Author: Vladimir Peniakoff
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 9781474609692
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
In October 1942, with the sanction of the army, Vladimir Peniakoff (nicknamed Popski) formed his own elite fighting force. By befriending and enlisting desert Arabs, he was able to penetrate deep into German territory without being detected - over the next year, 'Popski's Private Army' carried out a series of raids behind the German lines that were truly spectacular. A bestseller when it was first published in 1950, POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY is a classic account of the war in the desert, and later in Italy, as seen through the eyes of a maverick soldier, hailed as the Second World War's answer to T.E. Lawrence.
Popski's Private Army
Author: Vladimir Peniakoff
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 9781474609692
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
In October 1942, with the sanction of the army, Vladimir Peniakoff (nicknamed Popski) formed his own elite fighting force. By befriending and enlisting desert Arabs, he was able to penetrate deep into German territory without being detected - over the next year, 'Popski's Private Army' carried out a series of raids behind the German lines that were truly spectacular. A bestseller when it was first published in 1950, POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY is a classic account of the war in the desert, and later in Italy, as seen through the eyes of a maverick soldier, hailed as the Second World War's answer to T.E. Lawrence.
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 9781474609692
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
In October 1942, with the sanction of the army, Vladimir Peniakoff (nicknamed Popski) formed his own elite fighting force. By befriending and enlisting desert Arabs, he was able to penetrate deep into German territory without being detected - over the next year, 'Popski's Private Army' carried out a series of raids behind the German lines that were truly spectacular. A bestseller when it was first published in 1950, POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY is a classic account of the war in the desert, and later in Italy, as seen through the eyes of a maverick soldier, hailed as the Second World War's answer to T.E. Lawrence.
Popski's Private Army
Author: Vladimir Peniakoff
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 9780304361434
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 437
Book Description
In October 1942, with the sanction of the army, Vladimir Peniakoff (nicknamed Popski) formed his own elite fighting force. By befriending and enlisting desert Arabs, he was able to penetrate deep into German territory without being detected - over the next year 'Popski's Private Army' carried out a series of raids behind the German lines that were truly spectacular. A bestseller since its first publication in 1950, POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY describes the war in the desert, and later in Italy, as seen through the eyes of a maverick soldier. Its author has been hailed as the Second World War's answer to T.E. Lawrence.
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 9780304361434
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 437
Book Description
In October 1942, with the sanction of the army, Vladimir Peniakoff (nicknamed Popski) formed his own elite fighting force. By befriending and enlisting desert Arabs, he was able to penetrate deep into German territory without being detected - over the next year 'Popski's Private Army' carried out a series of raids behind the German lines that were truly spectacular. A bestseller since its first publication in 1950, POPSKI'S PRIVATE ARMY describes the war in the desert, and later in Italy, as seen through the eyes of a maverick soldier. Its author has been hailed as the Second World War's answer to T.E. Lawrence.
Popski's Private Army
Author: Vladimir Peniakoff
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 438
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 438
Book Description
Fighting with Popski's Private Army
Author: Park Yunnie
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783031727
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 578
Book Description
This WWII memoir gives the inside story of Britain’s legendary demolition squadron and their daring escapades in Italy and Norther Africa. During the Second World War, a Russian-born emigre named Vladimir Peniakoff emerged as a decorated officer of the British Special Forces in Cairo. Code-named Popski, he started the No. 1 Demolition Squadron—known as Popski’s Private Army—charged with thwarting Field-Marshal Rommel’s fuel supply in Northern Africa. This is the story of Popski's famous fighting unit as told by his second-in-command, Captain Bob (Park) Yunnie. As Britain’s Eighth Army advanced toward Tripoli, PPA set out in jeeps across the desert to mount raids behind the Mareth Line in Southern Tunisia. In his lively and intimate account, Yunnie describes the ensuing action at Gafsa and Kasserine, and vividly depicts the sorties which took the men straight across the German Line of Command. As Tunis fell to the Allies on May, 7th, 1943, PPA began raid operations for the Italian Campaign. Dropped into Central Italy by RAF gliders, they set about blowing up strategic targets while waiting for the Allied landings. Yunnie takes command of his own patrol, and through a series of daring missions, colorful characters flit in and out of the front-line action.
