The Longest Siege: Tobruk - The Battle That Saved North Africa

History

LYMAN, Robert

Africa

Macmillan

Flying the notorious "Hump" route between India and China in 1943, a twin-engine plane suffered mechanical failure and crashed in a dense mountain jungle, deep within Japanese-held territory. Among the passengers and crew were celebrated CBS journalist Eric Sevareid, an OSS operative who was also a Soviet double agent, and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell's personal political adviser. Against the odds, all but one of the twenty-one people aboard the doomed aircraft survived-it remains the largest civilian evacuation of an aircraft by parachute. But they fell from the frying pan into the fire. Disentangling themselves from their parachutes, the shocked survivors discovered that they had arrived in wild country dominated by a tribe with a special reason to hate white men. The Nagas were notorious headhunters who routinely practiced slavery and human sacrifice, their specialty being the removal of enemy heads. Japanese soldiers lay close by, too, with their own brand of hatred for Americans. Among the Headhunters tells-for the first time-the incredible true story of the adventures of these men among the Naga warriors, their sustenance from the air by the USAAF, and their ultimate rescue. It is also a story of two very different worlds colliding-young Americans, exuberant apostles of their country's vast industrial democracy, coming face-to-face with the Naga, an ancient tribe determined to preserve its local power based on headhunting and slaving.

Among the Headhunters: An Extraordinary World War II Story of Survival in the Burmese Jungle

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

Da Capo Press

Beginning on 10th April 1941, and lasting for 240 days, the siege of Tobruk is a mesmerising tale of human endurance and heroism. It is an epic story of extraordinary resilience as the Libyan port's 24,000 defenders met increasingly desperate attempts by Rommel's Panzer divisions to break through the hurriedly thrown-up defences. It was a battle of bayonets and grenades against tanks, of David versus Goliath.
The eventual allied victory came against overwhelming odds, plus the morale sapping knowledge that the defenders were surrounded on one side by the sea, and on the other by Hitler's men and machines (who, only the year before, had brought Western Europe to its knees). Tobruk was defended in the main by the Australian 9th Division, followed by the British 70th Infantry Division who then linked up with the advancing 8th Army. The Royal Navy also played an important role in Tobruk's defence. By December 1941 Rommel had been beaten and forced to withdraw his forces from Cyrenaica. The siege was lifted and the exhausted, gallant defenders able to march out in triumph.

Longest Siege: Tobruk: the Battle That Saved North Africa

Military

Pan Books, Ltd.

During the Second World War, it is hard to imagine a situation where the British High Command could think that one of the only ways they could attack Hitler was to send ten canoeists with limpet mines to paddle one hundred miles up the Gironde estuary, in the middle of winter, in an attempt to sink German blockade ships in Bordeaux harbour. Yet this is precisely what happened in 1942. The man who gave the go-ahead for the audacious commando raid - Lord Louis Mountbatten, head of Combined Operations - fully anticipated that all ten men would die in the attempt. Mountbatten wasn't far wrong - two ripped their collapsible canoes as they were manhandling them out of the submarine; two drowned when their canoes capsized entering the Gironde estuary; and a further six were captured by the Germans and later executed. By complete chance, the two canoeists who managed to escape - Major 'Blondie' Hasler and Marine Bill Sparks - stumbled into the arms of the French resistance. Once in their care, Hasler and Sparks made their way across France and into Spain, crossing the Pyrenees in the company (though they did not know it) of a Gestapo agent intent on bringing down the resistance network. Operation Suicide will be the first account of this enthralling raid for over fifty years. In utilizing primary source material, including detailed German records captured by the British in 1944 (which remained censored until 1976), Robert Lyman brings to life one of the most courageous and dramatic events to take place in the darkest days of the Second World War.

Operation Suicide: The Remarkable Story of the Cockleshell Raid

Quercus

At nightfall on December 7 1942, twelve British canoeists arrived by submarine off the coast of France, tasked with infiltrating the dockyards of Bordeaux, and wreaking havoc with the German shipping they found there. Manning fragile 'cockles' through the turbulent waters of the Bay of Biscay, and making an assault on a port bristling with German soldiers ordered to execute any Allied Commando they captured, their prospects looked bleak. It was fully expected that all would die in the attempt. Featuring a cast of characters ranging from Blondie Hasler, the ingenious and courageous leader of the raid, to the Comtesse de Milleville, who risked outrageous danger as she ran a secret resistance network, Operation Suicide is an enthralling account of one of WWII's most iconic missions.

Europe

Quercus Publishing

Robert Lyman's deep knowledge and understanding of the war in Burma, and the great battles at Kohima and Imphal in 1944, are well known. In this book he uses original documents, published works and personal accounts to weave together an enthralling account of some of the bitterest fighting of WWII. Not only does he use British sources for his research but he has also included material from the Naga tribes of northeast India, on whose land these battles were fought, and from Japanese accounts, including interviews with Japanese veterans of the fighting. Thus he has been able to produce what is arguably the most balanced history of the battles that were pivotal in ending the Japanese empire.

