{"product_id":"9780891418672","title":"A Perfect Hell: The True Story of the Black Devils, the Forefathers of the Special Forces","description":"\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor\/Contributor(s):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eNadler, John\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePresidio Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDate:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e3\/28\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003ePaperback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eNEW\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003eIt’s 1942 and Hitler’s armies stand astride Europe like a colossus. Germany is winning  on every front. This is the story of how one of the world’s first commando units,  put together for the invasion of Norway, helped turn the tide in Italy.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e1942\u003c\/b\u003e. When  the British generals recommend an audacious plan to parachute a small elite commando  unit into Norway in a bid to put Nazi Germany on the defensive, Winston Churchill  is intrigued. But Britain, fighting for its life, can’t spare the manpower to participate.  So William Lyon MacKenzie King is contacted and asked to commit Canadian troops to  the bold plan. King, determined to join Roosevelt and Churchill as an equal leader  in the Allied war effort, agrees.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e One of the world’s first commando units, the First  Special Service Force, or FSSF, is assembled from hand-picked soldiers from Canadian  and American regiments. Any troops sent into Norway will have to be rugged, self-sufficient,  brave, and weather-hardened. Canada has such men in ample supply.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The all-volunteer  FSSF comprises outdoorsmen — trappers, rangers, prospectors, miners, loggers. Assembled  at an isolated base in Helena, Montana, and given only five months to train before  the invasion, they are schooled in parachuting, mountain climbing, cross-country  skiing, and cold-weather survival. They are taught how to handle explosives, how  to operate nearly every field weapon in the American and German arsenals, and how  to kill with their bare hands.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e After the Norway plan is scrapped, the FSSF is dispatched  to Italy and given its first test — to seize a key German mountain-top position which  had repelled the brunt of the Allied armies for over a month. In a reprise of the  audacity and careful planning that won Vimy Ridge for the Canadians in WWI, the FSSF  takes the twin peaks Monte la Difensa and Monte la Remetanea by storming the supposedly  unscalable rock face at the rear of the German position, and opens the way through  the mountains.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Later, the FSSF will hold one-quarter of the Anzio beachhead against  a vastly superior German force for ninety-nine days; a force of only 1,200 commandos  does the work of a full division of over 17,000 troops. Though badly outnumbered,  the FSSF takes the fight to the Germans, sending nighttime patrols behind enemy lines  and taking prisoners. It is here that they come to be known among the dispirited  Germans as Schwartzer Teufel (“Black Devils”) for their black camouflage face-paint  and their terrifying tactic of appearing out of the darkness.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e John Nadler vividly  captures the savagery of the Italian campaign, fought as it was at close quarters  and with desperate resolve, and the deeply human experiences of the individual men  called upon to fight it. Based on extensive archival research and interviews with  veterans, \u003cb\u003eA Perfect Hell\u003c\/b\u003e is an important contribution to Canadian military history  and an indispensable account of the lives and battlefield exploits of the men who  turned the tide of the Second World War.","brand":"Presidio Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44216150032639,"sku":"9780891418672","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0452\/0886\/2873\/files\/9780891418672_s600x595.jpg?v=1775591505","url":"https:\/\/massivebookshop.com\/products\/9780891418672","provider":"MASSIVE BOOKSHOP","version":"1.0","type":"link"}