Zero Night

Zero Night recounts the true story of a daring mass escape attempt from the German POW camp Oflag VI-B during World War II. Allied officers devised an audacious plan that had never been attempted before - using specially constructed ladders to breach the camp's defenses. Mark Felton's account details the extensive preparations, challenges, and risks faced by the prisoners as they worked in secret to execute their escape plan. The book draws on historical records, interviews, and primary sources to reconstruct the events leading up to the 1942 breakout attempt. The narrative follows key figures among the imprisoned officers as they cope with life in the camp while methodically developing their strategy for escape. Their ingenuity and determination are documented through both the planning stages and the night of the operation itself. This lesser-known episode of WWII highlights themes of human resilience, innovation under extreme circumstances, and the universal drive for freedom. The story serves as a testament to the resourcefulness and courage of POWs who refused to accept their captivity.

Readers describe Zero Night as a fast-paced account of a German POW camp escape. The book reads like a thriller while maintaining historical accuracy through extensive research and documentation. Readers appreciated: - Clear chronological structure - Personal details about individual POWs - Technical descriptions of escape methods - Inclusion of rare photographs - Post-escape follow-up on survivors Common criticisms: - Too many characters to track - Repetitive passages - Limited personal perspectives from POWs - Slow opening chapters Average ratings: Goodreads: 4.0/5 (1,200+ ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (400+ ratings) From reader reviews: "The engineering details of the escape were fascinating" - Amazon reviewer "Lost track of who was who among the 40 escapees" - Goodreads reviewer "Feels more like a military report than a narrative" - LibraryThing reviewer "Excellent research but needed tighter editing" - Goodreads reviewer

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🔹 Operation Olympian involved 40 prisoners simultaneously scaling the camp walls using ingeniously designed folding wooden ladders that could be assembled in less than 30 seconds. 🔹 Author Mark Felton has written over 20 books about military history and holds a PhD in military history from the University of Essex. 🔹 Oflag VI-B, located in Warburg, Germany, was considered one of the most secure POW camps, with 10-foot-high barbed wire fences and guards instructed to shoot without warning. 🔹 The escape took place on August 30, 1942 - specifically chosen because it was a moonless night - and was nicknamed "Zero Night" by the prisoners. 🔹 Of the 40 escapees, three successfully made it all the way to neutral Switzerland, while the majority were recaptured within days of the breakout.