eBook - ePub
The True Story of the Great Escape
Stalag Luft III, March 1944
- 392 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
The real history behind the classic war movie and the men who plotted the daring escape from a Nazi POW camp.
Between dusk and dawn on the night of March 24th–25th 1944, a small army of Allied soldiers crawled through tunnels in Germany in a covert operation the likes of which the Third Reich had never seen. The prison break from Stalag Luft III in eastern Germany was the largest of its kind in the Second World War. Seventy-nine Allied soldiers and airmen made it outside the wire—but only three made it outside Nazi Germany. Fifty were executed by the Gestapo.
In this book Jonathan Vance tells the incredible story that was made famous by the 1963 film The Great Escape. It is a classic tale of prisoners and their wardens in a battle of wits and wills. The brilliantly conceived escape plan is overshadowed only by the colorful, daring (and sometimes very funny) crew who executed it—literally under the noses of German guards. From the men's first days in Stalag Luft III and the forming of bonds among them, to the tunnel building, amazing escape, and eventual capture, Vance's history is a vivid, compelling look at one of the greatest "exfiltration" missions of all time.
"Shows the variety and depth of the men sent into harm's way during World War II, something emphasized by the population of Stalag Luft III. Most of the Allied POWs were flyers, with all the technical, tactical and planning skills that profession requires. Such men are independent thinkers, craving open air and wide-open spaces, which meant that an obsession with escape was almost inevitable." —John D. Gresham
Between dusk and dawn on the night of March 24th–25th 1944, a small army of Allied soldiers crawled through tunnels in Germany in a covert operation the likes of which the Third Reich had never seen. The prison break from Stalag Luft III in eastern Germany was the largest of its kind in the Second World War. Seventy-nine Allied soldiers and airmen made it outside the wire—but only three made it outside Nazi Germany. Fifty were executed by the Gestapo.
In this book Jonathan Vance tells the incredible story that was made famous by the 1963 film The Great Escape. It is a classic tale of prisoners and their wardens in a battle of wits and wills. The brilliantly conceived escape plan is overshadowed only by the colorful, daring (and sometimes very funny) crew who executed it—literally under the noses of German guards. From the men's first days in Stalag Luft III and the forming of bonds among them, to the tunnel building, amazing escape, and eventual capture, Vance's history is a vivid, compelling look at one of the greatest "exfiltration" missions of all time.
"Shows the variety and depth of the men sent into harm's way during World War II, something emphasized by the population of Stalag Luft III. Most of the Allied POWs were flyers, with all the technical, tactical and planning skills that profession requires. Such men are independent thinkers, craving open air and wide-open spaces, which meant that an obsession with escape was almost inevitable." —John D. Gresham
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Yes, you can access The True Story of the Great Escape by Jonathan F. Vance,Simon Pearson in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Military Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Dedication
- Glossary and Guide to Abbreviations
- Maps
- Foreword
- Prologue
- 1 The First to Fall
- 2 Learning the Escaping Game
- 3 The Dulag Luft Tunnel
- 4 They Came to Sagan
- 5 Through the Wire
- 6 An International Community
- 7 The Plan is Hatched
- 8 North Compound Opens
- 9 Sinking the Traps
- 10 The Delousing Party
- 11 Tunnel Success and Failure
- 12 X Organization Regroups
- 13 Travel Plans are Made
- 14 The Ferrets Strike
- 15 Beyond the Wire
- 16 Battling the Elements
- 17 The Train Travelers
- 18 Götterdämmerung
- 19 ‘The Air Ministry Regrets …’
- Epilogue
- Suggested Reading