The decision, in Spring 1948, to form two battalions of Foreign Legion paratroopers was prompted by the requirement for enlarged airborne forces in Indochina, and the healthy recruitment then employed by the Legion.There were some initial doubts. The Legion were known to be magnificent heavy infantry, but were felt by some to lack the flexibility and agility demanded by independent airborne operations. In the Legion itself there were some misgivings over the possib...

The decision, in Spring 1948, to form two battalions of Foreign Legion paratroopers was prompted by the requirement for enlarged airborne forces in Indochina, and the healthy recruitment then employed by the Legion.There were some initial doubts. The Legion were known to be magnificent heavy infantry, but were felt by some to lack the flexibility and agility demanded by independent airborne operations. In the Legion itself there were some misgivings over the possib...

David Mason graduated from the Australian National University with a law degree and an honours degree. Like those around him, he could easily have settled for a life of share portfolios, good suits, new cars and big houses. But David wanted more – he wanted a challenge, an adventure, something beyond the ordinary that would test him physically and mentally. He looked around to see what he could do. Working in an open-cut mine . . . done that. Running a marathon . . . hmm, not hard enough. ...

An illustrated profile of the Marine Corps component of USSOCOM, its origins & history, training & missions, and special equipment & weapons.The United States Marine Corps has a rich tradition of special operations, from World War II's famed Marine Raiders and Para Marines to Korea and Vietnam's legendary Marine Force Recon companies. Indeed, when Navy underwater demolition teams, the direct predecessors to the SEALs, performed the preinvasion reconnaissance of Iwo ...

An authoritative illustrated analysis of the history of the military Special Forces units of the Soviet Union and Russian Federation.When the shadowy, notorious Spetsnaz were first formed, they drew on a long Soviet tradition of elite, behind-the-lines commando forces from World War II and even earlier. Throughout the 1960s–70s they were instrumental both in projecting Soviet power in non-aligned states and in suppressing resistance within the Warsaw pact.A...

Set behind enemy lines in Burma, this New York Times bestseller is "easily one of the best novels to come out of World War II" ( Los Angeles Times).American soldiers and native Kachin troops battle Japanese forces behind enemy lines in the Burmese jungles. But during the brutal campaign to gain territory in the unforgiving tropical landscape, Captain Reynolds and his band of special operations soldiers and guerrilla fighters struggle to find self-a...

With British & American troops again in Afghanistan, this book looks back to a previous conflict when Islamic fundamentalists again sought to overthrow the government of Afghanistan and British troops went in to pacify the area.In September 1879 rebels against Emir Yaqub Khan massacred the British residents of Kabul. The British put together a column of 7,000 men to march on Kabul, punish the rebels and restore order.Led by the famous General Fred Roberts VC (later Earl Rob...

By the author of Duet in Beirut and Forbidden Love in St. Petersburg, Final Stop, Algiers is former Israeli intelligence agent Mishka Ben-David's most exhilarating novel yet. When a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv violently disrupts his life, Mickey Simhoni abandons his plans to become an artist and instead allows himself to be recruited into the Mossad. Slowly, he learns the art of spy craft the and painstaking process of building a cover, becoming someone else whom he resembles, who is pres...

In August 1914 the mobilization of Imperial Germany's 800,000-strong army ushered in the first great war of the modern age - a war which still stands as the greatest slaughter of soldiers in history.That German Army is also the best example of a particular period of military thought, when virtually the whole manpower of the European nations was integrated into mass conscript armies, supported by several age categories of reservists and by dedicated industrial and t...

Filled with entertaining anecdotes and an insider's knowledge, Ranger Knowledge is a must-read for prospective rangers and armchair military enthusiasts everywhere.Written by a former 75th Ranger Regiment soldier, "Marty" will take you inside the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program and the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Program to teach prospective Special Operations soldiers the ins and outs of each unit's selection program. As someone who al...

Published in early 1946, George P. Hunt was a feature writer for Life Magazine before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. After the war's outbreak, he went into the Marines and got himself a commission. He had served with the 1st Marine Regiment (part of the illustrious 1st Marine Division) and went to the Pacific. He served on Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester and Peleliu. By the time he went to Peleliu, Hunt was by then a captain and was in charge of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines. This ...

The RAF air war versus Japan in the Far East is grossly under-represented in print; the Kirkness memoir lessens this gap with its valuable contributionsThirty-two combat ops may seem like too many to individually chronicle in a single memoir; however, each op’s narrative is compellingly, and uniquely, presented and the cumulative result is that Kirkness’ final, harrowing, op is the most riveting of them allLavishly illustrated with previously unpublished photographsRA...