Imagen del autor

Charles Whiting (1926–2007)

Autor de Home Front: Germany

276+ Obras 3,039 Miembros 40 Reseñas 1 Preferidas

Sobre El Autor

Charles Whiting the world's most prolific military author saw action in north west Europe with the 52nd Lowland Reconnaissance Regiment. Graduating from the University of Leeds he has lectured at the Universities of Bradford, Saarbrucken, Trier and Maryland. He also worked for the US Army as an mostrar más adviser and in 1976 he gave up his academic career as associate professor to become a full-time writer and military historian. His first book was published in 1954 and he has over 270 works to his name and several pseudonyms including Leo Kessler and Duncan Harding. mostrar menos
Créditos de la imagen: Provided by user iamiam (publisher)

Series

Obras de Charles Whiting

Home Front: Germany (1982) 187 copias
Patton (1970) 153 copias
The Battle of Hurtgen Forest (1988) 139 copias
Kasserine: First blood (1718) 93 copias
Ardennes: The Secret War (1958) 76 copias
Death of a Division (1712) 70 copias
Skorzeny (1972) 69 copias
Bloody Aachen (1627) 67 copias
Bounce the Rhine (1900) 52 copias
Bradley (1971) 40 copias
48 hours to Hammelburg (1970) 35 copias
SS Panzer Battalion (1975) 31 copias
Patton's Last Battle (1987) 28 copias
Claws of Steel (1974) 27 copias
Death's Head (1974) 26 copias
Tredje rikets sista dagar (1996) 25 copias
Decision at St.-Vith (1625) 24 copias
Massacre at Malmedy (1971) 22 copias
The Devil's Shield (1975) 22 copias
Forced March (1976) 22 copias
Heydrich: Henchman of Death (1999) 20 copias
Bridge at Arnhem (1974) 18 copias
Guns at Cassino (1975) 17 copias
Hemingway Goes to War (1999) 16 copias
Ghost Division (1978) 16 copias
The Long March on Rome (1987) 15 copias
Hammer Of The Gods (1975) 14 copias
Blood and Ice (1978) 13 copias
The Sand Panthers (1977) 13 copias
Cauldron of Blood (1981) 12 copias
Tug of War (1975) 11 copias
Poor Bloody Infantry (1987) 10 copias
Flashpoint (1980) 8 copias
Slaughter Over Sicily (2006) 8 copias
Black Cossacks (1975) 8 copias
Bloody Bremen (1998) 8 copias
Counterattack (1978) 8 copias
Fire Over Kabul (1982) 7 copias
SS Peiper (1986) 7 copias
Operation Death Watch (1986) 7 copias
Wolf (1978) 7 copias
Torpedo Boat (1976) 7 copias
Breakthrough (1979) 7 copias
Sink the Scharnhorst! (1981) 7 copias
Sink the Bismarck (2000) 6 copias
Fire Over Africa (1984) 6 copias
Wolf Pack (Submarine) (1985) 6 copias
Rommel's Last Battle (2006) 6 copias
Panzer Hunt (1979) 6 copias
Valley Of The Assassins (1979) 6 copias
Storm Troop (1977) 6 copias
Hitler's Secret War (2021) 6 copias
The Phoenix Assault (1980) 6 copias
Canaris (1973) 6 copias
Finale at Flensburg (1973) 6 copias
Flight to the Reich (1988) 5 copias
Whores of War (Wotan) (1982) 5 copias
Battle for Twelveland (1975) 5 copias
Mountain of Skulls (1977) 5 copias
Death to the Deutschland (1982) 5 copias
The Traitors (1752) 5 copias
Death Ride (Panzer/Wotan) (1985) 5 copias
Hellfire (1978) 5 copias
Red Assault (1979) 4 copias
Assault on the Rock (2006) 4 copias
Yorkshire at War (1980) 4 copias
Dödens patrull (1976) 4 copias
Fire in the West (1987) 4 copias
Slaughter Ground (1980) 4 copias
Otto's Blitzkrieg (1982) 4 copias
Bugles at Dawn (1990) 4 copias
Schirmer's Death Legion (1983) 4 copias
Orders to Kill (1974) 4 copias
Operation Varulven (1975) 4 copias
Operation Stalag (1974) 4 copias
T-Force The Last Mission (1976) 4 copias
Tank-busters! (1984) 4 copias
Otto and the Reds (1982) 4 copias
Operation Chariot (1977) 4 copias
The War in the Shadows (1973) 4 copias
The Blackout Murders (2014) 4 copias
Clash in the Baltic (2004) 4 copias
Blood Mission (1984) 3 copias
Det stora slaget (1976) 3 copias
SS Kommando (2010) 3 copias
Bakom fiendens linjer (1976) 3 copias
End of War: Europe, 1945 (2015) 3 copias
March on Moscow (1981) 3 copias
Death on the Rhine (2002) 3 copias
Eagles in the Snow (1983) 3 copias
Otto and the Yanks (1983) 3 copias
Cannon Fodder (Rebel) (1987) 3 copias
Otto's Phoney War (1981) 3 copias
Kill Patton! (1974) 3 copias
Wave of Terror (1983) 2 copias
Himmler's Gold (1980) 2 copias
Death's Eagles (Wotan) (1998) 2 copias
The Frat Wagon (1954) 2 copias
The Great Escape (2002) 2 copias
Death Match (1988) 2 copias
Vražji štit (2018) 2 copias
Monty's Fight for Victory (2006) 2 copias
Hitler Youth attacks! (2004) 2 copias
Die-hards, The (Rebel) (1988) 2 copias
Journey To No End (2010) 2 copias
The Japanese Princess (2003) 2 copias
Sink the Tirpitz (1996) 2 copias
Ramps Down, Troops Away! (2004) 2 copias
The Normandie mission (2000) 2 copias
Operation Fox Hunt (1977) 2 copias
Sink the Warspite (2002) 2 copias
Prepared to Die (2007) 2 copias
Inferno sotto zero (1975) 2 copias
Sink the Graf Spee (2017) 2 copias
Assault on St Nazaire (2018) 2 copias
In Turkish waters (2003) 2 copias
Operation Kill Ike (1975) 2 copias
Operation Kaukasus (1976) 2 copias
Operation Nådastöten (1975) 2 copias
Slaughter at Salerno (1985) 1 copia
The Hess Assault (1987) 1 copia
Ss Attacks (1994) 1 copia
T-Force (2018) 1 copia
The Screaming Eagles (2001) 1 copia
V krvi a sněhu (2007) 1 copia
Bleskový pochod (2005) 1 copia
Ďáblův pancíř (2006) 1 copia
Operace Dlouhý skok (2004) 1 copia
The Wotan Mission (1996) 1 copia
March or Die (S.S.Wotan) (1985) 1 copia
Wolf hunt (1978) 1 copia
Lest I Fall 1 copia
Ardeny: tajná válka (2002) 1 copia
A farkasfalka (2001) 1 copia
Hell's Angel (2002) 1 copia
Sirény z Dunkerque (2008) 1 copia
Obrněný prapor SS (2006) 1 copia
The Die-hards (Rebel) (1987) 1 copia
Double Cross (2008) 1 copia
Teräskynnet 1 copia
Sink the Prince of Wales (2019) 1 copia
Sink the Ark Royal (2018) 1 copia
Front swine (1982) 1 copia
Varghålan (1978) 1 copia
The Balkan Chase (2000) 1 copia
Attack New York -Op/036 (1994) 1 copia
Peräytyminen 1 copia
Convoy of Death (2019) 1 copia
Massacre at Jutland (2018) 1 copia
Sink HMS Kelly (2002) 1 copia

