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Stealing Hitler's Rocket: The Incredible Mission to Smuggle a V-2 Rocket out of Nazi-Occupied Europe to Britain
Adolf Hitler's plan to break British morale during the months after the D-Day landings in June 1944 involved the invention and implementation of the world's first rocket delivered warhead – the V1, or 'Doodle Bug' as it was christened by Londoners. Thousands were launched from their sites in the Low Countries against the British capital, killing 6,184 people and injuring 17,981.
As the launch sites for the V1 were captured by Allied forces advancing through Belgium and into the Netherlands, a new, more terrifying rocket now hit London in mid-September, seemingly out of thin air – the V2. A streamlined rocket which stood as tall as a four-storey building, the V2 was highly advanced technology. Powered by a rocket engine burning a mix of alcohol-water and liquid oxygen, it blasted its way to the edge of space, before falling back to Earth at supersonic speed. Unlike the successes allied pilots and anti-aircraft crews had enjoyed shooting down the slower and more cumbersome V1, the V2 struck London almost undetected. It truly was Hitler's terror weapon made devastatingly real, causing over 30,000 casualties and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless, with the randomness of the strikes unnerving the British public even though their destructive capacity was less than the Blitz in 1940-41.
But Winston Churchill's intelligence chiefs of SOE had known of the weapon weeks before it first struck the mainland as the Nazi boffins (led by Werner Von Braun who would go onto fame with the US Apollo Missions in the 1960s) tested the V2 in Eastern Europe. Away from prying eyes. Or, so they thought. In Stealing Hitler's Rocket, historian Guy Walters will reveal the true extent to how much we knew of this modern-day weapon and the operation by the Polish resistance to enable Britain and her allies to prepare for the day of reckoning.
As the launch sites for the V1 were captured by Allied forces advancing through Belgium and into the Netherlands, a new, more terrifying rocket now hit London in mid-September, seemingly out of thin air – the V2. A streamlined rocket which stood as tall as a four-storey building, the V2 was highly advanced technology. Powered by a rocket engine burning a mix of alcohol-water and liquid oxygen, it blasted its way to the edge of space, before falling back to Earth at supersonic speed. Unlike the successes allied pilots and anti-aircraft crews had enjoyed shooting down the slower and more cumbersome V1, the V2 struck London almost undetected. It truly was Hitler's terror weapon made devastatingly real, causing over 30,000 casualties and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless, with the randomness of the strikes unnerving the British public even though their destructive capacity was less than the Blitz in 1940-41.
But Winston Churchill's intelligence chiefs of SOE had known of the weapon weeks before it first struck the mainland as the Nazi boffins (led by Werner Von Braun who would go onto fame with the US Apollo Missions in the 1960s) tested the V2 in Eastern Europe. Away from prying eyes. Or, so they thought. In Stealing Hitler's Rocket, historian Guy Walters will reveal the true extent to how much we knew of this modern-day weapon and the operation by the Polish resistance to enable Britain and her allies to prepare for the day of reckoning.
- GenresWorld War IIHistory
304 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2026
About the author
Guy Walters
12 books75 followersGuy Walters (born 8 August 1971) is a British author, novelist, historian, academic and journalist.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 4, 2026
I received this ARC gladly but with some slight hesitation: I am not a huge non-fiction person, making it all that much harder for me to be thoroughly pleased with books in the genre.
Guy Walters writes in a way that engages the reader. Without over-embellishment, I felt I was invested in the story. I must say I am not well versed in the time period, but know enough to understand what was going on. The story is one that I think would do well in a classroom, and I plan to add it to my list for curriculum in the future. Well written and thoroughly enjoyable. Without being graphic, the loss and depravity experienced during the war is palpable. I found myself wanting to know what happened next, and even holding my breath at one point.
Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the copy!
Guy Walters writes in a way that engages the reader. Without over-embellishment, I felt I was invested in the story. I must say I am not well versed in the time period, but know enough to understand what was going on. The story is one that I think would do well in a classroom, and I plan to add it to my list for curriculum in the future. Well written and thoroughly enjoyable. Without being graphic, the loss and depravity experienced during the war is palpable. I found myself wanting to know what happened next, and even holding my breath at one point.
Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the copy!
June 12, 2026
I have a huge interests in rockets and I had no idea that a VII was smuggled out of occupied Poland during the war. This book is a fantastic retelling of all that happened and the astonishing bravery of all involved. Just fantastic!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Guy Walters is the author of more than 10 books. Stealing Hitler’s Rocket will be released this coming September. It is the 20th title I’ve completed reading in 2026.
