{"title":"George G Blackburn","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"guns-of-normandy-book-george-g-blackburn-9780771015038","title":"The Guns of Normandy","description":"In the weeks after D-Day, the level of artillery action in Normandy was unprecedented. In what was a relatively small area, both sides bombarded each other relentlessly for three months, each trying to overwhelm the other by sheer fire power. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Guns of Normandy\u003c\/i\u003e puts the reader in the front lines of this horrific battle. In the most graphic and authentic detail, it brings to life every aspect of a soldier's existence, from the mortal terror of impending destruction, to the unending fatigue, to the giddy exhilaration at finding oneself still, inexplicably, alive. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe story of this crucial battle opens in England, as the 4th Field Regiment receives news that something big is happening in France and that after long years of training they are finally going into action. The troop ships set out from besieged London and arrive at the D-Day beaches in the appalling aftermath of the landing. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat follows is the most harrowing and realistic account of what it is like to be in action, as the very lead man in the attack: an artillery observer calling in fire on enemy positions. The story unfolds in the present tense, giving the uncomfortably real sense that You are here. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe conditions under which the troops had to exist were horrific. There was near-constant terror of being hit by incoming shells; prolonged lack of sleep; boredom; weakness from dysentery; sudden and gruesome deaths of close friends; and severe physical privation and mental anguish. And in the face of all this, men were called upon to perform heroic acts of bravery and they did. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBlackburn provides genuine insight to the nature of military service for the average Canadian soldier in the Second World War - something that is all too often lacking in the accounts of armchair historians and television journalists. The result is a classic account of war at the sharp end. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrom the Hardcover edition.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50182596886801,"sku":"GOR002079587","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50431127322897,"sku":"CIN0771015038VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51416299077905,"sku":"CIN0771015038G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":53270478487825,"sku":"CIN0771015038A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0771015038.jpg?v=1750786149"},{"product_id":"guns-of-victory-book-george-g-blackburn-9780771015014","title":"The Guns of Victory","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50364308488465,"sku":"CIN0771015011A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50762915938577,"sku":"CIN0771015011G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53233455530257,"sku":"GOR014820021","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53392646766865,"sku":"GOR007122885","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53394449367313,"sku":"GOR008710644","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0771015011.jpg?v=1750881939"},{"product_id":"guns-of-victory-book-george-g-blackburn-9780771015052","title":"The Guns of Victory","description":"For the Canadian Soldiers who lived through the momentous battle for Normandy in the summer of 1944, it was inconceivable that the conflict in Europe could continue for another eight long months. The war was won, they thought, and to win it they had been pushed to what seemed like the limits of endurance. But ahead lay not only an enemy with no thoughts of surrender, but also appalling battle conditions reminiscent of the legendary miseries of Passchendaele. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis much-anticipated sequel to \u003ci\u003eThe Guns of Normany\u003c\/i\u003e picks up where its critically acclaimed predecessor leaves off, and it continues in the same absorbing, startlingly vivid style. After the battle for Normandy, Blackburn's 4th Field Regiment, with the rest of 1st Canadian Army, is called upon to pursue the enemy through the flooded Low Country, clearing the Scheldt estuary - a task equal to that of D-Day - and opening the port of Antwerp to allow for the huge influx of supplies necessary to press on against the German forces, now fighting with mounting desperation and ferocity. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter enduring the worst winter in local memory, and spending yet another Christmas far from home, in the spring of 1945 the Canadians are thrust into the crucial Battle of the Rhineland, which will eventually allow Allied forces to plunge into the heart of the Reich. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen victory comes, it is with no sense of triumph over a vanquished foe, but with the profoundest relief that this most terrible conflict in history is finally over. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTold with Blackburn's now trademark sense of drama and eye for detail, this story of the desperate struggle for Europe becomes as large as life. It should fully establish Blackburn as the author of an acknowledged classic on the Second World War. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrom the Hardcover edition.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50471085998353,"sku":"GOR001788809","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50796076040465,"sku":"CIN0771015054VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51416260935953,"sku":"CIN0771015054G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0771015054.jpg?v=1751011062"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-george-g-blackburn.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}