{"title":"Books by James Lucas","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781800329850","title":"Storming Eagles","description":"\u003cp\u003eUnstoppable and deadly, this is the gripping story of some of the most feared soldiers in the war\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe daring, courage and skill of the highly-trained men who spearheaded German assaults in the blitzkrieg of 1940, dropping from the air to seize and overwhelm key invasion points, showed to an alarmed world that a new dimension had been added to the science of warfare.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne spectacular success was the invasion and capture of Crete in May 1941, all be it achieved at a terrible price. The German paratroopers were an elite, justifying again and again their great reputation for courage and hard fighting in Russia, North Africa and Italy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBestselling military historian James Lucas has researched deeply in Allied and German archives and interviewed many of the leading members of the \u003ci\u003eFallschirmjaegar\u003c\/i\u003e who survived the war. This is an unmissable and dramatic account of the Second World War's most frightening elite, perfect for readers of James Holland and Max Hastings.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56306645008757,"sku":"9781800329850","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781800329850_0db250cb-5824-4b11-b1e0-18fb32cfe699.jpg?v=1786026537"},{"product_id":"9781804366349","title":"The Last Year of the German Army","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe year the once all-conquering German army was finally defeated.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy the summer of 1944, Germany was in crisis. The Allied landings had forced another battle arena upon an army already fighting on the vast Eastern front. The July bomb plot attempt on Hitler's life made the dictator even more paranoid and suspicious of his own military commanders.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this absorbing study, James Lucas examines the army's changing structure and weaponry throughout this final year of war, and reveals the often surprising measures taken to confront a situation Hitler had never contemplated, and never really accepted.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge and on to the Fall of Berlin, the author examines the last battles fought by the German army  which had by no means given up its struggle  as the Allies swept across Europe, charting the very unique experiences of a military force moving from dominance to defeat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerfect for readers of Antony Beevor and Max Hastings.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307501007221,"sku":"9781804366349","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781804366349_31bdb1d9-7e0a-4c1d-8de7-c01c0affb526.jpg?v=1786027052"},{"product_id":"9781805001379","title":"War on the Eastern Front","description":"Dawn on Sunday 22 June 1941 saw the opening onslaughts of Operation Barbarossa as German forces stormed forward into the Soviet Union. Few of them were to survive the five long years of bitter struggle.A posting to the Eastern Front during the Second World War was rightly regarded with dread by the German soldiers. They were faced by the unremitting hostility of the climate, the people and even, at times, their own leadership. They saw epic battles such as Stalingrad and Kursk, and yet it was a daily war of attrition which ultimately proved fatal for Hitlers ambition and the German military machine.In this classic account leading military historian James Lucas examines different aspects of the fighting, from war in the trenches to a bicycle-mounted anti-tank unit fighting against the oncoming Russian hordes. Told through the experiences of the German soldiers who endured these nightmarish years of warfare, War on the Eastern Front is a unique record of this cataclysmic campaign.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307529482613,"sku":"9781805001379","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781805001379_162bf202-7e56-4fac-9c8b-eeab05cf0325.jpg?v=1786027858"},{"product_id":"9781835980057","title":"Hitler's Special Forces","description":"\u003cp\u003eBlood, fire and iron: An unforgettable portrait of the most feared soldiers of World War Two\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the closing years of the 1930s, German agent-provocateurs worked in secrecy. These crack units of elite soldiers paved the way for the invasions of Czechoslovakia and Poland, the spark that would ignite a war across Europe. In time, they would go on to shape the conflict with terrifying ferocity and skill.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mysteries of German special forces are revealed here, with incisive analysis of naval, military and aerial operations, and vivid descriptions of suicide pilots, human torpedoes and explosive motor boats.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJames Lucas delivers one of the fullest and most accessible ever accounts of the elite troops known as \u003cem\u003eKommandos\u003c\/em\u003e, across both their achievements and failures to stave off impending military defeat.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis is war at its toughest, most harrowing and most extreme.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312993055093,"sku":"9781835980057","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781835980057_6d3c9f54-bd64-44e8-b746-1a2ea506e6cd.jpg?v=1786028246"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-james-lucas.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}