Author: Jon Latimer
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1590209362
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 395
Book Description
From the Trojan Horse to Gulf War subterfuge, this far-reaching military history examines the importance and ingenuity of wartime deception campaigns. The art of military deception is as old as the art of war. This fascinating account of the practice draws on conflicts from around the world and across millennia. The examples stretch from the very beginnings of recorded military history—Pharaoh Ramses II's campaign against the Hittites in 1294 B.C.—to modern times, when technology has placed a stunning array of devices into the arsenals of military commanders. Military historians often underestimate the importance of deception in warfare. This book is the first to fully describe its value. Jon Latimer demonstrates how simple tricks have been devastatingly effective. He also explores how technology has increased the range and subtlety of what is possible—including bogus radio traffic, virtual images, even false smells. Deception in War includes examples from land, sea, and air to show how great commanders have always had, as Winston Churchill put it, that indispensable “element of legerdemain, an original and sinister touch, which leaves the enemy puzzled as well as beaten.”
Deception in War
Author: Jon Latimer
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1590209362
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 395
Book Description
From the Trojan Horse to Gulf War subterfuge, this far-reaching military history examines the importance and ingenuity of wartime deception campaigns. The art of military deception is as old as the art of war. This fascinating account of the practice draws on conflicts from around the world and across millennia. The examples stretch from the very beginnings of recorded military history—Pharaoh Ramses II's campaign against the Hittites in 1294 B.C.—to modern times, when technology has placed a stunning array of devices into the arsenals of military commanders. Military historians often underestimate the importance of deception in warfare. This book is the first to fully describe its value. Jon Latimer demonstrates how simple tricks have been devastatingly effective. He also explores how technology has increased the range and subtlety of what is possible—including bogus radio traffic, virtual images, even false smells. Deception in War includes examples from land, sea, and air to show how great commanders have always had, as Winston Churchill put it, that indispensable “element of legerdemain, an original and sinister touch, which leaves the enemy puzzled as well as beaten.”
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1590209362
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 395
Book Description
From the Trojan Horse to Gulf War subterfuge, this far-reaching military history examines the importance and ingenuity of wartime deception campaigns. The art of military deception is as old as the art of war. This fascinating account of the practice draws on conflicts from around the world and across millennia. The examples stretch from the very beginnings of recorded military history—Pharaoh Ramses II's campaign against the Hittites in 1294 B.C.—to modern times, when technology has placed a stunning array of devices into the arsenals of military commanders. Military historians often underestimate the importance of deception in warfare. This book is the first to fully describe its value. Jon Latimer demonstrates how simple tricks have been devastatingly effective. He also explores how technology has increased the range and subtlety of what is possible—including bogus radio traffic, virtual images, even false smells. Deception in War includes examples from land, sea, and air to show how great commanders have always had, as Winston Churchill put it, that indispensable “element of legerdemain, an original and sinister touch, which leaves the enemy puzzled as well as beaten.”
The Ghost Army
Author: Gerry Souter
Publisher: Arcturus Publishing
ISBN: 1789504430
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 190
Book Description
Our story is about the genesis and evolution of these phantoms and men-who-never-were, these artists and magicians at the front line who operated in stealth and secrecy. Throughout the course of World War II, Allied forces engaged in elaborate deceptions to fool Hitler's armies. A ragtag group of Bohemian artists and creatives were assembled to devise these strategies, including rubber dummy tanks, faux railway lines and falsified wireless intelligence. They made armies appear out of thin air, baffling German forces and ensuring Allied success in battle. For fifty years, information on the Ghost Army strategies was classified. It is only recently that details of their heroic actions have come to light. This book includes details of SHAEF command centre who organised many of the deceptions, the First US Army Group (the so-called 'Ghost Army'), the 23rd Camouflage Engineers, and accounts of the double cross agents who risked their lives and freedom to mislead Nazi High Command. Featuring never-before-seen information from veteran interviews, The Ghost Army brings to life the fascinating story of the men and women who conned Adolf Hitler.
