Escape Artist

The Incredible Second World War of Johnny Peck

Nonfiction, History, Military, World War II, Biography & Memoir, Historical
Cover of the book Escape Artist by Peter Monteath, Pen and Sword
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Author: Peter Monteath ISBN: 9781526727541
Publisher: Pen and Sword Publication: July 30, 2018
Imprint: Pen and Sword Military Language: English
Author: Peter Monteath
ISBN: 9781526727541
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Publication: July 30, 2018
Imprint: Pen and Sword Military
Language: English

The never-before-told story of World War II escape artist extraordinaire, Johnny Peck.

In August 1941, an eighteen-year-old Australian soldier made his first prison break – an audacious night-time escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp in Crete. Astoundingly, this was only the first of many escapes.

An infantryman in the 2/7 Battalion, Johnny Peck was first thrown into battle against Italian forces in the Western Desert. Campaigns against Hitler’s Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe in Greece and Crete followed. When Crete fell to the Germans at the end of May 1941, Peck was trapped on the island with hundreds of other men. On the run, they depended on their wits, the kindness of strangers, and sheer good luck.

When Peck’s luck ran out, he was taken captive by the Germans, then the Italians. Later, after his release from a Piedmontese jail following the Italian Armistice of 1943, and at immense risk to his own life, Peck devoted himself to helping POWs cross the Alps to safety. Captured once more, Peck was sentenced to death and detained in Milan’s notorious, Gestapo-run San Vittore prison – until escaping again, this time into Switzerland.

Historian Peter Monteath reveals the action-packed tale of one young Australian soldier and his remarkable war.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The never-before-told story of World War II escape artist extraordinaire, Johnny Peck.

In August 1941, an eighteen-year-old Australian soldier made his first prison break – an audacious night-time escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp in Crete. Astoundingly, this was only the first of many escapes.

An infantryman in the 2/7 Battalion, Johnny Peck was first thrown into battle against Italian forces in the Western Desert. Campaigns against Hitler’s Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe in Greece and Crete followed. When Crete fell to the Germans at the end of May 1941, Peck was trapped on the island with hundreds of other men. On the run, they depended on their wits, the kindness of strangers, and sheer good luck.

When Peck’s luck ran out, he was taken captive by the Germans, then the Italians. Later, after his release from a Piedmontese jail following the Italian Armistice of 1943, and at immense risk to his own life, Peck devoted himself to helping POWs cross the Alps to safety. Captured once more, Peck was sentenced to death and detained in Milan’s notorious, Gestapo-run San Vittore prison – until escaping again, this time into Switzerland.

Historian Peter Monteath reveals the action-packed tale of one young Australian soldier and his remarkable war.

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