The sought after original SS publication "Waffen-SS im Western" is available here for the first time. Translated into English and carefully reproduced, this rare SS book photographically documents the Waffen-SS campaigns in Holland, Belgium, and France during 1940. The photos were taken by SS war correspondents and vividly illustrate the early SS combat troops as they conquered Western Europe. A clear concise history showing wartime footage, including uniforms, insignia, headgear, weapons and more. This book has often been regarded as one of the best publications ever printed by the Nazi regime on the Waffen-SS. It is a highly valuable photographic study for military historians and collectors alike.

During the Vietnam War, the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MACVSOG) was a highly-classified, U.S. joint-service organization that consisted of personnel from Army Special Forces, the Air Force, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance units, and the CIA. This secret organization was committed to action in Southeast Asia even before the major build-up of U.S. forces in 1965 and also fielded a division-sized element of South Vietnamese military personnel, indigenous Montagnards, ethnic Chinese Nungs, and Taiwanese pilots in its varied reconnaissance, naval, air, and agent operations. MACVSOG was without doubt the most unique U.S. unit to participate in the Vietnam War, since its operational mandate authorized its missions to take place "over the fence" in North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, where most other American units were forbidden to go. During its nine-year existence it managed to participate in most of the significant operations and incidents of the conflict. MACVSOG was there during the Gulf of Tonkin incidents, during air operations over North Vietnam, the Tet Offensive, the secret bombing of and ground incursion into Cambodia, Operation Lam Son 719, the Green Beret murder case, the Easter Invasion, the Phoenix Program, and the Son Tay POW Raid. The story of this extraordinary unit has never before been told in full and comes as a timely blueprint for combined-arms, multi-national unconventional warfare in the post-9/11 age.Unlike previous works on the subject, Black Ops, Vietnam is a complete chronological history of the unit drawn from declassified documents, memoirs, and previous works on the subject, which tended to focus only on particular aspects of the unit's operations.

Preparing for Victory explains how and why Commandant Thomas Holcomb successfully supervised the dramatic expansion of the Marine Corps from 18,000 troops in 1936 to 385,000 in 1943. Not only did he leave the Corps much larger, but he also helped establish it as the United States' premier amphibious assault force and a major contributor to victory over Japan. Despite his successes, he has been ignored or given short shrift in most histories of the Marine Corps. No book-length study of his commandancy exists until now. Drawing on a wide range of printed and archival sources, this book contends that Holcomb expertly guided the Corps'preparations for war during the last years of the Great Depression and then provided his "Leathernecks" with astute direction during the first harrowing twenty-five months of the war. When measured with principles of organisation theory and leadership studies, Holcomb's abilities and achievements match those of such outstanding American military managers as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Chester W. Nimitz, and George C. Marshall. Like these unassuming yet efficient officers, Holcomb shied away from the limelight and therefore never garnered the attention that"Chesty" Puller or "Howlin' Mad" Smith have. This book fills a void and tells the story of one of the key leaders in World War II. More than any other marine, Holcomb moulded his Corps into the modern force-in-readiness that would eventually help fight the Cold War and the Global War on Terror. About the Author David J. Ulbrich is a historian at the U.S. Army Engineer School at Ft. Leonard, MO, USA and senior instructor in Norwich University's Masters in Military History programme.

2010 Reprint of 1935 edition. This classic work on sniping is considered the first and some say the most influential book in print about sniping and the art of being a military sniper on the battlefield. McBride's book was seminal in the development of U.S. military sniping doctrine in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and on to the present day. The U.S. Marine Corps Sniper School has made this book mandatory reading for its would-be snipers.

For the first time in trade paperback-a classic memoir of Navy SEALs in action.
In gripping prose, Captain Robert A. Gormly tells about his days as a leader in the Navy SEALs- taking readers into the night, into the water, and into battle on some of the most hair-raising missions ever assigned.
Trained to a fine fighting edge just in time for Vietnam, Gormly served two tours of duty and engaged in top-secret missions in the Persian Gulf. Here, he shares his viewpoint and his experience-including what is perhaps the most graphic description ever of SEAL action in the invasion of Grenada. Gormly takes readers behind the myth of this awesome team, revealing how their lives depend on their unprecedented expertise and unparalleled courage.

This annotated bibliography was initially developed in conjunction with the initiative of the Department of the Army in 1983 to develop the force structure for 10,000-man light infantry divisions. Its goals were to provide annotated historical references for the combat experiences of previous light divisions and to list historical sources on the force design process, especially in regard to attempts to lighten the force or to respond to improvements in technology on the battlefield. The first draft of this bibliography was distributed in September and October 1983 as a quick reference to force planners across the Army. Since that time, the bibliography has been expanded, but the general focus remains the same, historical light divisions and the force design process. It addresses light infantry forces of the twentieth century with primary emphasis on World War II and later. This document can serve as a starting point for force designers' research into the origins, organizations, capabilities, and combat experiences of light infantry forces. In order to permit widespread distribution of this bibliography, only unclassified sources have been cited. However, additional classified documents on the subject exist, particularly in regard to technical analyses of force capabilities. A number of these are available in the Combined Arms Research Library (CARL) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The enclosed charts describe light infantry and close combat forces of World War II as well as some of those in being today.

Brothers-in-arms - SAS bonds can never be broken 'Jones knew the score with "deniable" operations that were sanctioned secretly at the highest levels. If they turned to custard and the cover was blown, the powers-that-be would simply deny everything and disown all involved, from the military down to the spooks and, at the bottom of the food chain, Hired guns like him.' What happens to the elite, close-knit soldiers of Australia's Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment after they leave the Who Dares Wins world of special forces? For some, there are highly paid jobs in the world's war zones and trouble spots protecting global corporations from terrorism, sabotage and violence. Others become powerful government advisers, many join foreign armies to train their special forces and expand the global botherhood. Most risky of all is the shadowy world of deniable 'black ops'. Guarding a deadly secret military cargo - a new missle system brokered through a spook under the guise of a Middle Eastern arms dealer - is all in a day's work. these are the risky yet vital jobs that governments will never admit. From Iraq and Afghanistan to Africa and Asia, award-winning defence writer Ian McPhedran uncovers a virtually unknown network and tells how Australia's top soldiers are forever linked in a seemingly borderless world.

'We've been approached something like 25 times since the war. I kicked each out the window because they weren't going to make it with the integrity we require the story of the SAS to be told.' - Colonel Sir David Stirling, OBE, DSO, Founder of the SAS Based on over 120 hours of uncovered video and audio tape, The Originals tells the story of the birth of the SAS in the words of its founding members for the first time. Even David Stirling, founder of the regiment, contributed to the project - most historians believe he died without giving a single interview. It is also a very human story of a gang of misfits coming together to create a unit like no other: a maverick son of a Scottish laird; a boy who lied about his age to enlist; a policeman; a cheeky cockney; a Lincolnshire boxer; an Irish rugby international imprisoned for beating up his commanding officer; an Oxford rowing president and a quietly spoken man of God. The Originals covers the regiment's formation in 1941 to its supposed disbanding in 1945. With only two founding members alive today, it is not only an important document but a thrilling and moving read that will leave you reeling.

"America had a secret weapon," writes Steve Call of the period immediately following September 11, 2001, as planners contemplated the invasion of Afghanistan. This weapon consisted of small teams of Special Forces operatives trained in close air support (CAS) who, in cooperation with the loose federation of Afghan rebels opposed to the Taliban regime, soon began achieving impressive-and unexpected-military victories over Taliban forces and the al-Qaeda terrorists they had sponsored. The astounding success of CAS tactics coupled with ground operations in Afghanistan soon drew the attention of military decision makers and would eventually factor into the planning for another campaign: Operation Iraqi Freedom. But who, exactly, are these air power experts and what is the function of the TACPs (Tactical Air Control Parties) in which they operate? Danger Close provides a fascinating look at a dedicated, courageous, innovative, and often misunderstood and misused group of military professionals. Drawing on the gripping first-hand accounts of their battlefield experiences, Steve Call allows the TACPs to speak for themselves. He accompanies their narratives with informed analysis of the development of CAS strategy, including potentially controversial aspects of the interservice rivalries between the air force and the army which have at times complicated and even obstructed the optimal employment of TACP assets. Danger Close makes clear, however, that the systematic coordination of air power and ground forces played an invaluable supporting role in the initial military victories in both Afghanistan and Iraq. This first-ever examination of the intense, life-and-death world of the close air support specialist will introduce readers to a crucial but little-known aspect of contemporary warfare and add a needed chapter in American military history studies. STEVE CALL is an assistant professor at Broome Community College in Binghamton, New York, teaching both American and military history. During his twenty-year career in the air force, Call held many command and staff positions, including liaison officer with the army, Pentagon staff officer, and squadron commander. His PhD in military history is from Ohio State University.

This is a marine's account of the human aspects of combat. The small island of Iwo Jima lies 660 miles south of Tokyo. As US forces moved north toward the Japanese home islands in World War II, Iwo stood out as a desirable location for capture, as it would afford a much needed airbase for attacks on Japan. US military leaders underestimated the size and quality of the Japanese defense force and overestimated the effectiveness of an intense naval bombardment; artillery shells often exploded harmlessly in the island's blanket of black volcanic sand. On the morning of February 19, 1945, the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions stormed ashore from a naval support force. Among them was green young lieutenant Pat Caruso. Within hours Caruso became de facto company commander when the five officers ranking him were killed or wounded. He led his rapidly diminishing force steadily forward for the next few days, when a day's gains were measured in yards. Caruso was eventually wounded himself and was evacuated to an offshore hospital ship. Realizing that the actions and heroism of so many of his comrades would be lost forever by the decimation of his unit, Caruso latched onto any paper he could find and filled every blank space with his memory of the fighting. This book consists of those records, fleshed out by the stories of other survivors who Caruso searched out years later. This enhanced edition has been augmented by a new introduction and index, errors in the first edition have been corrected, and boasts nine new photographs and a map of the action. It resumes its place as a classic account of the experience of being in close, direct, and constant contact with a determined enemy at close quarters. Many did not survive; those who did were changed forever.

There is a consensus, captured by proponents of militarism theory, that militaries seek wars to enhance their institutional influence, and that they promote expansionist policies because it is in line with their training. However, most military-run states, and those regimes influenced by their militaries, termed militarized regimes, spend much of their time at peace. This book questions the underlying logic of the militarist explanation and seeks to propose a more tragic argument based on the distorting impact of military indoctrination and command practices on civil government institutions. The theory is applied to seven case studies of the periods leading up to the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan Wars, the 1956, 1967, and 1973 Arab Israeli Wars, the 1969-75 Iran-Iraq border conflict, and the 1979 Iraqi invasion of Iran.

The 1991 Gulf War will forever be associated with Iraqi Scud missiles and the efforts of one special forces unit to hunt them down and destroy them: the British Special Air Service (SAS). In fact, the SAS's role in the conflict was much broader than Scud hunting, but for some years the Regiment's campaign during the conflict was shrouded in secrecy and misinformation, and little that was printed adequately explained just what the SAS did during the United Nations war against Saddam Hussein. SAS in the Gulf War is the full, dramatic story of the SAS in the Gulf war, and reveals how Britain's super elite played an integral part in the eventual Allied victory. Drawing upon unpublished accounts from SAS soldiers who fought in the war, as well as information that was previously classified, SAS in the Gulf War paints a vivid picture of what it's like to fight as an elite soldier, and what SAS operations were actually like behind Iraqi lines. Read about the special relationship that grew up between SAS soldiers and the Royal Air Force helicopter crews who flew teams deep into enemy-held territory; the heart-rending tale of the patrol codenamed 'Bravo Two Zero' and its desperate attempts to flee hordes of heavily armed pursuers; the breathtaking accounts of combat between SAS mobile fighting columns and Iraqi Scud launcher teams and armoured units; and the successful SAS role in the collation of intelligence from the Kuwaiti resistance. But the book is much more than a collection of first-hand accounts. It is also the definitive guide to every aspect of SAS operations in the Gulf War. Thus, it discusses where the SAS fitted in strategically with regard to the rescue of Western hostages and border reconnaissance; the cooperation between the SAS and US elite units that were in theatre in the Gulf; and much more. The book also takes a look at the weapons and equipment used by the SAS in the Gulf, such as the then revolutionary Global Positioning System, SAS Land Rovers, SAS small arms and customised support weapons. SAS in the Gulf War is a must for anyone interested in what the SAS really did during the First Gulf War.

First time in trade paperback, from the bestselling author of "Marine Sniper" and "Goodnight, Saigon."
In 1965, the U.S. Marines landed in Vietnam. It was supposed to be just another deployment. America was going to do what the French could not: clean up that dirty little brush war in South Vietnam. But the Marines were experiencing a brand-new sort of enemy-the guerrilla fighter.That year, the war's carnage became frighteningly real to television audiences back home-but the Marines were already displaying the fighting courage of experienced heroes. They had quickly learned the first rule of combat: kill or be killed.
With the explosive firepower of his military classics "Marine Sniper" and "Silent Warrior," Charles Henderson gives a startlingly realistic account of the Marines' hellish introduction to a new kind of warfare-and the raw truth about how it produced a new kind of American soldier.

Like most foreign troops stationed in China, the United States Marines' mission was to protect the American embassy and American consulates, missionaries, tourists, and other citizens in China. During the half century covered by this book, the Marines saw China as it would never again be. The Opium Wars and Boxer Rebellion gave the Europeans a certain standing, with prerogatives and privileges that were looked upon by everyone, even the Chinese, as a natural order of existence. The author discusses early military operations in north China, the early legation guards, the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, and the Marine legation guard in Peking also in 1900. It also discusses Seymour's relief column, Waller's column, the capture of the Walled City of Tien-Tsin, the siege of the legations at Peking, the relief of Peking, and the Marines' return to Peking.

The ninja is a well-known phenomenon in Japanese military culture, a fighter who is widely regarded as the world's greatest exponent of secret warfare. He infiltrates castles, gathers vital intelligence and wields a deadly knife in the dark. His easily recognisable image is that of a secret agent or assassin who dresses all in black, possesses almost magical martial powers, and is capable of extraordinary feats of daring. He sells his skills on a mercenary basis and when in action his unique abilities include confusing his enemies by making mystical hand gestures or by sending sharp iron stars spinning towards them. That is the popular view, but it is much exaggerated, as this exciting new book explains. _Ninja: Unmasking The Myth_ is a revealing, fascinating and authoritative study of Japan's famous secret warriors. Unlike all previous books on the subject the author, who is an expert in the subject, does not take the ninja for granted. Instead he examines the entire phenomenon in a critical manner, ranging from accounts of undercover operations during the age of Japan's civil wars to the modern emergence of the superman ninja as a comic book character. The popular ninja image is shown to be the result of several influences that were combined to create the world's greatest secret warrior. Many well-known features of the ninja tradition such as the black clothes and the iron stars are shown to be complete inventions. One important feature of the book is the use of original Japanese sources, many of which have never been translated before. As well as unknown accounts of castle attacks, assassinations and espionage they include the last great ninja manual, which reveals the spiritual and religious ideals that were believed to lie behind the ninja's arts. The book concludes with a detailed investigation of the ninja in popular culture up to the present-day including movies, cartoons and theme parks.

-- Details how the Marines valiantly battled numerically superior Chinese forces and held the front

-- Combines original historical research with oral accounts from the Marines who served

-- Contains rare photos and original maps

The Final Crucible details the 1st Marine Division's harrowing close-quarters battles during the final seven months of the Korean War, January to July 1953. The terrible five-day Battle of the Nevada Cities in March and the Marines' bloody stand at Boulder City on the last day of the shooting war are just two of the engagements detailed here. This volume follows The Outpost War: U.S. Marines in Korea, Vol. 1: 1952.

THE FIRST COMPLETE TRANSLATION OF A SAMURAI SCHOOL CURRICULUM, THE BOOK OF SAMURAI SERIES IS A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF SAMURAI WARFARE. Book One: Fundamental Teachings reveals to the samurai student the basic traditions of Natori-Ryu, the renowned school of war founded in Japan in the sixteenth century. It offers a translation of two secret scrolls. The first, Heika Jodan, contains 290 lessons for samurai during times of peace, expanding students' martial abilities and preparing them mentally and tactically for the conflicts to come. The second scroll, Ippei Yoko, moves the student onto the field of battle, providing guidance for those taking up arms for the first time. Written by master tactician Natori Masazumi, the first two Natori-Ryu documents give an in-depth account of samurai skills and actual practice, opening up the lost world of these Japanese warriors to all readers interested in martial arts and the arts of war in general.In 1654 Natori Masazumi began his service under the powerful Kishu-Tokugawa clan. Faced with a decline in tactical and military prowess, and with a lack of wars to refine soldiery, he set about collecting a vast array of samurai arts into an assembly of scrolls, moulding and expanding his family traditions to make Natori-Ryu the premier warfare school of its time. He developed Natori-Ryu beyond its original focus on tactical and medical subjects, including, for example, the arts of the shinobi secret agents and of the military school Kusunoki-Ryu in his collated teachings. He also undertook the colossal project of compiling a samurai encyclopaedia, cataloguing arms, armour and other important tools of samurai life. All this was done with the aim of maintaining the true skills of the warrior class before its members evolved from men of prowess into mere bureaucrats.

The inside story of the most daring SAS rescue mission ever In September 2000 eleven British soldiers were captured by a notorious militia gang in Sierra Leone. The so-called 'West Side Boys' had subjected their part of the country to a long reign of terror, murdering, kidnapping and mutilating anyone who stood in their way. Now British soldiers were at their mercy. Surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered, any resistance would have seen them all killed; yet their hopes of a quick exchange soon faded. They were assaulted and subjected to mock executions. Negotiations with the 'Revolutionary United Front' leaders and the 'West Side Boys' proved futile. Prime Minister Tony Blair ordered the armed forces to get the men back. The SAS and elements of the Parachute Regiment were rushed to West Africa and a naval squadron assembled offshore. The stage was set for the biggest British military operation on the continent for a generation - and their most daring rescue mission ever.

They are sent to the world's hot spots-on covert missions fraught with danger. They are called on to perform at the peak of their physical and mental capabilities, primed for combat and surveillance, yet ready to pitch in with disaster relief operations. They are the Army's Special Forces Groups. Now follow Tom Clancy as he delves into the training and tools, missions and mindset of these elite operatives.

Special Forces includes:

• The making of Special Forces personnel: recruitment and training
  
• A rare look at actual Special Forces Group deployment Exercises
  
• Tools of the trade: weapons, communications and sensor equipment, survival gear
  
• Roles and missions: a mini-novel illustrates a probable scenario of Special Forces intervention
  
• Exclusive photographs, illustrations and diagrams

Plus: an interview with General Hugh Shelton, USA, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (and the former Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command-USSOCOM)

The threat of terrorism knows no borders, and, given the complexities of today's global system, no nation can afford to stand alone. This study considers the role that international cooperation plays in assisting elite military forces engaged in low-intensity and counter-terrorist operations, particularly hostage rescue efforts. Using historical examples from the experiences of Great Britain and the United States, the author concludes that cooperation (ranging from shared intelligence, to forward base access, to the provision of observers) can provide significant advantages in dealing with low-intensity operations. However, the most fruitful joint efforts involve shared activities by countries that possess a similar threat perception, usually in part a result of a common sociology in their view of historical developments.

Before turning to modern counter-terrorism, Taillon addresses the respective military experiences of Britain and America within the wider realm of conventional and low-intensity operations. The main Anglo-American focus of the book gives primary importance to the developments and doctrine for the employment of special forces, as well as an analysis of more recent low-intensity and counter-terrorism operations, such as the 1980 Iranian embassy siege in London and the failure, that same year, of the American hostage rescue attempt in Teheran. Taillon hopes to identify and highlight those key aspects of cooperation at an international level which have, at least in part, been absolutely essential to successful counter-terrorist operations in the past and which seem destined to remain so in the future.

The Sky Men is the story of F Company of the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th U.S. Airborne Division. They were all volunteers to a new, dangerous, and elite corps - Airborne. In the midst of the hardest European winter in forty years, the 17th Airborne Division was committed to action against the German Army west of Bastogne, Belgium. From their first day in action, the green paratroopers - caught up in the toughest fighting of the Bulge when the American Army stood up and began slugging its way back to the start line - attacking through knee deep snow and over bald terrain, demonstrated exceptional courage in closing with the enemy. In March 1945, Operation Varsity sends F Company parachuting across the Rhine and into the final battle for the conquest of Nazi Germany. The Sky Men includes many never before used documents, with the personal accounts of nearly one hundred men of F Company and other associated organizations.

America's "forgotten war" lasted just thirty-seven months, yet 54,246 Americans died in that time -- nearly as many as died in ten years in Vietnam. On the fiftieth anniversary of this devastating conflict, James Brady tells the story of his life as a young marine lieutenant in Korea.

In 1947, seeking to avoid the draft, nineteen-year-old Jim Brady volunteered for a Marine Corps program that made him a lieutenant in the reserves on the day he graduated college. He didn't plan to find himself in command of a rifle platoon three years later facing a real enemy, but that is exactly what happened after the Chinese turned a so-called police action into a war.

The Coldest War vividly describes Brady's rapid education in the realities of war and the pressures of command. Opportunities for bold offensives sink in the miasma of trench warfare; death comes in fits and starts as too-accurate artillery on both sides seeks out men in their bunkers; constant alertness is crucial for survival, while brutal cold and a seductive silence conspire to lull soldiers into an often fatal stupor.

The Korean War affected the lives of all Americans, yet is little known beyond the antics of "M*A*S*H." Here is the inside story that deserves to be told, and James Brady is a powerful witness to a vital chapter of our history.