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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > War & defence operations > Battles & campaigns
John Kent has written the first full scholarly study of British and
French policy in their West African colonies during the Second
World War and its aftermath. His detailed analysis shows how the
broader requirements of Anglo-French relations in Europe and the
wider world shaped the formulation and execution of the two
colonial powers' policy in Black Africa. He examines the guiding
principles of the policy-makers in London and Paris and the
problems experienced by the colonial administrators themselves.
This is a genuinely comparative study, thoroughly grounded in both
French and British archives, and it sheds new light on the
development of Anglo-French co-operation in colonial matters in
this period.
This is the third and final 'stand-alone' account of C Squadron
SAS's thrilling operations against the relentless spread of
communist backed terrorism in East Africa. Drawing on first-hand
experiences the author describes operations against
communist-backed terrorists in Angola and Mozambique, aiding the
Portuguese and Renamo against the MPLA and Frelimo respectively.
Back in Southern Rhodesia SAS General Peter Walls, realising the
danger that Mugabe and ZANU represented, appealed directly to
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. This correspondence,
published here for the first time, changed nothing and years of
corruption and genocide followed. Although C Squadron was disbanded
in 1980 many members joined the South African special forces.
Operations undertaken included unsuccessful and costly
destabilisation attempts against Mugabe and missions into
Mozambique including the assassination of Samora Machel. By 1986
deteriorating relationships with the South African authorities
resulted in the break-up of the SAS teams who dispersed worldwide.
Had Mike Graham not written his three action-packed books, C
Squadron SAS's superb fighting record might never have been
revealed. For those who are fascinated by special forces soldiering
his accounts are 'must reads'.
How does one play bridge in a gas mask? Or enjoy motoring without
consuming petrol? Or deal with a nationwide shortage of pea-sticks?
For this compact little book Heath Robinson joined forces with
writer Cecil Hunt to show civilians 'how to make the best of
things' during the air raids, rationing, allotment tending and
blackouts of the Second World War. The result is a warm celebration
of the British population's ability to 'make do and mend'.
In 1963, a frustrated President Kennedy turned to the Pentagon for help in carrying out subversive operations against North Vietnam- a job the CIA had not managed to handle effectively. Thus was born the Pentagon's Special Operations Group(SOG). Under the cover name"Studies and Observation Group," SOG would, over the next eight years, dispatch numerous spies to North Vietnam, create a triple-cross deception program, wage psychological warfare by manipulating North Vietnamese POW's and kidnapped citizens, and stage deadly assaults on enemy soldiers traveling the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Written by the country's leading expert on SOG, here is the story of that covert war-one that would have both spectacular and disastrous results.
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