The True Story of the Wooden Horse

Robert J. Laplander

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781783831012
• eBook ISBN: 9781473835146
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: German History
• Index: History

This in-depth historical study reveals fascinating new insight into the famous Wooden Horse escape of three Allied POWs from a Nazi prison camp.

In 1943, three British prisoners of war plotted a daring and ingenious escape from Stalag Luft III by making use of a hollowed-out gymnastic vaulting horse. A year before the events of The Great Escape—which would take place at the same camp—Lieutenants Michael Codner, Eric Williams, and Oliver Philpot executed the plan that Williams later recounted in his classic memoir The Wooden Horse. Now Robert Laplander presents a revealing new account in this comprehensive study of Stalag Luft III and the many attempts at escape that occurred there during the Second World War.

As Laplander explains, Williams' memoir was impeded by both a lack of necessary historical scope and regulations of the Crown. In The True Story of the Wooden Horse, Laplander makes use of newly released official documents and eye-witnesses reports. Supplemented by illustrations, including shots of a full-scale replica of the vaulting horse, this volume presents an exhaustive account of the escape in its entirety, set in the context of the camp's history.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Author’s Notes and Acknowledgements
• Prologue: Confessions of a latent escaper
• Part I: Capture
• Part II: Captivity
• Part III: Escape
• Postscript: ‘Margaret’
• Notes
• Glossary