The Raid on Zeebrugge

The Raid on Zeebrugge PDF Author: Carl Decaluwé
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781473854314
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book is the fruit of the chance discovery of a series of photographic plates belonging to Alfred Carpenter, who commanded the lead ship, HMS Vindictive, during the raid. These pictures provide us with a unique insight into this daring naval operation, which was to result in the most Victoria crosses ever being awarded for a single action. The plates were used by Captain Carpenter to illustrate a lecture tour of the United States and Canada after the war. Winston Churchill called the raid on Zeebrugge 'the finest feat of arms of the Great War'. This brief, but bloody, action resulted in the highest number of Victoria Crosses ever awarded for a single action. Approximately one thousand officers and men of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines stormed the most heavily defended U-Boat base in Occupied Europe. German submarines based in Zeebrugge were responsible for a third of all allied shipping losses during the First World War. During the Passchendaele offensive of 1917, the Allies attempted to capture these U-boat bases by means of a land-based attack. The failure of the Battle of Passchendaele made it clear that a naval assault was the only solution. As a result, on 23 April 1918, a small force of fighting vessels, towing three blockships, set out across the North Sea...

The Raid on Zeebrugge

The Raid on Zeebrugge PDF Author: Carl Decaluwé
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781473854314
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book is the fruit of the chance discovery of a series of photographic plates belonging to Alfred Carpenter, who commanded the lead ship, HMS Vindictive, during the raid. These pictures provide us with a unique insight into this daring naval operation, which was to result in the most Victoria crosses ever being awarded for a single action. The plates were used by Captain Carpenter to illustrate a lecture tour of the United States and Canada after the war. Winston Churchill called the raid on Zeebrugge 'the finest feat of arms of the Great War'. This brief, but bloody, action resulted in the highest number of Victoria Crosses ever awarded for a single action. Approximately one thousand officers and men of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines stormed the most heavily defended U-Boat base in Occupied Europe. German submarines based in Zeebrugge were responsible for a third of all allied shipping losses during the First World War. During the Passchendaele offensive of 1917, the Allies attempted to capture these U-boat bases by means of a land-based attack. The failure of the Battle of Passchendaele made it clear that a naval assault was the only solution. As a result, on 23 April 1918, a small force of fighting vessels, towing three blockships, set out across the North Sea...

The Blocking of Zeebrugge

The Blocking of Zeebrugge PDF Author: Stephen Prince
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780964293
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
On the night of 22–23 April 1918 the Royal Navy carried out a raid on the German held ports of Zeebrugge and Ostend – Operation Z-O. Under the cover of clouds and smoke, over 70 ships and an assault force of 1,800 Royal Marines embarked on a daring mission which involved a vicious battle of incredible intensity. However, despite the gallant and courageous efforts of the attackers, 11 of whom were later awarded the Victoria Cross, the raid was only partly successful. Discover the successes and failures of this dramatic raid in this in-depth account, complete with specially commissioned battlescene artwork. The author reveals how despite failure, the raid demonstrated to Germany that Britain was still capable of offensive action, even as its armies were being forced back.

The Blocking of Zeebrugge

The Blocking of Zeebrugge PDF Author: Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter
Publisher: Franklin Classics
ISBN: 9780341817147
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Zeebrugge Raid 1918

Zeebrugge Raid 1918 PDF Author: Paul Kendall
Publisher: Frontline
ISBN: 9781473876712
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Approximately a third of all Allied merchant vessels sunk during the First World War were by German boats and submarines based at Bruge-Zeebrugge on the coast of Belgium. By 1918 it was feared that Britain would be starved into surrender unless the enemy raiders could be stopped. A daring plan was therefore devised to sail directly into the heavily defended port of Zeebrugge and then to sink three obsolete cruisers in the harbour in the hope they would block German vessels from reaching the English Channel. The cruisers were also to be accompanied by two old submarines, which were filled with explosives to blow up the viaduct connecting the mole to the shore, whilst 200 Marines were to be landed to destroy German gun positions at the entrance to the Bruges Canal.On 23 April the most ambitious amphibious raid of the First World War was carried out, told here through a huge collection of personal accounts and official reports on the bitter fighting which saw more than 500 British casualties from the 1,700 men who took part, and saw the awarding of eight Victoria Crosses.REVIEWS With a further elaborate sub-heading 'A Story of Courage and Sacrifice Told Through Newspaper Reports, Official Documents and the Accounts of Those Who Were There' just about sums the book up in one sentence. Broken down into 28 bite-size chapters, The Zeebrugge Raid is a 'blow-by-blow' account of the action through the eyes of those who were actually there rather than from a historian's viewpoint. Eight pages of black and white photographs, a single plan and a comprehension section on Notes and Reference all combine to make this one of the most comprehensive and detailed accounts of this famous raid to date.Military Modelling Vol.46, July 2016

St Nazaire Raid, 1942

St Nazaire Raid, 1942 PDF Author: Stephen Wynn
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1526736314
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
The raid on St Nazaire has gone down in history as one of the most daring commando raids of all time. Given the code name of Operation Chariot, it took place in the early hours of Saturday, 28 March 1942, and was a joint undertaking by the Royal Navy and British Commando units. The port at St Nazaire, which sits on the Loire estuary and the Atlantic Ocean, has a dry dock that was capable of accommodating some of Germany’s biggest naval vessels, such as the Bismarck, or the Tirpitz. By putting the port out of action, any repairs or maintenance work that needed to be carried out would instead have to be undertaken back home at the German port of Bremerhaven. To do this, the German vessels would either have to navigate the waters of the English Channel or the North Sea, with both journeys potentially bringing them to the attention of the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy. A raiding force of 612 officers and men were assembled and dispatched from Falmouth to carry out the raid, sailing on board the obsolete British destroyer HMS Campbeltown, along with 18 Motor Launches. The idea was to ram the destroyer in to the outer gates of the dry dock at St Nazaire and put it out of action for as long as possible. The raid was a success, but came at a price: of those who set out, 169 were killed whilst a further 215 were captured. Only 3 Motor Launches and 228 men escaped and made the return journey back to the UK. Many brave men gave it their all during the action at St Nazaire, to such an extent that 89 of those who took part in the raid were awarded decorations for bravery, including 5 who were awarded the Victoria Cross.

