Special and elite forces Books

Book SynopsisIn Hero Living Rudy Reyes, the latest recruit in Channel 4's smash-hit SAS Who Dares Wins introduces his philosophy to life - part Homer, part Bruce Lee and part Spider-Man. He outlines various stages towards revealing your inner hero: recognising the hero's call, following the hero's path and returning from life's battlefield with the hero's hard-earned wisdom.Taking readers step-by-step through his tried and tested program, Rudy draws from his own heroic story of how he triumphed over harrowing childhood experiences of poverty and abandonment. Rather than giving up hope, he heeded the hero's call to live up to his full potential - first as a martial-arts champion, then as an elite warrior in the mountains of Afghanistan and on the sands of Iraq and finally in his post-Marines life as a personal trainer, actor, motivational speaker and now TV star.

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Book SynopsisAdmiral William H. McRaven is a part of American military history, having orchestrated some of the most famous missions in recent memory, including the capture of Saddam Hussein, the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips, and the raid to kill Osama bin Laden.SEA STORIES begins in 1963 at a French Officer's Club in Paris, where Allied officers and their wives gathered to have drinks and tell stories about their adventures during World War II -- the place where a young William McRaven learned the value of a good story. SEA STORIES is an unforgettable look back on one man's incredible life, from childhood days sneaking into high-security nuclear sites to a day job of hunting terrorists and rescuing hostages.Action-packed, humorous, and full of valuable life lessons like those exemplified in McRaven's bestselling book, Make Your Bed, SEA STORIES is a remarkable memoir from one of America's most accomplished leaders.

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Book SynopsisFollow America's elite warriors through the military's most grueling training and learn how they survive real special operations.Of the 18 months required to become a Navy SEAL, one week will cause over half of the trainees to quit ("ring the bell"). Only the toughest make it through. In Hell Week and Beyond, Scott McEwen takes the readers to the sands of Coronado Beach in San Diego, where Navy SEALs are put through the most grueling training known to mankind. Grit, commitment, heart, and soul are needed to become a SEAL, because these are the elite forces who go into the toughest battles for America.Many of the most well-known SEAL warriors have been interviewed for this book, providing the stories of what got them through and the humor of those that made it. (Those that make it almost always have one thing in common: humor. Find out why!)Part Top Gun, part Bull Durham, this book delivers that goods for those in the know, as well as general readers who admire the elite forces for all they do.

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Book SynopsisSimo Häyhä (1905–2002) is the most famous sniper in the world. During the Winter War fought between Russia and Finland in 1939 – 1940 he had 542 confirmed kills with iron sights, a record that still stands today. He has been a role model for snipers all over the world and paved the way for them by demonstrating their significance on the battlefield.Simo Häyhä was a man of action who spoke very little, but he was hugely respected by his men and his superiors and given many difficult missions, including taking out specific targets. Able to move silently and swiftly through the landscape, melting into the snowbound surroundings in his white camouflage fatigues, his aim was deadly and his quarry rarely escaped. The Russians learned of his reputation as a marksman and tried several times to kill him by indirect fire. He was promoted from corporal to second lieutenant and he was awarded the Cross of Kollaa. For sniping Simo Häyhä only ever used his own m/28-30 rifle. Eventually his luck ran out and Simo received a serious head wound on March 6, 1940, though he subsequently recovered.After the war Simo Häyhä lead a quiet, unassuming life in farming and forestry. His roots were deep in the Finnish soil and he loved life in rural Finland. A true patriot, he epitomized the traits of a professional soldier, performing his duty and setting an example of bravery that personified the Finnish spirit when confronted by the Russian onslaught.The White Sniper fully explores Simo Häyhä’s life, his exploits in the Winter War, the secrets behind his success including character and technique, and also includes a detailed look at his rifle itself.Trade ReviewThis is a remarkable story of a remarkable man. No matter how many books on sniping you have read, this must be added to you list if your are serious about shooting. * Gun Mart *This is a very useful and informative biography of the Finnish sniper Simo Hayha, written by Tapio Saaerlainen who is also a sniper in the Finnish Army. Anyone who wants to learn more about sniping needs this book in their library… The reason to buy this book is that he also shares what he learned with us in chapters titled, The Secrets of Simo Häyhä's Success and Using Simo Häyhä's Experiences. * Snipercraft *We have had a number of books and movies recently about the exploits of snipers. None of the others even come close to Simo Häyhä. .. The book is what we have come to expect from Casemate. It is well made and is liberally supplied with photos, maps, and some diagrams. * A Wargamer's Needful Things *

