From the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 until the Japanese surrender in August 1945, a multitude of military and civil-defence forces strove to support the Japanese war effort and latterly prepared to defend the Home Islands against invasion. During World War II, Japan was the world's most militarized society and by 1945 nearly every Japanese male over the age of 10 wore some kind of military attire, as did the majority of women and girls. In this volume, Philip Jowett reveals the many military and civil-defence organizations active in wartime Japan, while specially commissioned artwork and carefully chosen archive photographs depict the appearance of the men, women and children involved in the Japanese war effort in the Home Islands throughout World War II.

'We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go, Always a little further; it may be, Beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow.' If there was ever anyone who went a little further, a little beyond, it was Alastair MacKenzie. In a career spanning 30 years, MacKenzie served uniquely with the New Zealand Army in Vietnam, the British Parachute Regiment, the British Special Air Service (SAS), the South African Defence Force's famed ParaBats, the Sultan of Oman's Special Forces and a host of private security agencies and defence contractors. MacKenzie lived the soldier's life to the full as he journeyed 'the Golden Road to Samarkand'. This extraordinary new work from the author of Special Force: The Untold Story of 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) vividly documents the experience of infantry combat in Vietnam, life with the Paras, the tempo of selection for UK Special Forces, covert SAS operations in South Armagh and SAS Counter Terrorist training on the UK mainland, vehicle-mounted Pathfinder Brigade insertions into Angola and maritime counter-terrorism work in Oman.

An aircraft carrier adrift with a crew the size of a small town. A murderer in their midst. And the disgraced Navy SEAL who must track him down...'Sensationally good - an instant classic, maybe an instant legend' Lee ChildThe moment Navy SEAL sniper Finn sets foot on the USS Abraham Lincoln, it's clear something is deeply wrong. Leadership is weak. Morale is low. And when crew members start disappearing one by one, what at first seems like a random string of suicides soon reveals something far more sinister: there's a serial killer on board. Suspicion falls on newcomer Finn. After all, he's being sent home in disgrace, recalled from the field under the dark cloud of a mission gone wrong. He's also a lone wolf, haunted by his past. Finding the killer offers a chance at redemption... if he can stay alive long enough to prove it isn't him. A gripping and high-octane thriller from New York Times bestselling writing team of Navy SEAL Brandon Webb and award-winning author John David Mann, Steel Fear is perfect for fans of Tom Clancy, Brad Thor and Adam Hamdy. 'An edge-of-your-seat thriller ... once you get going there's no stopping' Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author 'For readers who can't resist a bureaucracy-battling action hero, there's a new kid on the block' Booklist [Starred review] 'That more thrillers are to come from these authors will be welcome news to readers who appreciate carefully plotted and intelligent suspense' Publishers Weekly [Starred review]

The US Army's Special Operations Aviation Regiment fields the best helicopter pilots in the world. Alan Mack was one of these intrepid Night Stalkers, proving his mettle through the rigors of training, endless deployments, and decades of war, during which he hunted Osama bin Laden, rescued American warriors from the jaws of death, was shot up, shot down, and only survived due to his indomitable will and the grace of God. -Steven Hartov, New York Times Bestselling co-author of IN THE COMPANY OF HEROES and THE NIGHT STALKERS Alan Mack has achieved something quite extraordinary: an enthralling combat memoir that provides at the same time a compelling commentary on two decades of war. Perhaps most importantly, it is a searingly honest human story of the personal cost endured by the families of those who serve, and an inspiring tale of resilience. In short -- Mack has produced a triumph of story-telling. -Andy Milburn, author of WHEN THE TEMPEST GATHERS Alan Mack is the real deal, part of an elite band of ultimate aviators. Throughout all the setbacks - getting shot down, losing comrades, and tragedy on the home front - he endures. He is the living embodiment of his unit's motto: "Night Stalkers Don't Quit!" -Toby Harnden, author of FIRST CASUALTY A been-there, done-that pilot in the world's most elite helicopter unit, Alan Mack delivers a gritty, inside look at life as a Night Stalker - from intense combat missions overseas to the tragic costs that lifestyle can impose on a family. -Sean Naylor, author of New York Times Bestseller RELENTLESS STRIKE Al Mack reminds us that the blank check our service members sign to our country is drawn against their families as well. The challenges can be heartbreaking. His candid memoir speaks of courage and tragedy, both on the battlefield and at home. - Taya Kyle, New York Times Bestselling author of AMERICAN WIFE Razor 03, A Night Stalker's Wars, is an eye-opening description of what goes on behind the scenes of special operations from a pilot's perspective. Al Mack's edge-of-the-seat stories provide a compelling rendition of what it's like to ride to Hell and back in an MH-47 Chinook. An incredible story hardly believable had I not witnessed it first hand. -- Command Master Chief (SEAL) Britt K. Slabinski, United States Navy (Ret) Medal of Honor Recipient

