In 1945, as the Allied forces approached the German border having fought so bravely following the successful Normandy landings, it was decided that an elite unit was needed to work alongside the frontline soldiers as they headed east: they were called Target-Force. Until now their story has never appeared in any histories of the period. Through extensive archival work and after interviewing many of the soldiers who tell their story here for the first time, historian Sean Longden can finally reveal the previously unknown story of the men who were sent into Germany to seize and secure highly developed Nazi military technology, key factories and scientists. T-Force was born out of the chaos of war torn Europe in 1945, and it is no wonder the story reads like a spy thriller: the unit was top secret and originated from a plan belonging to the Naval intelligence officer, Ian Fleming, later the creator of James Bond. The unit was selected from the remnants of the infantry after Normandy and included drivers, sappers, bomb disposal experts, commandos and teams of expert scientists, specialists and engineers. What they discovered would not only shock the allied army but also play a huge role in the opening years of the Cold War. Between March and summer 1945, the unit was constantly at work seizing targets in towns such as Bremen, Celle, Hamburg and Hanover, where they uncovered a secret laboratory hidden beneath a straw covered floor of a barn, vast blast furnaces in Ruhr Valley steel works that were dismantled and shipped back to England, and a fully functioning aircraft factory operating in two miles of underground tunnels. They went in search of codebooks that could decrypt the enemy’s signals; new technology such as jet propelled engines, and mini submarines. They also hunted down the men behind these extraordinary feats: nearly 1,000 top scientists, some smuggled out of the Soviet Zone in unmarked lorries, including Werner Von Braun, the brains behind the V1 and V2 rockets who was to become a key figure in the American space race, Otto Hahn, Germany’s foremost expert in nuclear fission and Helmut Walther, the man who inspired Ian Fleming’s Moonraker. Sean Longden’s riveting history will change the story of how the second World War was won and how the first battles of the Cold War were fought; it reads like the finest espionage thriller of the era.
T-Force: The race for Nazi War Secrets, 1945
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £2.20
Trade in T-Force: The Race for Nazi War Secrets, 1945 for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £2.20, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Card, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more
|
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
Once again, Sean Longden has proved himself a tenacious sleuth of Second World War secrets, and a talented solver of its mysteries. --Andrew Roberts
A fascinating account of the early roots of war. --Financial Times
A great book and has all the elements of a riveting page-turner at times you have to stop and remind yourself that you re reading a piece of factual history and not a 007 thriller. --Soldier Magazine
A fascinating account of the early roots of war. --Financial Times
A great book and has all the elements of a riveting page-turner at times you have to stop and remind yourself that you re reading a piece of factual history and not a 007 thriller. --Soldier Magazine
Book Description
The true story behind the elite secret unit that went behind enemy lines
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The British T-Force has been mentioned before (The Paperclip Conspiracy, Tom Bower) but never in such detail. All of the Allies had similar forces and the race was on to get what they could of documents, equipment and scientists before the official carving up of Germany and Austria into zones of occupation which would 'officially' prevent plunder by the other occupiers. As this book tells the story, such smuggling did occur. In fact, there are a few reports of persons unknown making off with a lorry of captured documents, perhaps to bypass the publication of such knowledge to the later economic benefit of their sponsors.
Only the most casual reading would give the impression of vagueness. The authority given to T-Force was broad and explicit: "The holder of this card is entitled on my authority [Major General Freddie de Guingand - Field Marshal Montgomery's Chief of Staff], to deny any member of the forces entry or access to the building or area which he is guarding." A list of some of the items discovered includes:
"...a submarine 'Schnorkel' with a radar unit attached, the first of its type to be uncovered."
"... a new type of anti-aircraft predictor, only two examples of which were believed to be in existence. Assessors described the find as of the 'utmmost importance.'"
"Beneath the factory were three cellars full of ball bearings... were urgently required for evacuation, since a British ball-bearing manufacturer had recently been bombed, halting production: 'We flew out three Dakotas full of ball bearings, from Rheine airfield to the UK.'"
