Bøker av Patrick Delaforce

How these divisions from the North of England and Scotland helped turn the war - first in North Africa then in Europe after D-Day

In September 1940, Adolf Hitler cancelled Operation Sealion - the proposed invasion of Britain - and instead ordered the Todt Organisation to build 1,500 miles of Atlantic wall defences along the French, Belgian and Dutch coastlines. They did so, using slave labour. Every seaport was turned into a fortress. Hitler designed the layout and military defences of each one and specified the quality and quantity of cement and steel required. He personally appointed the commandants who swore an oath of allegiance and promised to fight to the finish. Meanwhile, Winston Churchill and his generals were planning how to break into the Atlantic Wall fortresses. After the stunning success of D-Day and Operation Overlord, Allied forces had to seize key fortress-ports to get supplies landed. The Americans fought their way up the Cotentin Peninsula to try to capture Cherbourg, along with St Malo, Brest, Lorient and St Nazaire. At the same time, the Canadian and British forces were hammering their way up the other flank, capturing Le Havre, Dieppe, Boulogne, Calais and surrounding Dunkirk. Allied success was vital to avoid stalemate on the Western Front. All the glamour and news headlines concentrated on the Allied armies' obvious successes; the Americans' struggles in Brittany, and the Canadian and British campaigns in appalling conditions to open the port of Antwerp were all too quickly forgotten. The forces fighting these horrible 'little battles' called it the Cinderella War. This book is the vivid record of their achievements, bravery and determination. Praise for Smashing the Atlantic Wall: 'This book gives an interesting account of the 'Cinderella war' ... Well-written and with a clear explanation of the overall situation, I can recommend this book to anyone interested in the battle for Europe' - Goodreads review Patrick Delaforce (1923-2018) fought with the 11th Armoured Division as a troop leader in Normandy and as a forward observation officer in The Netherlands and Germany during the Second World War. He published more than twenty books, including The Black Bull, Churchill's Desert Rats (in two volumes), The Fighting Wessex Wyverns, Monty's Iron Sides, The Polar Bears and Taming the Panzers.

During the desperate days of May 1940 that ended with the fall of France, the 3rd Battalion Royal Tank Regiment was sent to Calais in support of 30th Infantry Brigade, where it played a vital role in the week-long defence of Calais. In helping to stem the inexorable advance of German panzers, the battalion was uniquely praised by Churchill for giving the BEF much-needed extra time for the crucial evacuation from Dunkirk's beaches to be put into effect. Reformed and refitted by the spring of 1941, 3 RTR returned to Europe to fight the panzers once again, this time in the ill-fated Greek campaign, where it became the only RTR unit to see combat. The battalion fought a costly withdrawal action against the Germans, losing its entire complement of tanks, but still managed to inflict casualties on the enemy during the retreat. Hitler was furious: the six-week Greek campaign had delayed Operation Barbarossa, allowing the Russian armies time to re-group before the panzers reached Moscow. The surviving officers and men of 3 RTR embarked for Egypt at the end of April where they came under the command of General Montgomery. 3 RTR fought again in all the main North African desert battles, including the major turning point engagements at Alam Haifa and El Alamein. Moving back to north-west Europe to join the invasion in June 1944, 3 RTR was in the thick of all the desperate battles in Normandy after its arrival on 17 June. The unit took part in the 'Great Swan' to capture Amiens and Antwerp, then provided right flank protection in Operation Market Garden. It helped to halt the panzers in the Ardennes and, as the only RTR unit in the British Army to be equipped with brand new Comet tanks, took part in the many river crossing battles on its way to the Baltic - and on to the end of the war in Europe. Praise for Taming the Panzers: 'This book is very well informed, the author was there personally for some of it and was able to speak to those that were directly involved in other parts as well as having access to war diaries etc. The style is very readable, and it is an excellent unit history [of] a tank regiment that was involved in all of the main campaigns in NW Europe and the Med' - Amazon review Patrick Delaforce (1923-2018) served with the 11th Armoured Division in the Royal Horse Artillery as a troop leader in Normandy and as FOO in The Netherlands and Germany during the Second World War. He was awarded the Bronze Cross of Orange-Nassau and Mentions in Dispatches during the fighting in Germany. He then joined the 7th Armoured Division at the end of 1945 and commanded Java Troop, 3rd Horse Artillery. He wrote several books, including Churchill's Desert Rats, Black Bull, Fighting Wessex Wyverns, Polar Bears, Monty's Ironsides and Marching to the Sound of Gunfire.

