
The author of a number of works on military history, Geoffrey Powell served in the British Army from his initial enlistment as a subaltern in 1939 until his retirement as a colonel in 1965.
In the fall of 1944, Allied commanders planned to land airborne divisions in an attempt to capture a series of bridges behind German lines, including the "bridge too far" at Arnhem. Geoffrey Powell, himself a veteran of the Arnhem operation, drew on conversations with many other survivors of the battle to write one of the most dramatic of all accounts of the battleWhen the book was first published in 1976 under a pseudonym, it was at once recognized as one of the finest evocations of an infantryman's war ever written.
Arnhem was the heaviest Allied defeat of 1944 and was the subject of the famous film A Bridge Too Far. Casualties during the battle were appalling; the brave and enduring Dutch people suffered catastrophically in the aftermath and German morale was strengthened at a time of otherwise ebbing fortunes. This new revised edition besides being a superb history is, above all, a record of quite extraordinary courage. It is unlikely to be superseded as the standard work on a bold, gallant, yet doomed, undertaking.
First World War Generals tend to have dubious reputations and in group photographs of the High Command on the Western Front, one figure stands out as an archetypal Colonel Blimp - smart to a fault, white hair, white moustache, pot-belly. This was Sir Herbert Plumer.But his appearance belies the fact that he was one of the best-performing and best-regarded officers on the Allied side. He was famously thoughtful of his men and sparing of their lives. Though he never got on with Haig (Plumer had, as an examiner, given Haig low marks at Staff College) and although Haig considered removing him, Plumer proved indispensable during the great German offensive of March 1918.Plumer's crowning glories were the attack on Messines Ridge in 1917 and his successful implementation of the Ôbite and holdÕ strategy that contributed so much to final victory.Lord Plumer of Messines, as he became, destroyed all his papers, but the distinguished Historian Geoffrey Powell has meticulously researched this biography, and has written a lucid account of this undeservedly neglected hero which throws fresh light on generalship on the Western Front.
Regimental histories abound, but few can be as stirring as this story of the fortunes of the famous Yorkshire-based Green Howards .Raised in 1688 in response to a call for loyal troops in a time of national crisis, the Green Howards have maintained their tradition of loyalty over the past 300 years winning many superb battle honors. Their history reflects that of the British Army as there is hardly a major campaign that this Regiment has not been involved in; , the French Wars of 1697-1793, the American War of Independence, Crimean War, First and Second World Wars, service in Suez, Malaya, Northern Ireland, peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and the war in the Gulf.This fine book, written by a father and son who are distinguished members themselves, brings the story of one of Britain's finest regiments right up to date,
men at arms series
by Geoffrey S. Powell
Rating: 5.0 ⭐
A re-examination of Zulu War hero Redvers Buller, who was blamed for British defeats in the Boer War of 1899-1902.
by Geoffrey S. Powell
This short story, 1731 words, explores the magic powers of the artist's brushes.
by Geoffrey S. Powell
by Geoffrey S. Powell
1982 SIGNED CAMPDEN GLOUCESTERSHIRE UK FIRST EDITION ILLUSTRATED WITH DJ [Hardcover] GEOFFREY POWELL