Minute-by-minute account of the offensive Covers both the British attackers and the German defenders Explains how and why the assault failed so badly In the late summer of 1942, Rommel's Afrika Korps stood perilously close to breaking through to Cairo and the Nile, having already taken the fortress of Tobruk. In a desperate effort to halt the Germans and buy time for the Allies, British forces--including the Royal Marines, Royal Navy, the SAS, and the Long Range Desert Group--attempted to storm Tobruk and destroy the Axis port there. The operation failed with terrible losses. Peter C. Smith unearths many previously unrevealed facts and highlights the bravery and endurance of those who participated.

It is 1940, and sixteen-year-old Peter Fullerton and his best mate Tony Cantonelli lie about their ages to enlist in the army. Tony also lies about his name-Australia is at war with Italy, and suspicion has been added to the racism he already encounters. Heroes of Tobruk follows these characters from the outbreak of war, through military training and the Siege of Tobruk. Meticulously researched, it combines historical detail and factual information about World War II with a very powerful personal story. Maps and photographs add to the sense of realism.

A masterful and comprehensive chronicle of World War II, by internationally bestselling historian Antony Beevor. Over the past two decades, Antony Beevor has established himself as one of the world's premier historians of WWII. His multi-award winning books have included Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin 1945. Now, in his newest and most ambitious book, he turns his focus to one of the bloodiest and most tragic events of the twentieth century, the Second World War. In this searing narrative that takes us from Hitler's invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939 to V-J day on August 14, 1945 and the war's aftermath, Beevor describes the conflict and its global reach -- one that included every major power. The result is a dramatic and breathtaking single-volume history that provides a remarkably intimate account of the war that, more than any other, still commands attention and an audience. Thrillingly written and brilliantly researched, Beevor's grand and provocative account is destined to become the definitive work on this complex, tragic, and endlessly fascinating period in world history, and confirms once more that he is a military historian of the first rank.

A masterpiece of historical fiction and "a journey of extraordinary riches" (New York Times Book Review), War and Remembrance stands as perhaps the great novel of America's "Greatest Generation." These two classic works capture the tide of world events even as they unfold the compelling tale of a single American family drawn into the very center of the war's maelstrom. The multimillion-copy bestsellers that capture all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of the Second World War -- and that constitute Wouk's crowning achievement -- are available for the first time in trade paperback.

It also changed the way the British Army fought, using concentrated artillery on a scale not seen since 1918 to break through Axis defences built in depth."--BOOK JACKET.

By any standards Mick Stoke’s experiences in the Royal Navy during the Second World War were remarkable. Aged nineteen, he was ‘Mentioned in Despatches’ and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his courage during incessant bombing during the Siege of Tobruk. He survived multiple torpedo attacks, firstly serving on the cruiser Glasgow, which was hit twice; on the battleship Queen Elizabeth at sea and blown up by human torpedoes at Alexandria; and on HMS Hardy, struck in January 1944, while escorting Russian Arctic Convoy JW56B. In 1942, he was serving on HMS Carlisle during the fiercely fought Malta convoys and took part in the Battle of Sirte. Later that year he was awarded the MBE ‘for outstanding bravery, resource and devotion to duty during very heavy bombing’ at the port of Bone during Operation TORCH. He went on to serve at D-Day and later in the Pacific on HMS Rajah. It is a privilege to read Mick Stoke’s graphic and modest memoir. Readers will appreciate and understand how he became ‘The Most Highly Decorated Paymaster Midshipman in the Royal Navy’.