ISBN: 9780008280567 Title: Chastise: the Dambusters Author: HASTINGS MAX
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A masterly history of the Dambusters raid from bestselling and critically acclaimed Max Hastings.
Operation Chastise, the overnight destruction of the Möhne and Eder dams in north-west Germany by the RAF's 617 Squadron, was an epic that has passed into Britain's national legend.
Max Hastings grew up embracing the story, the classic 1955 movie and the memory of Guy Gibson, the 24-year-old wing-commander who won the VC leading the raid. In the 21st Century, however, Hastings urges that we should review the Dambusters in much more complex shades. The aircrew's heroism was wholly authentic, as was the brilliance of Barnes Wallis, who invented the 'bouncing bombs'. But commanders who promised their young fliers that success could shorten the war fantasised wildly. What Germans call the Möhnekatastrophe imposed on the Nazi war machine temporary disruption, rather than a crippling blow.
Hastings vividly describes the evolution of Wallis' bomb, and of the squadron which broke the dams at the cost of devastating losses. But he also portrays in harrowing detail those swept away by the torrents. Some 1,400 civilians perished in the biblical floods that swept through the Möhne valley, more than half of them Russian and Polish women, slave labourers under Hitler.
Ironically, Air Marshal Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris gained much of the credit, though he opposed Chastise as a distraction from his city-burning blitz. He also made what the author describes as the operation's biggest mistake - the failure to launch a conventional attack on the Nazis' huge post-raid repair operation, which could have transformed the impact of the dam breaches upon Ruhr industry.
Chastise offers a fascinating retake on legend by a master of the art. Hastings sets the dams raid in the big picture of the bomber offensive and of the Second World War, with moving portraits of the young airmen, so many of whom died; of Barnes Wallis; the monstrous Harris; the tragic Guy Gibson, together with superb narrative of the action of one of the most extraordinary episodes in British history.
var et_link_options_data = [{"class":"et_pb_text_6_tb_footer","url":"mailto:wellington@unitybooks.co.nz","target":"_self"},{"class":"et_pb_text_8_tb_footer","url":"http:\/\/unitybooks.nz\/contact-us\/faqs\/","target":"_blank"},{"class":"et_pb_text_9_tb_footer","url":"https:\/\/unitybookswellington.co.nz\/pridelands-help-100\/","target":"_self"}];
(function () {
var c = document.body.className;
c = c.replace(/woocommerce-no-js/, 'woocommerce-js');
document.body.className = c;
})();
var wc_add_to_cart_params = {"ajax_url":"\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","wc_ajax_url":"\/?wc-ajax=%%endpoint%%","i18n_view_cart":"View cart","cart_url":"https:\/\/unitybookswellington.co.nz\/cart\/","is_cart":"","cart_redirect_after_add":"no"};
var wc_single_product_params = {"i18n_required_rating_text":"Please select a rating","review_rating_required":"yes","flexslider":{"rtl":false,"animation":"slide","smoothHeight":true,"directionNav":false,"controlNav":"thumbnails","slideshow":false,"animationSpeed":500,"animationLoop":false,"allowOneSlide":false},"zoom_enabled":"1","zoom_options":[],"photoswipe_enabled":"1","photoswipe_options":{"shareEl":false,"closeOnScroll":false,"history":false,"hideAnimationDuration":0,"showAnimationDuration":0},"flexslider_enabled":"1"};
var wc_cart_fragments_params = {"ajax_url":"\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","wc_ajax_url":"\/?wc-ajax=%%endpoint%%","cart_hash_key":"wc_cart_hash_86b04cb5b7a8f29bfd59e2b4109ac23d","fragment_name":"wc_fragments_86b04cb5b7a8f29bfd59e2b4109ac23d","request_timeout":"5000"};
var awdr_params = {"ajaxurl":"https:\/\/unitybookswellington.co.nz\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","nonce":"bc88401064","enable_update_price_with_qty":"show_when_matched","refresh_order_review":"0","custom_target_simple_product":"","custom_target_variable_product":"","js_init_trigger":"","awdr_opacity_to_bulk_table":"","awdr_dynamic_bulk_table_status":"0","awdr_dynamic_bulk_table_off":"on","custom_simple_product_id_selector":"","custom_variable_product_id_selector":""};
var wc_stripe_payment_request_params = {"ajax_url":"\/?wc-ajax=%%endpoint%%","stripe":{"key":"pk_live_51JTzUBIB197v8sCoScgBC3vpAdEkYdSgNMcc1cQFhjzks9y9r7Ujmc1sTjL5pdmjxN1PYhqh16ESNPUgS03jCm3L00E1YtMlaQ","allow_prepaid_card":"yes","locale":"en","is_link_enabled":false,"is_payment_request_enabled":true},"nonce":{"payment":"7ba1cf860b","shipping":"353c8f795d","update_shipping":"44afe3d153","checkout":"2c98299734","add_to_cart":"dced75a882","get_selected_product_data":"cfaeeed6d7","log_errors":"63e7d899a1","clear_cart":"40f2e7c699"},"i18n":{"no_prepaid_card":"Sorry, we're not accepting prepaid cards at this time.","unknown_shipping":"Unknown shipping option \"[option]\"."},"checkout":{"url":"https:\/\/unitybookswellington.co.nz\/checkout\/","currency_code":"nzd","country_code":"NZ","needs_shipping":"no","needs_payer_phone":true},"button":{"type":"buy","theme":"dark","height":"40","locale":"en","branded_type":"long","css_selector":"","label":"","is_custom":false,"is_branded":false},"login_confirmation":"","is_product_page":"1","product":{"shippingOptions":{"id":"pending","label":"Pending","detail":"","amount":0},"displayItems":[{"label":"Chastise: the Dambusters","amount":2800},{"label":"Shipping","amount":0,"pending":true}],"total":{"label":" (via WooCommerce)","amount":2800},"requestShipping":true,"currency":"nzd","country_code":"NZ"}};
