|
|
Brigadier James Hill was an important figure in the Parachute Regiment during the Second World War, joining soon after the British airborne forces were created, and rising to lead 3rd Parachute Brigade from Normandy to the Baltic.
This book falls into two somewhat different parts. Hill is at the heart of the text in the first part of the book, up to the point when he leads 3rd Parachute Brigade into battle. The second part of the book is more of a history of the Brigade and the wider battles in which it took part. Hill is sometimes a background figure in these sections, emerging most often in extracts from his own writings (these are used extensively and are of great value).
As a result the book is of rather wider interest than might have been the case if it had focused very closely on Hill's personal role in the action at the expense of the wider picture. It also accurately reflects the increase in the size of the forces involved, from the 1st Parachute Battalion of October 1942 to the 3rd Parachute Brigade, itself part of an Airborne Division and an entire Airborne Army.
Chapters unnamed
Author: Peter Harcerode
Edition: Hardcover
Pages: 214
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Year: 2010