Japan's Last Bid for Victory: The Invasion of India, 1944

Americas

Pen and Sword Military

The Longest Siege Tobruk. The Battle That Saved North Africa

A vivid social history of Europe, as the Nazi menace casts a shadow over the continent. The Rise of the Third Reich is a poignant and powerful portrait of the years 1939 to 1941, which witnessed the march towards the greatest manmade catastrophe the world has ever experienced. The narrative follows events from 3 September 1939, when Britain and France declared war on Germany, to Pearl Harbor and America’s declaration of war in December 1941. It is told from the fresh perspective of expatriate Americans caught up in the exploding conflict. Uniquely, the book uses their contemporary accounts, to record a time when British and other nationalities were barred from Nazi-occupied territory, but US citizens could travel and report what they saw. They describe the foreboding, fear and suffering caused by the Nazi invasions. These were years of increasing calls for American intervention, as Britain faced its darkest days, and held off the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain, yet remained vulnerable. Meanwhile, European nations fell one after another, and Hitler’s power extended from the Mediterranean to the Baltic. Acclaimed historian Robert Lyman brings together a wide range of encounters, conversations and memories. The individuals range across the social spectrum, from the great singer, dancer and activist Josephine Baker to young volunteers in the RAF, such as aces James Goodison, Art Donahue, and the wealthy playboy Billy Fiske - the first American volunteer in the RAF to die in action during the Battle of Britain. The story unfolds as the war drags the whole of Europe and a reluctant United States into the maelstrom.

Rise of the Third Reich

Amberley Publishing

'Elegantly written and beautifully produced' TLS\nHow 'Uncle Bill' won the war in Burma\nDefeated and demoralised, British units in the Far East had virtually been ejected from Burma when, in 1943, General W. J. Slim organised, trained and then deployed his famous 'forgotten' 14th Army to devastating effect, defeating the Japanese twice and liberating Burma in the process. One of the most innovative soldiers of his generation, Slim's 'smart' style of soldiering was startling in its modernity - and with it he achieved something no one believed possible.\nAn intelligent, compassionate commander, the unconventional Slim was also a heroic figure to the men he commanded - known affectionately to the ranks as 'Uncle Bill'. This biography tells the fascinating story of how he brought victory out of defeat; Lyman now gives him his rightful place, alongside Patton and Guderian, in the pantheon of eminent and unorthodox Second World War commanders.\nFrom the Back Cover\nHow 'Uncle Bill' won the war in Burma\nDefeated and demoralised, British units in the Far East had virtually been ejected from Burma when, in 1943, General W. J. Slim organised, trained and then deployed his famous 'forgotten' 14th Army to devastating effect, defeating the Japanese twice and liberating Burma in the process. One of the most innovative soldiers of his generation, Slim's 'smart' style of soldiering was startling in its modernity - and with it he achieved something no one believed possible.\nAn intelligent, compassionate commander, the unconventional Slim was also a heroic figure to the men he commanded - known affectionately to the ranks as 'Uncle Bill'. This biography tells the fascinating story of how he brought victory out of defeat; Lyman now gives him his rightful place, alongside Patton and Guderian, in the pantheon of eminent and unorthodox Second World War commanders.\n'Lyman's well-researched, elegantly written and beautifully produced book is the best yet written on Slim' 
Times Literary Supplement\n'Robert Lyman . . . asserts that Slim was the outstanding British general of the war. He is surely right' Sunday Telegraph\n'This significant book . . . is a much needed and scholarly addition to the literature of the Burma War' Soldier Magazine

Slim, Master of War: Burma, 1942-5

Historical

Constable

About the Author\nMajor Robert Lyman was an officer in the British Army for twenty years. He is the acclaimed author of Slim, Master of War: Burma and the Birth of Modern Warfare and First Victory: Britain's Forgotten Struggle in the Middle East, 1941. He lives in Berkshire, England.\nIn December 1941, as the Japanese army led by Yamashita scythed through Malaya to capture Singapore, Britain's defence of its Asian colonies collapsed. Poor preparation and inadequate leadership saw the British exposed to a new type of warfare in the Far East, a Japanese blitzkrieg that proved every bit as effective as Hitler's in France the previous year.\nWhen the Japanese advanced into Burma and approached the gates of India and China, Churchill and his generals had little idea how to counter the seemingly unstoppable offensive. Defeat seemed inevitable. Yet only four years later, the Japanese army would be in full-scale retreat. A crushing victory would be achieved by Britain and her allies.\nFrom Malaya and Burma to India and China - across jungle, mountain and desert prairie - the Burma campaign proved the longest continuous campaign of the Second World War. In The Generals, highly acclaimed military historian Dr Robert Lyman examines the role of military leaders on both sides and analyses the roles they played in the desperate struggle that has become known as 'The Forgotten War'.\nThe personality of each commander directly influenced the outcome of battles, the formulation of strategy and the determination or otherwise of troops to fight to the bitter end. Through the stories of Yamashita, Percival, Hutton, Irwin, Mountbatten, Stilwell, Mutaguchi and Slim, Lyman tells the gripping and heroic story of the war in the Far East.

The Generals: From Defeat to Victory, Leadership in Asia 1941-1945

Asia

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by LYMAN, Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by LYMAN, Robert

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by LYMAN, Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Longest Siege: Tobruk - The Battle That Saved North Africa

Among the Headhunters: An Extraordinary World War II Story of Survival in the Burmese Jungle

Longest Siege: Tobruk: the Battle That Saved North Africa

Operation Suicide: The Remarkable Story of the Cockleshell Raid

Operation Suicide: The Remarkable Story of the Cockleshell Raid

Japan's Last Bid for Victory: The Invasion of India, 1944

The Longest Siege Tobruk. The Battle That Saved North Africa

Rise of the Third Reich

Slim, Master of War: Burma, 1942-5

The Generals: From Defeat to Victory, Leadership in Asia 1941-1945