The freedom trails : escaping Hitler

Some of the great untold stories of the Second World War concern the freedom trails, the highly dangerous escape routes out of Nazi Occupied Europe. Over 5,000 British, Commonwealth and American servicemen made the journey over the Pyrenees, the Slovenian mountains and the Italian alps. Many also died en route, killed by the perilous conditions or caught by the German army. It was just as dangerous for the brave men and women of the resistance who kept the routes open. The Freedom Trails includes the stories of the most charismatic figures of the Second World War, men like Blondie Haslar, leader of the Cockleshell Heroes, US airman Chuck Yaeger (whose story was immortalised in T he Right Stuff ) and Australian Ralph Churches who orchestrated the mass escape of 100 POWs from Slovenia. There are heroes like Andree de Jongh, a young woman in her twenties who risked her life to smuggle men through occupied France, survived being sent to two concentration camps,... Some Of The Most Extraordinary Stories Of Courage And Endurance In The Second World War Concern The Freedom Trails, The Dangerous Escape Routes Out Of Nazi Occupied Europe. Over 5,000 British, Commonwealth And American Servicemen Made The Journey Over The Pyrenees, The Slovenian Mountains And The Italian Alps. Many Also Died En Route, Killed By The Perilous Conditions Or Caught By The German Army. [here], Monty Hall Recreates The Stories Of Some Of The Most Charismatic Figures Of The Second World War, Men Like Major Gordon Lett Who Escaped A Pow Camp In Italy And Fought Behind Enemy Lines At The Head Of The International Brigade. He Was Joined By An Sas Team Who Took On The German Army In Operation Galia And Then, Exhausted And Pursued By The Enemy, Made A Perilous Escape Across The Apennine Mountains In Italy. There's Also Australian Ralph Churches Who Orchestrated The Mass Escape Of 100 Pows From Slovenia - The Largest Successful Allied Escape Of The Entire War. And Len Harley, A Londoner Who Owed His Life To A Young Italian Girl Called Rosina. Monty Also Describes The Bravery Of The Local People Who Sheltered Pows And Kept The Escape Routes Open - Often Paying A Terrible Price. Andree De Jongh Risked Her Life To Smuggle Men Through Occupied France, Survived Being Sent To Two Concentration Camps, And Has Been Described By Mi-9 As 'the Greatest Of Our War-time Agents'. Mixing New Research, Interviews With Survivors And His Own Experience Of Walking The Trails, Monty Brings The Past To Life In This Dramatic And Gripping Slice Of Military History. ' I was on a train, and a German soldier began shouting at me and poking me in the ribs with his machine gun. I just thought that was it, the game was up . . .' Downed airman Bob Frost faced danger at every turn as he was smuggled out of France and over the Pyrenees. Prisoner of war Len Harley went on the run in Italy, surviving months in hiding and then a hazardous climb over the Abruzzo mountains with German troops hot on his heels. These are just some of the stories told in heart-stopping detail as Monty Halls takes us along the freedom trails out of occupied Europe, from the immense French escape lines to lesser-known routes in Italy and Slovenia. Escaping Hitler features spies and traitors, extraordinary heroism from those who ran the escape routes and offered shelter to escapees, and great feats of endurance. The SAS in Operation Galia fought for forty days behind enemy lines in Italy and then, exhausted and pursued by the enemy, exfiltrated across the Apennine mountains. And in Slovenia Australian POW Ralph Churches and British Les Laws orchestrated the largest successful Allied escape of the entire war. Mixing new research, interviews with survivors and his own experience of walking the trails, Monty brings the past to life in this dramatic and gripping slice of military history.