Author(s): Mark Urban

NZ Military History

A GRIPPING AUTHORISED HISTORY OF THE DARING 'RED DEVILS', THE TRAILBLAZERS OF THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT

On the 80th anniversary of their first crucial campaign, in Operation Torch in North Africa, Mark Urban tells the gripping story of the creation and development of the "Red Devils" - the name given to them by their German enemies - who ranged from circus performers to solicitors, policemen to gravediggers, Christians and Jews to communists.

Through the fates of six heroes, from recently-widowed Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, who had to leave his little boy to head to the front, to Mike Lewis, whose photographs became iconic images of war, Urban vividly brings to life these men and their experiences, showing what drove them and covering their daring actions at D-Day, Arnhem and across the Second World War. All six characters would shed blood for their country, two would not survive and one would face disgrace in the regiment.

Based on deep archival research, British and German sources, and new material from the men's families, and giving overdue recognition to the North African campaign, this compelling account paints a true and moving picture of the heart of war.