Seven Men at Daybreak

by Alan Burgess

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553135872
• ISBN13: 9780553135879
• Release Date: January 1972
• Publisher: Bantam
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Czech Resistance to Nazi Oppression

Alan Burgess was born in Birmingham England, travelled, and became a scriptwriter and producer for the BBC. In 1950 he visited Mauthausen for a story on the International Tracing Service and learned about Jan Kubis and Josef Gabchik. In 1958 he was able to visit Czechoslovakia and visit the sites in this story. The 'Author's Note' tells about those who helped him. He interviewed Mrs. Ellison of Cheshire. Burgess was able to use the records of friends and enemies. This 1960 book presents a dramatic and colorful history of the events aided by the memories of the people who lived in those times. It is a better book than Callum Macdonald's, but both present information not found in the other work. Burgess has more personal details. There is no Index. In December 1941 the British Air Force dropped Czech parachutists so they could provide communication with London and resist Nazi rule by sabotage and working with the resistance. Most of the chapters tell of their events in Bohemia-Moravia, and the plans to strike at Heydrich, the top Nazi leader. Heydrich used the carrot-and-stick approach to increase war production. The arrests and executions put fear and hatred into the minds of the Czechs. Some sympathized and collaborated with the Nazis. Two of the parachutists turned traitor, and this led to the successful attempt to capture the hidden parachutists. The assassination of Heydrich was rare good news in the summer of 1942. The resulting retribution and reprisals were horrible: mass executions of people for vengeance. Chapter 12 tells about the assassination attempt, their escape in Chapter 13. The parachutists were hidden in a church, the village of Lidice was razed to the ground and its people exterminated (Chapter 14). Fear caused one of the parachutists to betray the others to the Gestapo (Chapter 15). SS troops attacked before dawn and three parachutists died (Chapter 16). The four parachutists in the church crypt defended themselves for hours until their ammunition ran low (Chapter 17). The 'Epilogue' tells of the destruction of most of the people who aided the parachutists, and their families. The betrayers were convicted and hanged in 1946. There is a stone memorial to Kubis and Gabchik on the outside wall of the church in Resslova Street. [Burgess noted the many security lapses committed during this operation.]

Unsung Heroes of WW2..........

A strong story of largely unsung WW2 heroes; seven men -Jan Kubis, Josef Gabcik and Josef Valcik, Jan Hruby, Josef Bublik, Adolf Opalka, Jaroslav Svarc - spend months in the hills of Scotland being initiated in the art of murder. They parachute into German occupied Czechoslovakia and Kubis and Gabcik successfully mortally wound the SS henchman Reinhard Heinrich, Protectorate of Czechoslovakia, on 27 May 1942. His subsequent death unleashes the tragic elimination of the village of Lidice and a national manhunt for the assasins. The story of these brave men commands more attention than what history has allocated them - this book admirably sets out to remedy that.

Seven men at Daybreak

if you enjoyed the film "Operation Daybreak" then treat yourself to the book that inspired the film. Alan Burgess manages to create vivid images of both the characters involved, and the haunting Nazi attrocities commited in city of Prague itself. The book centres on the assasination of Hitlers SS deputy, Reinhard Heydrich in Prague 1942, by a group of Czech paratroopers trained by British Intelligence. This book rouses the deepest emotion and ends with almost unbearable tension. It simply is a MUST for any war enthusiast, or for anyone that is captivated by a real life thriller. Persevere, if you initially cannot find this book to buy, the rewards when you do find it, will remain timeless.....