Robert Kershaw
Author
Born in 1950 and a graduate of Reading University, Robert Kershaw joined the Parachute Regiment in 1973. He served numerous regimental appointments before being selected to command the 10th Battalion (10 PARA). His active service includes several tours in Northern Ireland, the First Gulf War and Bosnia. He has exercised in many parts of the world and served in the Middle East and Africa. His final army appointment was with the Intelligence Division at HQ NATO in Brussels Belgium.
On leaving the Army in 2006 he became a full-time author and is recognised as one our major military historians. His narrative history combines succinct analysis drawn from thirty four years as a serving soldier with the physical and psychological impact of conflict on ordinary soldiers. His The Street about what occurred on the pivotal highway in Arnhem during the battle of September 1944 was published in the UK by Ian Allan and by Balans in Holland in 2014. His 24 Hours at Waterloo was published by Random House in 2014 and is widely regarded as the outstanding recent book on the battle. 24 Hours at The Somme followed in 2016. His acclaimed Landing on the Edge of Eternity: Twenty-Four Hours at Omaha Beach was published by Pegasus in 2018. Borodino Field - 1812 /1941 was published by the History Press in 2021.
His critically acclaimed Dünkirchen 1940 - The German View of Dunkirk was published by Osprey/Bloomsbury in 2022.
In 2024 Osprey/Bloomsbury will publish his The Hill the story ofthe pivotal capture of Hill 107 in May 1941 during the German invasion of Crete.
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The Hill by Robert Kershaw
From the critically acclaimed author of Dünkirchen 1940, a groundbreaking history of the epic three-day battle for Hill 107 that changed the course of the Second World War in the Mediterranean.
In this remarkable history, we discover each of the individuals whose actions determined the outcome of the battle for Hill 107, the key event that decided the campaign to capture the vitally strategic island of Crete in May 1941. All the events are narrated through the filter of these eyewitnesses. The Allied perspective is from the summit of Hill 107. We experience the fear and the adrenalin of a lowly platoon commander, Lieutenant Ed McAra, perilously positioned at the top of the hill, alongside the combat stress and command fatigue of the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Andew. In contrast, the German view is looking up from below as they cling to the slopes while simultaneous dazzled by the morning glare and decimated by defensive fire. We join the regimental doctor, Dr Heinrich Neumann, as he assumes command of one battalion and leads a daring nighttime charge towards the summit. The Hill details what was felt, heard or seen throughout the battle for both attacker and defender.
Drawing upon original combat reports, diary entries, letters and interviews, the battle is brought vividly to life. The narrative reads like a Shakespearean tragedy, the soldiers revealing their stories in and around the shadows of Hill 107.