Not all targets were on the 'black-lists' carried by T-Force. Targets of opportunity were sometimes stumbled upon. (A look at the titles of some B.I.O.S. Reports will find such designations on the cover.... Read more ›
Only the most casual reading would give the impression of vagueness. The authority given to T-Force was broad and explicit: "The holder of this card is entitled on my authority [Major General Freddie de Guingand - Field Marshal Montgomery's Chief of Staff], to deny any member of the forces entry or access to the building or area which he is guarding." A list of some of the items discovered includes:
"...a submarine 'Schnorkel' with a radar unit attached, the first of its type to be uncovered."
"... a new type of anti-aircraft predictor, only two examples of which were believed to be in existence. Assessors described the find as of the 'utmmost importance.'"
"Beneath the factory were three cellars full of ball bearings... were urgently required for evacuation, since a British ball-bearing manufacturer had recently been bombed, halting production: 'We flew out three Dakotas full of ball bearings, from Rheine airfield to the UK.'"
Not all targets were on the 'black-lists' carried by T-Force. Targets of opportunity were sometimes stumbled upon. (A look at the titles of some B.I.O.S. Reports will find such designations on the cover.... Read more ›
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By J. Filmer
Format:Hardcover
I am amazed that after more than 60 years it has been possible for Mr Longden to find a new story on World War 2! So many books have re-told the stories of so-called 'elite units' that it is refreshing to find a specialist unit I have never previously heard of. More to the point, how come I had never even heard of the unit which (it appears) made the British Army's final advance of the war in north-west Europe? As a result, I did a bit of 'digging around' on the internet but there is virtually nothing on this subject. Even 'deep web' resources do not reveal anything about 'T Force'. I did find the unit mentioned in a piece on post-war economics but even that was inaccurate and failed to mention T Force's wartime actions. I enjoyed the balance between the memories of the individuals involved and the documentary evidence of the unit's activities. In particular, I was fascinated by the stories of how the British Army extracted German scientists from the Soviet zone. It was like something out of a spy novel. The traditional history we are normally fed, of how the Russians exploited Germany post-war, is shown to be unfair: the British extraced vast amounts of industrial material from germany and exploited the country's top military and scientific researchers. this has completely changed my understanding of the end of WW2 and the origins of the Cold War.
P.S. I was shocked to read the 'casahistoria' rview on this page. The writer was surprised that the book read like a history of a British army unit! Of course of reads like that: it is a history of a British Army unit!!!
P.S. I was shocked to read the 'casahistoria' rview on this page. The writer was surprised that the book read like a history of a British army unit! Of course of reads like that: it is a history of a British Army unit!!!
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By Celtic Ghirl
Format:Hardcover
I was surprised to see another reviewer complaining that this was merely the history of a unit. Like most of Sean Longden's books it is a very personal story - via new eye witness accounts of what it was like to be in this unique unit, who were given the task of getting Nazi scientific knowhow before the Japanese and the Russians could. It's this personal perspective and focus on the unit, similar to the approach in Band of Brothers which gives the book its strength. James Bond style antics, planned by Ian Fleming but carried out by a group of individuals (raw recruits and recently injured men previously deemed unfit for front line duty) who each have their own story.
That's not to say however that T-Force fails to contribute to the wider debate. As someone who specialised in German/Russian history of this period at University, reading the last chapters I was suprised to see much of what I'd learnt about the Russian impact on the German postwar economy - was equally true - thanks to unit's like T-Force - of the British impact. And what I would have given to have had access to this book back then when I was doing my studies.
That's not to say however that T-Force fails to contribute to the wider debate. As someone who specialised in German/Russian history of this period at University, reading the last chapters I was suprised to see much of what I'd learnt about the Russian impact on the German postwar economy - was equally true - thanks to unit's like T-Force - of the British impact. And what I would have given to have had access to this book back then when I was doing my studies.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The author has certainly done exhaustive research into a fantastically interesting topic, about which I was wholly ignorant. He deserved a lot of credit for that. He bemoans the loss of the archive material (130 tonnes of papers, almost all of which were destroyed), and clearly wants to preserve in maximum detail all the information that he has turned up.