var DIVI = {"item_count":"%d Item","items_count":"%d Items"};
var et_builder_utils_params = {"condition":{"diviTheme":true,"extraTheme":false},"scrollLocations":["app","top"],"builderScrollLocations":{"desktop":"app","tablet":"app","phone":"app"},"onloadScrollLocation":"app","builderType":"fe"};
var et_frontend_scripts = {"builderCssContainerPrefix":"#et-boc","builderCssLayoutPrefix":"#et-boc .et-l"};
var et_pb_custom = {"ajaxurl":"https:\/\/unitybookswellington.co.nz\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","images_uri":"https:\/\/unitybookswellington.co.nz\/wp-content\/themes\/Divi\/images","builder_images_uri":"https:\/\/unitybookswellington.co.nz\/wp-content\/themes\/Divi\/includes\/builder\/images","et_frontend_nonce":"a6b4632ba1","subscription_failed":"Please, check the fields below to make sure you entered the correct information.","et_ab_log_nonce":"3cb6e4be00","fill_message":"Please, fill in the following fields:","contact_error_message":"Please, fix the following errors:","invalid":"Invalid email","captcha":"Captcha","prev":"Prev","previous":"Previous","next":"Next","wrong_captcha":"You entered the wrong number in captcha.","wrong_checkbox":"Checkbox","ignore_waypoints":"no","is_divi_theme_used":"1","widget_search_selector":".widget_search","ab_tests":[],"is_ab_testing_active":"","page_id":"125792","unique_test_id":"","ab_bounce_rate":"5","is_cache_plugin_active":"yes","is_shortcode_tracking":"","tinymce_uri":""};
var et_pb_box_shadow_elements = [];
var wc_stripe_params = {"title":"Credit Card (Stripe)","key":"pk_live_51JTzUBIB197v8sCoScgBC3vpAdEkYdSgNMcc1cQFhjzks9y9r7Ujmc1sTjL5pdmjxN1PYhqh16ESNPUgS03jCm3L00E1YtMlaQ","i18n_terms":"Please accept the terms and conditions first","i18n_required_fields":"Please fill in required checkout fields first","updateFailedOrderNonce":"9ba493174c","updatePaymentIntentNonce":"ea7e128bb2","orderId":"0","checkout_url":"\/?wc-ajax=checkout","stripe_locale":"en","no_prepaid_card_msg":"Sorry, we're not accepting prepaid cards at this time. Your credit card has not been charged. Please try with alternative payment method.","no_sepa_owner_msg":"Please enter your IBAN account name.","no_sepa_iban_msg":"Please enter your IBAN account number.","payment_intent_error":"We couldn't initiate the payment. Please try again.","sepa_mandate_notification":"email","allow_prepaid_card":"yes","inline_cc_form":"no","is_checkout":"no","return_url":"https:\/\/unitybookswellington.co.nz\/checkout\/order-received\/?utm_nooverride=1","ajaxurl":"\/?wc-ajax=%%endpoint%%","stripe_nonce":"1b0ba6ec16","statement_descriptor":"","elements_options":[],"sepa_elements_options":{"supportedCountries":["SEPA"],"placeholderCountry":"NZ","style":{"base":{"fontSize":"15px"}}},"invalid_owner_name":"Billing First Name and Last Name are required.","is_change_payment_page":"no","is_add_payment_page":"no","is_pay_for_order_page":"no","elements_styling":"","elements_classes":"","add_card_nonce":"7d78282d58","create_payment_intent_nonce":"5ad64782e1","cpf_cnpj_required_msg":"CPF\/CNPJ is a required field","invalid_number":"The card number is not a valid credit card number.","invalid_expiry_month":"The card's expiration month is invalid.","invalid_expiry_year":"The card's expiration year is invalid.","invalid_cvc":"The card's security code is invalid.","incorrect_number":"The card number is incorrect.","incomplete_number":"The card number is incomplete.","incomplete_cvc":"The card's security code is incomplete.","incomplete_expiry":"The card's expiration date is incomplete.","expired_card":"The card has expired.","incorrect_cvc":"The card's security code is incorrect.","incorrect_zip":"The card's zip \/ postal code failed validation.","postal_code_invalid":"Invalid zip code, please correct and try again","invalid_expiry_year_past":"The card's expiration year is in the past","card_declined":"The card was declined.","missing":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged.","processing_error":"An error occurred while processing the card.","invalid_sofort_country":"The billing country is not accepted by Sofort. Please try another country.","email_invalid":"Invalid email address, please correct and try again.","invalid_request_error":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method.","amount_too_large":"The order total is too high for this payment method","amount_too_small":"The order total is too low for this payment method","country_code_invalid":"Invalid country code, please try again with a valid country code","tax_id_invalid":"Invalid Tax Id, please try again with a valid tax id"};