Charles Whiting (1926-2007)

Charles Whiting, best known for his novels under the pen-name Leo Kessler, died on Tuesday, 24 July, aged 80. His total output under various pseudonyms included some 170 novels and 70 non-fiction titles.

Obituaries: The Northern Echo (24 July); BBC News 24 (25 July); Daily Telegraph (26 July), The Guardian (23 August).

Novels
The Frat Wagon. London, Jonathan Cape, 1954.
Lest I Fall. London, Jonathan Cape, 1956.
Journey To No End. London, Jonathan Cape, 1957.
The Mighty Fallen. London, Jonathan Cape, 1958.
Kill Patton!. New York, Ballantine, 1974; as by Leo Kessler, Sutton, Severn House, 2003.
Orders to Kill. London, Corgi, 1974.
The Destroyers series:
__Operation Afrika. London, Sphere 9083-2, 1974; Los Angeles, Pinnacle 220757, 1975.
__Operation Stalag. London, Sphere 9084-0, 1974; Los Angeles, Pinnacle, 1976.
__Operation Caucasian Fox. London, Sphere 9085-9, 1974; as Operation Fox Hunt, Los Angeles, Pinnacle, 1977.
__Operation Il Duce. London, Sphere 9086-7, 1974.
__Operation Kill Ike. London, Sphere 9087-5, 1975
__Operation Werewolf. London, Sphere 9088-3, 1975.
T-Force series:
__The Big Breakout. London, Sphere 9091-3, 1976.
__Massacre at Metz. London, Sphere 9092-1, 1976.
__Highway Through Hell. London, Sphere 9094-8, 1976.
__The Last Mission. London, Sphere 9095-6, 1976.
Spymaster series:
__#1: Wolfhunt. London, Futura, 1977.
__#2: Doublecross. London, Futura 7463-3, 1977.
Bugles at Dawn. London, Century, 1990.
Sabres in the Sun. London, Century, 1991.
The Baltic Run. Sutton, Severn House, 1993.
In Turkish Waters. Sutton, Severn House, 1994.
Death on the Rhine (Common Smith). Sutton, Severn House, 1994.
Passage in Petrograd (Common Smith). Sutton, Severn House, 1995.
Death Trap (Common Smith). Sutton, Severn House, 1996.
The Japanese Princess (Common Smith). Sutton, Severn House, 1996.
Hell’s Angels (Common Smith). Sutton, Severn House, 1997.
S.A.S. series:
__#1: The Balkan Chase. Sutton, Severn House, 1999.

Novels as Richard Douglas
The Rig. London, Futura 7189-8, 1975.

Novels as Duncan Harding
Tug of War (December 22nd-December 31st 1941). London, Futura, 1975.
Torpedo Boat. London, Futura, 1976.
The Destroyer series:
__#1: Flotilla Attack. London, Futura, 1976.
__#2: Operation Chariot. London, Futura, 1977.
Come Hell or Highwater!. Sutton, Severn House, 1993.
Attack New York!. Sutton, Severn House, 1994.
Operation Judgement. Sutton, Severn House, 1994.
The Tobruk Rescue. Sutton, Severn House, 1995.
Operation Stormwind. Sutton, Severn House, 1996.
Assault on St. Nazaire. Sutton, Severn House, 1997.
Sink the Ark Royal. Sutton, Severn House, 1997.
Sink the Graf Spee. Sutton, Severn House, 1998.
Sink the Prince of Wales. Sutton, Severn House, 1998.
Special Boat Squadron series:
__#1: The Finland Mission. Sutton, Severn House, 1999.
__The Normandie Mission. Sutton, Severn House, 2000.
Sink the Scharnhorst. Sutton, Severn House, 1999.
Sink the Bismarck. Sutton, Severn House, 2001.
Sink the Hood. Sutton, Severn House, 2000.
Sink HMS Cossack. Sutton, Severn House, 2001.
Sink HMS Kelly. Sutton, Severn House, 2002.
Sink the Warspite. Sutton, Severn House, 2002.
Slaughter in Singapore. Sutton, Severn House, 2003.
Hell on the Rhine. Sutton, Severn House, 2003.
Ramps Down, Troops Away. Sutton, Severn House, 2004.
Clash in the Baltic. Sutton, Severn House, 2004.
Operation Torch. Sutton, Severn House, 2005.
Convoy of Death. Sutton, Severn House, 2005.
Assault on the Rock. Sutton, Severn House, 2006.
Massacre at Jutland. Sutton, Severn House, 2006.
Prepared to Die. Sutton, Severn House, 2007.