Between 1941-45, the Germans recruited around 175,000 men from a number of minorities in the USSR, distinguishing between 'Turkomans' (predominantly Muslims) and 'Caucasians' (predominantly Orthodox Christians). Of these, many formed rear-area auxiliary units, but at least 55,000 were combat troops. The first recruits formed two battalions in the 444th Security Division raised as early as November 1941; during 1942- 43 seven legions were formed, each of several battalions, eventually totalling some 53 battalions (equivalent to about 6 full divisions). However, with one exception (162nd Turkoman Division), they were not deployed as whole formations; after training in Poland, individual battalions were posted to fill out German regiments in the front lines, at first in Army Group South but later in all three Army Groups fighting on the Eastern Front. Units were also sent to Yugoslavia, Italy and the Western Front. This fully illustrated history of the Eastern legions details the organization, battle orders, combat history, uniforms and insignia of these unique units, combining contemporary photographs and full-colour illustrations with expert research from military historian Dr Nigel Thomas.

From New York Times bestselling author Jeff Abbott... An undercover agent must capture America's greatest traitor.Sam Capra and his thirteen-year-old son, Daniel, are living a quiet life in Austin, Texas, from where Sam runs a collection of bars and nightclubs around the world for America's most secret espionage agency, known as Section K. But a shocking revelation will uproot everything that Sam has been trying to build: Markus Bolt is missing. Having turned over allied agent names and military secrets to the Russians, Bolt fled to Moscow when he was discovered. But now a trusted source inside the Kremlin tells Section K that he has vanished, without a trace. Sam is charged with watching Bolt's abandoned American daughter, Amanda, and determining if she's had any contact with her father. But as the search for Bolt grows ever more dangerous, Sam faces a rising threat born of long-ago secrets - one that could change his and his son's lives forever. An utterly enthralling espionage thriller from the international, multi-million copy bestselling author, full of suspense, action and a twist that will leave you reeling.

The essential survival training of the British Special Air Service (SAS). 360 color illustrations

In a compelling new study, Gutmann offers an in-depth examination of the Swedish, Swiss and Danish men who worked and fought for the SS, during the Second World War. Dispelling a host of myths regarding foreign collaboration with Hitler's regime, it reveals how these men were highly motivated to affect a National Socialist revolution across North-Western or 'Germanic' Europe. Working behind Berlin desks, they played a pivotal part in shaping the Nazi New Order and actively participated in the regime's brutal atrocities on the Eastern Front and on the streets of Western Europe. The book argues that these men became a focal point for infighting in the regime regarding the role of non-Germans in National Socialism. Building a Nazi Europe sheds new light on historical conceptions of fascism, collaboration, transnational history and the Holocaust.

