"One could not choose a worse place for fighting the Japanese," said Winston Churchill of North Burma, deeming it "the most forbidding fighting country imaginable." But it was here that the fledgling Office of Strategic Services conducted its most successful combat operations of World War II. Troy Sacquety takes readers into Burma's steaming jungles in the first book to fully cover the exploits and contributions of the OSS's Detachment 101 against the Japanese Imperial Army.

Functioning independently of both the U.S. Army and OSS headquarters--and with no operational or organizational model to follow--Detachment 101 was given enormous latitude in terms of developing its mission and methods. It grew from an inexperienced and poorly supported group of 21 agents training on the job in a lethal environment to a powerful force encompassing 10,000 guerrillas (spread across as many as 8 battalions), 60 long-range agents, and 400 short-range agents. By April 1945, it remained the only American ground force in North Burma while simultaneously conducting daring amphibious operations that contributed to the liberation of Rangoon.

With unrivaled access to OSS archives, Sacquety vividly recounts the 101's story with a depth of detail that makes the disease-plagued and monsoon-drenched Burmese theater come unnervingly alive. He describes the organizational evolution of Detachment 101 and shows how the unit's flexibility allowed it to evolve to meet the changing battlefield environment. He depicts the Detachment's two sharply contrasting field commanders: headstrong Colonel Carl Eifler, who pushed the unit beyond its capabilities, and the more measured Colonel William Peers, who molded it into a model special operations force. He also highlights the heroic Kachin tribesmen, fierce fighters defending their tribal homeland and instrumental in acclimating the Americans to terrain, weather, and cultures in ways that were vital to the success of the Detachment's operations.

While veterans' memoirs have discussed OSS activities in Burma, this is the first book to describe in detail how it achieved its success--portraying an operational unit that can be seen as a prototype for today's Special Forces. Featuring dozens of illustrations, The OSS in Burma rescues from oblivion the daring exploits of a key intelligence and military unit in Japan's defeat in World War II and tells a gripping story that will satisfy scholars and buffs alike.

Since their foundation during the Second World War, the Parachute Regiment has acquired a formidable reputation as tough, fearless soldiers. "The Red Devils" have played a key role in many of the battles of the past sixty years--the capture of Sicily, the D-Day landing, the heroic but doomed attempt to capture the bridge at Arnhem. In the so-called years of peace since the Second World War, the Paras have seen action all over the world - from Cyprus, Palestine, Egypt, Borneo and the Falklands to Bosnia. Their service in Northern Ireland has been surrounded by controversy--the events of "Bloody Sunday" in Londonderry in 1972 are still the subject of fierce debate, and a continuing government inquiry. For his authoritative book, John Parker has gathered together the testimony of numerous veterans of the Parachute Regiment. Their first-hand accounts of the major events in their history bring home the reality (and cruelty) of combat. The events of "Bloody Sunday" are seen through their eyes, and will re-ignite the controversy over what actually happened.

The Syrian "uprising" is a cynical US-engineered plot using provocateurs, mercenaries, Wahhabi fanatics, corrupt NGO's and the global media. The US, NATO and the feudal emirates are out to smash this independent Arab state that spends on human welfare and refuses to surrender to Israel. The US and Saudi-financed plot turns on the tactic of "Countergangs." Terrorists - mercenaries and irregulars, the "CIA foreign legion" - shoot both demonstrators and police, blow up buildings, massacre innocent villagers - and then blame the carnage on the targeted government. NGO's like NED, the "National Endowment for Democracy" (funded by US State Dept, Geo. Soros, Ford Foundation etc) promote "activists," whose leaders are ambitious sociopaths, eagerly carving out a piece of the carcass for the moment the state is brought down. The corporate lapdog media, cogs in the military-industrial complex, lap up and magnify the Big Lie, creating a fake "reality" that the average person has little chance of seeing through. Subverting Syria reveals how the crusade to destroy Syria follows tactics explicitly set out in the Pentagon's Unconventional Warfare Manual. - fund NGO's to create a climate of protest in the target country - provocateurs organize demonstrations, then fire on protesters and security forces alike to stoke violence - staged and mislabeled video footage creates the illusion of repression - mass media endlessly repeat the Big Lie that the nation's leader is a brutal dictator killing his own people. "Give a dog a bad name and hang him." - invade border towns with special forces death squads, the CIA Foreign Legion of Al Qaeda psychopaths, fanatics and guns for hire - fabricate pretexts for military intervention by the UN, or NATO - bomb the country into the stone age, to be conquered by NATO's Islamic terrorist puppets - eradicate Arab socialism and government for the people, replacing it with a corrupt clique beholden to Wall Street and London bankers - isolate Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Iran, giving free rein for Greater Israel to dominate the Middle East - US corporations write multi-billion-dollar contracts for "reconstruction" and "security" Subverting Syria shows how wars are engineered by manipulation of the kinder instincts of mankind, hoodwinking and harnessing pacifist and leftist forces - entrapping them in the service of mass murder and the global dictatorship of the money power.

This book looks at the Special Operations Forces (SOF), which are small, elite military units with special training and equipment that can infiltrate into hostile territory through land, sea, or air to conduct a variety of operations, many of them classified. SOF personnel undergo rigorous selection and lengthy specialised training. The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)oversees the training, doctrine, and equipping of all U.S. SOF units. USSOCOM has about 54,000 Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve personnel from all four Services and Department of Defense (DOD) civilians assigned to its headquarters, its four components, and one sub-unified command. Special Operations Forces (SOF) also play a significant role in U.S. military operations and the Administration has given U.S. SOF greater responsibility for planning and conducting world-wide counter-terrorism operations. The merits of cross-border raids and possible equipment and logistical support shortfalls, which are potential policy issues for congressional consideration, are examined in this book as well. This book consists of public documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.

The Special Operations Command (SOCOM) was established to oversee the training, doctrine, and equipping of all U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF). A key objective in establishing a unified command was to ensure that the Special Operations Forces of the military services would be equipped with the right weapon systems to carry out their unique missions. The SOCOM commander was granted the authority to independently develop, acquire, and field specialised equipment. This "special operations forces-peculiar" equipment may be newly created or standard equipment modified to meet SOF needs, but may not duplicate equipment provided from the other military services. This book presents important materials concerning the Special Forces which have become an important strike force due to the changing face of military challenges.

On average a Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent would be dead within three months of being dropped in the field. Terry Crowdy tells the extraordinary story of these agents, some of whom were women as young as 22, following them through their experiences beginning with their recruitment and unorthodox training methods, particularly the unarmed combat training provided by the notorious Fairburn and Sykes partnership. As well as detailing these controversial techniques, the training chapter also covers the tough physical training course and parachute training that all recruits had to endure before being sent into occupied Europe.
Crowdy also examines the SOE's unique system of codes, which included each agent composing their own poem as well as using quotations from famous pieces of literature to convey secret messages, and explores the strengths and weaknesses of this system. Full-color artwork and photographs show the innovative equipment, including the S-Phones and Eureka sets, which allowed the agent to communicate directly with pilots and other agents. Lastly, the book recounts the incredible combat missions of the SOE agents, incluidng operations in the field with Yugoslav and Greek partisans, as well as sabotage missions ranging from blowing up bridges to the raising of full-scale partisan armies as they attempted to fulfill Churchill's directive to set Occupied Europe ablaze.

Although harsh and inhospitable, the North African theater of World War II proved to be a perfect environment for irregular warfare and the deployment of Special Forces. Four countries took part in this 'shadow war': Great Britain, most successfully of all; Free France, including a surprising solitary campaign from Chad; Italy, mainly engaged in defending the Libyan southern line of communications; and Germany, operating an extensive spy network throughout Egypt.
Andrea Molinari deals with the development and organization of these unique units, and examines how the conditions in North Africa affected the Special Forces of all the countries involved as unconventional units were increasingly used to fight in unconventional conditions in the depths of the "sea of sand" between Libya and Egypt. Accompanied by evocative wartime photography, comprehensive maps and detailed organizational charts, this is the first complete coverage of desert raiders on both sides of the war. With Dr. Duncan Anderson, Head of War Studies at the British military academy and leading military historian, acting as consulting editor, this book is a definitive analysis of the world's first Special Forces.

Peter Wilkinson's vivid insider account of the undercover campaigns of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War looks at the foundation and structure of the SOE, as well as his personal experience as an intelligence officer during the invasion of Czechoslovakia and the Polish Campaign of 1939. The book is a valuable contribution to the secret history of the Second World War. It concludes with an account of the SOE's hazardous attempt under the author's command to infiltrate the Third Reich from 1943-1945.

Who is Matt Cvetic? Hero? Scoundrel? Mole? The man who loosely provided the inspiration for the B-Grade cult movie I Was a Communist for the FBI had a life that was marred by alcoholism, damaged expectations, and greed.

Cvetic, at the request of the FBI, joined a Pittsburgh branch of the CPUSA in 1943. He became one of many plants in the Party during that decade and gained the nickname "Pennsylvania's most significant mole." However, because of his erratic behavior, the FBI fired him in 1950, at which time he surfaced and suddenly became a celebrity through his testimony before the HUAC hearing. Journalist Richard Rovere described Cvetic as a "kept witness," a term that fits those who "made a business of being witnesses," thereby "befouling due process."

Cvetic was the subject of a multipart series in the Saturday Evening Post. The articles bordered on fiction, but they gave Cvetic the national exposure he needed to secure a screen deal. Warner Brothers bought the story, made the movie, and enhanced Cvetic's celebrity as pop icon. In the mid-1950s, Cvetic was discredited as a witness by the courts. His career ended and he found a new niche on the Radical Right, yet he died in 1962 after years of fighting to uphold his image with the media. Today Cvetic's image is dimly remembered as he continues to fight "the Red Menace" on late-night television.

Leab juxtaposes Cvetic's real life with his reel life. He chronicles his fall from grace, yet admits that Cvetic's life offers fascinating and useful insights into the creation, merchandising, and distribution of a reckless professional witness. Leab also writes about Cvetic's life prior to his involvement with the FBI, his glory days, and shows that there is much to be learned from the story of an "anti-Communist icon."

The emergence of light troops at the time of Louis XV's reign (1715-1774) is a sign of the search for better intelligence of the enemy and rapid tactical moves on battlefields. This fourth instalment of Rene Chartrand's review of Louis XV's army reveals an extraordinary variety of units, most now long forgotten, who had a dazzling assortment of uniforms, equipment and weapons, as is revealed by this interesting text and its numerous accompanying illustrations, which include eight full page colour plates by Eugene Leliepvre.

For four decades after World War II, U.S. Special Operations Forces--including Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, Air Force special operations aircrews and Special Tactics Group--suffered from mistrust and inadequate funding from the military services. They were nearly eliminated from the active force following the Vietnam War. But in the past fifteen years, special operations forces have risen from the ashes of the failed 1980 rescue of American hostages in Iran to become one of the most frequently deployed elements of the U.S. military. They are now adequately funded, better-equipped, and well-trained. Special operations forces are often the nation's first military response when faced with a crisis in today's uncertain and unstable international security environment. What caused this dramatic turnaround? As this book shows, it was a long way from congressional outrage at TV images of burned bodies of U.S. servicemen in the Iranian desert to the establishment of a special operations force of nearly 45,000 active and reserve personnel. The drama of how this happened sheds light on how public policy is made and implemented. It illustrates the complex interaction between internal forces within the special operations community, as well as between the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government. The implementation of legislation establishing a special operations capability is seen to rebuild and protect these forces to an extent never imagined by the early " quiet professionals." While offering insights into how the U.S. government makes policy, Susan Marquis also offers a revealing look at the special operations community, including their storied past, extremetraining, and recent operational experience that continues to forge their distinctive organizational mission and culture. She describes the decade-long struggle to rebuild special operations forces, resulting in new SOF organizations with independence that is unique among U.S. military forces, an independence approaching that of a new military service.

Special operations, though most commonly associated with the period from the Second World War to the present, have played a key role throughout the history of conflict from the Trojan War to the great arms struggles of the 20th century. This volume introduces the reader to the broad sweep of the history of special operations, and also includes several excerpts from the classic literature on the subject. Contents: Origins: Robert Graves, 'The Wooden Horse', 'The Sack of Troy'; Raiding in the Age of Sail: G.M. Thomson, 'The Damage Done by this Corsair', 'The Wind Commands Me Away'; Ian Grimble, 'The Imp,^Rrieuse'; The Early American Tradition: Kenneth Roberts, 'The Raid on St. Francis'; Fred Cook, 'Struggle for the South'; R.E. Dupuy and W.H. Baumer, 'Wars With the Barbary Pirates'; 19th Century Colonial Warfare; Leo Tolstoy, The Raid; Wyatt Blassingame, 'How the Legion Began', 'The Legion Fights in Algeria'; The Civil War: Archer Hines, 'Military Means, Political Ends'; Bruce Catton, 'Total War and an Election'; World War I: Lowell Thomas, 'Trapped by a G-Ship..'; T.E. Lawrence, 'The Raid Upon the Bridges'; World War II in Western Europe and North Africa: Cajus Bekker, 'The Coup de Main at Eben Emael', 'The Blood-Bath of Crete'; Paul Carell, 'A British Commando Attempt to Capture Rommel', 'The British Raid on Tobruk', 'Brandenburgers in Action Behind the Front'; John Lodwick, Raiders from the Sea, Chapters 16-18; The Pacific War: Walter Lord, 'A Very Private War';Ronald Spector, 'The Road to Myitkyina'; Milton E. Miles, 'Chinese Pirates and the SACO Dragon'; Algeria, Round II: Jean Lart,^Rguy, 'The Leap of Leucadia'; The Ultimate Rescue: Chaim Herzog, 'Entebbe'; Bibliography; Index.

France had a population of between 22 and 25 million at this time, and maintained the largest standing army in Europe. In peacetime it might have amounted to about 200,000 men; in times of war, it could be anything up to half a million. A substantial part of Louis XV's army consisted of numerous regiments of guard cavalry, heavy cavalry and dragoon regiments, which were considered the best and noblest part. These many units form the subject matter in this first of five fascinating volumes [Men-at-Arms 296, 302, 304, 308 & 313] by Rene Chartrand covering the army of Louis XV's.

**THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** With all the SEALs' recent successes, we have been getting a level of attention we are not used to. It's been flattering but something important has been missing from the discussion. People keep describing what we do, but no one has even scratched the surface of how and why. The unique psychology behind it. Operating in the world's most hostile environments, the Navy SEALs are highly skilled warriors, finely tuned and ready for action. Now, for the first time, Lieutenant Commander Rorke Denver offers a compelling and profound insight into the extreme bravery, borderline lunacy, and touching camaraderie of this elite brotherhood. Packed with tales from the gruelling training process and real-life operations, Rorke Denver recounts his evolution from a young SEAL hopeful pushing his way through Hell Week, into a warrior engaging in dangerous stealth missions across the globe, and finally into a lieutenant commander directing the indoctrination programmes and the "Hero or Zero" missions his graduating SEALs undertake. From hunting Osama bin Laden to hostage rescues in Somalia and momentum-shifting operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the SEALs hit hard and fast, moving in and out of conflict zones without leaving a trace. Through the course of Denver's story, you'll see what it takes to become one of them and why they are the damn few.

'Being a JTAC is the closest a soldier on the ground in the midst of battle can get to feeling like one of the gods - unleashing pure hellfire, death and destruction' - Duncan Falconer Meet Sergeant 'Bommer' Grahame, one of the deadliest soldiers on the battlefield. He's an elite army JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller- pronounced 'jay-tack') - a specially trained warrior responsible for directing Allied air power with high-tech precision. Commanding Apache gunships, A10 tank-busters, F15s and Harrier jets, he brings down devastating fire strikes against the attacking Taliban, often danger close to his own side. Due to his specialist role, Sergeant Grahame usually operates in the thick of the action, where it's at its most fearsome and deadly. Conjuring the seemingly impossible from apparently hopeless situations, soldiers in battle rely on the skill and bravery of their JTAC to enable them to win through in the heat of the danger zone. Fire Strike 7/9 tells the story of Bommer Grahame and his five-man Fire Support Team on their tour of Afghanistan. Patrolling deep into enemy territory, they were hunted and targeted by the Taliban, shot at, blown-up, mortared and hit by rockets on numerous occasions. Under these conditions Sergeant Grahame notched up 203 confirmed enemy kills, making him the difference between life and death both for his own troops and the Taliban.

In this book, two national-security experts put the exploits of America's special operation forces in historical and strategic context. David Tucker and Christopher J. Lamb offer an incisive overview of America's turbulent experience with special operations. Starting with in-depth interviews with special operators, the authors illustrate the diversity of modern special operations forces and the strategic value of their unique attributes. Despite longstanding and growing public fascination with special operators, these forces and their contribution to national security are poorly understood. With this book, Tucker and Lamb dispel common misconceptions and offer a penetrating analysis of how these unique and valuable forces can be employed to even better effect in the future. The book builds toward a comprehensive assessment of the strategic utility of special operations forces, which it then considers in light of the demands of future warfare. This second edition of United States Special Operations Forces, revised throughout to account for lessons learned in the twelve years since its first publication, includes two new case studies, one on High Value Target Teams and another on Village Stability Operations, and two new appendixes charting the evolution of special operation missions and the best literature on all aspects of U.S. special operation forces.

The fight for Jason Delgado's life and soul began when he was just a boy. He ultimately escaped the death and drugs of a crime-riddled Bronx by way of the United States Marine Corps. However, after earning his way into the esteemed ranks of the service's famed Scout Snipers, Delgado saw that old struggle reignited when he was dumped into the hell of war in Iraq. There Delgado proved not only a participant, but a warrior capable of turning the tide in several of the most harrowing and historically important battles of the evolving war. He took all the hard lessons learned in combat and, as MARSOC's original lead sniper instructor, made himself a pivotal figure in revolutionising the way special operations snipers trained and operated. But even after accomplishing his mission in the military, Delgado still faced that original fight, struggling to understand and accept the man his experiences had transformed him into.

As a Navy SEAL, Brandon Webb rose to the top of the world's most elite sniper corps. Along the way, Webb served beside, trained and supported men he came to know not just as fellow warriors, but as friends and, eventually, as heroes. This is his personal account of eight extraordinary SEALs, who gave all for comrades and country. These are men who left behind powerfully instructive examples of what it means to be alive - and what it truly means to be a hero.

SAS: The Autobiography is the story of the world's most famous special forces regiment by those who truly know it - the troopers and officers themselves. From the dust of the wartime desert and raids on harboured Luftwaffe aircraft to sniping al-Qaeda in the far mountains of Afghanistan, SAS: The Autobiography takes the reader on a high adrenaline history of the regiment which simultaneously lifts the shroud of mystery from the regiment's operations. Reviews for Jon E Lewis's The English Soldier: An Autobiography: 'A triumph' - Saul David, author of Victoria's Army 'Harrowing, funny and often unbelievable book.' - Daily Express '[A] compelling tommy's eye view of war from Agincourt to Iraq' - Daily Telegraph

The covert, clandestine operations of the Special Air Service (SAS) regiment, from the jungles of Malaya, Borneo and Brunei to the deserts and mountains of the Middle East and Afghanistan have always been the focus of intense fascination, stoked by the regiment's 'closed' organization and secretive activities. However, no period of activity has remained more secret than the vital years in the immediate aftermath of World War II when the regiment seemingly expired, only to rise miraculously from the dead to fight communism in the Malaya Emergency. Tim Jones' fascinating history pieces together the evidence to show that while the Malaya Emergency re-established the SAS as a unique source of counter-guerilla expertise, the regiment was not disbanded in 1945 and was, in fact, covertly involved in the Greek Civil War of 1945-49, a war unmatched in savagery until the Bosnian conflict in the 1990s. Revealing important operational secrets and shedding new light on post-war history, this book will be essential reading for enthusiasts of military history, and those interested in the world of intelligence.

Before the Green Berets...Before the Navy SEALs...Before the Army Rangers...There was the Long Patrol."
November 1942: in the hellish combat zone of Guadalcanal, one man would make history.
Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson was considered a maverick by many of his comrades-and seen as a traitor by some. He spent years observing guerrilla tactics all over the world, and knew that those tactics could be adapted effectively by the Marines.
Carlson and an elite fighting force-the 2nd Raider Battalion-embarked upon a thirty-day mission behind enemy lines where they disrupted Japanese supplies, inflicted a string of defeats on the enemy in open combat, and gathered invaluable intelligence on Japanese operations on Guadalcanal. And in the process they helped lay the foundation for Special Forces in the modern military.
Here for the first time is a riveting account of one man, one battalion, and one mission that would resonate through the annals of military history.

The remarkable and courageous war record of the famous Das Reich 2nd SS Division, a fearsome unit which saw heavy fighting throughout the war, from France to the Eastern Front and back to Germany. The 2nd SS Division was an elite, highly trained, volunteer fighting force, the premier Division of the Waffen SS and far removed from the more familiar SS Nazi Police role. Driven always by the military virtues of courage, duty and loyalty, it saw action in some of the bloodiest battles of the war, in particular on the Eastern Front. It fought a hard war, suffered terrible casualties, and set new standards of battlefield excellence. Through extensive research, James Lucas tells a gripping story of close quarter hand-to-hand combat, of commanders who led from the front, of camaraderie and unit pride. This is a book about the best of soldiers in the worst of times.