Greatest Escapes of World War II

by Robert Barr Col. Smith, Laurence J. Yadon

Overview

Throughout WWII, thousands of Allied prisoners dreamed of outwitting their captors and returning to war against the Axis. Their ingenuity knew no bounds: they went over the barbed wire surrounding them and under it as well; they built tunnels of enormous length and complexity, often working with only their bare hands. They concealed themselves in their captors’ vehicles and hitched rides to freedom. They became world-class forgers and tailors; they stole anything that might be useful to their escapes that wasn’t actually red-hot or nailed down. The stories in The Greatest Escapes of WWII highlight the courage, endurance, and ingenuity of Allied prisoners, chronicling their ceaseless efforts and the alarm that spread far and wide when one or more escaped.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493025022
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/01/2016
Pages:	264
Sales rank:	519,557
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Col. Robert Barr Smith (Ret) has a BA in History and Doctor of Laws from Stanford University. He entered the United States Army as a private and retired as a colonel, serving in Vietnam, twice in Germany and with troop units and on posts throughout the United States. He was a senior Parachutist with 65 jumps, and his decorations include the Legion of Merit (two awards) and the Bronze Star. After retiring from the service, Col. Smith became a law professor at the University of Oklahoma. He now lives in Blue Eye, Missouri, where he is a full-time writer. He is the author or co-author of sixteen books and well over a hundred magazine articles in such periodicals as Military History, Wild West, British Heritage, Vietnam, World War II History, and Civil War Times. Laurence J. Yadon is an attorney, mediator and arbitrator and speaker on legal subjects and the American West. He is general counsel of a federal power administration which markets federally generated hydropower in a six-state area. Mr. Yadon provides legal and legislative advice on employment, labor, construction, general contract, real estate, telecommunications and utility matters. Mr. Yadon is the current editor of the Tulsa Lawyer magazine as well as past co-chair and current newsletter editor of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association. He also serves on the University of Tulsa, College of Law Sustainable Energy & Resources Law Board of Visitors. A graduate of the University of Tulsa and University of Oklahoma College of Law, Mr. Yadon has served as a Fact Finder for the Department of Justice. He has been an Adjunct Settlement Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma since 1994.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Chapter 1 Tom, Dick, and Harry-Tunneling out of top-security Stalag Luft III 1

Chapter 2 Before Their Very Eyes-No place to start digging a tunnel? Why, dig it in the open prison yard, the entrance hidden by a vaulting horse over which other prisoners carried on vaulting 19

Chapter 3 The Ruth-Lee-Three thousand miles to freedom in Australia … in an open boat 33

Chapter 4 After Midnight-The Danish underground's spectacular rescue of most of Denmark's Jewish population 45

Chapter 5 Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Good-bye-A young Australian's multiple escapes 63

Chapter 6 The Wizards of MI9-The highly effective British escape organization and the men who ran it 71

Chapter 7 The Man Who Wouldn't Quit-Douglas Bader, the RAF wing commander who gave his German captors fits … even though he had two aluminum legs 85

Chapter 8 Deliverance from Evil-American Rangers free more than five hundred POWs threatened with death in the Philippines 93

Chapter 9 Dedee's Way-Young Countess Andree de Jongh, mastermind of the Comete Escape Line, which helped Allied forces personnel escape from occupied Europe 103

Chapter 10 Night Crossing-The Black Watch officer who escaped the Germans by sheer persistence, daring, and small boat handling 117

Chapter 11 Twelve Iron Men-Ten very tough Americans and two Filipino murderers escape the Japanese on the Philippine island of Davao 127

Chapter 12 Come What May-American nurses are snatched from the site of a New Guinea plane crash by glider 143

Chapter 13 Operation Jericho-The RAF bombed the Amiens prison at zero feet, smashing holes in the stone walls and freeing hundreds of prisoners, some condemned to death 161

Chapter 14 Ming, the Dog Who Knew-The pet of the Jericho leader knew when her master was flying, and this time knew he wasn't coming back 177

Chapter 15 Fighting Man-The saga of Jack Churchill, who went to war with a sword and bow 179

Chapter 16 Operation Halyard-The do-it-yourself air strip 197

Chapter 17 Schloss Colditz and Other Delights-Breaching the walls of a thousand-year-old fortress 207

Chapter 18 If at First You Don't Succeed-Walter Granecki, who found help from unexpected places in the heart of Fascist Italy 219

Chapter 19 The Magicians-Christopher Clayton Hutton, who developed remarkable tools for remarkable escapes 227

Afterword 231

Bibliography 233

Index 235