I received an ARC of this book for free through https://www.netgalley.com and I am voluntarily leaving this review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. Due to minor scenes of violence, I categorize this book as PG.
England had already felt the impact of Hitler’s “Vengeance weapons” when Londoners were stunned by the first V2 rocket strike in September 1944. In the months following the D-Day landings, thousands of V1 flying bombs had been launched from sites in the Low Countries against the British capital, killing 6,184 people and injuring 17,981.
The threat from the V1s diminished rapidly as Allied forces advanced through Europe and captured their launch sites. The V2, however, introduced a far more terrifying danger. It struck without warning. The United Kingdom endured more than 1,400 V2 detonations, while Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and even parts of Germany were hit by over 1,700 more.
The V2 itself was a streamlined rocket as tall as a four-story building with remarkably advanced technology for its time. Powered by a mixture of alcohol, water, and liquid oxygen, it blasted to the edge of space before descending at supersonic speed. Unlike the V1, it could not be intercepted or shot down. Its campaign of destruction caused more than 2,000 deaths and over 6,500 serious injuries.
Werner von Braun, long an enthusiastic advocate of rocketry, led the V2’s development at Germany’s Peenemünde research facility. Thanks in part to intelligence provided by the Polish Home Army, the British bombed the site, forcing testing to relocate to Blizna in occupied Poland. During one test, a rocket crashed almost intact near Sarnaki.
Polish underground forces reached the crash site before the Germans. They carefully dismantled the rocket, concealed its components, and later transported them to Warsaw for analysis. When British authorities reviewed the Polish report, they recognized the value of the find and requested the rocket itself.
The Polish Home Army managed to keep the components hidden until they could be handed over. In a daring operation, an RAF Dakota aircraft landed in occupied Poland under cover of darkness, loaded the recovered parts, and flew them back to the United Kingdom.
By the time the V2 was deployed against Allied targets, far more was known about it than was publicly acknowledged. The efforts of the Polish Home Army–both in gathering intelligence and in securing an almost intact rocket–proved a significant boon to the Allied cause.
I enjoyed the 5 hours I spent reading this 304-page WWII-era history. Walters gives an excellent description of the work performed by the Polish Home Army to capture and transfer a nearly complete V2 rocket to the British. I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3...).
I received an ARC of this book for free through https://www.netgalley.com and I am voluntarily leaving this review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. Due to minor scenes of violence, I categorize this book as PG.
England had already felt the impact of Hitler’s “Vengeance weapons” when Londoners were stunned by the first V2 rocket strike in September 1944. In the months following the D-Day landings, thousands of V1 flying bombs had been launched from sites in the Low Countries against the British capital, killing 6,184 people and injuring 17,981.
The threat from the V1s diminished rapidly as Allied forces advanced through Europe and captured their launch sites. The V2, however, introduced a far more terrifying danger. It struck without warning. The United Kingdom endured more than 1,400 V2 detonations, while Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and even parts of Germany were hit by over 1,700 more.
The V2 itself was a streamlined rocket as tall as a four-story building with remarkably advanced technology for its time. Powered by a mixture of alcohol, water, and liquid oxygen, it blasted to the edge of space before descending at supersonic speed. Unlike the V1, it could not be intercepted or shot down. Its campaign of destruction caused more than 2,000 deaths and over 6,500 serious injuries.
Werner von Braun, long an enthusiastic advocate of rocketry, led the V2’s development at Germany’s Peenemünde research facility. Thanks in part to intelligence provided by the Polish Home Army, the British bombed the site, forcing testing to relocate to Blizna in occupied Poland. During one test, a rocket crashed almost intact near Sarnaki.
Polish underground forces reached the crash site before the Germans. They carefully dismantled the rocket, concealed its components, and later transported them to Warsaw for analysis. When British authorities reviewed the Polish report, they recognized the value of the find and requested the rocket itself.
The Polish Home Army managed to keep the components hidden until they could be handed over. In a daring operation, an RAF Dakota aircraft landed in occupied Poland under cover of darkness, loaded the recovered parts, and flew them back to the United Kingdom.
By the time the V2 was deployed against Allied targets, far more was known about it than was publicly acknowledged. The efforts of the Polish Home Army–both in gathering intelligence and in securing an almost intact rocket–proved a significant boon to the Allied cause.
