|
Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Special & elite forces
Nine men. 2,000 enemies. No back-up. No air support. No rescue. No
chance... First in - the official motto of one of the British
Army's smallest and most secretive units, 16 Air Assault Brigade's
Pathfinder Platoon. Unofficially, they are the bastard son of the
SAS. And, like their counterparts in Hereford, the job of the
Pathfinders is to operate unseen and undetected deep behind enemy
lines. When British forces were deployed to Iraq in 2003, Captain
David Blakeley was given command of a reconnaissance mission of
such critical importance that it could change the course of the
war. It's the story of nine men, operating alone and unsupported,
50 miles ahead of a US Recon Marine advance and heading straight
into a hornets' nest, teeming with thousands of heavily armed enemy
forces. This is the first account of that extraordinary mission -
abandoned by coalition command, left with no option but to fight
their way out of the enemy's backyard. And it provides a gripping
insight into the Pathfinders themselves, a shadowy unit, just 45
men strong, that plies its trade from the skies. Trained to
parachute into enemy territory far beyond the forward edge of
battle - freefalling from high altitude breathing bottled oxygen
and employing the latest skydiving technology - the PF are unique.
Because of new rules introduced since the publication of BRAVO TWO
ZERO, there have been no first-hand accounts of British Special
Forces waging modern-day warfare for nearly a decade. And no member
of the Pathfinders has ever told their story before. Until now.
PATHFINDER is the only first-hand account of a UKSF mission to
emerge for nearly a generation. And it could be the last.
'I did not regard myself as a slacker. Even in childhood I taught
myself to carry out tasks entrusted conscientiously and carefully.
In war, it is no secret that the casual don't survive'. Evgeni
Nikolaev was one of Russia s leading snipers of World War II and
his memoir provides and unparralled account of frontline action in
crucial theatres of war. Nikolaev is credited with a remarkable 324
kills and his wartime service included time in the siege of
Leningrad in 1941/1942. His memoir is not an neutral, apolitical
account. Far from it. Nikolaev asserts, for example, that Finland
attached Russia. As a member of the NKVD is it not surprising that
his memoir full of historical misinterpretation and justification
of the agency s actions. Equally, Nikoalev is dismissive of his
Nazi opponents. He variously describes his Nazi counterparts as
bandits and scum and implores the reader to take a look, fellows,
at the beast of a bastard I ve laid low . In vivid, arresting
recollections he paints his actions in a saintly heroic light. He
describes the comfort of the German foxholes, wired with telephone
connections, relative to the Russians who fasted without food or
water awaiting the moment for a perfect shot. He claimes the
Russian soldier was a moral warrior, killing only with head or
heart shots. In addition to describing details of his kills,
Nikolaev explains how his life was saved when an explosive rifle
bullet struck a watch that he kept in his jacket pocket. His life
was saved by a surgeon who extracted all the watch parts.
"Project 9: The Birth of the Air Commandos in World War II" is a
thoroughly researched narrative of the Allied joint project to
invade Burma by air. Beginning with its inception at the Quebec
Conference of 1943 and continuing through Operation Thursday until
the death of the brilliant British General Orde Wingate in March
1944, less than a month after the successful invasion of Burma,
"Project 9" details all aspects of this covert mission, including
the selection of the American airmen, the procurement of the
aircraft, the joint training with British troops, and the dangerous
night-time assault behind Japanese lines by glider.
Based on review of hundreds of documents as well as interviews
with surviving Air Commandos, this is the history of a colorful,
autonomous, and highly effective military unit that included some
of the most recognizable names of the era. Tasked by the General of
the Army Air Forces, H. H. "Hap" Arnold, to provide air support for
British troops under the eccentric Major General Wingate as they
operated behind Japanese lines in Burma, the Air Commandos were
breaking entirely new ground in operational theory, tactics, and
inter-Allied cooperation. Okerstrom's in-depth research and
analysis in "Project 9" shed light on the operations of America's
first foray into special military operations, when these heroes led
the way for the formation of modern special operations teams such
as Delta Force and Seal Team Six.
