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Operation Armageddon
November 1942. Hitler’s Sixth Army is in danger of being surrounded at Stalingrad.
An Allied invasion of North Africa is expected soon.
For the first time in the war, Hitler senses defeat. Bold action is needed.
The Führer has no faith in his generals. He decides to take action himself.
The result is ‘Operation Armageddon’: a cargo U-boat filled with 250 tons of high explosive. Its target is a deadly secret – not even the U-boat’s commander is allowed to know the purpose of his mission.
Helberg, the Cap d’Enfer base commander is ordered to take delivery of an out-of-service cargo U-boat and prepare it for Armageddon.
Marie Le Faucheur, the local Resistance leader, works as a secretary on the base. Her reports on the preparations of the U-boat soon reach Admiralty House in London.
Lieutenant Commander James Bosanquet takes charge of the case.
At first, Bosanquet’s boss, Admiral Forster, takes little interest in the U-boat. That is, until he receives a message from Marie to say that Armageddon ‘will be devastating for the enemy in the Mediterranean’.
Forster decides to send Bosanquet to help Marie organise the sabotaging of the U-boat. His drop by a Lysander is met both by Marie and a German patrol. So begins the trail of disasters that overtake Marie and Bosanquet.
The sabotage attempt fails and the U-boat departs. In desperation, the Admiralty despatches the destroyer HMS Ideal to pick up Bosanquet from a beach at Cap d’Enfer before going in search of the deadly U-boat.
Meanwhile, the U-boat officers and crew are trying to understand why they have half a dozen SS men on board.
The role of the SS becomes clear when the U-boat commander reads the second part of his orders.
They are so diabolical that he refuses to obey them.
The SS officer arrests him and takes command of the U-boat.
There are further control tussles and a mutiny on the U-boat before the fateful hour of fulfilling its secret order comes.
At that hour, HMS Ideal arrives on the scene. In the U-boat there is war between rival commanders, the seamen and the SS. On the destroyer, the lacklustre commander is at loggerheads with the more swashbuckling Bosanquet.
Under unbelievable pressure, the true natures of the key characters – a murderous SS officer, a mild U-boat commander, an ambitious second-in-command, a rule-bound destroyer captain, his more thrill-seeking Number 1, and the intrepid Bosanquet – finally emerge.
Will anyone listen to Bosanquet when he discovers by accident the true and horrific nature of Armageddon?
Will the U-boat commander regain control of his boat?
Will the destroyer find the U-boat?
Will Armageddon succeed?
'You can taste the salt and feel the danger. A fantastic read.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of Trade Off.
Richard Freeman graduated in mathematics before following a career in distance education. He now writes on naval history. His other books include First Command, Midway, Pearl Harbor and Coral Sea 1942.
An Allied invasion of North Africa is expected soon.
For the first time in the war, Hitler senses defeat. Bold action is needed.
The Führer has no faith in his generals. He decides to take action himself.
The result is ‘Operation Armageddon’: a cargo U-boat filled with 250 tons of high explosive. Its target is a deadly secret – not even the U-boat’s commander is allowed to know the purpose of his mission.
Helberg, the Cap d’Enfer base commander is ordered to take delivery of an out-of-service cargo U-boat and prepare it for Armageddon.
Marie Le Faucheur, the local Resistance leader, works as a secretary on the base. Her reports on the preparations of the U-boat soon reach Admiralty House in London.
Lieutenant Commander James Bosanquet takes charge of the case.
At first, Bosanquet’s boss, Admiral Forster, takes little interest in the U-boat. That is, until he receives a message from Marie to say that Armageddon ‘will be devastating for the enemy in the Mediterranean’.
Forster decides to send Bosanquet to help Marie organise the sabotaging of the U-boat. His drop by a Lysander is met both by Marie and a German patrol. So begins the trail of disasters that overtake Marie and Bosanquet.
The sabotage attempt fails and the U-boat departs. In desperation, the Admiralty despatches the destroyer HMS Ideal to pick up Bosanquet from a beach at Cap d’Enfer before going in search of the deadly U-boat.
Meanwhile, the U-boat officers and crew are trying to understand why they have half a dozen SS men on board.