Novels as Ian Harding
Assault Troop series:
__#1: Blood Beach. London, New English Library, 1983.
__#2: Death in the Forest. Sevenoaks, New English Library, 1983.
__#3: Clash on the Rhine. Sevenoaks, New English Library, 1984.
__#4: End Run. London, New English Library, 1984.

Novels as Leo Kessler
Assault Regiment Wotan series:
__#1: SS Panzer Battalion. London, Futura 7003-4, 1974.
__#2: Death’s Head. London, Futura 7048-4, 1974.
__#3: Claws of Steel. London, Futura 7097-2, 1974.
__#4: Guns at Cassino. London, Futura 7101-4, 1975.
__#5: The Devil’s Shield. London, Futura 7149-9, 1975.
__#6: Hammer of the Gods. London, Futura 7204-5, 1975.
__#7: Forced March. London, Futura 7358-0, 1976.
__#8: Blood and Ice. London, Futura 7483-8, 1977.
__#9: The Sand Panthers. London, Futura 7576-1, 1977.
__#10: Counter-Attack. London, Futura 1349-6, 1978.
__#11: Panzer Hunt. London, Futura ????-?, 1978?; 1520-0, 1979.
__#12: Slaughter Ground. London, Futura, 1978?
__#13: Hellfire. London, Futura 1391-7, 1978
__#14: Flashpoint. London, Futura, 1981?
__#15: Cauldron of Blood. London, Futura, 1981.
__#16: Schirmer’s Headhunters. London, Futura 2063-8, 1981
__#17: Whores of War. London, Futura 2237-1, 1982.
__#18: Schirmer’s Death Legion. London, Futura 2246-0, 1983.
__#1: Death Ride. London, Century, 1985; as Wotan #19, London, Futura 2637-7, 1985.
__#2: Slaughter at Salerno. London, Century, 1985; as Wotan #20, London, Futura 2660-1, 1985.
__#3: March or Die. London, Century, 1985; as Wotan #21, London, Futura 2662-8, 1985.
__#4: The Outcasts. London, Century, 1986; as Wotan #22, London, Futura 3646-1, 1988.
__#5: The Hess Assault. London, Century, 1987.
__#6: The March on Warsaw. London, Century, 1988.
Black Cossacks series:
__#1: The Black Cossacks. London, Futura 7254-1, 1975.
__#2: Sabres of the Reich. London, Futura 7387-4, 1976.
__#3: Mountain of Skulls. London, Futura 7525-7, 1978.
The Traitors. London, Futura, 1977.
Wolf. London, Futura 1318-6, 1978.
Stormtroop series:
__#1: Storm Troop. London, Futura 7550-8, 1978.
__#2: Blood Mountain. London, Futura 1330-5, 1978.
__#3: Valley of the Assassins [advertised as Operation Long Knife]. London, Futura 1485-9, 1979.
__#4: Red Assault. London, Futura 1601-0, 1979.
__#5: Himmler’s Gold. London, Futura 1843-9, 1980.
__#6: Fire Over Kabul. London, Futura 2223-1, 1982.
__#7: Wave of Terror. London, Futura 2300-9, 1983.
__#8: Eagles in the Snow. London, Futura 2355-6, 1983.
__#9: Fire Over Africa. London, Futura 2480-3, 1984.
Rommel series:
__Ghost Division. London, Futura, 1978.
__Massacre. London, Futura 1699-1, 1979.
Foreign Legion series:
__Hellfire. London, Futura 1391-7, 1978.
Breakthrough (novelisation of movie). London, Futura 1659-2, 1979.
The Sea Wolves series:
__#1: Sink the Scharnhorst!. London, Futura 1060-3, 1981.
__#2: Death to the Deutschland. London, Futura, 1982.
Submarine series:
__#1: The Wolf Pack. London, Century, 1985.
__#2: Operation Death Watch. London, Century, 1985.
__#3: Convoy to Catastrophe. London, Century, 1986.
__#4: Fire in the West. London, Century, 1986.
__#5: Flight to the Reich. London, Century, 1987.
S.S. Stuka Squadron series:
__#1: The Black Knights. London, Corgi 12216-5, 1983.
__#2: Hawks of Death. London, Corgi 12285-8, 1983.
__#3: Tank-Busters!. London, Corgi 12407-9, 1984.
__#4: Blood Mission. London, Corgi 12408-7, 1984.
The Black Knights, Hawks of Death (omnibus). London, Pan, 1986.
Otto Stahl series
__#1: Otto’s Phoney War. London, Futura, 1981.
__#2: Otto’s Blitzkrieg!. London, Futura, 1982.
__#3: Otto and the Reds. London, Futura 2196-0, 1982.
__#4: Otto an the Yanks. London, Futura 2313-0, 1983.
__#5: Otto and the SS. London, Futura 2376-9, 1983
__#6: Otto and the Himmler Love Letters. London, Futura 2561-3, 1984.
Rebel series
__#1: Cannon Fodder. London, Century, 1986.
__#2: The Die-Hards. London, Century, 1987.
__#3: Death Match. London, Century, 1988.
__#4: Breakout. London, Century, 1988.
S.S. Wotan series:
__#1 Assault on Baghdad. Wallington, Severn House, 1992.
__#2 Flight from Moscow. Wallington, Severn House, 1992.
__#3 Fire Over Serbia. Wallington, Severn House, 1993.
__#4 The Hitler Werewolf Murders. Sutton, Severn House, 1994.
__#5 Flight from Berlin. Sutton, Severn House, 1995.
__#6 Breakout from Stalingrad. Sutton, Severn House, 1995.
__The Wotan Mission. Sutton, Severn House, 1996.
__Death from Arctic Skies. Sutton, Severn House, 1997.
__Operation Fury. Sutton, Severn House, 1997.
__Death’s Eagles. Sutton, Severn House, 1998.
__Stalag Assault. Sutton, Severn House, 2000.
__Hitler Youth Attacks!. Sutton, Severn House, 2004.
__Operation Iraq. Sutton, Severn House, 2004.
__Operation Leningrad. Sutton, Severn House, 2005.
__The Reich Flies the Flag. Sutton, Severn House, 2006.
The Churchill Papers. Sutton, Severn House, 1998.
Patton’s Wall. Sutton, Severn House, 1999.
Battle for Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest. Sutton, Severn House, 2000.
Operation Glenn Miller. Sutton, Severn House, 2001.
The Great Escape. Sutton, Severn House, 2002.
Murder at Colditz. Sutton, Severn House, 2002.
Sirens of Dunkirk. Sutton, Severn House, 2003.
The Blackout Murders. Sutton, Severn House, 2004.
Monty's Fight for Victory. Sutton, Severn House, 2006.
Rommel's Last Battle. Sutton, Severn House, 2006.

Novels as John Kerrigan
The Phoenix Assault. London, Arrow Books, 1980; New York, Signet, Dec 1980; as The Bormann Mission by Leo Kessler, Sutton, Severn House, 1997.
SBS series:
__#1: Fireball. London, Arrow Books, 1983.
__#2: Bluebeard. London, Arrow Books, 1984.
__#3: Vermin. London, Arrow Books, 1984.
__#4: Watchdog. London, Century, 1984.
The O’Sullivans of the SAS series:
__Kill Rommel. Sutton, Severn House, 1995.
__#2: Surprise Attack. Sutton, Severn House, 1996.
__#3: Revenge!. Severn House, 1996.

Novels as Klaus Konrad
Russian series:
__#1: First Blood. London, Futura, 1980.
__#2: March on Moscow. London, Futura, 1981.
__#3: Front Swine. London, Futura 2197-9, 1982.

Novels as K.N. Kostov
Punishment Battalion 333 series
__#1: The Gulag Rats. London, Arrow Books, 1981.
__#2: Baptism of Blood. London, Arrow Books, 1981.
__#3: Blood on the Baltic. London, Arrow Books, 1981.
__#4: The Steppe Wolves. London, Arrow Books, 1981.
__#5: Cossack Attack. London, Arrow Books, 1982.