Obras relacionadas

The Bedside Playboy (1963) — Contribuidor — 23 copias

Etiquetado

Conocimiento común

Nombre legal
Whiting, Charles Henry
Otros nombres
Harding, Duncan
Kerrigan, John
Konrad, Klaus
Kessler, Leo
Harding, Ian
Kostov, K. N.
Fecha de nacimiento
1926-12-18
Fecha de fallecimiento
2007-07-24
Lugar de sepultura
York, Yorkshire, England, UK
Género
male
Nacionalidad
UK
País (para mapa)
UK
Lugar de nacimiento
Bootham, York, Yorkshire, England, UK
Lugar de fallecimiento
York, Yorkshire, England, UK
Lugares de residencia
York, Yorkshire, England, UK
Belgium
Ocupaciones
military historian
author
Organizaciones
British Army (WWII)

Miembros

Reseñas

The title belies the scope of the book, it not only narrates Monty's very late war thrust to seal off Denmark from the approaching Russians, it also discusses all the end of war activities, including the long and complex surrenders of the various German forces, including those on the Channel Islands, Texel off the Dutch coast and the "fortresses" such as Dunkirk that were held by the Germans till the end of the war as Eisenhower didn't think they were worth the time and effort to subdue. Highly recommended.… (más)
 
Denunciada
jztemple | Feb 18, 2024 |
After reading James Lucas' I moved to this one immediately.

First thing first - if you have read already any books on the Brandenburgers or Admiral Canaris and Abwehr this one won't give you much more insight.

It is rather short book but with hard focus on the German special forces - starting from Abwehr and then decline to SS/SD control and finally standard light infantry front-line duties. You wont find anything more then already told by James Lucas i.e. - although author does give a few unique perspectives, especially on Brandenburgers' actions in Egypt (Key to Rebecca anyone :))

Through the book author follows in parallel the career of Admiral Canaris - from starting the German special forces structure and assigning them missions to slowly falling out of grace with Hitler and Nazi establishment (and strange connection to Himmler) all the way to the ungraceful execution by the hands of Nazis in 1945 after he was tried as traitor of the state - and Otto Skorzeny - how he slowly took over the control of commandos from the Abwehr but ultimately ended up leading them as elite light infantry until he was taken prisoner in 1945 by the Allies.

