Böcker av Iain Ballantyne

Now a major television documentary (Channel 4, 2021)The epic mission to destroy Hitler‿s flagship.‿Bismarck was now loose in the Atlantic ‿ we had to find and sink her.‿May, 1941. The most powerful battleship the world has ever seen, the German Navy‿s Bismarck, breaks out into the Atlantic to ravage Allied convoys. Together with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, the Bismarck will seek to deliver a killer blow to Britain‿s war effort. The British launch an all-or-nothing bid to sink her, with the Home Fleet and other naval units steaming hard from all points of the compass, straining every sinew to trap and destroy Bismarck. HMS Hood, the battlecruiser pride of the Royal Navy, is destroyed within eight minutes of engaging Bismarck on 24 May. However, the brand new battleship HMS Prince of Wales lands a pivotal blow on Bismarck, puncturing a fuel tank, forcing the German battleship to make for refuge in a friendly port. Reeling from the loss of the Hood, the Royal Navy redoubles its efforts, intent on avenging lost shipmates. Aircraft carrier Ark Royal, along with battleships King George V and Rodney, plus cruisers and destroyers, are among those who hunt and pursue the foe over more than 1,700 miles. This is the story of Bismarck‿s fateful final twenty-four hours on 26/27 May 1941: the finale of the hunt and the culminating brutal close-quarters battle as Bismarck makes a desperate bid to escape the enemy. Using eyewitness accounts of Royal Navy sailors, Royal Marines and Swordfish torpedo-bomber aviators ‿ including searing testimony gleaned by the author during unique interviews with a ‿band of brothers‿ who were in the thick of the action - Ballantyne brings one of the Second World War‿s most dramatic events thundering to life. He also draws on new research in museum archives and other accounts from both the British and German side, to present a multi-dimensional, cinematic telling of a legendary episode in naval combat history. An epic story, told with compelling immediacy, it takes readers aboard warships in unforgiving seas, into the cockpits of warplanes in shrapnel-lashed skies and even inside a U-boat under a cruel ocean. Perfect for readers of Richard Hough and Saul David. Praise for Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom ‿A powerful and moving cinematic study devoted to what has to be the most dramatic event of the Second World War at sea‿Julian Stockwin, author of the Thomas Kydd series of naval adventures‿By drawing on the first-hand experiences of veterans in the thick of the action, Iain Ballantyne has produced a deeply researched and unputdownable account of the hunt for the Bismarck that is at once authoritative, insightful and highly readable‿Rowland White, author of Harrier 809 and Vulcan 607

The account of the fateful bridge too far...'It was a bridge too far and perhaps the whole plan was doomed to failure from the start, but we had to try, didn't we?'17 September 1944: 30,000 airborne soldiers prepare to drop 64 miles behind enemy lines into Nazi-occupied Holland; tens of thousands of ground troops race down Hell's Highway in tanks and armoured cars, trucks and half-tracks to link up with them. The goal - to secure eight bridges across the Rhine and end the war by Christmas. Ten days later, over 15,000 of these soldiers have died, 6,000 have been taken prisoner. Operation Market Garden was the daring plan to stage a coup de main in occupied territory, gain control of those bridges, and obtain a direct route into Hitler's Germany. But the operation failed and the allied forces suffered a brutal military defeat. In the 75 years since, tactics have been analysed and blame has been placed, but the heart of Arnhem's story lies in the selflessness and bravery of those troops that fought, the courage and resilience of the civilians caught up in confrontation, and the pure determination to fight for their lives and their freedom. This is the story of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. In Ballantyne's Arnhem, we go into battle with not only the famous commanders in the thick of the action, but also with all those whose fates were determined by their decisions. Based on first-hand interviews, military records, and diaries, we witness the confusion and mayhem of war - from the horrific and devastating to the surreal and mundane. But most of all, we witness the self-sacrifice and valour of the men who gave their lives to liberate strangers in a foreign country. Praise for Arnhem: Ten Days in the Cauldron 'Reminiscent of Stephen Ambrose at his best... some remarkable stories, which Ballantyne neatly dovetails into a rolling epic' Dr Harry Bennett, University of Plymouth'Breath-taking... I thoroughly enjoyed reading this account of Arnhem, adding, if you like, a trench-level perspective to those other accounts written from more senior, and sometimes more detached, points of view. Thoroughly recommended' British Journal for Military History

History of the Ship told through the accounts of those who served on her.

The dramatic and largely untold story of submarine warfare from its invention to the Cold War and beyond.

HUNTER KILLER: a submarine designed to pursue and attack enemy submarines and surface ships using torpedoes.

The pursuit and sinking of the Bismarck is one of the classic tales of naval warfare. Written by a leading naval historian and authority. Draws on hitherto unquoted first hand accounts and throws spectacular new light on the legendary story.

This guide has been fully updated since the first edition was published in 1995. Many of the predictions made in the first edition have come to fruition. The authors discuss major developments in recent academic research that have resulted from an explosion of interest in assessment centres over the years.