By October 1942 the Hlinka Guard had overseen the deportation of some 60,000 Slovak Jews. During the 1944-1945 German occupation, another 13,500 Jews were deported and 5,000 imprisoned. Many of the Jews ended up at the Auschwitz Birkenau Concentration and Extermination Camp. Not much is known about the Hlinka Guard. This book tells their story.
When most people think of the Italian Army in North Africa during the Second World War, they tend to believe that the average Italian soldier offered little resistance to the Allies before surrendering. Many believe the Italian Army, as a whole, performed in a cowardly manner in North Africa. The reality is not so simple. The question remains as to whether the Italians were really cowards or actually victims of circumstance. While the Italian soldier's commitment to the war was not as great as that of the German soldier, many Italians fought bravely. The Italian Littorio and Ariete Divisions earned Allied admiration at Tobruk, Gazala, and EI Alamein. The Italian Army played a significant role as part of the German Afrika Korps and made up a large portion of the Axis combat power in North Africa during 1941 and 1942. In the interest of determining how the Italian Army earned the reputation that it did, it is necessary to analyze why and how the Italians fought.
This book examines reasons for the horrific cruelty of members of the Japanese in Nanking, China in 1937; the German Einsatzgruppen in Russia, from 1941-1943; the Russian Army in Dresden, Germany in 1945; the Americans at Nogunri, Korea in 1950; the Americans at My Lai, Vietnam in 1968; and the Americans at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2004.
During the first years of the Second World War, Italian commandos demonstrated how effective a weapon the frogman could be. Concealed by the water, the Decima Flottiglia MAS mined Allied ships as they were moored in their own harbours, severely reducing British naval power in the Mediterranean. This is the story of their determination and bravery.
The story of 110th Regimental Combat Team during the Battle of the Bulge is one of heroism in the face of overwhelming odds. Fighting elements of three Germany divisions, the 110th fought like they were defending their own homes. Without their brave stand against the German offensive, the 101st... číst celé
When war broke out in 1939, Hitler created `Strafbattalion' (Penal Battalion) units to deal with incarcerated members of the Wehrmacht as well as `subversives'. His order stated that any first-time convicted soldier could return to his unit after he had served a portion of his sentence in `a special probation corps before the enemy'. Beginning in April 1941, convicted soldiers-even those sentenced to death-who had shown exceptional bravery or meritorious service were allowed to rejoin their original units. However those in probation units were expected to undertake dangerous operations at the front. Refusal entailed enforcement of the original sentence. The soldiers who `win back an honourable place in the national community' had done everything that was asked of them: risky advance teams, spyware and shock troops, laying mines under enemy fire. This book examines the penal units, their combat history and order of battle