Vogel

Over the 81 days from the Allied D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, to the Liberation of Paris on August 25th, this sweeping World War II historical novel uncovers the horrors, triumphs, and passions of the men and women on both sides of the conflict in Northern France.

Eager to contribute to the fight for their freedom, French patriots formed the Resistance, sabotaged German supply routes, provided the Allies with valuable intelligence, and attempted to raise an army behind the German lines. Over the next two months, their numbers swelled to more than 200,000 members in Paris alone.

Charged with protecting the vulnerable rear of the German fighting forces and maintaining control over the population is a 250-man SS security force composed of elite French-speaking specialists, personally recruited, trained, and led by SS Colonel Hans Vogel.

In August 1944, Adolph Hitler appointed General Dietrich von Choltitz, his most loyal and trusted general, to the post of Military Governor of Paris. Von Choltitz was personally ordered by the Fuhrer to destroy the city and all of its cultural treasures before it fell into the hands of the Allies. History records that von Choltitz disobeyed that order, and after the war, he was lauded by most historians as the Savior of the City of Light. But not all historians agree on the reasons for his decision. Only Hans Vogel knows the truth.

116,000 words