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783031727
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 578
Book Description
This WWII memoir gives the inside story of Britain’s legendary demolition squadron and their daring escapades in Italy and Norther Africa. During the Second World War, a Russian-born emigre named Vladimir Peniakoff emerged as a decorated officer of the British Special Forces in Cairo. Code-named Popski, he started the No. 1 Demolition Squadron—known as Popski’s Private Army—charged with thwarting Field-Marshal Rommel’s fuel supply in Northern Africa. This is the story of Popski's famous fighting unit as told by his second-in-command, Captain Bob (Park) Yunnie. As Britain’s Eighth Army advanced toward Tripoli, PPA set out in jeeps across the desert to mount raids behind the Mareth Line in Southern Tunisia. In his lively and intimate account, Yunnie describes the ensuing action at Gafsa and Kasserine, and vividly depicts the sorties which took the men straight across the German Line of Command. As Tunis fell to the Allies on May, 7th, 1943, PPA began raid operations for the Italian Campaign. Dropped into Central Italy by RAF gliders, they set about blowing up strategic targets while waiting for the Allied landings. Yunnie takes command of his own patrol, and through a series of daring missions, colorful characters flit in and out of the front-line action.
British Special Forces
Author: William Seymour
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473812836
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 552
Book Description
This is the first comprehensive history of all the British Special Forces, from their beginnings during the Second World War to the Falklands War. The birth of many of the Special Forces was controversial—they were accused of being 'private armies' and a waste of valuable manpower that could have been better used within the regular forces. Their existence was justified only by their successes. The secrecy that still surrounds some of the Special Forces makes writing an authoritative history no easy task. William Seymour's fascinating narrative draws on a wide variety of documentary sources and eye-witness accounts from surviving members of the Forces. The Special Forces covered are: The Commandos, the Special Boat Section, Combined Operations Pilotage Parties, the Long Range Desert Group, Popski's Private Army, The Special Air Service, the Special Boat Squadron and Raiding Forces, and the Royal Marines Special Forces. From the chaungs of Burma to the African desert, the Greek islands to the D-Day landing beaches, Special Forces played a vital part in Allied victory in the Second World War.
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473812836
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 552
Book Description
This is the first comprehensive history of all the British Special Forces, from their beginnings during the Second World War to the Falklands War. The birth of many of the Special Forces was controversial—they were accused of being 'private armies' and a waste of valuable manpower that could have been better used within the regular forces. Their existence was justified only by their successes. The secrecy that still surrounds some of the Special Forces makes writing an authoritative history no easy task. William Seymour's fascinating narrative draws on a wide variety of documentary sources and eye-witness accounts from surviving members of the Forces. The Special Forces covered are: The Commandos, the Special Boat Section, Combined Operations Pilotage Parties, the Long Range Desert Group, Popski's Private Army, The Special Air Service, the Special Boat Squadron and Raiding Forces, and the Royal Marines Special Forces. From the chaungs of Burma to the African desert, the Greek islands to the D-Day landing beaches, Special Forces played a vital part in Allied victory in the Second World War.
Rogue Heroes
Author: Ben Macintyre
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 1101904178
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The incredible untold story of World War II’s greatest secret fighting force, as told by the modern master of wartime intrigue—now a limited series on Epix! “Reads like a mashup of The Dirty Dozen and The Great Escape, with a sprinkling of Ocean’s 11 thrown in for good measure.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • “Rogue Heroes is a ripping good read.”—Washington Post (10 Best Books of the Year) Britain’s Special Air Service—or SAS—was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young aristocrat whose aimlessness belied a remarkable strategic mind. Where most of his colleagues looked at a World War II battlefield map and saw a protracted struggle, Stirling saw an opportunity: given a small number of elite men, he could parachute behind Nazi lines and sabotage their airplanes and supplies. Defying his superiors’ conventional wisdom, Stirling assembled a revolutionary fighting force that would upend not just the balance of the war, but the nature of combat itself. Bringing his keen eye for detail to a riveting wartime narrative, Ben Macintyre uses his unprecedented access to the SAS archives to shine a light on a legendary unit long shrouded in secrecy.
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 1101904178
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The incredible untold story of World War II’s greatest secret fighting force, as told by the modern master of wartime intrigue—now a limited series on Epix! “Reads like a mashup of The Dirty Dozen and The Great Escape, with a sprinkling of Ocean’s 11 thrown in for good measure.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • “Rogue Heroes is a ripping good read.”—Washington Post (10 Best Books of the Year) Britain’s Special Air Service—or SAS—was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young aristocrat whose aimlessness belied a remarkable strategic mind. Where most of his colleagues looked at a World War II battlefield map and saw a protracted struggle, Stirling saw an opportunity: given a small number of elite men, he could parachute behind Nazi lines and sabotage their airplanes and supplies. Defying his superiors’ conventional wisdom, Stirling assembled a revolutionary fighting force that would upend not just the balance of the war, but the nature of combat itself. Bringing his keen eye for detail to a riveting wartime narrative, Ben Macintyre uses his unprecedented access to the SAS archives to shine a light on a legendary unit long shrouded in secrecy.
