Commando: Winning World War II Behind Enemy Lines - Hardcover

Owen, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1408703025 ISBN 13: 9781408703021

Publisher: Little, Brown, 2012

Synopsis

June 1940: As Britain's soldiers limped home from Dunkirk, a maverick Army officer was already devising a bold plan to hit back at the enemy. His idea was to revolutionise military thinking and change the face of warfare for ever. Relying as much on stealth and guile as on courage and stamina, the Commandos brought to the battlefield the skills of the guerrilla. Trained by an unconventional band of experts, and led by a big-game hunter, a film star, a Highland chief and an eccentric wielding a bow and arrow, they became the spearhead of the Allied drive for victory. Weaving together official documents, new research and veterans' own accounts, Commando reveals for the first time the exhilarating full story of WWII's most formidable fighting force.

About this title

About the Author

James Owen is a historian and the author of Nuremberg: Evil on Trial, The Voice of War (with Guy Walters), A Serpent in Eden and Danger UXB. He writes frequently for newspapers and contributes to television and radio programmes. He lives in London.

From the Back Cover

'We have got to get out of our minds the idea that the Channel ports and all the country between them are enemy territory. Enterprises must be prepared, with specially trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down these coasts. The passive resistance war, in which we have acquitted ourselves so well, must come to an end.'

Winston Churchill, 5 June 1940

From the Inside Flap

June 1940: As Britain's soldiers limped home from Dunkirk, a maverick Army officer was already devising a bold plan to hit back at the enemy. His idea was to revolutionise military thinking and change the face of warfare for ever.

Relying as much on stealth as on raw courage, the Commandos brought to the battlefield the skills of the guerrilla. Trained by an unconventional band of experts, they made use of an extraordinary range of talents. Film star David Niven was an early recruit. So was David Stirling, founder of the SAS, and big-game hunter Roger Courtney, first commander of the SBS.

Yet though they would win a heroic reputation for daring and endurance, the Commandos' creation was controversial and their early missions disastrous. Overcoming defeat in Crete, they mounted devastating raids on St Nazaire and Dieppe in 1942. By 1944, they were the spearhead of the Allied drive for victory from the D-Day beaches to the island fortress of Walcheren.

Weaving together official documents, new research and veterans' own accounts, Commando reveals for the first time the exhilarating full story of WWII's most formidable fighting force.

Edition details

• Publisher: Little, Brown
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1408703025
• ISBN 13: 9781408703021
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 448