Profile

Born in 1950 and a graduate of Reading University, Robert Kershaw joined the Parachute Regiment in 1973.

He served numerous regimental appointments until selected to command the 10th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (10 PARA). He attended the German Staff College (Fuhrungsakademie) spending a further two years with the Bundeswehr as an infantry, airborne and arctic warfare instructor. He speaks fluent German and has extensive experience with NATO, multinational operations and all aspects of operations and training.

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 of military history as well as a consultant military analyst. He has written a paper on the military impact of HIV AIDS for Cranfield University and more recently was the historical editor for ParaData, an on-line archive for the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces.

He has written twelve books, also now in paperback with titles printed in the UK, US, Germany, Holland, Russia, Lithuania, Spain, Hungry, Poland and Australia.

• It Never Snows in September. (1989) The German view of Operation MARKET-GARDEN. (UK, US and German, forthcoming in Holland).
• D-Day. Piercing the Atlantic Wall. (1994). (UK, US and Poland).
• War Without Garlands. (1999). Operation Barbarossa 1941-2. (UK, US, Russia and Lithunaia).
• Red Sabbath. (2005). The Battle of the Little Bighorn 1876. (UK).
• Tank Men. (2008). The human story of tank crews at war. (UK, Russia, Spain, Hungary and Australia), paperback 2009.
• Never Surrender (2009). The story of the British Second World War Generation.
• Sky Men (2010). The human story of soldiers that go to war from the air. (Spain)
• A Street in Arnhem (2014) . The story of the battle of Arnhem from the perspective of what could be seen and heard from one road leading from Oosterbeek to Arnhem. (UK and Holland).
• 24 hours at Waterloo. The battle as viewed by British, Allied, French and Prussian soldiers as they are individually tracked across the battlefield from Midnight to midnight on 18th June 1815.
• 24 hours at The Somme. July 1st 1916, the first bloody day of the battle of the Somme, seen at trench level from the perspective of both the British attackers and German defenders.
• 24 Hours at Balaclava. (2019) [The History Press] The story of the cavalry battles at Balaclava 25th October 1854, from the British, Russian and Turkish viewpoints, based on contemporary personal letters, diaries and accounts. (UK).
• Landing on the Edge of Eternity. (2018). [ Pegasus Books] Covers the fateful 24 hours at Omaha beach on D-Day 6th June 1944, from the American, German and French civilian  perspectives. (US and UK).

He has recorded for BBC radio and interviewed on numerous TV documentaries including Dutch TV, National geographic and more recently The History Channel. He has published a number of magazine and newspaper articles including The Times, The Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph and Daily Telegraph. Two of his books were serialised in the Daily Mail and Daily Express.

Documentaries include;
Project Nazi. History Channel. Based on War Without Garlands and Tank Men.

Robert Kershaw is represented by Charlie Viney of the Viney Agency.