This makes the book a bit of a compromise: is it a popular history book, or a piece of scholarly research? It veers more towards the latter, so readers need to be prepared for that. I skimmed over large tracts of the material, especially the minute detail of the frequent reconfigurations of the task force, and its command chain. I can't see that appealing to many "lay" readers. If it were edited for a more popular audience, I think it could easily halve its length.
Less understandably, it is in need of a good editor simply to remove the frequent repetition of material. Sometimes the same passage will be repeated more than twice, and generally the same details will crop up over and again. So again, you need to be prepared to skim.
It's a shame, because the story is fascinating, and it's still definitely worth reading, but it could be so much more readable. What could have been a gripping book at half its length ended up as a bit of a trudge. Like other reviewers, I would be more interested in more technical detail, but then that might put off others.
I give it 4 stars because of the intrinsic value of the material and the service done by the author to history.
This makes the book a bit of a compromise: is it a popular history book, or a piece of scholarly research? It veers more towards the latter, so readers need to be prepared for that. I skimmed over large tracts of the material, especially the minute detail of the frequent reconfigurations of the task force, and its command chain. I can't see that appealing to many "lay" readers. If it were edited for a more popular audience, I think it could easily halve its length.
Less understandably, it is in need of a good editor simply to remove the frequent repetition of material. Sometimes the same passage will be repeated more than twice, and generally the same details will crop up over and again. So again, you need to be prepared to skim.
It's a shame, because the story is fascinating, and it's still definitely worth reading, but it could be so much more readable. What could have been a gripping book at half its length ended up as a bit of a trudge. Like other reviewers, I would be more interested in more technical detail, but then that might put off others.
I give it 4 stars because of the intrinsic value of the material and the service done by the author to history.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see the review
5.0 out of 5 stars
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A SUPERBLY RESEARCHED BOOK
I had never heard of T-Force until recently. This superbly-researched, well-written book tells their story with many first-hand accounts. A gret read.
Published 21 days ago by John F Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book brim full of derring-do
I was the OC A Coy 4 LANCS at Norris Green TA Centre in Liverpool where 5 Kings formed up in Sep 1939 to go to war. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Simon Peyton
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting
As much a story of the Allies frustrating Soviet efforts to recover wartime German research and the case for reparations the book is none the less an interesting insight to this... Read more
Published 2 months ago by S P Hockin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating story
I have just finished reading this. It had me absorbed on many train journeys. The facts revealed gave me a new understanding of how we looted Germany after the Second World War;... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Dm Fletcher
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good account of an under-rated story
Most people are aware that both the American and Russian space programmes were made possible - certainly in the timescales in which they happened - by the number of German... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Simon Binning
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very surprising read
Having read the other reviews, I find myself in broad agreement with the majority of the good ones, with no time at all for those who found it 'boring'; an adjective which this... Read more
Published 14 months ago by swimaging
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a great read.
This book is full of historical detail and extensive research, and there are some very interesting facts and annecdotes. Read more
Published 15 months ago by P. Cheetham
1.0 out of 5 stars
boring
Really, really, really boring... It does not add any new information and it is not even told with rithm. A book to avoid.
Published 21 months ago by Enrique Cano Torrijo
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful history book that often reads like a novel. Tighter editing...
Beginning with the swift formation of the elite unit toward the end of WWII, 'T-Force' details the evolution of this force and some related units as they attempt to rapidly and... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Lloyd Morgan
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gripping read-but more tech please?
Sean Longdon's book on the T-force shows a clear view of the efforts made by the British to unearth the Nazis technical secrets and why these were so important. Read more
Published 22 months ago by M. B. Jennings
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Search Customer Discussions
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