I enjoyed the 5 hours I spent reading this 304-page WWII-era history. Walters gives an excellent description of the work performed by the Polish Home Army to capture and transfer a nearly complete V2 rocket to the British. I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3...).
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This book has already been published in Great Britain and I secured a copy from Blackwell’s, “Oxford booksellers since 1879.” (Love that bookstore!)
This is a magnificent story. I knew of the V2 rocket through a 1965 movie, Operation Crossbow (which was the code name the British used for their operation to locate the rockets), the US space program headed by Wernher von Braun (who lead the development of the V2), and just my general nerdy love of history. So when this popped up on the Blackwell site, I knew I had to read it.
Britain was under siege, known as “the blitz,” during WWII, because of Germany’s V1 rockets, designed to terrorize the country into submission. But in Peenemünde, the Germans were fully engaged in developing another rocket, the V2, which could cause greater devastation than the V1s. The scariest thing about the V2 was the deafening silence just before it hit - which didn’t happen with the V1. This book concentrates on how Britain obtained the design and an actual replica of the V2. And, in writing about it, one gets an amazing spy thriller.
Because the British had identified Peenemünde, located in the Baltic Sea region, as the location of the German rocket program they were able to bomb that location, seriously destroying the facility. Slightly prior to this, though, the Germans had begun to move the operation to Blizna, a remote area in Poland. The Germans tested the V2 and mostly it fizzled until one day it didn’t and fell virtually in tact near the small village of Sarnaki. What follows in the narrative is the amazing feat of members of the Polish Home Front, the Polish resistance group, in disassembling the rocket, mapping the rocket’s specs by hand, and getting it flown out of Poland to Britain. It’s truly an astonishing story - especially for those Polish men and women who took it apart, most were simple farmers.
There’s more to the story than just getting the ticket to Britain which the author provides. It’s a story of grit, determination, heroism and self sacrifice- a perfect read for lovers of history and spy thrillers.
I gave this book five stars because it highlights an important historical moment which needs to be remembered and preserved - we must not let history die -, because of the spy thriller aspect of the story (who can resist that) which the author captures in spite of tedious details, and because it gives voice to those who braved and defied the Nazis to free their country from fascism and which can inspire those still doing this today.
This is a magnificent story. I knew of the V2 rocket through a 1965 movie, Operation Crossbow (which was the code name the British used for their operation to locate the rockets), the US space program headed by Wernher von Braun (who lead the development of the V2), and just my general nerdy love of history. So when this popped up on the Blackwell site, I knew I had to read it.
Britain was under siege, known as “the blitz,” during WWII, because of Germany’s V1 rockets, designed to terrorize the country into submission. But in Peenemünde, the Germans were fully engaged in developing another rocket, the V2, which could cause greater devastation than the V1s. The scariest thing about the V2 was the deafening silence just before it hit - which didn’t happen with the V1. This book concentrates on how Britain obtained the design and an actual replica of the V2. And, in writing about it, one gets an amazing spy thriller.
Because the British had identified Peenemünde, located in the Baltic Sea region, as the location of the German rocket program they were able to bomb that location, seriously destroying the facility. Slightly prior to this, though, the Germans had begun to move the operation to Blizna, a remote area in Poland. The Germans tested the V2 and mostly it fizzled until one day it didn’t and fell virtually in tact near the small village of Sarnaki. What follows in the narrative is the amazing feat of members of the Polish Home Front, the Polish resistance group, in disassembling the rocket, mapping the rocket’s specs by hand, and getting it flown out of Poland to Britain. It’s truly an astonishing story - especially for those Polish men and women who took it apart, most were simple farmers.
There’s more to the story than just getting the ticket to Britain which the author provides. It’s a story of grit, determination, heroism and self sacrifice- a perfect read for lovers of history and spy thrillers.
I gave this book five stars because it highlights an important historical moment which needs to be remembered and preserved - we must not let history die -, because of the spy thriller aspect of the story (who can resist that) which the author captures in spite of tedious details, and because it gives voice to those who braved and defied the Nazis to free their country from fascism and which can inspire those still doing this today.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This would make a fantastic movie. It is has all the danger, excitement, intrigue and all sorts of other stuff that makes a blockbuster. What makes it even more remarkable is that it is true. Sitting here in 2026 it is almost impossible to imagine the courage and resolve that these men exhibited to pull of what appears to be the impossible.