Publisher: Arcturus Publishing
ISBN: 1789504430
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 190
Book Description
Our story is about the genesis and evolution of these phantoms and men-who-never-were, these artists and magicians at the front line who operated in stealth and secrecy. Throughout the course of World War II, Allied forces engaged in elaborate deceptions to fool Hitler's armies. A ragtag group of Bohemian artists and creatives were assembled to devise these strategies, including rubber dummy tanks, faux railway lines and falsified wireless intelligence. They made armies appear out of thin air, baffling German forces and ensuring Allied success in battle. For fifty years, information on the Ghost Army strategies was classified. It is only recently that details of their heroic actions have come to light. This book includes details of SHAEF command centre who organised many of the deceptions, the First US Army Group (the so-called 'Ghost Army'), the 23rd Camouflage Engineers, and accounts of the double cross agents who risked their lives and freedom to mislead Nazi High Command. Featuring never-before-seen information from veteran interviews, The Ghost Army brings to life the fascinating story of the men and women who conned Adolf Hitler.
World War II US Navy Special Warfare Units
Author: Eugene Liptak
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780960549
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 66
Book Description
With the need for large-scale amphibious landings to decide the outcome of World War II the US Navy developed several types of specialized unit to reconnoitre potential landing areas, degrade the enemy's ability to resist, and assist the landing forces on to the beaches. The Scouts and Raiders were the forerunners of the SEALs, Beach Jumpers made elaborate simulated landings to distract the enemy, the Naval Combat Demolition Units and Underwater Demolition Teams cleared obstacles to amphibious landings and Naval Group China fought alongside Chinese guerrillas behind Japanese lines. This book uncovers the fascinating history of these units, the unique gear they went into theatre with and the vital roles they carried out throughout the war.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780960549
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 66
Book Description
With the need for large-scale amphibious landings to decide the outcome of World War II the US Navy developed several types of specialized unit to reconnoitre potential landing areas, degrade the enemy's ability to resist, and assist the landing forces on to the beaches. The Scouts and Raiders were the forerunners of the SEALs, Beach Jumpers made elaborate simulated landings to distract the enemy, the Naval Combat Demolition Units and Underwater Demolition Teams cleared obstacles to amphibious landings and Naval Group China fought alongside Chinese guerrillas behind Japanese lines. This book uncovers the fascinating history of these units, the unique gear they went into theatre with and the vital roles they carried out throughout the war.
Vincent Scully
Author: A. Krista Sykes
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350298387
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
The renowned architectural historian and critic, beloved Yale professor, and outspoken public activist Vincent Scully (19202017) emerged in the 1950s as a guiding voice in American architecture. This intellectual biography of Scully's life and career traces the formative moments in his thinking, mapping his relationships with a constellation of architects, artists, and cultural personalities of the past one hundred years. Scully charted an unlikely course from postwar modernism to postmodernism and New Urbanism, overturning outdated beliefs and changing the face of the built environment as he went. A teacher for more than 60 years and a figure of immense importance in the field, he was central to an expansive network of associations, from Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Kahn, and Robert Venturi to Robert Stern, Harold Bloom, and Norman Mailer. Scully's extensive body of work, with its range spanning centuries and civilizations, coalesced around the core beliefs that architecture shapes and is shaped by society, and that the best architecture responds, above all else, to the human need for community and connection. This timely appraisal provides a platform for reassessing the legacy of these values as well as how we write and think about architecture in the twenty-first century.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350298387
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
The renowned architectural historian and critic, beloved Yale professor, and outspoken public activist Vincent Scully (19202017) emerged in the 1950s as a guiding voice in American architecture. This intellectual biography of Scully's life and career traces the formative moments in his thinking, mapping his relationships with a constellation of architects, artists, and cultural personalities of the past one hundred years. Scully charted an unlikely course from postwar modernism to postmodernism and New Urbanism, overturning outdated beliefs and changing the face of the built environment as he went. A teacher for more than 60 years and a figure of immense importance in the field, he was central to an expansive network of associations, from Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Kahn, and Robert Venturi to Robert Stern, Harold Bloom, and Norman Mailer. Scully's extensive body of work, with its range spanning centuries and civilizations, coalesced around the core beliefs that architecture shapes and is shaped by society, and that the best architecture responds, above all else, to the human need for community and connection. This timely appraisal provides a platform for reassessing the legacy of these values as well as how we write and think about architecture in the twenty-first century.
