Storm Command: A Personal Account of the Gulf War - Softcover

Billi�re, Gen. Sir Peter De La

3.94

161 ratings by Goodreads

9780006387497: Storm Command: A Personal Account of the Gulf War

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006387497 ISBN 13: 9780006387497

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1995

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‘My primary aim in writing this book is to demonstrate the importance of individual human beings in modern warfare. In the battle to drive the Iraqi army out of Kuwait, Coalition forces used every form of high-technology weapon available; yet in the end success depended on the performance of individuals, whether they were pilots, divers, tank drivers, mechanics, engineers, cooks, radio operators, infantrymen, nurses or officers of all ranks. It was these ordinary people who, at the end of the day, were going to put their lives on the line and risk their neck when their Government decided to go to war.’
Gen. Sir Peter de la Billiere

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Synopsis:

Desert Storm was a war like no other. Fought with weapons of a sophistication beyond anything previously displayed in battle against a ruthless dictator whose invasion of Kuwait had been universally condemned, it was a conflict waged with an unparalleled sense of international common purpose. Under the fierce glare of world media attention, commanders had to be appointed to manage a highly volatile situation - with hostages shielding Saddam Hussein's military installations, Iraq's breached trade sanctions, needing enforcement, the constant threat of chemical warfare and the Coalition's objectives gradually shifting from defence to offence. One officer stood head and shoulders above his peers as the man to command the British forces in the Gulf. After a lifetime in the SAS, and as the most decorated officer in the army, with experience of tri-service command in the Falklands and a comprehensive understanding of Arab life and language, General Sir Peter de la Billiere was unique in having all the credentials for the task. This book chronicles the war from the Allied nerve centre, analyzing Americas' execution of the air and land campaigns.

It also shows how the British commander insisted on transferring his ground forces to a more crucial sector of the battlefield and how he persuaded Schwarzkopf to deploy the SAS in the western desert of Iraq.

From the Back Cover:

"More gripping than fiction: the graphic account of an SAS corporal's harrowing 200 mile escape through western Iraq, for instance – a tale almost too incredible for a thriller... An important and enjoyable book."
CHRISTOPHER BELLAMY, 'Independent '

"A no-holds barred, on-punches-pulled account of the most high-tech war ever fought. General Sir Peter De la Billiere, Britain's Gulf War commander, vividly describes the build-up to conflict – the political wrangling in Whitehall and the troops' dismay at Margaret Thatcher's ousting, the ferocity of the air war, designed to minimalise allied casualties, and the superb performance of Britain's Desert Rats as they helped defeat Saddam Hussein's much-vaunted army in under one-hundred hours... But it is also about superb leadership and teamwork."
DAILY MAIL

"Fascinating... Deserves a place even in the glorious annals of British soldiering"
JAMES BUCHAN, 'Spectator'

"This excellent and moving book builds up to a most exciting climax."
SUNDAY TIMES

"A commander who made men do almost impossible things by doing them himself first... A soldier who from the most undisciplined and unpromising beginnings achieved complete mastery of himself and the men who fought under him"
DAILY TELEGRAPH

"Action Packed"
FIELD MARSHALL LORD CARVER, 'Sunday Telegraph'

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