Behind the Lines: A Critical Survey of Special Operations in World War II
Author: Michael F Dilley
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 161200184X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
The array of new technologies that came on the scene in the early 20th century resulted in widely varied new forms of military special operations once civilization embarked on its greatest war. Suddenly, fighting men could be delivered by parachute, submarine, glider, jeeps, and fast amphibious craft deep into enemy territory to perform special tasks; yet others would continue to perform missions the same as their ancestors in previous wars—on foot using stealth, endurance and patience. This work contains discussions of the employment of various special purpose, special mission organizations during World War II. These units operated in Allied and Axis countries and in various theaters of war including Europe, North Africa, the Pacific, Asia, and the continental United States. Representing every major combatant, the operations include various kinds of raids, intelligence gathering missions, support to partisan/guerrilla groups, prisoner rescues, direct-action missions, and at least two where the object was simply to steal something. Some missions would have been officially denied if the operations had been caught in the act. The book is divided into two sections: Behind Enemy Lines and Behind Friendly Lines, to demonstrate that special-purpose organizations can be employed wherever needed, even in areas controlled by military units of their own or allied countries. Many of the units described run the gamut of special mission types, from commando to parachute units, reconnaissance to sabotage units, and partisan training units as well as those with combined missions. Many of the operations described in this book continue to serve as templates for modern Special Operations missions, while still others—the first attempts of their kind—continue to serve as examples of what not to try under the circumstances. Michael F. Dilley served for 20 years in the U.S. Army’s Military Intelligence branch. After retiring from the Army, the author served for about ten years as an employee of the Department of Defense, then as a contractor for various U.S. Government agencies in several fields for 15 years. Author of several books and many articles, a number of these chapters are based on his previous writings for the legendary Behind the Lines magazine.
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 161200184X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
The array of new technologies that came on the scene in the early 20th century resulted in widely varied new forms of military special operations once civilization embarked on its greatest war. Suddenly, fighting men could be delivered by parachute, submarine, glider, jeeps, and fast amphibious craft deep into enemy territory to perform special tasks; yet others would continue to perform missions the same as their ancestors in previous wars—on foot using stealth, endurance and patience. This work contains discussions of the employment of various special purpose, special mission organizations during World War II. These units operated in Allied and Axis countries and in various theaters of war including Europe, North Africa, the Pacific, Asia, and the continental United States. Representing every major combatant, the operations include various kinds of raids, intelligence gathering missions, support to partisan/guerrilla groups, prisoner rescues, direct-action missions, and at least two where the object was simply to steal something. Some missions would have been officially denied if the operations had been caught in the act. The book is divided into two sections: Behind Enemy Lines and Behind Friendly Lines, to demonstrate that special-purpose organizations can be employed wherever needed, even in areas controlled by military units of their own or allied countries. Many of the units described run the gamut of special mission types, from commando to parachute units, reconnaissance to sabotage units, and partisan training units as well as those with combined missions. Many of the operations described in this book continue to serve as templates for modern Special Operations missions, while still others—the first attempts of their kind—continue to serve as examples of what not to try under the circumstances. Michael F. Dilley served for 20 years in the U.S. Army’s Military Intelligence branch. After retiring from the Army, the author served for about ten years as an employee of the Department of Defense, then as a contractor for various U.S. Government agencies in several fields for 15 years. Author of several books and many articles, a number of these chapters are based on his previous writings for the legendary Behind the Lines magazine.
Special Forces Vehicles
Author: Pat Ware
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783038977
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 247
Book Description
A highly illustrated guide to the unconventional vehicles that help special forces succeed in asymmetrical warfare, from the author of The Centurion Tank. What is the ideal vehicle for special forces operations, for dangerous missions performed by small units of highly trained troops often working in enemy territory, behind enemy lines? And which vehicles have the world’s armies selected, adapted and developed since modern special forces established themselves as a key arm of the military during the Second World War? Pat Ware, in this authoritative and highly illustrated book, uses all his expert knowledge of the history of military vehicles to show the fascinating variety of machinery that has been used, from converted Jeeps and Land Rovers to a bizarre collection of even more remarkable, sometimes purpose-built strike vehicles—the Scorpion, Cobra and Supacat Jackal, the LRDG Chevrolet, the Mechem, the Pinzgauer and the Warrior among them. As well as describing the anatomy of the typical special forces vehicle, with particular reference to the iconic SAS Jeeps and the Land Rover “Pink Panther,” he illustrates all of the known special forces vehicles, giving technical data, including information on power units and transmission, type of weapons, auxiliary equipment, armored protection, speed and mobility, and weight. He also explains the nature of special forces and describes their historic origins, with emphasis on units such as the LRDG, the SAS and Popski’s Private Army during the Second World War, and he looks at modern special forces and their role.