While the war was finally going against Germany, they had some of the best scientific minds working on something out of a comic book: a rocket that could deliver a devastating blow to London and flip the war back in its direction. Many of these same men would immigrate to the US after the war and work on its space program but for now, they were Nazis and they would determined to see Hitler’s vengeance weapon come to pass.
Churchill needed to know if this was workable and if it was, how they could defend against this terror from the skies. The call was sent to the Polish underground to find out all they could and when one of the tests went awry, they had a chance to see what the Allies were up against. Even if you can hide the rocket, how do you dissemble it so it can be studied. That in itself was almost too much to ask. When the call came out to ship the rocket to England, now they were in the realm beyond belief. And yet, this story tells of the efforts of the various men who overcame staggering risks and managed to do just that. It could not stop the V2’s from being launched but it did help them dismantle the sites as quickly as possible.
It is a story that had I not read it, I would have scoffed that it could be done. But it was. Thanks for telling this story. Five purrs and two paws up.
While the war was finally going against Germany, they had some of the best scientific minds working on something out of a comic book: a rocket that could deliver a devastating blow to London and flip the war back in its direction. Many of these same men would immigrate to the US after the war and work on its space program but for now, they were Nazis and they would determined to see Hitler’s vengeance weapon come to pass.
Churchill needed to know if this was workable and if it was, how they could defend against this terror from the skies. The call was sent to the Polish underground to find out all they could and when one of the tests went awry, they had a chance to see what the Allies were up against. Even if you can hide the rocket, how do you dissemble it so it can be studied. That in itself was almost too much to ask. When the call came out to ship the rocket to England, now they were in the realm beyond belief. And yet, this story tells of the efforts of the various men who overcame staggering risks and managed to do just that. It could not stop the V2’s from being launched but it did help them dismantle the sites as quickly as possible.
It is a story that had I not read it, I would have scoffed that it could be done. But it was. Thanks for telling this story. Five purrs and two paws up.
Read
June 22, 2026Stealing Hitler's Rocket: The Incredible Mission to Smuggle a V-2 Rocket Out of Nazi-Occupied Europe to Britain presents a gripping and deeply researched account of one of the most extraordinary intelligence operations of the Second World War. Guy Walters brings together military history, espionage, and technological innovation to tell a story that is as dramatic as it is historically significant.
One of the most compelling aspects of this work is its focus on the V-2 rocket as both a technological breakthrough and a psychological weapon. The narrative effectively captures the terrifying impact of these strikes on London, while also explaining the scientific and military developments that made such attacks possible. The contrast between the earlier V-1 “Doodle Bug” and the far more advanced V-2 highlights the rapid evolution of wartime technology and its devastating consequences.
The book also stands out for its attention to intelligence operations and resistance efforts. The role of Allied intelligence services, particularly Churchill’s SOE, is explored in detail, revealing the complexity of wartime information gathering and the high stakes involved in anticipating Nazi technological advancements. The involvement of the Polish resistance adds another layer of human courage and ingenuity, showing how local efforts contributed to broader Allied strategy.
Another strength lies in the way the author connects individual acts of bravery with the larger geopolitical and scientific context of the war. The story of Werner von Braun and the development of rocket technology adds historical depth, while also highlighting the ethical and strategic dilemmas surrounding scientific advancement during wartime.
Rich in detail and filled with tension, this book offers readers a vivid reconstruction of intelligence work, technological innovation, and resistance under extreme conditions. It will appeal strongly to readers of military history, World War II studies, espionage narratives, and technological history.
One of the most compelling aspects of this work is its focus on the V-2 rocket as both a technological breakthrough and a psychological weapon. The narrative effectively captures the terrifying impact of these strikes on London, while also explaining the scientific and military developments that made such attacks possible. The contrast between the earlier V-1 “Doodle Bug” and the far more advanced V-2 highlights the rapid evolution of wartime technology and its devastating consequences.
The book also stands out for its attention to intelligence operations and resistance efforts. The role of Allied intelligence services, particularly Churchill’s SOE, is explored in detail, revealing the complexity of wartime information gathering and the high stakes involved in anticipating Nazi technological advancements. The involvement of the Polish resistance adds another layer of human courage and ingenuity, showing how local efforts contributed to broader Allied strategy.
Another strength lies in the way the author connects individual acts of bravery with the larger geopolitical and scientific context of the war. The story of Werner von Braun and the development of rocket technology adds historical depth, while also highlighting the ethical and strategic dilemmas surrounding scientific advancement during wartime.