During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong were frequently unable to hold their own in stand-up fights against US and allied forces who were superior in strength, firepower, mobility, and logistics. They relied instead on traditional guerrilla warfare tactics including small-scale hit- and-run attacks, ambushes, terrorist actions, and precision attacks against bases. These included one of the oldest of guerrilla weapons - the boobytrap. Booby traps could be made in large numbers in village workshops and jungle camps using locally available materials as well as modern munitions. The VC were adept at making booby traps 'invisible' in the varied terrain of Vietnam, often emplacing them in locations and surroundings totally unexpected by their enemies. Booby traps could be incredibly simple or startlingly complex and ingenious, ranging from pointed sticks to command-detonated submerged floating river mines. Besides a wide variety of booby traps, they also used land and water mines, both contact/pressure-detonated and command-detonated. Between January 1965 and June 1970 11 percent of US troop deaths in action and 17 percent of injuries were by caused booby traps and mines. This fascinating title explores not only the wide variety of booby traps employed by the Viet Cong, but also their various uses in halting, stalling, or locating an enemy, and the many evolutions these traps underwent in order to retain the element of surprise. Written by a Vietnam veteran with first-hand experience of such traps, this is an engaging look at one of the most frightening aspects of guerrilla warfare.

In today's increasingly dangerous world, threats to your personal safety are everywhere. From acts of terror to mass shootings, and from the unseen (and sometimes virtual) matrix of everyday crime, danger is no longer confined to dark alleys or unstable regions. Potentially life-threatening circumstances can arise anywhere, anytime, and Clint Emerson-former Navy SEAL-wants you to be prepared. 100 Deadly Skills contains proven self-defense skills, evasion tactics, and immobilizing maneuvers-modified from the world of black ops-to help you take action in numerous "worst case" scenarios from escaping a locked trunk, to making an improvised Taser, to tricking facial recognition software. With easy-to-understand instructions and illustrations, Emerson outlines in detail many life-saving strategies and teaches you how to think and act like a member of the special forces. This complete course in survival teaches you how to prevent tracking, evade a kidnapping, elude an active shooter, rappel down the side of a building, immobilize a bad guy, protect yourself against cyber-criminals, and much more-all using low-tech to "no-tech" methods. Clear, detailed, and presented in an easy-to-understand and execute format, 100 Deadly Skills is an invaluable resource. Because let's face it, when danger is imminent, you don't have time for complicated instructions.

The Bolsheviks' seizure of power in Russia in late 1917 was swiftly followed by the establishment of the Cheka, the secret police of the new Soviet state. The Cheka was central to the Bolsheviks' elimination of political dissent during the Russian Civil War (1917-22). In 1922 the Soviet state-security organs became the GPU and then the OGPU (1923-34) before coalescing into the NKVD. After it played a central role in the Great Terror (1936-38), which saw the widespread repression of many different groups and the imprisonment and execution of prominent figures, the NKVD had its heyday during the Great Patriotic War (1941-45). During the conflict the organization deployed full military divisions, frontier troop units and internal security forces and ran the hated GULAG forced-labour camp system. By 1946, the power of the NKVD was so great that even Stalin saw it as a threat and it was broken up into multiple organizations, notably the MVD and the MGB - the forerunners of the KGB. In this book, the history and organization of these feared organizations are assessed, accompanied by photographs and colour artwork depicting their evolving appearance.

Inspired by the exploits of the German Fallschirmjager in the blitzkrieg campaigns, Winston Churchill called for the formation of a 5,000-strong Airborne Force in June 1940. From these beginnings The Parachute Regiment became one of the foremost units of the British Army both in World War II and up to the present day. This new history of the British Paratrooper, from 1940 to 1945, details the unique training, weapons and equipment used by these elite troops. A wealth of first-hand and until now unpublished materials brings the history of the ordinary paratrooper to life, drawing on the author's position as a former curator of the Regimental Museum. Illustrations and photographs illuminate the equipment and combat performance of the elite 'Paras' in the context of some of the most significant campaigns of World War II, including D-Day and Operation Market-Garden.