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783038977
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 247
Book Description
A highly illustrated guide to the unconventional vehicles that help special forces succeed in asymmetrical warfare, from the author of The Centurion Tank. What is the ideal vehicle for special forces operations, for dangerous missions performed by small units of highly trained troops often working in enemy territory, behind enemy lines? And which vehicles have the world’s armies selected, adapted and developed since modern special forces established themselves as a key arm of the military during the Second World War? Pat Ware, in this authoritative and highly illustrated book, uses all his expert knowledge of the history of military vehicles to show the fascinating variety of machinery that has been used, from converted Jeeps and Land Rovers to a bizarre collection of even more remarkable, sometimes purpose-built strike vehicles—the Scorpion, Cobra and Supacat Jackal, the LRDG Chevrolet, the Mechem, the Pinzgauer and the Warrior among them. As well as describing the anatomy of the typical special forces vehicle, with particular reference to the iconic SAS Jeeps and the Land Rover “Pink Panther,” he illustrates all of the known special forces vehicles, giving technical data, including information on power units and transmission, type of weapons, auxiliary equipment, armored protection, speed and mobility, and weight. He also explains the nature of special forces and describes their historic origins, with emphasis on units such as the LRDG, the SAS and Popski’s Private Army during the Second World War, and he looks at modern special forces and their role.
Shan Hackett
Author: Roy Fullick
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1783036931
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 371
Book Description
'Shan' Hackett is remembered by his own and succeeding generations for a variety of achievements and attributes. A superb fighting soldier, he served with the Trans-Jordan Force, had fought through North Africa and was involved in the formation of the Long Range Desert Group, the SAS and Popski's Private Army. He went on to raise 4th Parachute Brigade which he commanded with flair at Arnhem where he was wounded and captured. He escaped and got back to British lines. He rose to high rank filling key command and staff appointments in the British Army and NATO.Always an intellectual, yet highly practical man, he retired to become Principal of King's College London where he was revered by staff and students. He wrote many acclaimed works including The Third World War and its sequel The Third World War - The Untold Story. He was constantly in demand in Britain for his television programs and radio commentary up to his death in 1997
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1783036931
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 371
Book Description
'Shan' Hackett is remembered by his own and succeeding generations for a variety of achievements and attributes. A superb fighting soldier, he served with the Trans-Jordan Force, had fought through North Africa and was involved in the formation of the Long Range Desert Group, the SAS and Popski's Private Army. He went on to raise 4th Parachute Brigade which he commanded with flair at Arnhem where he was wounded and captured. He escaped and got back to British lines. He rose to high rank filling key command and staff appointments in the British Army and NATO.Always an intellectual, yet highly practical man, he retired to become Principal of King's College London where he was revered by staff and students. He wrote many acclaimed works including The Third World War and its sequel The Third World War - The Untold Story. He was constantly in demand in Britain for his television programs and radio commentary up to his death in 1997
Light Car Patrols 1916-19
Author: Captain Claud Williams
Publisher: Silphium Press
ISBN: 1900971194
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 291
Book Description
Captain Claud WilliamsÕ memoir tells, firsthand, what it was like to be a Light Car Patrol commander during the First World War, while Russell McGuirkÕs commentary provides the historical background to the formation of the Patrols and follows their activities from the British raid on Siwa Oasis to desert exploration and survey work and the Kufra Reconnaissance Scheme. Lavishly illustrated with original photographs from Light Car officers, this combined memoir and history provides a fascinating and informative picture of an unsung hero of the desert Ð the Model T Ford.
Publisher: Silphium Press
ISBN: 1900971194
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 291
Book Description
Captain Claud WilliamsÕ memoir tells, firsthand, what it was like to be a Light Car Patrol commander during the First World War, while Russell McGuirkÕs commentary provides the historical background to the formation of the Patrols and follows their activities from the British raid on Siwa Oasis to desert exploration and survey work and the Kufra Reconnaissance Scheme. Lavishly illustrated with original photographs from Light Car officers, this combined memoir and history provides a fascinating and informative picture of an unsung hero of the desert Ð the Model T Ford.