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Book Synopsis A well-balanced and detailed look at the East German Ministry for State Security, the secret police force more commonly known as the Stasi. “This is an excellent book, full of careful, balanced judgements and a wealth of concisely-communicated knowledge. It is also well written. Indeed, it is the best book yet published on the MfS.”—German History The Stasi stood for Stalinist oppression and all-encompassing surveillance. The “shield and sword of the party,” it secured the rule of the Communist Party for more than forty years, and by the 1980s it had become the largest secret-police apparatus in the world, per capita. Jens Gieseke tells the story of the Stasi, a feared secret-police force and a highly professional intelligence service. He inquires into the mechanisms of dictatorship and the day-to-day effects of surveillance and suspicion. Masterful and thorough at once, he takes the reader through this dark chapter of German postwar history, supplying key information on perpetrators, informers, and victims. In an assessment of post-communist memory politics, he critically discusses the consequences of opening the files and the outcomes of the Stasi debate in reunified Germany. A major guide for research on communist secret-police forces, this book is considered the standard reference work on the Stasi.Trade Review “Gieseke treats… many issues with careful and lucid analysis, confining himself to the known facts. He rejects the hyperbolic in favor of more mundane explanations. The truth is bad enough… Essential.” • Choice “The book is an exceptional achievement in every respect: it offers a calm, detached, factual and well balanced socio-historical analysis of the MfS (Ministry for Security) that covers all aspects.” • Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung “[This book] provides an excellent introduction to the chronology, structure, and activities of the MfS.” • Kritika. Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History “This is an excellent book, full of careful, balanced judgements and a wealth of concisely-communicated knowledge. It is also well written. Indeed, it is the best book yet published on the MfS…More than any other written on the MfS, his is a work of real scholarship which attempts a comprehensive history of the Ministry and its operations and assesses their development and significance.” • German History “Gieseke’s opus magnum belongs to one of the greatest scholarly achievements [in this field].” • Militägeschichtliche Zeitschrift “Not only does Gieseke's book deserve the widest possible audience in Germany, but an English translation would fill a glaring need elsewhere in the world.” • H-German “Gieseke has with this book produced an outstanding study of the phenomenon of state security of the GDR with all its important aspects. It is highly recommended to specialists as well as a wider readership.” • H-Soz-u-KultTable of Contents Preface Preface to the 2011 edition Introduction: Ten Years and Ten Days Chapter 1. Antifascism – Stalinism – Cold Civil War: Origins and Influences, 1945 to 1956 Chapter 2. The Safest GDR in the World – The Driving Forces of Stasi Growth Chapter 3. The Unofficial Collaborator – A New Type of Informer Chapter 4. Blanket Surveillance? State Security in East German Society Chapter 5. Resistance – Opposition – Persecution Chapter 6. Wolf and Co. – MfS Operations Abroad Chapter 7. Final Crisis and Collapse, 1989-90 Chapter 8. Legacy – Aufarbeitung – Culture of Memory: The Second Life of the Stasi Notes Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis is the first book ever to present the authentic ninja techniques in a highly accessible, illustrated 'how to' format. The shadowy figure of the ninja – expert commando, secret agent, maverick who operates outside social norms – continues to exert fascination in the West, yet much of what is presented as ninja fact today is distorted or wrong. Drawing on the scrolls created by historical Japanese ninjas (or shinobi, as they were then known), this book offers the real ninja teachings in 150 easy-to-follow, illustrated lessons designed to draw contemporary students of ninja straight into the world of these skilled spy-commandos. The truth about the ninja is so much more complex and intriguing than the Hollywood clichés we know today. We may think, for example, of a ninja as being always garbed in black and fighting with 'throwing stars' but in fact, a ninja had clothes in different colours to serve as disguises for different times of day, and their arsenal of weaponry could include anything from poison, poison gas, pepper spray and fire-creating tools to swords, spears and knives (but no throwing stars). The 150 lessons in this book cover all the basics of ninja warcraft, including clever ideas for infiltrating an enemy compound (from wearing 'silent sandals' to faking passes and passwords), tactics for hiding and retreat (in the racoon dog retreat, a ninja will crouch low and halt, allowing the pursuer to collide with him at speed, whereupon the agent kills his enemy), and ways of crossing marshes and water (for example, with special shoes made of boards, or using a foldaway floating seat). The description is made all the more vivid by step-by-step photographs of the fighting techniques, diagrams outlining military tactics and beautiful samples of Japanese calligraphy.

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Book SynopsisTHE MODERN-DAY SURVIVAL BIBLE FROM EX-SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER AND NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OLLIE OLLERTONDo you know how to thrive, not just survive?Can you build a fire? Administer critical first aid?Could you stay alive out in the wilderness? Fend off a wild animal?What about societal collapse, extreme weather or urban warfare?In How to Survive (Almost) Anything, former Special Forces soldier Ollie Ollerton passes on all the specialist skills, knowledge and mindset learnt over the course of a life that has experienced some of the world's toughest conditions and most hostile situations: whether that's fending off a wild animal at 10 years-old, serving in the elite Special Forces, or mountaineering in the ice-capped Himalayas.This essential guide meticulously teaches you how to prepare your instincts, ready your mentality and hone your survival skills so that you have the tools and know-how to survive whatever comes next.

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Book SynopsisThe Special Air Service – the SAS – are known to be the greatest elite fighting force in the world. This book focuses on the most famous operations undertaken by the SAS from its inception during the Second World War to the present day, describing in dramatic detail the unit’s most daring and memorable missions in trouble spots across the world. Revelatory and gripping, the author weaves together the extraordinary true stories of this brave fighting force, wherever they are in action. From missions on home shores to Iraq, Sierra Leone, the Falkland Islands, Europe, Libya, Malaya, Afghanistan and more, SAS Battle Ready brings together both the history of the unit and some of its most powerful moments.From hostage rescues to ambushes, from sabotage to jungle warfare and from pitched battles to reconnaissance, it hasn’t always gone according to plan but the courage and devotion to duty revealed within show just what it takes to be an SAS soldier.

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Book Synopsis25 Days to Aden is the story of how in a week in 2015 the Gulf States pulled together a ten-nation coalition and the biggest military operation they ever launched unilaterally. It is an amazing account of Arab militaries doing what America would not, preventing Iran from taking a foothold on the Arabian Peninsula. The risks for global security were huge: Iran already overshadowed one of the world's greatest maritime straits, at Hormuz, and now it sought to dominate the southern approaches to the Suez Canal as well. Aden had to hold out against the Houthis. The Gulf States were used to America stepping up at such moments, but the White House was partway through negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran. No help would come from Washington. Instead, for the first time, the Gulf States acted alone. Told by an expert communicator on the region, it is a unique story. If the US is truly a global empire in decline, then the story may hold important pointers for a future of warfare driven by emergent powers in the gap left by the withdrawal of American influence.Trade ReviewMichael Knights has written a fast-paced, thoroughly readable account of the opening days of the war in Yemen. This book has it all: the personalities, the maps, and extraordinary military detail and access. Read it and you'll know why the war has unfolded the way it has. -- Gregory D. Johnsen, author of The Last Refuge: Yemen, Al-Qaeda, and America’s War in Arabia25 Days to Aden is the gripping and insightful story of a little-known modern war of great significance. The United Arab Emirates waged a remarkably successful campaign in southern Yemen from 2015 to 2019, demonstrating what is possible for an Arab military that pulls out all of the stops to be the best. Michael Knights has done a terrific job telling that story and explaining how and why it happened. -- Kenneth M. Pollack, author of Armies of Sand: The Past, Present and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness25 Days to Aden offers an invaluable and gripping account of a woefully understudied war and provides a unique level of insight into the UAE's use of military power. -- Jack Watling, Senior Research Fellow, Land Warfare, Royal United Services InstituteA timely, detailed account of a battle that undoubtedly changed the course of history. A must-read for specialists in the military affairs of the region and those interested specifically in Yemen. -- Fernando Carvajal, armed groups and regional expert on the UN Security Council Panel of Experts of Yemen, 2017-2019A valuable addition to the literature around Yemen's history and the ongoing war by someone who fully understands the region, its people and politics. -- Sadiq Shaban * Gulf News *

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Book Synopsis“Who Dares Wins”. The world’s most legendary special forces unit - and a history of action you will barely believe.This is the extraordinary, secretive story of how the SAS evolved from an unconventional handful of soldiers, operating behind enemy lines in North Africa in 1941, into the world’s most disciplined and respected professionals, up to their daring and dangerous exploits in the Iranian Embassy siege and the Falkland Islands.We see them during the latter years of the Second World War, in the numerous post-war security campaigns in the Middle and Far East, and in the difficult circumstances of urban terrorism. Above all, we see how the regiment’s founder David Stirling’s emphasis on The Man has not changed at all.Here indeed are men who dare to excel - and in General Strawson they have a worthy chronicler of their remarkable activities both in wartime and in the “savage wars of peace”. In the first history of the SAS ever published, we see their unique courage on full display - a courage that changed the British Army, and the world.

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Book SynopsisWho’s going to guide you when your military boot camp class is over? What’s going to help you prepare for the next boot camp challenge? With the aid of superb line artworks, SAS and Elite Forces Guide: Extreme Fitness demonstrates to the reader how special forces soldiers are trained to reach and maintain peak physical fitness. The book explores the different training methods to build up physical strength, speed, agility and endurance, across running, swimming, weight training, circuit training and triathlon events. In addition, it addresses the importance of diet and nutrition, injuries and rest, and using mental fitness to help physical health. With more than 300 easy-to-follow artworks, training tips and workouts used by the U.S. Navy SEALs and British Royal Marines, Extreme Fitness is the definitive guide for the person who wants to be their best.Table of ContentsIntroduction1. Preparing the Body2. Military Workouts3. Extreme Running4. Extreme Water5. Extreme Resistance6. Mixing It Up7. Mental Preparation8. InjuriesGlossaryIndex

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Book SynopsisPaul Bruce was a tough, idealistic young trooper in the SAS when he was dispatched to Northern Ireland at the height of the troubles. His top secret mission was to execute IRA suspects in cold blood. Bruce and his SAS comrades shot down one terrified victim after another, leaving their bodies to be buried in deep, unmarked woodland graves. In this historic book, the author reveals where his victims lie secretly buried as well as chronicling the mental breakdown of crack SAS troops ordered to carry out the dirtiest job in a secret war.

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Book Synopsis1941. Almost all of Europe is under the Nazi heel. Great Britain still holds out, but the situation worsens with every passing day. And in North Africa, gateway to the Middle East and its immense oil reserves, Rommel now threatens Egypt, keystone of British defences. In those desperate times, three unconventional officers, David Stirling, Blair Mayne and Jock Lewes, band together to create a small, elite unit that will become a military legend: the SAS.

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Book SynopsisThe Scottish highlands played a pivotal role in the secret development of special service training during the Second World War. The remote and rough terrain came into its own as a training and testing ground for new types of fighting. "Commando Country" looks at the variety of special training establishments set up (mostly highland shooting lodges), and at how use was made of the landscape and coastline and of specialist civilian skills such as stalking and mountaineering. It stresses how these new methods of warfare, tested in Scotland, spread internationally into the present day elite status of 'special forces' world-wide.The story involves many famous names from a variety of backgrounds such as actors David Niven and Alec Guinness, mountaineer John Hunt, and polar explorer Martin Lindsay, as well as famous military figures such as David Stirling, founder of the SAS and Special Operations Executive agent Violet Szabo. Conveying the atmosphere of remote highland locations, the book makes strong use of photographs and personal testimony collected from those involved, bringing a unique Scottish perspective to a popular subject.Trade Review'Given its perspective and provenance, Commando Country could have been merely one more parochial and romanticized Highland tale. Stuart Allan has avoided this pitfall, however, and his work not only is a very useful, details, and readable overview of a largely neglected aspect of the history of British Special Operations Forces during the Second World War, but also provides a useful starting point for further research via the thorough and extensive footnote.' War in History ' ... a history that's rich in technical detail, yet, thankfully, remains subservient to the story of the people.' The Herald'... This well-researched book is worthy of its exciting subject. Recommended.'Colonel Oliver Lindsay, The Guards MagazineTable of ContentsMen Bred in the Rough Bounds The Big House Reign of Terror Setting Europe Ablaze Special Forces 'This Country was their Training Ground'

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Book SynopsisAn American of Japanese ancestry is born in Hawaii just prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He learns the value of an extended family and mentorship and applies those lessons throughout life. He joins the Army where he is drawn into intelligence and Special Forces where he embodies the life of a quiet professional and his watchword is Intoku, a Japanese word that means doing good in secret.He rises through the ranks and receives a direct commission as a Captain. He is recruited by the legendary Colonel Charlie Beckwith to become a founding member of the Delta Force, an elite special operations unit. He leads a roadblock team on the ill-fated mission to rescue American hostages in Tehran in 1980 and destroys a fuel truck from penetrating the roadblock.After retiring from the Army, he continued to contribute to national security against terrorism, extremism, and for global special operations and nuclear security. Part memoir of a remarkable life, this book will also be a valuable additi

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Book SynopsisIn May 1941, the Norwegian Section of SOE received a dossier warning of the dangers of a hydroelectric fertilizer plant in Norway. Vemork produced heavy water, an essential part of making plutonium for nuclear weapons. When the Germans overran Norway the entire stock had been smuggled out of the country, but the plant was intact and soon producing heavy water again, destined for the German nuclear program.Despite the difficulties of getting to and operating in such a remote, hostile area, SOE decided it had to destroy the plant. Six ski-borne commandos had the task of slipping past 300 heavily armed guards and passing through a ravine the Germans thought impassable.Fully illustrated with stunning new commissioned artwork, this is the thrilling story of the daring Norwegian-led SOE raid that prevented Hitler from building an atomic bomb.Table of Contentsintroduction /Origins /Initial Strategy /The Plan /The Raid /Analysis and Conclusion /Further Reading /Index

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Book SynopsisBased on over 120 hours of uncovered video and audio tape, this title tells the story of the birth of the SAS in the words of its founding members. It covers the regiment's formation in 1941 to its supposed disbanding in 1945. It is also a very human story of a gang of misfits coming together to create a unit like no other.Trade ReviewA unique inside account * The Scotsman *A fantastic first-hand story * Military Illustrated *