In 1655 a beautiful, talented young Huguenot girl of 15 married a humble 'mean little clerk' called Samuel Pepys. Pepys in love - Elizabeth's Story is a totally factual account derived from Lord Braybrook's edition of the Diary. It also incorporates new research, including Huguenot and French records of Elizabeth's life, her eccentric family, her wild tempestuous marriage with the 'Saviour of the Navy' and her numerous admirers - from the Duke of York, 'My Lord' Edward Mountagu and the Bordeaux wine shipper William Batailley to Samuel's lifelong friend, William Hewer. Praise for Pepys in Love - Elizabeth's Story: 'The story of the enigmatic women behind one of history's most fascinating characters. Master of the military tome, Delaforce combines typical insightful/ intrepid research with surprising lightness of touch for a read that's as suitably beguiling as his subject' - Amazon review Patrick Delaforce (1923-2018) fought with the 11th Armoured Division as a troop leader in Normandy and as a forward observation officer in The Netherlands and Germany during the Second World War. He published more than twenty books, including The Black Bull, Churchill's Desert Rats (in two volumes), The Fighting Wessex Wyverns, Monty's Iron Sides, The Polar Bears and Taming the Panzers.

The story of Britain's Royal Tank Regiment is one of struggle, triumph and achievement. It may be relatively young, but this regiment's years have seen the stalemate of trench warfare overcome, the restoration of battlefield mobility and the establishment of armoured and mechanised forces as a dominant factor in battle. During the First World War, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment won two Victoria Crosses and were victors in the first-ever tank-versus-tank engagement, while 2 RTR fought in all the key Western Front battles from Messines in June 1917 to the armistice. Both formations took part in the massed armoured attack at Cambrai on 20 November 1917, a key encounter in the history of the tank. During the Second World War, 1 RTR saw action in the North African desert, in Italy and in North-West Europe, forming the spearhead of 7th Armoured Division in the campaigns of 1944 and 1945. Following service with the British Expeditionary Force in France in 1940 and later in North Africa, 2 RTR fought a heroic rearguard action in Burma during 1942. During 1944 and 1945, 2 RTR took part in the Italian campaign, before ending its war in Austria. Battles with Panzers draws upon interviews with some forty veteran officers and men of both battalions to tell the inspiring story of Britain's two premier tank battalions at war. The narrative is interwoven with extensive interviews with these veterans, including the late Field Marshal Lord Carver who was a young tank commander with 1 RTR stationed in North Africa at the outbreak of war in 1939. Patrick Delaforce (1923-2018) fought with the 11th Armoured Division as a troop leader in Normandy and as a forward observation officer in The Netherlands and Germany during the Second World War. He published more than twenty books, including The Black Bull, Churchill's Desert Rats (in two volumes), The Fighting Wessex Wyverns, Monty's Iron Sides, The Polar Bears and Taming the Panzers.

Nelson is one of England's most famous men, but little is written of his wife of fourteen years, Lady Frances 'Fanny' Nelson, Duchess of Bronte, until now. Raised on a plantation in the West Indies, she married an unknown naval captain in 1787. He was unpopular with no prospects, an undesirable match. Yet Fanny was his devoted wife and widow until her death at the age of 70 in 1831. Largely ignored by biographers, Fanny was intelligent, well read and skilled in French, painting and the piano. She was also a favourite at court and amongst the Lords of the Admiralty. In this comprehensive biography Patrick Delaforce stakes Fanny's claim to a place in history. This is a story of a remarkable woman and her intimate relationship with England's greatest naval hero. Patrick Delaforce was educated at Winchester and served as a Troop Commander from Normandy to the Baltic in the Second World War. He then became a Port Wine shipper in Portugal, managed an advertising agency in New York before becoming a wine grower in France. He then lived in England as a full-time author and wrote fourteen books of travel, history, biography and wine. Patrick died in 2018, aged 94.

This well researched and well written book covers the early campaigns and battles that earned The Desert Rats their fame and name.This volume covers the difficult early years when ultimate victory was less than certain. The Nazis were victorious on many fronts and Britain stood alone. Indeed it was at El Alamein that 7 armored Division and the rest of Montgomerys Eighth Army turned the tide. The church bells rang out in Britain and a new spirit was born. But much fighting lay ahead and many were to die. The successful completion of the North African campaign led to the invasion of Sicily and the long slog up Italy.The Desert Rats were at the forefront of these campaigns. Three Victoria Crosses were won in the desert and many famous names were associated with the Division, such as Field Marshal Lord Carver and Major General Pip Roberts.The Divisions story is told by many first hand contributions and is the result of painstaking research by the author who was also a Desert Rat.

11th Armoured Division was in the thick of the action from June 1944 until VE Day. The Division was commanded by the legendary Major General Pip Roberts.

Details the final weeks of the Second World War, including the surrender of Germany and the liberation of much of Europe