Скачать книгу - The Cruel Victory: The French Resistance, D-Day and the Battle for the Vercors 1944



From the bestselling and prize-winning author of ‘A Brilliant Little Operation’ comes the long neglected D-Day story of the largest action by the French Resistance during WWII, published to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings.In early 1941, three separate groups of plotters – one military, one political, one intellectual – began to organise and plan on and around the forbidding mountainous plateau near Grenoble – the Vercors. The aims of the groups were the same: to hasten the departure of the German occupiers; to restore the pride of France after its fall and the humiliations of the puppet Vichy government which followed; and to build a new France. The overwhelming desire to get rid of the Germans would unite them. Their different views of the France they hoped for in the future would divide them.Over the next three years these sparks of resistance would grow to challenge the might of the hated German occupiers. As the Allied troops stormed the D-Day beaches, the Vercors rose up to fight the Nazis in a planned rearguard action. It was to prove not only the largest Resistance action of the entire war but also, in the severity of the German response, the most brutal crushing of resistance forces in Western Europe.For the men and women of Vercors, aided and abetted by the Free French forces of General de Gaulle and SOE operatives from London, the events on the Vercors took them on a journey from early idealism through hope, misjudgement, folly, despair, sacrifice and slaughter to a kind of cruel victory. The tragedy drew the attention of those at the highest level of the Allied war effort and placed the Vercors deep into the heart of the history of modern France in a way which resonates still in the country’s daily life and politics.Long overlooked by English language histories, this magnificent book sets the story in the context of D-Day, the muddle of politics and many misjudgements of D-Day planners in both London and Algiers, and – most importantly – it gives voice to the many Maquisards fighters who fought to gain a voice in their country’s future.


Victory Park Victory Park

Автор: Алексей Никитин

Год издания: 

Новый роман современного русскоязычного украинского писателя, местами игровой, местами пугающе пророческий, удачно комбинирует сюжетную увлекательность беллетристики и метафорику высокой литературы. Действие происходит в конце 1980-х годов в Киеве, точнее, в одном из его районов, Парке «Победа». Где-то далеко идет афганская война, коррумпированная власть уже не справляется с управлением, страна скоро рассыплется, но пока каштаны цветут, жители южной столицы шутят и влюбляются, празднуют дни рождения и проводы в армию, устраивают жизнь и достают по блату то, чего, как им кажется, не хватает для счастья. Роман еще в рукописи попал в лонг-лист премии «Национальный бестселлер» и в финал Русской премии.


The Gift of Battle The Gift of Battle

Автор: Морган Райс

Год издания: 

In THE GIFT OF BATTLE, Thor meets his greatest and final challenge, as he quests deeper into the Land of Blood to attempt to rescue Guwayne. Encountering foes more powerful than he ever imagined, Thor soon realizes he is up against an army of darkness, one for which his powers are no match. When he learns a sacred object may give him the powers he needs – an object which has been kept secret for ages – he must embark on a final quest to retrieve it before it is too late, with the fate of the Ring hanging in the balance. Gwendolyn keeps her vow to the King of the Ridge, entering the tower and confronting the cult leader to learn what secret he is hiding. The revelation sends her to Argon, and ultimately to Argon’s master – where she learns the greatest secret of all, one which may alter the destiny of her people. When the Ridge is discovered by the Empire, the invasion begins and, under attack by the greatest army known to man, it falls on Gwendolyn to defend, and to lead her people on one final, mass exodus. Thor’s Legion brothers, on their own, face unimaginable risks, as Angel is dying from her leprosy. Darius fights for his life beside his father in the Empire capital, until a surprise twist prods him, with nothing left to lose, to finally tap his own powers. Erec and Alistair reach Volusia, battling their way upriver, and they continue on their quest for Gwendolyn and the exiles, as they face unexpected battles. And Godfrey realizes that he must ultimately make a decision to be the man he wants to be. Volusia, surrounded by all the power of the Knights of the Seven, must put herself to the test as goddess and discover if she alone has the power to crush men and rule the Empire. While Argon, faced with his end of days, realizes the time has come to sacrifice himself. As good and evil hang in the balance, one final, epic battle – the greatest battle of all – will determine the outcome of the Ring for all time. With its sophisticated world-building and characterization, THE GIFT OF BATTLE is an epic tale of friends and lovers, of rivals and suitors, of knights and dragons, of intrigues and political machinations, of coming of age, of broken hearts, of deception, ambition and betrayal. It is a tale of honor and courage, of fate and destiny, of sorcery. It is a fantasy that brings us into a world we will never forget, and which will appeal to all ages and genders. THE GIFT OF BATTLE is the longest of all the books in the series, at 93,000 words!


Description of the view of the battle of Vittoria and the Great Victory Description of the view of the battle of Vittoria and the Great Victory

Автор: Henry Barker

Год издания: 

Полный вариант заголовка: «Description of the view of the battle of Vittoria and the Great Victory gained by the marquis of Wellington over the french army under Joseph Bonaparte, now exhibiting in Henry Astor Barker's Panorama, Leicester square».


An essay on the writings and genius of Shakespeare, compared with the Greek and French dramatic poets An essay on the writings and genius of Shakespeare, compared with the Greek and French dramatic poets

Автор: Elizabeth Robinson Montagu

Год издания: 

Полный вариант заголовка: «An essay on the writings and genius of Shakespeare, compared with the Greek and French dramatic poets : to which are now first added, Three dialogues of the dead / by Mrs. Montagu ; with some remarks upon the misrepresentations of Mons. de Voltaire».


The battle of Waterloo The battle of Waterloo

Автор: Группа авторов

Год издания: 

Полный вариант заголовка: «The battle of Waterloo : containing the accounts published by authority, British and foreign, and other relative documents, with circumstantial details, previous and after the battle, from a variety of authentic and original sources : to which is added, an alphabetical list of the officers killed and wounded, from 15-th to 26-th june, 1815, and the total loss of each regiment, with an enumeration of the Waterloo honours and privileges, conferred upon the men and officers, and lists of regiments, etc. entitled thereto : illustrated by a panoramic sketch of the field of battle, and a plan of the position and movements, with those of the Prussians, traced / by a near observer».