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Book SynopsisRecent 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.Trade Review'Elke Krahmann breaks new ground in analyzing the privatization of security. Looking through the lens of the social contract provides a fresh theoretical perspective and comparing not just the United States and Britain but also Germany offers novel empirics. Her thoughtful argument should be of interest to both academic and policy audiences.' Deborah Avant, University of California, Irvine'Amidst the growing number of studies on the privatization of security, Dr. Krahmann's book stands out as a unique and special contribution. Through its utilization of political theory, the book identifies the sometimes troubling implications posed by the privatization of security to the democratic control of armed force. What is more, these implications, in their scope and nature, vary from state to state as made clear in the book's emphasis on relevant case studies.' Christopher Spearin, Canadian Forces College'In probing the paradoxes surrounding the democratic control of armed forces with specific regard to the proliferating use of private military forces in Europe and North America, this important work manages to shed new light on the transforming relationships among states, soldiers, and citizens and to induce readers to rethink their most fundamental assumptions about the nature of security on the contemporary world.' Robert Mandel, Professor of International Affairs, Lewis & Clark CollegeTable of ContentsAcknowledgements; Acronyms; Lists of figures and tables; 1. Introduction; 2. The state monopoly on violence and the democratic control over military force; 3. The transformation of the state and the soldier; 4. United Kingdom: private financing and the management of security; 5. United States: shrinking the state, outsourcing the soldier; 6. Germany: between public-private partnerships and conscription; 7. Iraq and beyond: contractors in deployed operations; 8. The future of democratic security: contractorization or cosmopolitanism?; 9. Conclusion; Selected bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 ABIA GENERAL NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 WALKLEY BOOK AWARDSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEAR''There is no doubt the truth would have been concealed and our concerns buried without Nick McKenzie''srelentless pursuit of justice.'' SAS Afghanistan veteranWar is brutal. But there are lines that should never be crossed. In mid-2017, whispers of executions, and cover-ups within Australia''s most secretive and elite military unit, the SAS, reached Walkley Award-winning journalist Nick McKenzie. He and Chris Masters began an investigation that would not only reveal shocking truths about Ben Roberts-Smith VC but plunge the reporters into the defamation trial of the century.For five years, McKenzie led the investigation, waging an epic battle for the truth to be acknowledged. His fight to reveal the real face of Australia''s most famous and

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Book SynopsisIn War Dogs, Rebecca Frankel offers a riveting mix of on-the-ground reporting, her own hands-on experiences in the military working dog world, and a look at the science of dogs' special abilities from their amazing noses and powerful jaws to their enormous sensitivity to the emotions of their human companions.

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Book SynopsisThe SAS is the most famous regiment in the world and the subject of countless books, documentaries and TV dramas, including the BBC mini-series Rogue Heroes. Much of the action of the second season of Rogue Heroes is located in Italy, where both 1SAS and 2SAS took part in many daring operations in 1943. The third volume of Gavin Mortimer's impeccably researched and handsomely illustrated SAS Operations covers their missions in Sicily and Italy. After the derring-do of Desert Warfare, when the SAS raided enemy airfields in heavily-armed jeeps, the operations in Sicily and Italy were more challenging and diverse in nature. Sometimes the SAS inserted by parachute and sabotaged trains or attacked vehicle convoys; at other times they stormed beaches from landing craft and neutralised enemy coastal batteries. Whatever the mission the SAS displayed their characteristic courage, initiative and determination in the vanguard of the Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy. In this book Mortimer

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Book SynopsisTough, highly adaptable and efficient, the Parachute Regiment has established itself as one of the finest fighting forces in the world. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of its founding, renowned historian Max Arthur has compiled this enthralling oral history of the modern Parachute Regiment.This unique chronicle is told through the voices of more than a hundred of the soldiers themselves, and of those involved closely with them. Whether in the Falklands, Kosovo, Iraq, Sierra Leone or Afghanistan, the Paras have maintained their reputation for being where the fighting is fiercest and where the odds of survival are often stacked heavily against them.The gripping, visceral first-person narrative makes The Paras stand apart from conventional regimental histories as one of the most remarkable accounts of conflict ever published.

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Book SynopsisThe Munich Olympics massacre in 1972 was a shock awakening to the public. In the decades since, European countries have faced a wide range of threats from Palestinian and home-grown terrorists, to the more recent worldwide jihadists. The threats they pose are widespread from aircraft hijacking and political assassinations to urban warfare against security forces, and murderous attacks on civilian crowd targets, forcing governments have had to invest ever-greater efforts in countering these threats.This book traces the evolution of police (and associated military) counter-terrorist forces across Europe over the past 45 years. Using specially commissioned artwork and contemporary photographs, it details their organization, missions, specialist equipment, and their growing cross-border cooperation.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Munich 1972, and after/The evolving threats: Palestinian, extreme leftist (e.g. Red Army Faction), home-grown separatist (ETA, IRA), early jihadist, al Qaeda and its franchises, ISIS/The responses: Germany (GSG9, regional SEKs, KSK) – France (GIGN, RAID, BRI and military CT units) – Britain: police (SCO19, CT-SFO, etc); military (SAS, SBS CT elements ) – Spain and Italy (GOE; NOCS, GIS) – Other NATO and European units (Polish BOA-KGP and GROM; Belgian DSU 'Diane'; Irish Garda ERU and Army Ranger Wing; Austrian EKO Cobra; Danish AKSA; Dutch UIM (BBNE); Norwegian ERU)/The ATLAS network – international collaboration/Weapons, equipment and vehicles/Other specialist technologies

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Book SynopsisA highly illustrated study of this unique and bitter struggle in the far North, an epic battle between two elite forces fighting in a demanding environment.Petsamo and Kirkenes 1944 examines the bitter conflict between two highly tactical armies as they battled across challenging terrain to gain control of strategically significant Northern Finland. On the one side were the invading Soviet troops, hoping to liberate an area full of rich resources and littered with bases that that would enable the arrival of Arctic convoys from Britain. They employed naval infantry in abundance, not only to make amphibious landings to capture strategically significant port facilities, but also on deep outflanking manoeuvres inland. Their opponents were the elite Gebirgsjäger from XIX Gebirgskorps; trained to be self-sufficient and resourceful and equipped with a range of bespoke weaponry, this mountain division was ideally suited to operate in the harsh climate. Combat conditTable of ContentsOrigins of the campaign /Chronology /Opposing commanders /Opposing armies /Orders of battle /Opposing plans /The campaign /Aftermath /The battlefields today /Further reading /Index

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Book SynopsisWritten 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.

