Churchill's Hellraisers
The Thrilling Secret WW2 Mission to Storm a Forbidden Nazi Fortress
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4.0 • 9 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
From award-winning war reporter Damien Lewis, the untold story of the heroic hellraisers who stormed a Nazi fortress—in one of the most daring raids of World War II . . .
Winter, 1944. Allied forces have liberated most of Axis-occupied Italy—with one crucial exception: the Nazi headquarters north of the Gothic Line. Heavily guarded and surrounded by rugged terrain, the mountain fortress is nearly impenetrable. But British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is determined to drive a dagger into the “soft underbelly of Europe.” The Allied’s plan: drop two paratroopers into the mountains—and take the fortress by storm . . .
The two brave men knew the risks involved, so they recruited an equally fearless team: Italian resistance fighters, escaped POWs, downed US airmen, even a bagpipe-playing Scotsman known as “The Mad Piper.” Some had little military training, but all were willing to fight to the death to defeat the Nazi enemy. Ultimately, the mission that began in broad daylight, in the enemy’s line of fire, would end one of the darkest chapters in history—through the courage and conviction of the unsung heroes who dared the impossible . . .
“One of the most dangerous and effective attacks ever undertaken by this Regiment against the enemy.”
—Lt Col Robert Walker‐Brown, MBE DSO, senior SAS commander
“Action-packed . . . Battleground history buffs will be entertained.”
—Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Military historian Lewis (Smoky the Brave) delivers an action-packed account of special operations missions against Nazi forces in Northern Italy during WWII. By the winter of 1944, Lewis writes, the Allied invasion of Italy had been held up at the Gothic Line, "a string of formidable defenses" running from coast to coast across the Apennine mountains. Lewis follows a guerilla force of British soldiers and Italian partisans tasked with sabotaging German supply lines and communications. In an early mission, British SOE agent Michael "Wild Man" Lees, under the command of Maj. Neville Lawrence Darewski, smuggled two senior members of the Italian resistance and a group of escaped POWs across the Gothic Line into Allied territory. After Darewski's death in a subsequent German raid, Lees parachuted back into Northern Italy and led SOE missions to "foment havoc" at the point where the Allies planned to break through the enemy lines. Eventually, he and Maj. Roy Farran led a group of British special forces soldiers, Italian irregulars, and Soviet POWs in a decisive attack against the regional headquarters of Germany's 14th Army. Lewis wades deep into operational details, though he sets a brisk pace and laces the narrative with colorful character sketches. Battleground history buffs will be entertained.