In early summer 1982--winter in the South Atlantic--Argentina's
military junta invades the Falklands. Within days, a Royal Navy
Task Force is assembled and dispatched. This is the story of D
Squadron, 22 SAS, commanded by Cedric Delves. The relentless tempo
of events defies belief. Raging seas, inhospitable glaciers,
hurricane-force winds, helicopter crashes, raids behind enemy
lines--the Squadron prevailed against them all, but the cost was
high. Holding fast to their humanity, D Squadron's fighters were
there at the start and end of the Falklands War. Theirs was the
first Union Jack raised over Government House in Stanley. 'Across
an Angry Sea' is a chronicle of daring, skill and steadfastness
among a tight-knit band of brothers; of learning fast, fighting
hard, and winning through.
From SAS To Blood Diamond Wars is the story of an outstanding
warrior, even by SAS standards.On the point of being demobbed from
the SAS, Fred Marafono was recruited by David Stirling for his
private security company. After Stirling's death, Fred found
himself in the midst of Sierra Leone's Blood Diamond wars, and
formed an unbreakable bonding with the country's champion of
democracy, Chief Hinga Norman, whose leadership and tragic death
are integral to the story.Fred was recruited by Simon Mann for the
finest of all private military companies in Africa, Executive
Outcomes. Fewer than two hundred of them defeated the rebels in
their strongholds. Through political weakness, Executive Outcomes
were made to leave the country, and chaos ensued. Committed men
like Hinga Norman and British High Commissioner Peter Penfold saw
that, in the absence of military commitment from the west, only
highly professional former soldiers could spearhead the fight to
restore democracy. Three of these veterans kept a vital air bridge
open. Fred's final action was supporting the SAS in their brilliant
hostage release, Operation Barras.Peter Penfold sums it all up in
the book's foreword, writing of the, 'confidence, trust and
admiration I have for this remarkable man. '
Geordie Doran ranks as one of the most remarkable fighting soldiers
of the twentieth century. Growing up in Jarrow during the
Depression years of the 1930s, Geordie signed up as a private
soldier in 1946 and embarked on a career spanning 40 years. He saw
active service in Germany, Cyprus, the Korean War and Suez; he
became an expert in jungle warfare in Malaya and in Borneo, as well
as on key special operations in the deserts of Oman and Yemen, and
Colonel Gaddafi's Libya. After returning to England in the early
1970s, a serious road accident curtailed his frontline soldiering
career; however, he found a new and vital role as a permanent staff
instructor with 23 SAS (TA) training the cream of recruits. He left
the SAS in 1972, but could not settle into civilian life and found
himself a job as a storeman in the SAS Quartermaster's stores - a
job which lasted another 12 years, during which time he equipped
many famous SAS characters for their famous clandestine missions.
GEORDIE DORAN was born Francis William Joseph Doran. From humble
origins, Geordie embarked upon an extraordinary career of fighting
adventure which included active service in the Infantry, the
Parachute Regiment and the SAS. MIKE MORGAN is a senior journalist
with the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette and is the author of Sting
of the Scorpion, Daggers Drawn and D-Day Hero (The History Press).
He lives in North Yorkshire.
Written by the renowned expert Nigel West, this book exposes the
operations of Britain's overseas intelligence-gathering
organisation, the famed Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, and
traces its origins back to its inception in 1909. In this
meticulously researched account, its activities and structure are
described in detail, using original secret service documents. The
main body of the book concerns MI6's operations during the Second
World War, and includes some remarkable successes and failures,
including how MI6 financed a glamorous confidant of the German
secret service; how a suspected French traitor was murdered by
mistake; how Franco's military advisors were bribed to keep Spain
out of the war; how members of the Swedish secret police were
blackmailed into helping the British war effort; how a sabotage
operation in neutral Tangiers enabled the Allied landings in North
Africa to proceed undetected; and how Britain's generals ignored
the first ULTRA decrypts because MI6 said that the information had
come from a well-placed source called BONIFACE'. In this new
edition, operations undertaken by almost all of MI6's overseas
stations are recounted in extraordinary detail. They will fascinate
both the professional intelligence officer and the general reader.
