be self-reliant, and to track and kill a wild animal if they were separated from their comrades. They were also taught to use fair means or foul to kill, and to keep their weapons concealed until the last possible moment.

Get the Summary of Damien Lewis's Agent Josephine in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. "Agent Josephine" by Damien Lewis tells the remarkable story of Josephine Baker, an American-born French entertainer who became a spy for the French Resistance during World War II. The book chronicles her journey from her rise to stardom in Paris to her courageous espionage activities against Nazi Germany. Despite facing prejudice in America, Baker found acceptance and fame in France, which she reciprocated by serving as an 'Honorary Correspondent' for French intelligence...