The role of the SS becomes clear when the U-boat commander reads the second part of his orders.
They are so diabolical that he refuses to obey them.
The SS officer arrests him and takes command of the U-boat.
There are further control tussles and a mutiny on the U-boat before the fateful hour of fulfilling its secret order comes.
At that hour, HMS Ideal arrives on the scene. In the U-boat there is war between rival commanders, the seamen and the SS. On the destroyer, the lacklustre commander is at loggerheads with the more swashbuckling Bosanquet.
Under unbelievable pressure, the true natures of the key characters – a murderous SS officer, a mild U-boat commander, an ambitious second-in-command, a rule-bound destroyer captain, his more thrill-seeking Number 1, and the intrepid Bosanquet – finally emerge.
Will anyone listen to Bosanquet when he discovers by accident the true and horrific nature of Armageddon?
Will the U-boat commander regain control of his boat?
Will the destroyer find the U-boat?
Will Armageddon succeed?
'You can taste the salt and feel the danger. A fantastic read.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of Trade Off.
Richard Freeman graduated in mathematics before following a career in distance education. He now writes on naval history. His other books include First Command, Midway, Pearl Harbor and Coral Sea 1942.
222 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 9, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 15, 2017
“Operation Armageddon” eBook was published in 2017 and was written by Richard Freeman. Mr. Freeman has published 17 books.
I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story takes place in 1943 Europe. The primary characters are Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander James Bosanquet and French resistance leader Marie Le Faucheur.
The war is beginning to turn for the Nazis. Their army at Stalingrad is in danger of being surrounded and the Allies will soon invade North Africa. Hitler himself comes up with a daring plan to strike a blow against the Allies with a submarine loaded with 250 tons of explosives.
Faucheur in Cap d’Enfer, France comes across information about the U-boat in her job at the German naval base. Bosanquet, working for British Naval Intelligence, is dropped behind German lines to take action against the threat. Working together with Faucheur, Bosanquet comes up with a plan to at least delay the sailing of the U-boat.
As with most plans, things fall apart quickly and their attack is thwarted with many injured or killed. The U-boat sails and it becomes a race to see if it can be found and stopped before the Germans can strike their ‘Armageddon’ blow against the Allies.
I enjoyed the 6.5 hours I spent on this 258 page World War II thriller. The main characters were a bit bungling in their jobs, but that is more realistic than the ‘James Bond’ like heroes we normally read about. The cover art is reasonable given that a German U-boat is central to the story. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.
Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.
I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story takes place in 1943 Europe. The primary characters are Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander James Bosanquet and French resistance leader Marie Le Faucheur.
The war is beginning to turn for the Nazis. Their army at Stalingrad is in danger of being surrounded and the Allies will soon invade North Africa. Hitler himself comes up with a daring plan to strike a blow against the Allies with a submarine loaded with 250 tons of explosives.
Faucheur in Cap d’Enfer, France comes across information about the U-boat in her job at the German naval base. Bosanquet, working for British Naval Intelligence, is dropped behind German lines to take action against the threat. Working together with Faucheur, Bosanquet comes up with a plan to at least delay the sailing of the U-boat.
As with most plans, things fall apart quickly and their attack is thwarted with many injured or killed. The U-boat sails and it becomes a race to see if it can be found and stopped before the Germans can strike their ‘Armageddon’ blow against the Allies.
I enjoyed the 6.5 hours I spent on this 258 page World War II thriller. The main characters were a bit bungling in their jobs, but that is more realistic than the ‘James Bond’ like heroes we normally read about. The cover art is reasonable given that a German U-boat is central to the story. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.
Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.
June 27, 2019
Great story of courage overcoming ruthlessness
War story possibly close to truth of courageous french resistance lady in very scary project to stop mysterious marine plans by Germans. Great examples of ordinary people rising to extraordinarily brave challenges. Lovely for anyone who can identify with that.
War story possibly close to truth of courageous french resistance lady in very scary project to stop mysterious marine plans by Germans. Great examples of ordinary people rising to extraordinarily brave challenges. Lovely for anyone who can identify with that.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews