Red Devils
The Trailblazers of the Parachute Regiment in World War Two: An Authorized History
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Red Devils
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Narrated by:
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Mark Urban
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By:
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Mark Urban
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
A gripping authorised history of the daring 'Red Devils', the trailblazers of the parachute regiment.
The Parachute Regiment is Britain's elite airborne infantry. On the 80th anniversary of their first crucial campaign, in Operation Torch in North Africa, historian and broadcaster Mark Urban combines perspectives from German and British sources to tell the gripping stories of the men who had the resilience, fitness and self-reliance to be "Red Devils"—the name they were given by their German enemies.
The Paras comprised everyone from circus performers to solicitors, policemen to gravediggers, Christian Jews and communists. From recently-widowed Colonel Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, who had to leave his little boy to head to the front, to Mike Lewis, whose photographs became iconic images of war; from those who survived to those who longed for "a bloodbath" and died in action; Urban brings life to these men and their experiences, exploring what drove them and covering their daring actions at D-Day, Arnhem and across the Second World War.
Based on deep archival research and new material from the men's families, and giving overdue recognition to the North African campaign, this compelling account paints a true and moving picture of the heart of war.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2022 Mark Urban (P)2022 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 479
D-Day, June 6, 1944, and the 76 days of bitter fighting in Normandy that followed the Allied landing, have become the defining episode of World War II in the west - the object of books, films, television series, and documentaries. Yet as familiar as it is, as James Holland makes clear in his definitive history, many parts of the OVERLORD campaign, as it was known, are still shrouded in myth and assumed knowledge.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent account of Normandy but be weary...
- By S. H. Moore on 02-22-20
By: James Holland
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Sicily '43
- The First Assault on Fortress Europe
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: Al Murray
- Length: 19 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 185
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 164
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 163
On July 10, 1943, the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted took place, larger even than the Normandy invasion 11 months later: 160,000 American, British, and Canadian troops came ashore or were parachuted onto Sicily, signaling the start of the campaign to defeat Nazi Germany on European soil. Operation HUSKY, as it was known, was enormously complex, involving dramatic battles on land, in the air, and at sea. Yet, despite its paramount importance to ultimate Allied victory, and its drama, very little has been written about the 38-day Battle for Sicily.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great writing, great narration, interesting topic
- By ItalCali on 08-02-21
By: James Holland
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By Tank into Normandy
- By: Stuart Hills, Lord Deedes - foreword
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
Stuart Hills embarked his Sherman DD tank on to an LCT at 6:45 a.m., Sunday, June 4th, 1944. He was 20 years old, un-blooded, fresh from a public-school background, and officer cadet training. He was going to war. Two days later, his tank sunk; he and his crew landed from a rubber dinghy with just the clothes they stood in. After that, the struggles through the Normandy bocage in a replacement tank, engaging the enemy in a constant round of close encounters, led to a swift mastering of the art of tank warfare and remarkable survival in the midst of carnage and destruction.
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5 out of 5 stars
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First “The Big Show” now this?!
- By S. H. Moore on 05-19-21
By: Stuart Hills, and others
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Normandiefront
- D-Day to Saint-Lô Through German Eyes
- By: Vince Milano, Bruce Conner
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
In the cold morning of June 6, 1944, thousands of German soldiers were in position from Port en Bessin eastward past Colleville on the Normandy coast, aware that a massive invasion force was heading straight for them, although according to Allied Intelligence, they shouldn't have been there. The presence of 352 Division meant that the number of defenders was literally double the number expected - and on the best fortified of all the invasion beaches. What makes this account of the bloody struggle unique is that it is told from the German standpoint, using firsthand testimony....
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5 out of 5 stars
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- By David Little on 11-05-24
By: Vince Milano, and others
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The Force
- The Legendary Special Ops Unit and WWII's Mission Impossible
- By: Saul David
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 79
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Story4 out of 5 stars 78
In December of 1943, as Nazi forces sprawled around the world and the future of civilization hung in the balance, a group of highly trained US and Canadian soldiers from humble backgrounds was asked to do the impossible: capture a crucial Nazi stronghold perched atop stunningly steep cliffs. The men were a rough-and-ready group, assembled from towns nested in North America's most unforgiving terrain, where many of them had struggled through the Great Depression relying on canny survival skills and the fearlessness of youth.
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5 out of 5 stars
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well Done
- By Barbara on 11-18-19
By: Saul David
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Tigers in the Mud
- The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius
- By: Otto Carius
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 909
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 820
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 818
World War II began with a metallic roar as the German Blitzkrieg raced across Europe, spearheaded by the most dreaded weapon of the 20th century: the Panzer. No German tank better represents that thundering power than the infamous Tiger, and Otto Carius was one of the most successful commanders to ever take a Tiger into battle, destroying well over 150 enemy tanks during his incredible career.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A troubled, yet worthwhile read...
- By Alek on 05-25-18
By: Otto Carius
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In Mortal Combat
- Korea, 1950-1953
- By: John Toland
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 27 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 245
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 206
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 206
In this brilliant narrative of America's first limited war, Toland lets both the events and the participants speak for themselves, employing scrupulous archival research and interviews as the bases for the drama and accuracy of his writing. In Mortal Combat reveals Mao's prediction of the date and place of MacArthur's Inchon landing, Russia's indifference to the war, Mao's secret leadership of the North Korean military, and the true nature of both sides' treatment and repatriation of POWs.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Slightly disappointed
- By Patrick on 09-02-19
By: John Toland
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Sand and Steel
- The D-Day Invasion and the Liberation of France
- By: Peter Caddick-Adams
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 37 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 77
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Story5 out of 5 stars 76
Sand and Steel gives us D-Day, arguably the greatest and most consequential military operation of modern times, beginning with the years of painstaking and costly preparation, through to the pitched battles fought along France's northern coast, from Omaha Beach to the Falaise and the push east to Strasbourg.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Details, details, details
- By Mike From Mesa on 11-11-21
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Four Hours of Fury
- The Untold Story of World War II's Largest Airborne Operation and the Final Push into Nazi Germany
- By: James M. Fenelon
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
On the morning of March 24, 1945, more than 2,000 Allied aircraft droned through a cloudless sky toward Germany. Escorted by swarms of darting fighters, the armada of transport planes carried 17,000 troops to be dropped, via parachute and glider, on the far banks of the Rhine River. Four hours later, after what was the war’s largest airdrop, all major objectives had been seized....
