N1104 Lyudmila Pavlichenko was born on July 12, 1916, in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine. She was a student at the University of Kyiv majoring in history when Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The invasion caught the Red Army shocked and unprepared. Its best and brightest military leadership had been killed in Stalin's purges or sent to Siberian … Read more
In October 1944, German officers in the Carpathian Mountains were being killed. Soviet snipers controlled the main roads and high observation points, and more than 20 officers had been killed or wounded. Movement through some sectors had become suicide. German commanders desperately needed answers. They had to locate the hidden Soviet artillery batteries shelling their … Read more
During World War II, the Red Army counted some of its most valuable fighters among its snipers. These sharpshooters could conceal themselves from the enemy and strike targets with deadly force from considerable distances. Many German soldiers met their end at their hands. Perhaps surprisingly, more than 2,000 of the Soviet Union's snipers during the … Read more
Mi chiamo Candace, ho ventisette anni e sono sergente dell’esercito degli Stati Uniti. Tre mesi fa mi stavo ancora riprendendo da un’aggressione che mi aveva lasciato una spalla slogata e il sangue che mi ricopriva il corpo. Ma la cosa peggiore non era il dolore fisico. Era il ricordo di mia madre in piedi sulla … Read more
Mi chiamo Alice e ho ventott’anni. Ero in fondo al capannone di un matrimonio, con quasi cinquecento invitati davanti, quando la mia vita si è divisa in un prima e in un dopo. Ricordo ancora il suono. Non i volti, quelli no. I bicchieri che tintinnavano, le risate educate, un quartetto d’archi che reggeva un’ultima … Read more
Le jour de ma remise de diplôme de médecine, j’étais assise dans un stade immense, entouré de dix mille personnes qui acclamaient leurs enfants. J’avais vingt-huit ans, je m’appelais Clémentine, et je venais de terminer l’une des écoles de médecine les plus prestigieuses du pays. Pourtant, au lieu de la fierté, je ressentais une humiliation … Read more
When Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on May 10, 1940, the attack came with paratroopers, tactical strikes, and heavy aerial bombardment. The bombing of Rotterdam culminated on May 14 with the destruction of its historic center, and after the Germans threatened to bomb Utrecht in the same way, the Dutch forces surrendered one day later. … Read more
Mia sorella aprì la bocca, ma dalla sua gola non uscì alcuna parola. La domanda era rimasta sospesa nell’aria del tribunale come un peso che non poteva più essere ignorato. La piccola Francesca, la nostra avvocata, aveva appena chiesto a Camilla il motivo per cui il fidanzato di una delle sue più care amiche si … Read more
Florentine Rost van Tonningen was born Florentine Sophie Houbolt on November 14, 1914, in Amsterdam, the youngest of four children. Her father was German, had moved to the Netherlands as a young man to build a banking career, and married his employer's daughter. The family settled in Hilversum, where they were held in high regard. … Read more
In October 1944, Erwin Rommel was no longer commanding armies. He was recovering at his villa near Ulm from a fractured skull suffered when a British fighter plane attacked his car in Normandy that summer, and he was still nearly blind from the injury. Only months earlier, he had been one of the most feared … Read more