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Book SynopsisFor many, the Waffen-SS soldier represents the archetype of the combatant, if not the warrior: well-armed, well-trained, possessing intelligence in combat, imbued with political and ideological fanaticism, he is an elite soldier par excellence, even if a lack of scruples casts a long shadow. However, is this picture true? In the case of the Battle of Normandy, opinions diverged, not only among today's historians, but also amongst the German generals at the time.In all, the Waffen-SS fielded six divisions during the Battle of Normandy, as well as two heavy battalions of Tiger tanks. But they were by no means a single homogenous entity, for with the exception of II. SS-Panzerkorps, the divisions arrived at the front one after another and were immediately thrown into battle.This volume in the Casemate Illustrated series examines the Waffen-SS in Normandy during the fierce fighting of June 1944, when they struggled to hold back the Allied advance on Caen, though the picture was by no means one-sided. Extensively illustrated with photographs, tank profiles, maps, and accompanied by biographies of key personnel and explanatory text boxes, this volume gives a clear and accessible account of events, challenging some popular perceptions along the way.Trade ReviewI found this book an intriguing read, hard to put down and quite thought-provoking. This is a book that will suit both historian and modeller alike. Highly recommended. * Army Rumour Service *One book will bring you impressive amount of photos and easily digestable text. Extra knowledge always come handy and here you have easy way to get some extra references for your build. * DetailScaleView 25/02/2019 *This concise volume carries a lot of information in a very readable format with plenty of good quality images to support the text… * Scale Military Modelling International Magazine *

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Book SynopsisAirborne assault was one of the great innovations of the 1930s and 1940s, adding a new ‘vertical’ dimension to infantry warfare. By the onset of World War II in 1939, Germany, Italy, and Russia were already advanced in their development of paratrooper units. Germany in particular demonstrated the tactical shock of paratroopers in Western Europe in 1940 and, most spectacularly, in Crete in 1941, galvanizing the UK and the United States to expand and train their own airborne forces, which they unleashed in 1943–45. The Allied paratrooper drops on D-Day (6 June 1944) and those of Operation Market Garden (17–25 September 1944) were the stuff of legend, huge in scale and ambition, but both Allied and Axis paratroopers were deployed in numerous other actions, including special forces raids.It quickly became apparent that the physical and tactical demands placed upon paratroopers required men of exceptional stamina, courage and intelligence. To create these soldiers, levels of training were unusually punishing and protracted, and those who came through to take their ‘wings’ were a true elite.The Paratrooper Training Pocket Manual provides an unusually detailed insight into what it took to make a military paratrooper, and how he was then utilized in actions where expected survival might be measured in a matter of days. Using material from British, US, German archives and other primary sources, many never before published, the book explains paratrooper theory, training and practice in detail. The content includes details of the physical training, instruction in static-line parachute deployment, handling the various types of parachutes and harnesses, landing on dangerous terrain, small-arms handling, airborne deployment of heavier combat equipment, landing in hostile drop zones, tactics in the first minutes of landing, radio comms, and much more.Featuring original manual diagrams and illustrations, plus new introductory text explaining the history and context of airborne warfare, The Paratrooper Training Pocket Manual provides a detailed insight into the principles and practice of this unique type of combat soldier.Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1 Recruitment and Physical Training Chapter 2 Paratrooper Weapons and Equipment Chapter 3 Parachute and Glider Training Chapter 4 Drop Zone – Deployment and Tactics Chapter 5 Achieving the Objective – Defensive and Offensive Tactics Further Reading

