Bernard Freyberg, VC

Bernard Freyberg, VC PDF Author: Paul Freyberg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Generals
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The author unravels the remarkable life story of his famous father. Freyberg was a soldier's soldier, a commander who never talked down to his men and in later life, a Governor-General of New Zealand with the common touch.

Bernard Freyberg, VC

Bernard Freyberg, VC PDF Author: Paul Freyberg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Generals
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The author unravels the remarkable life story of his famous father. Freyberg was a soldier's soldier, a commander who never talked down to his men and in later life, a Governor-General of New Zealand with the common touch.

Battle for Crete

Battle for Crete PDF Author: Matthew Wright
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780908318162
Category : Operation Mercury, 1941
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description
Confronting the might of the Luftwaffe! New Zealand soldiers arrived in Crete during early May 1941, short of equipment after a hasty evacuation from Greece. Three weeks later Germany invaded from the air, and the fate of New Zealand

The New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War II

The New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War II PDF Author: Wayne Stack
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 178096112X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 49

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Book Description
In 1939 more than 140,000 New Zealanders enlisted to fight overseas during World War II. Of these, 104,000 served in the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Initially thrown into the doomed campaign to halt the German blitzkrieg on Greece and Crete (1941), the division was rebuilt under the leadership of MajGen Sir Bernard Freyberg, and became the elite corps within Montgomery's Eighth Army in the desert. After playing a vital role in the victory at El Alamein (1942) the 'Kiwis' were the vanguard of the pursuit to Tunisia. In 1943–45 the division was heavily engaged in the Italian mountains, especially at Cassino (1944); it ended the war in Trieste. Meanwhile, a smaller NZ force supported US forces against the Japanese in the Solomons and New Guinea (1942–44). Fully illustrated with specially commissioned colour plates, this is the story of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force's vital contribution to Allied victory in World War II.

Freyberg

Freyberg PDF Author: Matthew Wright
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780947506728
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In this fresh account of one of the 20th-century's great New Zealanders, Matthew Wright approaches Bernard Freyberg the man rather than the more widely known figure of a military leader. What took a humble immigrant child in Wellington to become a hero in two wars, friend to literary giants and politicians, very private father and husband, and very public govenor-general? Freyberg: A Life's Journey is the most accessible biography on 'Tiny' Freyberg yet, with numerous black and white photos.--

Fighting the People's War

Fighting the People's War PDF Author: Jonathan Fennell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107030951
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 967

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Book Description
Jonathan Fennell captures for the first time the true wartime experience of the ordinary soldiers from across the empire who made up the British and Commonwealth armies. He analyses why the great battles were won and lost and how the men that fought went on to change the world.

The Royal Naval Division

The Royal Naval Division PDF Author: Douglas Jerrold
Publisher: London, Hutchinson
ISBN:
Category : GREAT BRITAIN ARMY ROYAL NAVAL DIVISION
Languages : en
Pages : 456

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Book Description


The Fall of Crete 1941: Was Freyberg Culpable?

The Fall of Crete 1941: Was Freyberg Culpable? PDF Author: Major James Bliss
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1786250276
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
On 20 May 1941, Generaloberst Kurt Student’s Luftwaffe XI Fliegerkorps conducted the first operational airborne invasion in history to seize Crete. Major-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg VC, 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, commanded the British forces defending the island. Freyberg, forewarned of the details of the invasion, possessed numerical superiority over the enemy, but was defeated within twelve days. Freyberg, later blamed for the defeat due to his perceived faulty defensive dispositions, was dealt a losing hand from the start. His troops consisted of those that could be rescued from the failed Greek Campaign and lacked sufficient weapons, communications, and transport to conduct the defense. Despite the best efforts of the Royal Navy, overwhelming Luftwaffe air superiority in the absence of the Royal Air Force isolated Crete and the relentless drive of the attacking German forces captured it. Poor tactical leadership by Freyberg’s subordinate commanders and their failure to prosecute his operational plan led to defeat by the barest margin. While a tactical loss, Freyberg’s destruction of the 7th Flieger Division resulted in Hitler never considering an operational airborne assault again. Freyberg, although accepting responsibility for the defeat, should not be held entirely culpable for the loss of Crete.

Crete 1941

Crete 1941 PDF Author: Peter Antill
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782007105
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
Operation Mercury, the German airborne assault on the island of Crete in May 1941, was the first strategic use of airborne forces in history. The assault began on 20 May, with landings near the island's key airports, and reinforcements the next day allowed the German forces to capture one end of the runway at Maleme. By 24 May, the Germans were being reinforced by air on a huge scale and on 1 June Crete surrendered. This book describes how desperately close the battle had been and explains how German losses so shocked the Führer that he never again authorised a major airborne operation.

Defending Air Bases in an Age of Insurgency

Defending Air Bases in an Age of Insurgency PDF Author: Shannon Caudill
Publisher: Military Bookshop
ISBN: 9781782666851
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 444

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Book Description
This anthology discusses the converging operational issues of air base defense and counterinsurgency. It explores the diverse challenges associated with defending air assets and joint personnel in a counterinsurgency environment. The authors are primarily Air Force officers from security forces, intelligence, and the office of special investigations, but works are included from a US Air Force pilot and a Canadian air force officer. The authors examine lessons from Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflicts as they relate to securing air bases and sustaining air operations in a high-threat counterinsurgency environment. The essays review the capabilities, doctrine, tactics, and training needed in base defense operations and recommend ways in which to build a strong, synchronized ground defense partnership with joint and combined forces. The authors offer recommendations on the development of combat leaders with the depth of knowledge, tactical and operational skill sets, and counterinsurgency mind set necessary to be effective in the modern asymmetric battlefield.

Forgotten Anzacs

Forgotten Anzacs PDF Author: Peter Ewer
Publisher: Scribe Publications
ISBN: 1925307522
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
This is the largely unknown story of another Anzac force, which fought not at Gallipoli, but in Greece, during World War II. Desperately outnumbered and fighting in deeply inhospitable conditions, these Anzacs found themselves engaging in a long retreat through Greece, under constant air attack. Most of the Anzac Corps was evacuated by the end of April 1941, but many men got only as far as Crete. Fighting a German paratroop invasion there in May, large numbers were taken captive and spent four long years as prisoners of the Nazis. The campaign in Greece turned out to have uncanny parallels to the original Gallipoli operation: both were inspired by Winston Churchill, both were badly planned by British military leaders, and both ended in defeat and evacuation. Just as Gallipoli provided military academies the world over with lessons in how not to conduct a complex feat of arms, Churchill’s Greek adventure reinforced fundamental lessons in modern warfare — heavy tanks could not be stopped by men armed with rifles, and Stuka dive-bombers would not be deflected by promises of air support from London that were never honoured. In this revised edition, based on fresh archival research, and containing a collection of previously unpublished photos, the truth finally emerges as to how the Australian, Greek, and New Zealand Governments were misled over key decisions that would define the campaign. PRAISE FOR PETER EWER ‘This is an important contribution to Australian war literature … an engrossing history of a very important Anzac campaign.’ The Sydney Morning Herald ‘This clear and well-written account of the campaign should do much to rescue the forgotten Anzacs from neglect by subsequent generations.’ Australian Book Review