The incredible true story of Patrick Leigh Fermor and his team, who fought to save Crete from the Nazis. In the darkest years of World War II, when nothing seemed capable of stopping the German forces, Hitler turned his attention to Crete, an ideal base for German domination in the Middle East.
However, the German command had not accounted for an eccentric group of British secret agents who would stand in the way of their plans, boldly executing sabotage in the shadows of the Nazi occupying forces. Operation "Ariadne" tells the astonishing story of this secret war from the perspective of amateur soldiers – academics, archaeologists, writers – who found themselves acting as spies in Crete.
The story includes Patrick Leigh Fermor, a Byronic figure and later a famous travel writer, John Pendlebury, a daring archaeologist, Jean Fielding, a writer, and Sandy Rendel, a reporter for the Times. Secretly infiltrating occupied Crete, these spies joined forces with Cretan resistance fighters to thwart Nazi plans, culminating in the bold and extremely dangerous mission to kidnap the German commander of the island.
"Wes Davis's excellent chronicle of the battle in German-occupied Crete is vividly descriptive of the characters and the multiple dangers on the battlefield. This story shows how some fearless Britons with classical education allied with the unruly locals" - Robert Stone, author of Dog Soldiers.
"Based on thorough research and with wonderful storytelling, Operation 'Ariadne' focuses on the last generation of charismatic daring subjects of the British Empire" - Geoffrey Wolff, author of A Day at the Beach: Recollections.
"Following in the great tradition of John le Carré, Wes Davis has created a gripping spy story set in extremely dangerous circumstances. A riveting account, a thrilling narrative" - McKay Jenkins, author of The Last Ridge: The Epic Story of America’s First Mountain Soldiers and the Assault on Hitler’s Europe.
Number of pages
504
Cover
Soft
Year of publication
2014
Publisher
Patakis