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Book SynopsisOn 4 November 1979, “student” supporters of the Ayatollah seized the U.S. Embassy with over 60 hostages. Although the Cold War was in full swing, the Iran hostage crisis was a watershed for the United States. The counterterrorism learning curve, both political and military, would be steep and often deadly.Detachment A had been established in Berlin early in the Cold War to harass and delay any Soviet military advance west. This Special unit trained relentlessly for every aspect of unconventional warfare, and was later assigned a second mission of counterterrorism. Due to this mix of skills, Det A would be called upon to undertake additional missions, including providing protection to General Al Haig and General Frederick Kroesen following assassination attempts. When American planners were trying to work out how to rescue hostages being held at two sites in the middle of a hostile country, it became apparent that the unit—the only US military dual-capability unit—would be integral to the effort.The plan for Operation Eagle Claw, as it became known, was extremely complex. The first stage was intelligence gathering—no mean feat as most of the CIA’s capabilities in the country had been eliminated. With operatives trained in intelligence work, fluent in many languages and adept at blending in, Det A took on the advanced recon of the targets. Then, when Delta Force admitted that it could only manage the assault of the Embassy, Det A volunteered to rescue the three Americans at the Foreign Ministry. Meanwhile for security purposes, all existing training and exercise commitments in Berlin would continue with no Teams broken up. This caused some consternation as none of the men wanted to miss out on this mission reminiscent of Son Tay.Veteran and historian James Stejskal details Det A’s unique and integral role in Operation Eagle Claw, based upon firsthand accounts of the operatives involved.Table of ContentsIntroduction A Short History of Detachment “A” Berlin (39th SFD) Part I — Eagle Claw 1. Where it began: Tehran, November 4, 1979 2. Clem & Scotty 3. The Ground Force Prepares 4. The Second Insert 5. From Egypt to Masirah 6. Desert One to Abort 7. Desert Two & Escape 8. Home Again Part II — Storm Cloud 1. The New Plan 2. Berlin’s Plan (Revised) 3. FOG 4. Little Birds 5. Florida 6. It’s All Over but the Shouting Appendices Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn 1937 aged just 19, Edmund Murray left his family and a comfortable job in London, caught the boat train to France and signed up for the minimum of five years’ service with the French Foreign Legion. Armed with little more than school-boy French and a desire for a life of adventure, Murray travelled through France and on to the Legion’s headquarters in Algeria where he completed a gruelling three-month basic training programme. He went on to serve in Morocco and Indochina (now Vietnam) where towards the end of the War, his regiment were forced to retreat from invading Japanese forces into China where his service ended after eight years as a Legionnaire. Throughout the Second World War, Murray’s overwhelming sense of duty compelled him to try to leave the Legion and join the Allied forces, but he was thwarted at every attempt. He was an Englishman, in a French organisation, by definition a home for ‘the men with no names’, during a time of global conflict where battle lines and countries’ boundaries changed almost daily. He was an anomaly, a diplomatic puzzle. But as such, his was an extraordinary war-time experience. This book, which borrows heavily from Murray’s earlier book, Churchill’s Bodyguard, includes rare personal insights into Legion life from drills and manoeuvres, to feast-days and festivals as well as accounts of friendships forged in exceptional circumstances and which would last a lifetime. It also documents a unique war-time experience of the man whose sense of duty never faltered and led him, in later life, to become bodyguard to Sir Winston Churchill. Edited by his son Bill Murray, this is the story in his own words of Edmund Murray, Churchill’s Legionnaire, and his service in the French Foreign Legion from 1937 to 1945.Trade Review"A quite entertaining adventure story." * Winston Churchill Blog *

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Book SynopsisSAS and Special Forces Mental Toughness Training examines what it takes to be as mentally fit as a special forces soldier. The book explains why it is equally important to focus on stress management and mental discipline as it is to concentrate on push-ups, sit-ups and other physical exercises. Using simple steps, the book shows the reader how they can build up their endurance over a matter of weeks and months, and how their quality of life will benefit. SAS and Special Forces Mental Toughness Training demonstrates how you can gain the psychological edge over your opponent, as well as ready yourself for critical challenges ahead. Whether you are competing in unarmed combat sports, running a marathon or just looking to get ahead, SAS and Special Forces Mental Toughness Training will have helpful and practical advice for you. The book includes a number of military training programmes designed to assess a trainee’s fitness for the arduous life of a combat soldier, as well as chapters on leadership, battle tactics, escape and survival techniques, and improving intelligence and concentration. SAS and Special Forces Mental Toughness Training is an essential guide to testing and improving mental agility and resilience in the modern combat environment. Table of Contents1. Will to Survive 2. Handling Combat Stress 3. Recruitment and Training 4. Intelligence and Concentration 5. Building a Team Mind 6. Leadership 7. Battle Tactics 1: Handling Major Manoeuvres 8. Battle Tactics 2: Counter-insurgency 9. Detention, Escape, Survival 10. Peacekeeping and Diplomacy 11. Future Wars

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Book SynopsisTerror by Night, first published in 1945, tells the thrilling story of how the SBS, and Greek Sacred Squadron planned and executed their daring raids, dealing out death and destruction to the enemy and striking fear into his heart in the Aegean. Their extraordinary achievements deservedly rank high in the history of Special Forces.

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Book SynopsisStriking, beautiful, and haunting, UNCOMMON GRIT takes a unique, unprecedented look at the toughest training in the military -- and the world -- from the vantage point of someone who lived through it. Retired Navy SEAL Darren McBurnett, includes vivid descriptions of both the physical and mental evolutions that occur as a result of the immensely challenging SEAL training process.His stunning photographs, partnered with his compelling insights and sharp sense of humor, allow the reader to laugh, cringe, gasp, and even envision themselves going through this extraordinary experience.

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Book SynopsisThe first English-language history of the "Alpini", Italy's elite mountain troops.

