Ghost Riders
April 1945. As Allied
bombs rain down on Europe, a 400-year-old institution looks set to be wiped off
the face of the Earth. The famous white Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish
Riding School in Vienna, unique and precious animals representing centuries of
careful breeding, are scattered across rural Austria and Czechoslovakia in
areas soon to be swallowed up by Soviet forces - there, doubtless, to become
rations for the Red Army.
Their only hope lies with
the Americans: what if a small, highly mobile US task force could be sent deep
behind German lines, through fanatical SS troops, to rescue the horses before
the Soviets arrive. Just five light tanks, a handful of armoured cars and jeeps,
and 300 battle-weary GIs must plunge headlong into the unknown on a rescue
mission that could change the course of European history.
So begins
Operation Cowboy, the greatest Second World War story that has never been fully
told. GIs will join forces with surrendered German soldiers and liberated
prisoners of war to save the world's finest horses from fanatical SS and the
ruthless Red Army in an extraordinary battle during the last few days of the
war in Europe.
Mark Felton is a
well-known British historian whose numerous books and articles on military
history have received international attention. His last book Castle of the Eagles ('an extraordinary
and largely forgotten wartime story, brought back to life in this Boys' Own
account' - Daily Mail) has been
optioned by Hollywood for movie development, as has his Zero Night ('a thundering good read' - History of War). After a decade working in Shanghai, Mark now lives
in Norwich.