Rich in detail and filled with tension, this book offers readers a vivid reconstruction of intelligence work, technological innovation, and resistance under extreme conditions. It will appeal strongly to readers of military history, World War II studies, espionage narratives, and technological history.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A well-done book on an unknown mission in WW2. The courage shown by the Polish resistance in getting the rocket at a great peril to their lives. The author does an outstanding job in laying out the German V-rockets and the work to get them into use. The first-hand accounts of the events really bring the story to life. A great read!
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Stealing Hitler’s Rocket brings to life a true story of Polish resistance. Skillfully written, with great detail I found this book to be engaging and informative. A must read in the subject for old and new history readers alike. Guy Walters is a very talented writer and story teller. A great tribute to the selfless men involved in the extraordinary events that this book depicts.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Guy Walters has added to his fine body of work with this- an impeccably researched and well written account of how We joined with the Polish resistance to try and combat the appalling threat provided by Hitler’s V2 rocket.
I learned so much and really enjoyed the journey too.
History as captivating as fiction!
I learned so much and really enjoyed the journey too.
History as captivating as fiction!
Review of advance copy received from Author
This starts so excitingly and Guy Walters writes beautifully. I found the science bit quite hard going but skipped past a couple of chapters and then got to the main crescendo of the book which is so exciting. His descriptions of nighttime flying, the Polish countryside and the tense atmosphere are just fab.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2026
This is perhaps the most amazing story of courage I have ever read. The audacity of the Polish Home Army is breathtaking. The book is a superb read and in my opinion would make an excellent movie. But back yo the book. Well written and researched. At times maybe a bit too detailed but nevertheless excellent and highly recommended.
October 2, 2026
Really interesting read, I never realised that the Polish Home Army recovered a complete V-2 ballistic missile and managed to get it back to England where it could be studied. Unfortunately people lost their lives. But to get a V-2 under the German occupation forces and get a plane to land in occupied Poland and send everything back.
Read
February 17, 2026Incredible book very well written. Kept me engaged throughout. A story that should be taught in elementary school. Five stars for sure.
October 4, 2026
Superbly researched book that reads like a thriller.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
At first this would seem to be a great find among the smaller, less well-known details of WW2 – the day a dud test launch of a V2 rocket across Poland ended with the thing downed, dinked but intact, which inspired the resistance workers to hide it, cut it up at night, and then get to working out how it all worked. More than that, it even got shipped to Britain for reverse engineering here, demanding a lot of surreptitious movement of its parts, and a daring flight into occupied land for its collection.
But in the finish that's about all you need know, really, which does kind of dump on the bravery of everyone involved. Here, too, there is much confusion about whether the rocket is in the attic or scattered about, here or there – at one point it is definitely both in Warsaw being analysed by under-employed science professors, and still in the village it first settled at. When fetched back to Blighty the parts are in gas canisters – except for when they're in crates.
And to me the whole exercise seemed a touch needless. I'm all for cynicism and scientific proof, but with this rocket the Poles said it was there, being made and being tested, and some of the Brits believed that. Then they picked up bits of landed-and-blown-up models, and said what it was like, and some Brits believed it. Then scientists picked up more bits and said what it was like, and so on and so on – yes, it was a remarkable achievement that the first V2 to land in England was cargo on an RAF plane, but a lot of this story revolves around the fact the Poles were correct about it right from the start, and I can't help but believe this over-cooks the benefit of having the parts in Allied hands. "They saved London"? Forewarned.
That said, this has a great narrative as it retells the whole build-up to the V1 and V2 programmes, and their success or otherwise. Yet even here there are issues, for this author is incredibly repetitive. So yes, this has the benefit of a quirk of history that is little-known, yes it acts as tribute to some fine Polish souls (this then should be shelved next to how they also helped crack the Enigma codes...) – but boy I wished for a better telling. And as to whether this episode actually warrants a full-length presentation, the jury is still out.
But in the finish that's about all you need know, really, which does kind of dump on the bravery of everyone involved. Here, too, there is much confusion about whether the rocket is in the attic or scattered about, here or there – at one point it is definitely both in Warsaw being analysed by under-employed science professors, and still in the village it first settled at. When fetched back to Blighty the parts are in gas canisters – except for when they're in crates.