1978 - a chance meeting on a remote military airbase between two Green Berets involved in the same operation leads to a partnership that will last over forty years. Four years after that meeting, Nick Brokhausen and Jeff Miller leave the service withing a few weeks of each other and begin an odyssey that takes them to dozens of countries on five continents. Along with a small coterie of fellow former Special Operations and intelligence community veterans like Penguini, Max, Reek, The Spider Woman and a score of others - some heroes and some villains - they undertake a variety of missions for the government, other governments, large multi-national corporations mostly in the aerospace or resource development industries, and occasionally just for suffering individuals who cannot find help anywhere else. In the process they lay the groundwork for an entire new industry of private military contractors. Two men sadly just a bit ahead of their time. Every episode in this book actually happened. Not always precisely as described herein, but close. Changes have been made sometimes to make the narrative flow more smoothly, some to obfuscate events that might be flirting with classification issues... Names have been changed, not always to protect the innocent. But the underlying story is, for the most part, the reality as they lived it.

The Special Air Service was the brainchild of Scots Guards' officer Lieutenant David Stirling, serving with No 8 Commando. He advocated a specially organised, specially equipped and specially trained unit dedicated to the 'unrelenting pursuit of excellence' that could act covertly and operate behind enemy lines to gain intelligence, destroy enemy aircraft and attack their supply and reinforcement routes.

The 1st SAS Regiment was officially designated after successful raids against enemy airfields in the Middle East in 1941-1942. In May 1943 a 2nd SAS Regiment was raised in Algeria and would also serve in Sicily and Italy. SAS troopers were at the forefront of the action on D-Day, serving behind the enemy lines, assisting the French Resistance in diversionary attacks and in support of Allied armies. The SAS served with great distinction through 42 significant actions in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany until the end of the war in Europe.

This new addition to the bestselling Conway pocket-book series is compiled from wartime and post-war memorandums, manuals and documents. They include unit after-action reports and lecture notes from the centres used to train special services soldiers, gathered from the Liddell Hart Military Archive, National Archives, wartime periodicals and post-war memoirs. The book covers:

- training methods
- weapons handling
- fieldcraft
- sabotage training
- operations in North Africa and the Middle East (1941-1942), Sicily and Italy (1943) and France (1944-1945)

Specializing in covert reconnaissance, counter-terrorism and hostage rescue, the SAS is one of the world's most famous, feared and respected elite fighting forces. This book tells the full, fascinating story of the regiment, from formation in the sand dunes of Africa during World War II to present action in the Middle East, and incorporates jungle, desert and urban warfare, counter-terrorism and an insider's view at the selection and training methods employed by this usually secretive unit. As well as an insightful foreword by Andy McNab – one of the most famous members of the SAS – this revised, updated edition includes completely new chapters, features and information, including Key Missions in WWII, The Battle of Mirbat, Iranian Embassy Siege, Kenyan Hotel Rescue and Victoria Cross Awards.

German soldiers assigned to guard the tiny Channel Island of Sark described it as a 'little Paradise' and, because it was never bombed by the RAF, the best air-raid shelter in all of Europe. But paradise for them came to a bloody end in October 1942 when a small group of British Commandos raided the island, capturing one German soldier and killing several others. Operation Basalt would have been a footnote in history but for the reaction of Hitler, who believed that British soldiers executed several Germans who had already surrendered and whose hands were bound. Days after the raid, he issued the infamous 'Commando Order', a death sentence for those Allied commandos who fell into German hands. Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with survivors of the period, Eric Lee has written the definitive account of the raid, putting it into the context of the German occupation of British lands during the war.

