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The True Story of the Great Escape

Stalag Luft III, March 1944

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The True Story of the Great Escape

By: Jonathan F. Vance, Simon Pearson - foreword
Narrated by: Paul Woodson
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About this listen

The real history behind the classic war movie and the men who plotted the daring escape from a Nazi POW camp.

Between dusk and dawn on the night of March 24-25, 1944, a small army of Allied soldiers crawled through tunnels in Germany in a covert operation the likes of which the Third Reich had never seen. The prison break from Stalag Luft III in Eastern Germany was the largest of its kind in the Second World War. Seventy-nine Allied soldiers and airmen made it outside the wire - but only three made it outside Nazi Germany. Fifty were executed by the Gestapo.

In this book Jonathan Vance tells the incredible story that was made famous by the 1963 film The Great Escape. It is a classic tale of prisoners and their wardens in a battle of wits and wills. The brilliantly conceived escape plan is overshadowed only by the colorful, daring (and sometimes very funny) crew who executed it - literally under the noses of German guards. From the men's first days in Stalag Luft III and the forming of bonds among them, to the tunnel building, amazing escape, and eventual capture, Vance's history is a vivid, compelling look at one of the greatest "exfiltration" missions of all time.

©2019 Jonathan F. Vance (P)2021 Tantor Europe Great Britain Historical Military Military & War World War II War Funny Solider Black Ops
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What a book. The fantastic, but true story of the Great Escape. Not the movie but the real antics of a group of brilliantly described individuals who, against all odds, and from captivity, took on the mighty German war machine

The almost intimate details of so many young men with hopes and dreams so recognisable today, leaves the reader in no doubt that they were The Greatest Generation.

Fan-bloody-tastic

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The narrator struggles with native English pronunciation in many instances. Place names are okay, but pronouncing lieutenant in the American form in a non-fiction military book is pretty poor.

Difficult Pronunciation

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Throughly enjoyed from beginning to the end.
Lots of detail and insights into the brave men involved in this incredible true story

Great telling of a great story

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would have enjoyed more if was read by an English man but all in all very enjoyable read .

american accent not really appropriate

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