Book does start with author meeting with Skorzeny after the war - but unfortunately this is where possible Skorzeny's direct contribution to the story stops. This is something that could have been used and developed more.

All in all good book, especially for somebody who is new to the subject. For those with more knowledge on the subject it wont nothing more except maybe some exciting first-hand stories like actions in Africa.
… (más)
 
Denunciada
Zare | Jan 23, 2024 |
A few weeks ago, I devoted quite some time to reading John Ferris' Behind the Enigma; the authorised history of GCHQ, which was at times a pretty savage amusement because of the author's highly detailed account of GCHQ and its predecessors, including the now-famous code-breaking station at Bletchley Park. Granted that that book covered the whole history of British code-breaking; but it consisted of some 850 closely-set pages in small type, and it took me nearly three weeks to get through it.

In contrast this book, on the German intelligence effort in World War II, has around 220 pages in larger type and with very generous margins. I read it in about two days. This should give a hint as to how much detail this book contains, which is in turn a consequence of the effectiveness of the German intelligence effort.

That effort was mainly down to one man, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, a somewhat eccentric character who was given the job of organising the Abwehr, the German military intelligence organisation, almost from scratch. The book concentrates on his story to bookend the narrative. In contrast to the British intelligence-gathering efforts, his achievements were few. The agents he attempted to place in Britain were all compromised, captured and either turned or executed. This was in almost equal parts due to a lack of insight in the planning stages of missions, incompetence and the heightened awareness of the British public and military.

This is not to say that German intelligence was totally ineffective: and this book explains why the Axis intelligence effort in Cairo was so effective - and that was because it was little to do with Canaris. Instead, Cairo was a hotbed of dissidents, Italian spies, disaffected Egyptian junior officers such as Gamal Abdul Nasser and Anwar Sadat, and an Anglophobic American military attaché who sent regular detailed accounts of British shortcomings to Washington using an outdated code that was one of the few codes the Germans had actually succeeded in breaking. The British knew that Cairo leaked like a sieve; Fitzroy Maclean makes regular reference to this in his memoir Eastern Approaches. When Canaris attempted to insert two agents into this mix, they were pretty quickly identified and neutralised.

Other German successes had little to do with Canaris, and indeed this book is bulked out with accounts of German intelligence activities in the USA - where there was a lot of support for Germany in the immediate pre-war years, resulting in many industrialists and politicians actively working for Germany and against Britain even after the entry of the USA into the war at the end of 1941 - and Switzerland, where Swiss collusion with Germany reached a point where the allies were seriously considering invasion in 1944.

The author paints the Swiss very unfavourably in this, though his analysis is quite one-sided. But as Swiss internal politics is little examined and written about outside Switzerland, this may be excused. Elsewhere, Whiting makes oblique critical references to the British establishment and some of its traditional support for Germany. Some of his other asides betray his political biases, but these are mostly superficial.

Canaris was fighting his war on two fronts; whilst the Allied intelligence networks were his opponents in espionage, his enemies were the German Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the separate intelligence service of Himmler's SS - an example of Hitler's belief in Social Darwinist struggle promoting the victory of the strongest. Canaris' failures counted against him, and he eventually fell as a consequence of his name being linked, albeit indirectly, with the 20th July assassination plotters.

The book is packaged almost as if it were a thriller novel; there is no index but there is a short bibliography which shows that Whiting did consult German-language sources, and indeed a lot of the book is based on personal interviews he made with some of the surviving protagonists. Some of these accounts have been accepted at face value, such as a comment that the Germans "broke" Claude Danzey's 'Z Organisation' in wartime Germany; but as this was mainly comprised of British visitors to pre-war Germany keeping their eyes open and reporting back snippets of information that MI6 assembled into a larger picture, this seems like some members of the German intelligence community talking up their activities against their own nationals and using Z as a straw man to justify their actions. The nature of the Z Organisation had long been acknowledged by British sources; Hinsley's official history of British intelligence in the war had been available for ten years when this book was written, and the pre-war nature of Z is made clear there. But Hinsley is not one of the sources Whiting consulted in his research.

Sub-editing is poor; there are two instances where the author is allowed to repeat himself, there is one mis-numbered footnote, and at least one parenthesis which is never closed. The book was first published in 2000, but the edition I read dates from 2021; as Whiting passed away in 2007, there can have been no author oversight of this new edition.

Overall, then, a very readable but basic account of its subject, which the more knowledgeable reader will have to supplement with other works.
… (más)
 
Denunciada
RobertDay | Dec 18, 2023 |
 
Denunciada
jamespurcell | Nov 6, 2023 |

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Estadísticas

Obras
276
También por
1
Miembros
3,039
Popularidad
#8,403
Valoración
½ 3.3
Reseñas
40
ISBNs
649
Idiomas
12
Favorito
1

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