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Book SynopsisEddie Idrees, a pseudonym for security reasons, has a fascinating and inspiring story to tell. Born in Afghanistan, he spent time as a refugee in Pakistan during the civil war dreaming of serving with the military. As this unique memoir reveals, his wishes came true in spades. For eight years from 2004, Eddie worked as an interpreter with, first, American Special Forces before moving across to the Special Air Service. A veteran of over 500 operations, he describes the most notable ones including breaking into a Taliban prison to free prisoners about to be executed. He was the first Afghan interpreter to parachute in with the SAS. His aim in writing his story is to explain the interpreter's role and contribution and the challenges and threats they faced, not just from the Taliban. For all the media attention, these have never been fully understood. Eddie concludes by describing his experiences and emotions on leaving his fractured and politically corrupt homeland and making a new life in the United Kingdom. Special Forces Interpreter demands to be read and not just for its vivid and thrilling descriptions of Special Forces' operations.

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Book SynopsisThe origins of most of the west’s Special Forces can be traced back to the Long Range Desert Group which operated across the limitless expanses of the Libyan Desert, an area the size of India, during the whole of the Desert War from 1940 – 1943. After the defeat of the Axis in North Africa they adapted to serve in the Mediterranean, the Greek islands, Albania, Yugoslavia and Greece. They became the stuff of legend. The brainchild of Ralph Bagnold, a pre-war desert explorer, featured, in fictional terms in The English Patient, who put all of his expertise into the creation of a new and, by the standards of the day, highly unorthodox unit. Conventional tactical thinking shunned the deep heart of the vast desert as it was thought to be a different planet, a harsh, inhospitable wilderness where British forces could not possibly survive even less operate effectively. Bagnold, Pat Clayton and Bill Kennedy Shaw created a whole new type of warfare.Using specially adapted vehicles and the techniques they’d learned in the‘30s, recruiting only men of the right temperament and high levels of fitness and endurance, the first patrols set out bristling with automatic weapons. The 30-cwt Chevy truck and the famous Jeep have become iconic, the LRDG, in a dark hour, was the force which took the fight to the enemy, roving over the deep desert – a small raider’s paradise, attacking enemy convoys and outposts, destroying aircraft and supplies, forcing the Axis to expend more and more resources protecting their vulnerable lines.Their work was often dangerous, always taxing, exhausting and uncomfortable. They were a new breed of soldier. The Axis never managed to equip any similar unit, they never escaped their fear of the scorching wilderness. Once the desert war was won they transferred their skills to the Mediterranean sector, re-training as mountain guerrillas, serving in the ill-fated Dodecanese campaign, then in strife torn Albania, Yugoslavia and Greece, fighting alongside the mercurial partisans at a time the Balkans were sliding towards communist domination or civil war.In addition LRDG worked alongside the fledgling SAS and they established, beyond all doubt, the value of highly trained Special Forces, a legacy which resonates today.Trade ReviewEnthralling’ is the word I am looking for. Highly recommended. * War History Online *Very absorbing book * Gun Mart *

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Book SynopsisSouth 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.

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Book SynopsisExamines the predecessors to the Wagner Group, its activities in a number of conflicts around the world, and its armed mutiny against the top leadership of the Russian Federation.In the early 2010s the Wagner Group, a notorious private military company under the control of Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, began to emerge onto the world stage. This organisation first showed its hand in Crimea, eastern Ukraine and the civil war in Syria. It quickly became apparent that it had the blessing of the very highest levels of Putin?s government in Russia to act as an armed extension of the country?s foreign policy before a spectacular fall from grace following the mutiny in the summer of 2023.The role of mercenary is as old as recorded human history and stretches back to the earliest days of civilisation. For those states unable to afford a standing army the mercenary offered professional services and could be viewed as a profession of honour. When the mercenary fell into disrepute in the post-colonial world of revolutions, coups and counter-coups, it was essentially banned by the Geneva Protocols in the late twentieth century. The trade of mercenary did not go away however, and instead morphed into that of the ?private military company? or PMC, a still thriving global trade in a world of clandestine operations, that may or may not be government sanctioned, offering ?plausible deniability? in a casualty-averse age of hybrid warfare.Wagner Group - Private Military Company: Volume 1 - Establishment, Purpose, Profile and Historic Relevance 2013?2023 looks at the profession of arms as practiced by mercenaries throughout history and the emergence of the modern private military company in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, along with the failed Slavonic Corps and Moran Security Group, often mistaken for early incarnations of Wagner. This work examines the emergence of the Wagner Group, its connection to the Russian government, security and intelligence services, and its operations in Syria, Libya, Sub-Saharan Africa and Venezuela as an extension of Russian foreign policy, often displacing Western interests, and as a private organisation primarily concerned with securing access to the world?s oil and mineral resources for its owners and sponsors. Volume 2 will examine the group?s role in Russian operations inside Ukraine from 2014 onwards.This volume is illustrated with original colour photographs showing the Wagner group?s activities and its iconography, along with colour artworks highlighting the unusual equipment employed in many of the group?s activities.

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