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5 out of 5 stars
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personal and powerful.
- By TXcustomer on 07-09-19
By: James M. Fenelon
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Battleground Prussia
- The Assault on Germany’s Eastern Front 1944-45
- By: Prit Buttar
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 23 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 154
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 134
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Story5 out of 5 stars 132
The terrible months between the arrival of the Red Army on German soil and the final collapse of Hitler's regime were like no other in the Second World War. The Soviet Army's intent to take revenge for the horror that the Nazis had wreaked on their people produced a conflict of implacable brutality in which millions perished. From the great battles that marked the Soviet conquest of East and West Prussia to the final surrender in the Vistula estuary, this book recounts in chilling detail the desperate struggle of soldiers and civilians alike.
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4 out of 5 stars
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WW II Battleground Ignored by Western Historians
- By AJC on 12-16-19
By: Prit Buttar
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Churchill's Hellraisers
- The Secret Mission to Storm a Forbidden Nazi Fortress
- By: Damien Lewis
- Narrated by: Matt Bates
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 34
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
It is the winter of 1944. Allied forces have succeeded in liberating 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....
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1 out of 5 stars
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chaotic and hard to follow
- By E. Idenmill on 09-27-24
By: Damien Lewis
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Snow & Steel
- The Battle of the Bulge 1944-45
- By: Peter Caddick-Adams
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer, Tim Reynolds
- Length: 31 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 292
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 261
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 262
Between December 16, 1944 and January 15, 1945, American forces found themselves entrenched in the heavily forested Ardennes region of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg defending against an advancing German army amid freezing temperatures, deep snow, and dense fog. Operation Herbstnebel - Autumn Mist - was a massive German counter-offensive that stunned the Allies in its scope and intensity.
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3 out of 5 stars
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fascinating and thorough, painful narration
- By richard on 01-05-15
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A Time for Trumpets
- The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge
- By: Charles B. MacDonald
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 28 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 503
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 452
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 452
On December 16, 1944, the vanguard of three German armies, totaling half a million men, attacked US forces in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg, achieving what had been considered impossible - total surprise. In the most abysmal failure of battlefield intelligence in the history of the US Army, 600,000 American soldiers found themselves facing Hitler's last desperate effort of the war. The brutal confrontation that ensued became known as the Battle of the Bulge, the greatest battle ever fought by the US Army - a triumph of American ingenuity and dedication.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding history
- By J. Norman Reid on 11-22-16
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D-Day
- The Battle for Normandy
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 625
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 452
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 453
Renowned historian Antony Beevor, the man who "single-handedly transformed the reputation of military history" (The Guardian) presents the first major account in more than 20 years of the Normandy invasion and the liberation of Paris. This is the first book to describe not only the experiences of the American, British, Canadian, and German soldiers, but also the terrible suffering of the French caught up in the fighting.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A commendable book
- By Michael on 01-19-10
By: Antony Beevor
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Tiger Battalion 507
- Eyewitness Accounts from Hitler's Regiment
- By: Helmut Schneider, Robert Forczyk - foreword
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 92
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 82
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Story4 out of 5 stars 82
This is the little-known story of Heavy Panzer (Tiger) Battalion 507 told through the recollections of the men who fought with the unit.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Bland
- By stuart lyle on 05-24-21
By: Helmut Schneider, and others
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Retribution
- The Soviet Reconquest of Central Ukraine, 1943-44
- By: Prit Buttar
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 17 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 136
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 122
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
Making use of the extensive memoirs of German and Russian soldiers to bring their story to life, the narrative follows on from On A Knife's Edge, which described the encirclement and destruction of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad and the offensives and counter-offensives that followed throughout the winter of 1942-43.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Solid, substantial military storytelling
- By Rodney W. Schmisseur on 12-21-19
By: Prit Buttar
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Band of Brothers
- E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne, from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Tim Jerome
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 10,882
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 9,699
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Story5 out of 5 stars 9,677
Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army, was as good a rifle company as any in the world. From their rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to D-Day and victory, Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable company, which kept getting the tough assignments. Easy Company was responsible for everything from parachuting into France early D-Day morning to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. Band of Brothers is the account of the men of this remarkable unit.
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5 out of 5 stars
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High Expectations Met
- By Audrey on 02-12-13
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Fire and Movement
- The British Expeditionary Force and the Campaign of 1914
- By: Peter Hart
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 121
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
A remarkable story of high hopes and crushing disappointment, the campaign contains moments of sheer horror and nerve-shattering excitement; pathos and comic relief; occasional cowardice and much selfless courage - all culminating in the climax of the First Battle of Ypres. And yet, as Peter Hart shows in this gripping and revisionary look at the war's first year, for too long the British part in the 1914 campaigns has been veiled in layers of self-congratulatory myth.
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4 out of 5 stars
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stop doing accents on quotes
- By Eric on 02-01-15
By: Peter Hart