Novels as Duncan Stirling
The Screaming Eagles. London, Arrow Books, 1983; as by Leo Kessler, Sutton Severn House, 2001

Non-fiction
Spiegel-Gesprache: An English-German interpreter’s course, with Gerard Gilbertson. London, Longman, 1967.
Decision at St Vith. New York, Ballantine, 1969.
48 Hours to Hammelburg. New York, Ballantine 02450-2066-9, 1970; London, Arrow 919990-4, 1979.
Patton. New York, Ballantine [War Leader Book #1] 02450-2099-5, 1970; London, Pan, 1973.
The Battle of the Ruhr Pocket, April 1945. New York, Ballantine [Battle Book #21], 1971 [cy1970]; as by Leo Kessler, London, Leo Cooper, 1989; Chelsea, MI, Scarboroough House, 1990; as by John Kerrigan, Madison Books, n.d.; as Ike’s Last Battle: The Battle of the Ruhr Pocket, April 1945 by Charles Whiting, Barnsley, Leo Cooper, 2002.
Bradley. New York, Ballantine [War Leader Book #5] 03450-2288-2, 1971.
Massacre at Malmedy. The story of Joachen Peiper’s battle group, Ardennes, December 1944. London, Leo Cooper, 1971.
Gehlen: Germany’s Master Spy. New York, Ballantine Books, 1972.
Skorzeny. New York, Ballantine [War Leader Book #11] 03450-2617-9, 1972; as Skorzeny: The Most Dangerous Man in Europe, London, Leo Cooper, 1998.
Werewolf. The story of the Nazi Resistance Movement, 1944-1945. London, Leo Cooper, 1972; as Hitler’s Werewolves: the story of the Nazi Resistance Movement, 1944- 1945. New York, Stein & Day, 1972; as SS Werewolf. The story of the Nazi Resistance Movement, 1944-1945, London, Arrow Books, 1982.
Canaris. New York, Ballantine Books, 1973.
The End of the War: Europe: April 15-May 23 1945. New York, Stein & Day, 1973.
Finale at Flensburg: the story of Field-Marshal Montgomery’s battle for the Baltic. London, Leo Cooper, 1973.
The Hunt for Martin Bormann. New York, Ballantine, 1973; revised as The Hunt for Martin Bormann: The Truth, London, Leo Cooper, Oct 1996.
The War in the Shadows. New York, Ballantine, 1973.
A Bridge at Arnheim. London, Futura 0-8600-7121-9, 1974.
Hunters from the Sky: the history of the German Parachute Regiment, 1940-1945. New York, Stein & Day, 1974; London, Leo Cooper, 1975.
The Battle for Twelveland: an account of Anglo-American intelligence operations within Nazi Germany, 1939-1945. London, Leo Cooper, 1975; as The Spymasters: the true story of Anglo-American intelligence within Nazi Germany, 1939-1945. New York, Saturday Review Press, 1976.
Bloody Aachen. London, Leo Cooper, 1976; New York, Stein & Day, 1976.
The Iron Fist. The story of the S.S. Panzer Divisions between 1943-1945 (as Leo Kessler). London, Futura 7487-0, 1977.
Paul Valery. London, Athlone, Press, 1978.
Death of a Division. London, Leo Cooper, 1979; New York, Stein & Day, 1980.
The Great York Airraid. The Baedecker bombing attack on York, April 29th 1942, illustrative material by Eric Taylor. Clapham, N. Yorkshire, Dalesman, 1979.
Yorkshire at War. The story of fighting Yorkshire at home and abroad, 1939-1945, with Eric Taylor. Clapham, N. Yorkshire, Dalesman, 1980.
The Home Front: Germany. Alexandria, VA, Time-Life Books, 1982.
Siegfried: The Nazi’s Last Stand. New York, Stein & Day, 1982; London, Leo Cooper, 1983.
’44: In Combat on the Western Front from Normandy to the Ardennes. London, Century, 1984; New York, Stein & Day, 1984.
Ardennes: The Secret War. London, Century, 1984; New York, Stein & Day, 1985.
First Blood: The Battle of the Kasserine Pass 1943. London, Leo Cooper/Secker & Warburg, 1984; as Kasserine: The Battlefield Slaughter of American Troops by Rommel’s Afrika Korps, New York, Military Heritage Press, 1984.
‘45: The Final Drive from the Rhine to the Baltic. London, Century, 1985.
Bounce the Rhine. [cy1985]; New York, Stein & Day, 1986; London, Grafton, 1987.
Britain Under Fire: The Bombing of Britain’s Cities 1940-1945. London, Century, 1986.
