The night before D-Day, light infantry and a detachment of Royal Engineers landed by gliders at Pegasus Bridge, which spanned the Caen Canal. Quickly overwhelming the guards, they managed to hold the bridge and help prevent German reinforcements from reaching the British landing beaches. Will Fowler provides a detailed blow-by-blow account of this classic wartime raid.

Set in the context of the Dieppe raid as a whole, Will Fowler studies the contribution of No. 4 Commando and Operation Cauldron.In August 1942, the Allies launched a raid against the German-held port of Dieppe on the French channel coast. It was largely a disaster, with the Canadian forces bearing the brunt of the catastrophe. However, it wasn't all a failure, and history has tended to overlook the role of 4 Commando, who, along with their US Ranger counter-parts, ...

In September 2000 the notorious militia gang, 'West Side Boys' kidnapped eleven British soldiers in Sierra Leone and Operation Barras was launched as the rescue operation. Fast roping in from helicopters, the SAS soldiers engaged in a heavy firefight with the militia, killing several, and capturing their leader. Meanwhile the Paras advanced on foot, fighting their way through a village to recover the Land Rovers abandoned by the kidnapped soldiers. The operation was a complete success, wit...

In any military operation throughout history, few 24-hour periods have been as crucial as that of 6th June 1944. With the aid of specially commissioned maps, D-Day: The First 24 Hours series gives the dramatic history of the first 24 hours of the Normandy landings, and explains in detail the events that occurred in each landing zone. In this fourth volume of the series, the book describes the British and Canadian landings on Gold, Juno and Sword beaches. The book also includes details of t...

In any military operation throughout history, few 24-hour periods have been as crucial as that of 6th June 1944. With the aid of specially commissioned maps, D-Day: The First 24 Hours series gives the dramatic history of the first 24 hours of the Normandy landings, and explains in detail the events that occurred in each landing zone. In this first volume of the series, the book describes the build-up to the landings themselves, the German preparations for defending the French coastline, an...

Latin America since 1780 provides an accessible introductory text aimed at Spanish linguists and historians taking modules in Latin American history. It provides a compelling continental-based historical narrative supported throughout by incisive evaluation, pedagogical features, and authentic source texts in the original Spanish.This book focuses on key events such as the Wars of Independence, the Mexican, Cuban and Sandinista Revolutions, and the recent shift to the left...

Ypres was a medieval town known for its textiles; however, it became infamous during the Great War with trench warfare, poison gas and many thousands of casualties.As the German Army advanced through Belgium, it failed to take the Ypres Salient. On 13 October 1914, German troops entered Ypres. On looting the city, the Germans retreated as the British Expeditionary Force advanced. On 22 November 1914, the Germans commenced a huge artillery barrage killing many civil...

A detailed, step-by-step account of one of the greatest war-time raids that helped to ensure the Allied success on D-Day.The night before D-Day, light infantry and a detachment of Royal Engineers landed by gliders at Pegasus Bridge, which spanned the Caen Canal. Quickly overwhelming the guards, they managed to hold the bridge and help prevent German reinforcements from reaching the British landing beaches.Will Fowler provides a thorough account of this clas...

When Germany occupied the originally 'demilitarised' Channel Islands in 1940, Hitler ordered the area to be staunchly fortified with colossal permanent structures like Battery Moltke on Jersey. As it was the only piece of the British Isles in Nazi control, he was determined that the islands should remain German forever. Churchill was equally obsessed, urging numerous commando raids and harebrained schemes for the invasion and liberation of the islands. But when France was ...

In any military operation throughout history, few 24-hour periods have been as crucial as that of 6th June 1944. With the aid of specially commissioned maps, D-Day: The First 24 Hours series gives the dramatic history of the first 24 hours of the Normandy landings, and explains in detail the events that occurred in each landing zone. In this second volume of the series, the book describes the airborne landings by paratroopers and glider troops that secured the flanks of the Allied beachhea...

To a large degree, the story of Texas’ secession from Mexico has been undertaken by scholars of the state. Early twentieth century historians of the revolutionary period, most notably Eugene Barker and William Binkley, characterized the conflict as a clash of two opposing cultures, yet their exclusive focus on the region served to reinforce popular notions of a unique Texas past.Disconnected from a broader historiography, scholars have been left to ponder the most arcane details of...

Unlike wars between nations, wherein the population generally comes together to defend its borders and is united by a common national goal, civil wars tear countries apart, divide families, and turn neighbors against each other. Civil wars are a form of self-harm in which a country’s people seek redemption through self-destruction, punishing or severing those parts that are seen to have made the nation ill. And yet civil wars—with their characteristically appalling violence—remain chilling...