This book tells the story of Nazi international broadcasting during and before the Second World War. At its peak German radio stations broadcast in 54 languages to a worldwide audience. For the first time in an international conflict; citizens of the warring nations could hear enemy propaganda in their own living rooms. Many of the voices that they heard belonged to a new type of criminal; the radio traitor. The nickname Lord Haw-Haw is still famous internationally; but there were numerous other radio renegades speaking on behalf of the Nazis. The Nazis' propaganda was sinister enough; but they also ran a series of secret stations that spoke to enemy audiences in the name of "patriotic" dissidents who claimed to be broadcasting from clandestine transmitters in their own countries. Using archival material; Hitler’s Radio War dissects the message that Germany’s overt and covert propaganda stations broadcast to their audiences; as well as the lives and motivations of the broadcasters.
#3302510 in Books 2007-03-02 2016-06-23Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x 1.07 x 5.98l; .0 #File Name: 0700623841528 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A useful light shone on an under appreciated group of US Army leaders.By NJBAn overlooked aspect of the Battle of the Bulge was the critical roles of the corps commanders in bringing about an epic American victory. Harold Winton has a done a great service by highlighting how fortunate the American side was to have had such competent leaders at the corps level as Troy Middleton of VIII Corps; Leonard Gerow of V Corps; Matthew Ridegeway of XVIII Airborne Corps; John Millikin of III Corps; Manton Eddy of XII Corps and Lawton Collins of VII Corps. Their leadership was crucial in what was a monumental challenge posed by a desperate; tough and resilient foe. Their steadiness and skill was all the more important in light of yet another dismal performance from Courtney Hodges at First Army who should; surely; have been sacked following the Hurtgen Forest debacle (tainted in this abysmal failure were Gerow and Collins; albeit to a somewhat lesser extent).The book traces the careers of each officer prior to taking command of their corps and examines their decision making during the Ardennes offensive. All emerge well albeit not without blemishes. Middleton who arguably had the most difficult job did particularly well given the challenge he faced on 16 December from a massive attack that threatened to destroy his corps. His recognition of Bastogne as a critical road centre to defend was instrumental in hampering the Germans' forward movement to the Meuse. His failure to clearlyand unequivocally order the early and immediate withdrawal of the two regiments of the 106th Infantry Division from the Schnee Eifel knowing as he did their vulnerability to encirclement was a black mark. Ridgeway was similarly slow to recognize the peril in which the defenders of St Vith rested as the Germans pressed in on three sides.Leadership at the senior levels was not all that it should have been in the European Theatre of Operation. Eisenhower; Bradley and Montgomery all suffered from an over abundance of caution yet saw no sign of a possible German counteroffensive. Hodges was hopelessly out of his depth yet commanded arguably the most important US army. Patton was occasionally brilliant but also erratic. America was fortunate indeed that in its corps commanders; as shown by Winton; they had steady; competent; first rate leadership.22 of 22 people found the following review helpful. The American victory in the Ardennes from a different perspectiveBy Jonathan BaumJust when you thought that there couldn't be another useful book on the Battle of the Bulge; Professor Harold Winton proves us wrong with this fine portrait of the battle that focuses on the way it was commanded by the six American corps commanders who were involved: Gerow; Middleton; Ridgeway; Milikin; Eddy and Collins. This emphasis on what Winton calls "the middle level of command" allows us to see the battle as it developed operationally and provides the reader with perhaps the clearest and most understandable narrative of the Battle of the Bulge ever written. Winton helpfully divides the history of the battle into three phases and covers the activities and decisions of the officers in each phase: their relationships with their superiors and subordinates; what tactical demands the battle placed on them; and even how they held up physically and psychologically. Since the book also includes brief biographies of those officers; Winton is able to evaluate the effectiveness of how the US Army educated its officers for higher command between the World Wars - all six were CGSS and five of them were War College grads. Winton also takes the time to show the true role of allied air power in the battle. All in all; this book is a must-read for those who study the Battle of the Ardennes and the US Army in the Second World War.One small sour note: either Dr. Winton or his editors at University Press of Kansas - a military history publisher of note - should have been aware that Marlborough was not at Waterloo (see p.160).0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Has it allBy repiiiExceptional work. Winton links the cultures of the services; the preparation of the interwar years and the generals knowledge of each other with their roles in WW II. Further he leads up to The Bulge so that we understand the extant strategies and situations. Then he drops down to the corps level to give the details of the fight. The corps is the perfect level to tie together strategic; operational and tactical operation. Winton brings characters alive having interviewed or studied their papers and living subordinates. Without making a case for Eisenhower; he demonstrates again and again how fortunate we were to have Ike in charge. He points at major events like how his instincts and reactions on 16 Dec cost the Germans the delay (through our response) that was critical to delaying their time table and chances for success and little things like Ike creating a pool of qualified division commanders to take over for any number of possible reasons. That is so Ike! One can get more tactical detail in books about companies and the broad sweep as in Crusade in Europe; but I know of no other work that links it all so brilliantly and enhances our understanding of how and why we fought the war the way we did... and who our heroes were!