Operation Northwind: The Unknown Battle of the Bulge. London, Leo Cooper/Secker & Warburg, 1986; as The Other Battle of the Bulge: Operation Northwind, Chelsea, MI, Scarborough House, 1990.
SS Peiper: The life and Death of SS Colonel Jochen Peiper (as Leo Kessler), London, Leo Cooper/Secker & Warburg, 1986; as Joachen Peiper: Battle Commander, SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler by Charles Whiting, Barnsley, Leo Cooper, 1999.
The York Blitz, 1942: The Baedeker Raid on York, April 29th 1942 (as Leo Kessler), with Eric Taylor. York, William Sessions, 1986.
The Long March on Rome: The Forgotten War. London, Century, 1987.
Patton’s Last Battle. New York, Stein & Day, 1987.
Poor Bloody Infantry. London, Stanley Paul, 1987.
The Three Star Blitz: The Baedecker Raids and the Start of Total War, 1942-1943. London, Leo Cooper, 1987.
The Battle of Hurtgen Forrest: the untold story of a disastrous campaign. London, Leo Cooper, 1989; New York, Orion Books, 1989.
The Last Battle: Montgomery’s Campaign April-May 1945. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wilts., Crowood, 1989; as Monty’s Greatest Victory: The Drive for the Baltic, April 1945, Barnsley, Leo Cooper, 2002.
Hero: The Life and Death of Audie Murphy. Chelsea, MI, Scarborough House, 1990; as American Hero: The Life and Death of Audie Murphy. York, Eskdale Publications, 2000.
Papa Goes to War: Ernest Hemingway in Europe, 1944-45. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wilts., Crowood, 1990; as Hemingway Goes to War, Stroud, Sutton, 1999.
Betrayal at Venlo: the secret story of appeasement and treachery, 1939-45 (as Leo Kessler). London, Leo Cooper, 1991.
Warriors of Death: The Final Battles of Hitler’s Private Bodyguards, 1944-45. London, Arrow, 1991.
The March on London: Covert Operations in the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944. London, Leo Cooper, 1992; Conshohocken, PA, Pen & Sword Books, Jul 1996.
Slaughter Over Sicily: Airborne Massacre. London, Leo Cooper, 1992.
The Fighting Tykes: an informal history of the Yorkshire regiments in the Second World War, with Eric Taylor. London, Leo Cooper, 1993.
The Last Assault: The Battle of the Bulge Reassessed. London, Leo Cooper, 1994; New York, Sarpedon, 1994.
Kommando: Hitler’s Special Forces in the Second World War (by Leo Kessler). London, Leo Cooper, 1995.
Death on a Distant Frontier. A lost victory, 1944. London, Leo Cooper, 1996; New York, Sarpedon, 1996.
Paths of Death and Glory: The War in Europe, January-May 1945. Sutton, Severn House, 1997.
Bloody Breman: Ike’s Last Battle. London, Leo Cooper, 1998.
The Battle of the Bulge: The Untold Story. Stroud, Sutton Publishing, 1999.
Battleground Korea: The British in Korea. Stroud, Sutton Publishing, 1999.
Forgotten Army: U.S. 7th Army. Rockville Centre, NY, Sarpedon, 1999; as America's Forgotten Army: The Story of the U.S. Seventh, New York, St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2001.
Heydrich: Henchman of Death. Barnsley, Leo Cooper, 1999.
West Wall: The Battle for Hitler’s Siegfried Line, September 1944-March 1945. Staplehurst, Spellmount, 1999.
Hitler’s Secret War: The Nazi Espionage Campaign Against the Allies. London, Leo Cooper, 2000.
The Search for ‘Gestapo’ Müller: The Man Without a Shadow. Barnsley, Leo Cooper, 2000.
Decision at St. Vith. Staplehurst, Spellmount, 2001; Havertown, PA, Casemate, 2002.
American Eagles: The 101st Airborne’s Assault on Fortress Europe, 1944-45. York, Eskdale, 2001.
Ghost Front: The Ardennes before the Battle of the Bulge. New York, Da Capo Press, 2002.
The Field Marshal's Revenge. The breakdown of a special relationship. Staplehurst, Kent, Spellmount, 2004.
Target Eisenhower: Military and Politial Assassination in WWII. Staplehurst, Kent, Spellmount, 2005.