Commando

James Owen

• 04 oktober 2012
• 9781405516891

Samenvatting:

The first authoritative book on the most formidable fighting forces of WWII

'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

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.