From Army Rangers to Green Berets to the U.S. Navy SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden, this book explains what makes Special Forces "special," covering the rich and varied history of elite formations in American military history and describing their recruitment, intense training, and equipment in depth. Most civilians have only a vague idea of what the U.S. Special Forces are all about-who they are, how they differ from our "normal" military forces, what they've accomplished throughout our history, and how they operate today. Fighting Elites: A History of U.S. Special Forces examines the rich and varied history of U.S. Special Forces, identifies their contributions to specific conflicts from colonial times forward, and highlights their present operational excellence. In this first-ever reference guide to U.S. Special Forces, military historian John C. Fredriksen provides a carefully balanced presentation, describing all units in their own detailed section that discusses their origins, recruitment, training, tactics, and equipment, and defining military engagements, if known. The text also contains 20 biographical entries of noted personalities associated with special purpose activities. Initial chapters provide an overview of all American special purpose units A bibliography points to additional reading and sources of information 50 illustrations of famous leaders, uniforms, and troops in the field A highly detailed chronology of all known special forces activities

JOIN SAS LEGEND PHIL CAMPION AS HE SHARES HIS DEEPLY PERSONAL LIFE STORY, WARTS AND ALL In WHO DARES WINS Big Phil Campion reveals his chequered past, from terrible abuse suffered in a string of kids' homes to psychological abuse suffered at a top public school. Phil guides you through his soldiering career, from the so called "green army" to the brutal trial of SAS selection and all that followed. This includes years spent providing private military services across war-torn and risk-laden Africa; in between he was body-guarded the likes of Led Zep, Oasis, Kasabian, Dizzy Rascal and Pro Green. Phil takes you on his gripping, behind-the-scenes adventure acting as a roving reporter for Sky TV in Syria and Northern Iraq, more often than not under fire. Brave, riveting and truly revelatory, WHO DARES WINS is packed full of jaw-dropping stories to quicken the blood, while also telling of the psychological toll a life in conflict took on the author. 'One of the best first-hand accounts of life in combat ever written' Andy McNab on Born Fearless

South African Special Forces, known as the 'Recces', are an elite group of soldiers that few can aspire to join. Shrouded in secrecy due to the covert nature of their work, the legendary Recces have long fascinated, but little is known about how they operate. Now one of this select band has written a tell-all book about the extraordinary missions he embarked on and the nail-biting action he experienced in the Border War. Shortly after passing the infamously gruelling Special Forces selection course in the early 1980s, Koos Stadler joined the so-called Small Teams group at 5 Reconnaissance Regiment. This sub-unit was made up of two-man teams and was responsible for numerous secret and highly dangerous missions deep behind enemy lines. With only one other team member, Stadler was sent to blow up railway lines and enemy fighter jets in the south of Angola. As he crawled in and out of enemy-infested territory, he stared death in the face many times. A gripping, first-hand account that reveals the near superhuman physical and psychological powers these Special Forces operators have to display.

This book will serve as a tactical "bible" tailored to the military Special Operations, intelligence and paramilitary/law-enforcement communities and other interested parties - - with the intention of breaking the invent-and-forget/reinventing-the-wheel cycle with an aim to (1) increase the effectiveness and lethality of SpecOps personnel and units, while (2) saving the lives of SpecOps personnel engaged in high-risk operations. Wolcoff describes numerous historical examples of special reconnaissance (SR) operations, with some emphasis on lessons-learned/Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures gained from the legendary Military Assistance Command Vietnam - Special Operations Group (MACV-SOG) SR operations conducted during the Vietnam-era, including operational accounts and analyses of specific missions. Few of these TTPs and lessons-learned have been archived or collated into a usable form for SpecOps personnel or units; this book is intended to preserve and embed this valuable and volatile compilation of tradecraft, that has been obtained at such cost in lives. Wolcoff covers the gamut of specialized SR topics ranging from operational planning and preparation, through execution, logistics and command and control - - all in substantial trade-craft detail.

Recent years have seen a growing role for private military contractors in national and international security. To understand the reasons for this, Elke Krahmann examines changing models of the state, the citizen and the soldier in the UK, the US and Germany. She focuses on both the national differences with regard to the outsourcing of military services to private companies and their specific consequences for the democratic control over the legitimate use of armed force. Tracing developments and debates from the late eighteenth century to the present, she explains the transition from the centralized warfare state of the Cold War era to the privatized and fragmented security governance, and the different national attitudes to the privatization of force.