The book includes organisational charts to illustrate MI6's
internal structure and its wartime network of overseas stations.
Backed by numerous interviews with intelligence officers and their
agents, this engaging inside story throws light on many wartime
incidents that had previously remained unexplained.
With the SAS: Across the Rhine is the story of the latter part of
Captain Ian Wellsted's military career with the Special Air
Service, the first part of which was detailed in his well-received
SAS: With the Maquis. This is a very personal account, revealing
the many emotional as well as physical strains placed upon men in
the fighting line. The author takes us back to his time employed
with the 79th Armoured Division (the famous 'Hobart's Funnies')
preparing for D-Day and his desire for more exciting action, which
led first to the Parachute Regiment and then the SAS. Whilst we
learn a little of his time with the maquis, the main focus of the
story is his part in Operation Archway. A British special forces
mission which involved the 1st and 2nd Special Air Service
Regiments acting in support of the advance of Field Marshal Sir
Bernard Montgomery's Allied 21st Army Group in operations Varsity
and Plunder, this crossing of the Rhine was one of the largest and
most diverse operations ever carried out by the SAS. In this
offensive, the SAS teams were thrust deep into German territory,
often having to battle their way through the enemy lines to get
back to safety. 'I quickly learned that there was no way to control
an SAS battle,' Wellsted wrote of his first major encounter in
charge of a patrol. 'The din was deafening - seventy odd Vickers
and half a dozen Brownings all chattering together. The screech of
ricochets and the fire of the enemy made my voice sound like the
squeak of a mouse against a church organ. I was helpless.' In one
of these encounters, as the war was drawing to a close, Wellsted's
troop found itself surrounded. In the ensuing firefight, Wellsted
was wounded, bringing his active front line career to an end.
Trunk Monkeys: The Life of a Contract Soldier in Iraq tells the
true story of operators from a private military contractor working
in Iraq shortly after the Gulf War. From the perspective of
grizzled veteran Lewis Steiner who had left the British Army to
join the gold rush in the living hell that was war-torn Iraq,
Steiner grew disillusioned about the declining situation in the
country as he believed that the joint US and UK invasion had made
things far worse. This fascinating and often extremely violent book
encompasses the highs and lows of operating throughout the country
from Basra in the south up to Mosul in the north. Steiner recounts
of friends lost due to negligence and poor planning to the
realities of conducting a private war surrounded by civilians who
might be the enemy. Ultimately injured in an incident that left two
dead, Steiner decides to soldier on due to a misguided sense of
duty. Armed with his belt-fed SAW machine gun, Steiner accepted a
contract located near Tikrit. The missions rapidly become a death
sentence to many of the contract soldiers and dogs of war. In some
cases, these missions were pointless, costing men, vehicles and the
sanity of brothers in arms. Steiner was in the thick of it from
dodging enemy ambushes to taking out a suicide bomber and narrowly
escaping death in 'Sniper Alley' collecting cranberry sauce for the
US forces on Thanksgiving Day. With the pedal to the metal, his
Humvee attracted the unwelcome attention of insurgents who tried to
blow him up with RPGs. Forget the fictionalised works of Andy
McNab, Tom Clancy and Chris Ryan: this is the real deal. This is a
firsthand account of the men who decide to pay the ultimate price,
but be warned, this tells the real story that the Government does
not want you to know.
This is the first book on tracking in a combat situation that
includes suggestions for integrating visual tracking operations
into existing military doctrine in addition to the
boots-on-the-ground detail necessary for soldiers who perform those
operations. Learn how to visually track an armed individual or
group in a combat situation for the purposes of gaining
intelligence, locating the enemy, and/or killing them. This action
packed volume is filled with useful photographs and carefully
crafted diagrams to fully communicate the skills and actions
required to become an expert tracker. Combat Tracking Guide is a
functional, readable manual for soldiers, trackers, military
organisations, affiliates, and enthusiasts around the world.
|
|