Night of the Bayonets - The Texel Uprising and Hitler's Revenge, April–May 1945

In the final days of World War II in Europe, Georgians serving in the Wehrmacht on Texel island off the Dutch coast rose up and slaughtered their German masters. Hitler ordered the island to be retaken and fighting continued for weeks, well after the war's end.

The uprising had it origins in the bloody history of Georgia in the twentieth century, a history that saw the country move from German occupation, to three short years of independence, to Soviet rule after it was conquered by the Red Army in 1921. A bloody rebellion against the Soviets took place in 1924, but it remained under Russian Soviet rule. Thousands of Georgians served in the Soviet forces during World War II and among those who were captured, given the choice of “starve or fight”, some took up the German offer to don Wehrmacht uniforms.

The loyalty of the Georgians was always in doubt, as Hitler himself suspected, and once deployed to the Netherlands, the Georgian soldiers made contact with the local Communist resistance. When the opportunity arose, the Georgians took the decision to rise up and slaughter the Germans, seizing control of the island. In just a few hours, they massacred some 400 German officers using knives and bayonets to avoid raising the alarm. An enraged Hitler learned about the mutiny and ordered the Germans to fight back, showing no mercy to either the Georgians or the Dutch civilians who hid them. It was not until 20 May, 12 days after the war had ended, that Canadian forces landed on the island and finally put an end to the slaughter.

This is the first comprehensive look in English about this little known incident. The complex relationships between the Germans, Georgians and local Dutch inhabitants - including those associated with the Communist party, makes for fascinating reading. The section which relates to the post war commemoration, and how this has changed over time adds considerably to our understanding of the mutiny, and how it has been portreyed, in the Netherlands and notably in Georgia itself. 

Thanks to Pen & Sword for the review copy. 

Available from:
Pen & Sword

Lucky Me - A Memoir of HMS Bicester in the Second World War

Lucky Me is the memoir of Leonard R. Barton, who served on HMS Bicester throughout the Second World War. HMS Bicester was a Hunt Class Escort Destroyer, which participated in a number of notable actions in the Mediterranean during the war, all of which are detailed in this very well written recollection. 

I found that the details provided really helped to build a picture of the experiences of a Royal Navy sailor in the Med, including the constant attacks from the Luftwaffe and Italian airforce, losses of colleagues during attacks, visits to the ports in North Africa and Gibraltar, and later operations such as the landings in Sicilly and Italy. One extremely important chapter covers in great detail the explosion in Bari harbour in 1943, and the subsequent aftermath that crewmen suffered due to exposure from mustard gas. 

The chapter titles give a good idea of the content, and I would highly recommend a copy of this book to anyone with an interest of firsthand accounts of the naval war in the Med. 

Contents:

• Lucky Me
• HMS Pembroke, Chatham
• After Pedestal
• Operation Torch
• Back in the Med
• Back Home
• Bari - The Second Pearl Harbour
• The Unseen Enemy
• After Bari
• At Bombay

Available from:
Unfortunately I cannot find the publisher details online, so I assume the book is now out of print. Copies may be available on Amazon.