Gunpowder & Glory

Gunpowder & Glory PDF Author: Harry Smee
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1612008453
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
The thrilling biography of the brilliant British inventor and daredevil war hero whose efforts saved countless lives during WWI. Though he only lived to be 33, Wing Commander Frank Brock had accomplished much in his short life. The scion of the world-famous Brock Fireworks company, he is best known as the inventor of the Brock Bullet—the explosive bullet used to destroy German Zeppelins. He also invented the Dover Flares which lit up the sea at night and forced U-boats into deep mine fields. But his exploits went far beyond the engineering lab. As a secret agent Brock dashed to France on his wedding day, snuck into Switzerland, rowed across Lake Constance into enemy territory, and orchestrated the world’s first strategic bombing raid at the zeppelin factory in Friedrichshafen, Germany. On the day of his untimely death, he led the charge in a surprise naval attack on Zeebrugge, Belgium, only made possible by the smoke screen he invented to mask their approach. Co-authored by his grandson, Gunpowder and Glory tells more than Brock’s amazing life of invention and heroism. Woven into the narrative is the dazzling history of C.T. Brock & Company Fireworks, the world-famous firm started by Frank’s five-times great-grandfather.

Tragedy at Dieppe

Tragedy at Dieppe PDF Author: Mark Zuehlke
Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre
ISBN: 1553658353
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 458

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Book Description
Now in paper! The gripping story of the Canadian Army's disastrous raid on Dieppe -- the tenth instalment of the bestselling Canadian Battle Series. Nicknamed "the Poor Man's Monte Carlo," Dieppe had no strategic importance in World War II -- but the decision to assault it in August 1942 with the largest raid mounted to that date was political. With the Soviet Union thrown on the ropes by German invasion and America having just entered the war, Britain was under intense pressure to launch a major cross-Channel attack. In Canada, too, the public was calling for action, impatient to see Canadian soldiers wrap up their training in Britain and get into the war. Almost 5,000 Canadians formed the core of a 6,000-strong force. By the raid's end, 913 would be dead or mortally wounded, 1,946 would be prisoners of war and the Dieppe raid would become Canada's most costly day of World War II. Drawing on rare archival documents and personal interviews, Mark Zuehlke examines how the raid came to be and why it went so tragically wrong. From the clashes of personality and ambition among those masterminding the raid to the experiences of the common soldier left to carry it out, this tenth instalment of the Canadian Battle Series tells a compelling, unflinching story.

The Dawn of the Drone

The Dawn of the Drone PDF Author: Steve Mills
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612007902
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
“[A] slice of largely-forgotten military history . . . a fascinating exploration of some magnificent men and their flying machines.” —The Sunday Post In the dark days of World War I, when flying machines, radio, and electronics were infant technologies, the first remotely controlled experimental aircraft took to the skies and unmanned radio controlled 40-foot high-speed Motor Torpedo Boats ploughed the seas in Britain. Developed by the British Army’s Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Navy these prototype weapons stemmed from an early form of television demonstrated before the war by Prof. A. M. Low. The remotecontrol systems for these aircraft and boats were invented at RFC Secret Experimental Works commanded by Prof. Low, which was part of the organization of “back-room boys” in the Munitions Inventions Department. These audacious projects led to the hundreds of remotely controlled Queen Bee aerial targets in the 1930s and hence to all the machines that we now call “drones.” Starting well before WWI and, for the lucky ones, extending well beyond it, the lives of Archibald Low and many of his contemporaries were extraordinary as were the times they lived through. They were around for the first epic aircraft flights and with the aid of the very technologies that had enabled the development of drones, they saw air travel transformed from the precarious to the routine. It is astonishing that the origins of the first drones are not common knowledge in Britain and that the achievement of these maverick inventors is not commemorated. “A focused and engaging look at one arena of behind-the-scenes scientific research and the larger-than-life personalities who populated it.” —Booklist

Airfields and Airmen

Airfields and Airmen PDF Author: Mike O'Connor
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1844152588
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
En bog i Battleground serien, som delvis udgør en rejsefører for de, som besøger kampområderne, delvis en bog med informationer, som kan studeres individuelt. Forfatteren beskriver luftmilitære installationer i Frankrig, Normandiet/Kanalkystområdet samt materiel og personel involveret under den 1. verdenskrig 1914-18. En oversigt og beskrivelse af kirkegårde udgør en del af bogen.

The Atlantic Wall (2)

The Atlantic Wall (2) PDF Author: Steven J. Zaloga
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780961456
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Book Description
Germany's Atlantic Wall was the most ambitious military fortification program of World War II. Following its conquest of Western Europe, Germany had to defend some 5,000km of Atlantic coastline from the Spanish border to the Arctic Circle. The United States' entry into the war and the inevitability of an Anglo-American landing in Western Europe resulted in the fortification of this coastline along its entire length. Focusing on the northern Atlantic Wall in the Low Countries and Scandinavia, this title addresses the special defensive features and unique aspects of fortification in these countries, such as the early focus on fortifying Norway, due to early British commando raids; the greater use of turreted naval guns; and the establishment of first-line Flak defences in the Low Countries to counter the Allied strategic bombing campaign.