Storm-333, the operation to seize Kabul and assassinate Afghan leader Hafizullah Amin, was at once a textbook success and the start of a terrible blunder. It heralded the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, an operation intended to be a short, largely symbolic show of force, yet which quickly devolved into a gritty ten-year counter-insurgency that Moscow was never able to win. Nonetheless, Storm-333 was a striking success, and despite initial concerns that it would be an impossible achievement, it saw a relative handful of Soviet special forces drawn from the KGB and the military seize the heavily defended presidential palace, neutralise the city's communications and defences, and open Kabul to occupation. The lessons learned then are still valid today, and have been incorporated into modern Russian military practice, visible most recently in the seizure of Crimea in 2014. Written by a recognised expert on the Soviet security forces, drawing extensively on Russian sources, and fully illustrated with commissioned artwork, this is the most detailed and compelling study of this fascinating operation available in English.

This book sets out the major social scientific approaches to the study of Special Operations Forces. Despite consistent downsizing, over the past two decades the armed forces of the industrial democracies have seen a huge growth in Special Operations Forces (SOF). Through increasing numbers of personnel and more frequent deployments, SOF units have wielded considerable influence in conflicts around the world, with senior SOF officers having led major strategic operations. This increased presence and unprecedented expansion for SOF is largely a result of the 'new' kinds of conflicts that have emerged in the 21st century. At the same time, even with this high profile in the military, policy and media and popular cultural arenas, there is relatively little social scientific research on SOF. This volume aims to fill this gap by providing a series of studies and analyses of SOF across the globe, since the end of World War II. Analysing SOF at the micro, mezzo and macro levels provides broad and diverse insights. Moreover, the volume deals with new issues raised by the use of such forces that include emerging modes of civilian control, innovative organizational forms and the special psychological characteristics necessitated by SOF operatives. It concludes with a discussion of a question which continues to be debated in today's militaries: what makes SOF 'special'? Filling a clear gap in the literature, this book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, civil-military relations, irregular warfare, security studies, and international relations.

A fascinating study of the specialized vehicles, kit and techniques of the Long-Range Desert Group who pioneered long-range desert warfare in World War II and worked closely with the embryonic SAS. The Long Range Desert Group was one of the most famous special units of World War II, operating heavily modified vehicles deep behind enemy lines to gather intelligence and support the raids of David Stirling's new Special Air Service. When war broke out, a pre-war explorer and army officer, Ralph Bagnold, convinced Middle East Command of the need for a reconnaissance force to penetrate into Italian-held desert. Bagnold tested four types of vehicles over rocks and through soft sand to find the best one for his new unit. He selected the Chevrolet WB (30 CWT) as the signature vehicle of the Long Range Desert Group because it is 'fast, simple and easy to handle'. With left-hand steering, horizontal grill and round fenders on the rear wheels, these trucks proved themselves popular and effective. The durability of the Chevrolets was demonstrated in January 1941 with an audacious raid on the Italian fort/air strip at Murzuk, hundreds of miles behind enemy lines. This book explains the detail of all the vehicles of the LRDG, as well as their modifications, driving techniques and special kit for surviving behind enemy lines in one of the most hostile environments on earth.

In the twilight of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th-6th centuries, the elite of the field armies was the heavy armoured cavalry - the cataphracts, clad in lamellar, scale, mail and padded fabric armour. After the fall of the West, the Greek-speaking Eastern or Byzantine Empire survived for nearly a thousand years, and cavalry remained predominant in its armies, with the heaviest armoured regiments continuing to provide the ultimate shock-force in battle. Accounts from Muslim chroniclers show that the ironclad cataphract on his armoured horse was an awe- inspiring enemy: '...they advanced against you, iron -covered - one would have said that they advanced on horses which seemed to have no legs'. This new study, replete with stunning full-colour illustrations of the various units, offers an engaging insight into the fearsome heavy cavalry units that battled against the enemies of Rome's Eastern Empire.