And to me the whole exercise seemed a touch needless. I'm all for cynicism and scientific proof, but with this rocket the Poles said it was there, being made and being tested, and some of the Brits believed that. Then they picked up bits of landed-and-blown-up models, and said what it was like, and some Brits believed it. Then scientists picked up more bits and said what it was like, and so on and so on – yes, it was a remarkable achievement that the first V2 to land in England was cargo on an RAF plane, but a lot of this story revolves around the fact the Poles were correct about it right from the start, and I can't help but believe this over-cooks the benefit of having the parts in Allied hands. "They saved London"? Forewarned.
That said, this has a great narrative as it retells the whole build-up to the V1 and V2 programmes, and their success or otherwise. Yet even here there are issues, for this author is incredibly repetitive. So yes, this has the benefit of a quirk of history that is little-known, yes it acts as tribute to some fine Polish souls (this then should be shelved next to how they also helped crack the Enigma codes...) – but boy I wished for a better telling. And as to whether this episode actually warrants a full-length presentation, the jury is still out.
Review of advance copy
This is the almost unbelievable but true story of how the Polish Resistance stole a V2 rocket, broke it down into pieces, and transported it to England in 1944 for re-assembly, just before the V2s started falling on London.
It is what might be described as "a gripping read for overgrown schoolboys", very much in the style of TV pundit Guy Walters' other popular works of military non-fiction: grounded in real events and documentary sources, but embellished with imagined details to make the story "go". Here's a typical example. The Polish Resistance have prepared everything and are waiting for the aircraft to arrive and pick up the pieces of the V2 they have dismantled:
Toward evening, the light softened. Long shadows stretched from the birches across the meadow, and with them came a strange calm. The men cleaned their rifles again, an act more of superstition than necessity. Someone produced a small bottle of vodka. They drank in silence, passing it along the line. When it reached Zenon, he lifted it slightly. 'For Antoni', he said - the name needing no explanation.
There is no evidence that the light softened towards evening—although it probably did, as it does on most evenings. Nor do we know that long shadows stretched across the meadow, even if it is a reasonable assumption that trees cast long shadows in the evening. Was there really a strange calm? Is there any documentary evidence for it? Did someone actually produce a bottle of vodka? A small bottle? How do we know they drank it in silence? And so on. The entire paragraph is an invention. The whole book is written in much the same way.
I devoured this "gripping read" in a few hours. It was fun; I learned quite a lot, although I'm not sure how much of it to believe. I reflected at length on the courage of the Polish Resistance, the cruelties of racist regimes in general, and the need to fight them.
But don't expect scholarly research or technical accuracy. One example: a Royal Air Force Douglas DC3 (Dakota) is described at one point as a high-wing aircraft (which it is not) and at another point as "glinting silver in the sun" even though it was painted olive drab to prevent precisely that kind of glinting, which would have made it easy for the enemy to spot.
I won't go on.
It is what might be described as "a gripping read for overgrown schoolboys", very much in the style of TV pundit Guy Walters' other popular works of military non-fiction: grounded in real events and documentary sources, but embellished with imagined details to make the story "go". Here's a typical example. The Polish Resistance have prepared everything and are waiting for the aircraft to arrive and pick up the pieces of the V2 they have dismantled:
Toward evening, the light softened. Long shadows stretched from the birches across the meadow, and with them came a strange calm. The men cleaned their rifles again, an act more of superstition than necessity. Someone produced a small bottle of vodka. They drank in silence, passing it along the line. When it reached Zenon, he lifted it slightly. 'For Antoni', he said - the name needing no explanation.
There is no evidence that the light softened towards evening—although it probably did, as it does on most evenings. Nor do we know that long shadows stretched across the meadow, even if it is a reasonable assumption that trees cast long shadows in the evening. Was there really a strange calm? Is there any documentary evidence for it? Did someone actually produce a bottle of vodka? A small bottle? How do we know they drank it in silence? And so on. The entire paragraph is an invention. The whole book is written in much the same way.
I devoured this "gripping read" in a few hours. It was fun; I learned quite a lot, although I'm not sure how much of it to believe. I reflected at length on the courage of the Polish Resistance, the cruelties of racist regimes in general, and the need to fight them.
But don't expect scholarly research or technical accuracy. One example: a Royal Air Force Douglas DC3 (Dakota) is described at one point as a high-wing aircraft (which it is not) and at another point as "glinting silver in the sun" even though it was painted olive drab to prevent precisely that kind of glinting, which would have made it easy for the enemy to spot.
I won't go on.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews