The covert, clandestine operations of the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS), from the jungles of Malaya, Borneo and Brunei to the deserts and mountains of the Middle East, have been widely documented. There has always been intense fascination in the SAS, stoked by the regiment's "closed" organization and secretive activities. But no period of activity has remained more secret than the vital years after the Second World War when the regiment seemingly expired, only to rise miraculously from the dead to fight Communism in the Malaya emergency. Tim Jones's 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 lived on and was covertly involved in the Greek Civil War of 1945-49, a war unmatched in savagery until the Bosnian conflict in the 1990s.

Special warfare was a key component of American military operations long before Afghanistan and even before the heroic deeds of the Green Berets. Alfred Paddock's revised edition of his classic study -- for two decades the definitive word on the subject -- honors the fiftieth anniversary of the organizations responsible for Army special warfare, and serves as a timely reminder of the likely role such forces can play in combating threats to American national security.

Based on exhaustive research in formerly classified documents, Paddock examines the U.S. Army's activities in psychological and unconventional warfare during World War II, Korea, and the early Cold War to determine the impetus for, and origins of, the "special warfare" capability established at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He describes the key role played by Major General Robert A. McClure, the "father of Army special warfare, " to convince often reluctant military and civilian leaders to rebuild psychological warfare forces dissipated after World War II and to create Special Forces -- the Army's first formal organization to conduct guerrilla warfare. Paddock also clearly establishes the influence of concepts pioneered by the Office of Strategic Services on the original design of Special Forces.

This revised edition draws on the newly available papers of Major General McClure and provides additional information on his role as Eisenhower's chief of psychological warfare in North Africa and Europe, his service as chief of information control in occupied Germany, and his assignment as chief of the New York Field Office of the Army's Civil Affairs Division. Paddock also includes new sections on American psychological warfarein the Pacific, the Army Rangers, the 1st Special Service Force, and American-led guerrillas in the Philippines.

In a reflective new epilogue that draws partly upon his own experience, Paddock also provides keen insights into the use of special warfare during Vietnam.

This three-volume set is unquestionably the best reference on German SS military uniforms ever produced. This spectacular work is a heavily documented record of all major clothing articles of the Waffen-SS. Hundreds of unpublished bw photos were used in production. Original and extremely rare SS uniforms of various types are carefully photographed and presented here.

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.

The extraordinarily popular British television program "Dad's Army" suggests that Britain's Home Guard during the Second World War was home to charming incompetence and lighthearted buffoonery. In 1940, however, the threat of a German invasion of Britain appeared very real. S. P. MacKenzie's detailed and readable history of the Home Guard offers a new perspective on the men who took up the challenge. Despite its popular image of old men and teenagers playing soldiers, the Home Guard, often as large as the wartime army, became an astonishingly strong political force in its own right. Quite literally the people in arms, it proved able to exert a good deal of influence on policy.
The Home Guard was never called upon to fulfil its military role, though there was a brief attempt to resurrect it in the 1950s. Since then it has been largely neglected by military historians and there have been few serious examinations of the part it played in the Home Front. This book fills that gap.

Military historians have often regarded the roll of the Italian military as somewhat "bi-polar." During the First World War, Italy sided with the Allies including Britain, France, Russia and the U.S. against Germany and the Central Powers. During the Second World War it signed on as a member of the Tri-Partite powers joining Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. The legacy of the latter often presents a less than positive appraisal of the Italian soldier's performance... one espoused both by its enemies and allies. However a positive consensus appears when focusing on the Bersaglieri... translating as "sharp shooter"... and acting as shock troops often leading both assaults and defences. As "The Tip of the Spear" they would thus pay the price during the Italian Wars of Unification, the early colonial forays into Africa, WWI, the Ethiopian War and lastly WWII with much Bersaglieri blood soaked up by European soil as well as the burning sands of Africa and frozen in the vastness of Russia. Over 300 images including rare unpublished photographs chronicle Italy's elite "Plumed Warriors."

It is a little-known fact that during the Cold War, two U.S. Army Special Forces detachments were stationed far behind the Iron Curtain in West Berlin. The existence and missions of the two detachments were highly classified secrets. The massive armies of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies posed a huge threat to the nations of Western Europe. US military planners decided they needed a plan to slow the juggernaut they expected when and if a war began. The plan was Special Forces Berlin. The first 40 men who came to Berlin in mid-1956 were soon reinforced by 60 more and these 100 soldiers (and their successors) would stand ready to go to war at only two hours’ notice, in a hostile area occupied by nearly one million Warsaw Pact forces, until 1990. Their mission should hostilities commence was to wreak havoc behind enemy lines, and buy time for vastly outnumbered NATO forces to conduct a breakout from the city. In reality it was an ambitious and extremely dangerous mission, even suicidal. Highly trained and fluent in German, each man was allocated a specific area. They were skilled in clandestine operations, sabotage, intelligence tradecraft and able to act if necessary as independent operators, blending into the local population and working unseen in a city awash with spies looking for information on their every move. Special Forces Berlin was a one of a kind unit that had no parallel. It left a legacy of a new type of soldier expert in unconventional warfare, one that was sought after for other deployments including the attempted rescue of American hostages from Tehran in 1979. With the U.S. government officially acknowledging their existence in 2014, their incredible story can now be told.

Jean Durantin presents the long-awaited history of the French Naval Special Forces unit Commando de Penfentenyo enlisted in the Algerian battles from 1954 to 1962. Richly documented with over 1,000 colour photographs and original documents, Durantin provides the entire history of the marine commando during this campaign and makes reference to specific commandos such as"Yatagan." The Algerian War was a fiercely fought conflict between French and Algerians forces that resulted in the creation of the independent state of Algeria. Guerilla warfare, terrorism and torture were all components of this hard won campaign, that still haunt Algerian and French relations today. French Language

"Forever Forward" is the first in-depth account of K-9 Operations during the Vietnam War, and provides a behind the scenes look at how Allied forces employed dog teams in a variety of roles, the evolution of the United States military working dog program, and the aftermath of Vietnam. The 4,000 dogs that served with our men in Vietnam in every service branch are America's unsung heroes. American dog teams averted over 10,000 casualties and worked as scouts, sentries, trackers, mine, and tunnel detectors. They were so effective the Viet Cong even placed a bounty on them. Heroes yes, but our own government left most of them behind to an unknown fate.

Oppose Any Foe is the epic story of America's most elite warriors: the Special Operations Forces. Born as small appendages to the conventional armies of World War II, the Special Operations Forces have grown into a behemoth of 70,000 troops, including Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces, Air Force Night Stalkers, Special Operations Marines, Rangers, and Delta Force. Weaving together their triumphs and tribulations, acclaimed historian Mark Moyar introduces a colorful cast of military men, brimming with exceptional talent, courage and selflessness. In a nation where the military is the most popular institution, America's Special Operations Forces have become the most popular members of the military. Through nighttime raids on enemy compounds and combat advising of resistance movements, special operators have etched their names into the nation's registry of heroes. Yet the public knows little of the journey that they took to reach these heights, a journey that was neither easy nor glamorous. Fighting an uphill battle for most of their seventy-five year history, the Special Operations Forces slipped on many an occasion, and fell far on several. Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama have enthusiastically championed Special Operations Forces, but their enthusiasm has often surpassed their understanding, resulting in misuse or overuse of the troops. Lacking clearly defined missions, Special Operations Forces have had to reinvent themselves time and again to prove their value in the face of fierce critics-many of them from the conventional military, which from the start opposed the segregation of talent in special units. Highlighting both the heroism of America's most elite soldiers and the controversies surrounding their meteoric growth, Oppose Any Foe presents the first comprehensive history of these special warriors and their daring missions. It is essential reading for anyone interested in America's military history-and the future of warfare.

The 7th Armoured Division was widely recognized as being the most powerful in Europe during World War II. Its emblem of a scarlet desert rat became famous throughout the British Army and to the war-torn British public as a symbol of heroism in their time of need. This volume sees the Desert Rats fighting in North Africa, Burma, Sicily and Italy. Their bravery is relived through the words of the combatant soldiers - the author has interviewed troopers, gunners and infantrymen to tell this story of Churchill's favourite division. Patrick Delaforce fought with the 11th Armoured Division as a troop leader in Normandy and as FOO in Holland and Germany during World War II.

Geordie Doran ranks as one of the most remarkable fighting soldiers of the twentieth century. After growing up in Jarrow in the 1930s, Geordie quit the local factory where he worked in 1946, to sign up as a private soldier. It was the first step in a career spanning 40 years during which he served in the infantry, the Parachute Regiment and the SAS. Geordie 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 special operations in the deserts of Oman and Yemen. Returning to England in the early 1970s, Geordie was interrogated by Special Branch about his secret activities in Yemen. Not long after, a serious road accident put paid to his frontline soldiering career, but he found a new and vital role in the SAS, as a permanent staff instructor with 23 SAS (TA) training new recruits. He left the SAS in 1972, but could not settle to civilian life. He found himself a job as a Storeman in the SAS Quartermaster's Stores - a job which lasted another 12 years until ill health kept him from marching to the nearest barracks to join up once more.

'Slowly I raised my rifle, aimed and pulled the trigger...One round hit and went through the boot. The leg kicked up about three feet and fell back. Confirmed! The Argy was now dead for sure. No screams, no nothing.' Spud Ely's SAS career has taken him into some of the most deadly, high-octane, violent battles ever. From the Falklands to the Persian Gulf, he has been in the very centre of the most ferocious fighting scenes modern history has witnessed. Armed to the hilt with the most up-to-date, hi-tech military machinery and his highly-toned fighting skills, Steve is truly a force to be reckoned with. For Queen and Country is the unputdownable account of his most bloody, violent, heroic moments. 'Through the smoke and fire I could see two bodies inside, one burning and obviously a goner. I shot the other in the guts. The look on his face was total shock as blood spurted up from him and covered my right leg. Then I put two rounds in the other body for good measure.'

In the last 30 years of the 20th century, the effects of international terror have forced their way into the forefront of world affairs. To counter this, a breed of soldier has been created to fight terrorists on their own terms. This text seeks to capture the drama, action, pain and glory of the operations undertaken by the world's various Special Forces, revealing the truth behind their bloodiest battles and giving information about the techniques and gadgetry they employ.

For the first time in French, a complete study of the selection and training of Allied secret agents in the secret schools managed by the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Hundreds of agents, men and women, trained in schools in England, Canada, but also in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, were be dropped into Nazi-occupied countries to carry out intelligence, sabotage and enemy elimination missions.

SAS signalman Jock Wallace was pumped. It was the start of Operation Anaconda, the US-led military offensive designed to flush out and destroy Al-Qaeda and the Taliban from their last stronghold in the notorious Shai Kot valley in Afghanistan. Jock was riding into battle alongside 80 troops of the US Army's 10th Mountain Division. If intelligence reports were correct, there were between 100 and 250 enemy fighters holed up in the extensive cave network buried in the mountain ridges around the valley. But reports can be wrong. Minutes after the combat-ready troops stormed down the rear ramps of the Chinook helicopters, Jock's company came under heavy fire from the high ground overlooking their position in a dry riverbed. Pinned down by nearly 1000 enemy fighters in what was later nicknamed Hell's Halfpipe, Jock and his American comrades stared eventual death in the face. Eighteen relentless hours of hell were just beginning. With machine-gun bullets kicking up the dust and rock around their feet, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades bursting among them, and with a quarter of the troops sustaining injuries, it seemed that the soldiers had been cut off and trapped. But there was no way Jock was going down without a fight. Nor were the men he was with. Holding off the enemy at close range, rescuing the injured, dodging the bullets, counterattacking alone, reporting to base, calling up air support - Jock gave all that he had, and more. And as dusk and the enemy began to close in, he was determined he was not going to die on foreign soil, not at the hands of al Qaeda...This is the gripping true story of how an elite SAS soldier fought the fight of his life against the world's deadliest terrorists in the most dangerous corner on earth and came out victorious, a saviour to his fellow troops and a decorated hero in his homeland. It is the clearest account yet of one of the fiercest engagements in the history of the special forces war on terror.

Peter Blecksley was the best of the best. An undercover detective with CID and SO10, he was the man called in to deal with the most sensitive situations and the most dangerous criminals. This biography tells the story of his career.