Paradoxes of Strategic Intelligence
Author: Richard K. Betts
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135759650
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
Part of a three part collection in honour of the teachings of Michael I. Handel, one of the foremost strategists of the late 20th century, this collection explores the paradoxes of intelligence analysis, surprise and deception from both historical and theoretical perspectives.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135759650
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
Part of a three part collection in honour of the teachings of Michael I. Handel, one of the foremost strategists of the late 20th century, this collection explores the paradoxes of intelligence analysis, surprise and deception from both historical and theoretical perspectives.
Seaborne Deception
Author: John B. Dwyer
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 027593800X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This book is the history of the highly trained officers and men who went by the cover name Beach Jumpers. Their top-secret mission was to create and sustain the illusion that a military landing was imminent at Beach A when in fact U.S. allied troops would hit the beaches 100 miles away at Beach X. During World War II, their tactics were extremely successful in Sicily, Salerno, Southern France, and the Philippines. Beach Jumpers later served ashore and afloat in Vietnam. Their descendants, called Fleet Tactical Deception Groups, continue their important, highly classified work today. This work details the development, major operations, weapons, and leaders of this deception group. The Beach Jumpers began as a naval task group under the direct control of the fleet commander. The group consisted of specialists, officers, and men, trained to conduct tactical cover and deception missions, to include radio and radar countermeasures. The program was initiated by Douglas E. Fairbanks, Jr., the movie actor and son of the silent-screen star, who had studied at the HMS Tormentor Advanced Training and Amphibious Operations Base then at the Commando Training School, Ancharry Castle, Scotland. Dwyer's account follows the Beach Jumpers through training at Camp Bradford and Ocracoke and their first mission, Operation Husky, during the invasion of Sicily. Accounts are given of the invasion of Salerno and of operations on a number of Mediterranean islands. In addition, Dwyer recounts the exploits of the Beach Jumpers in the Pacific theater of operations. Part II traces the exploits of the Beach Jumpers and their descendants in Vietnam and during the post-Vietnam era. The volume includes maps, photos, and a diagram.
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 027593800X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This book is the history of the highly trained officers and men who went by the cover name Beach Jumpers. Their top-secret mission was to create and sustain the illusion that a military landing was imminent at Beach A when in fact U.S. allied troops would hit the beaches 100 miles away at Beach X. During World War II, their tactics were extremely successful in Sicily, Salerno, Southern France, and the Philippines. Beach Jumpers later served ashore and afloat in Vietnam. Their descendants, called Fleet Tactical Deception Groups, continue their important, highly classified work today. This work details the development, major operations, weapons, and leaders of this deception group. The Beach Jumpers began as a naval task group under the direct control of the fleet commander. The group consisted of specialists, officers, and men, trained to conduct tactical cover and deception missions, to include radio and radar countermeasures. The program was initiated by Douglas E. Fairbanks, Jr., the movie actor and son of the silent-screen star, who had studied at the HMS Tormentor Advanced Training and Amphibious Operations Base then at the Commando Training School, Ancharry Castle, Scotland. Dwyer's account follows the Beach Jumpers through training at Camp Bradford and Ocracoke and their first mission, Operation Husky, during the invasion of Sicily. Accounts are given of the invasion of Salerno and of operations on a number of Mediterranean islands. In addition, Dwyer recounts the exploits of the Beach Jumpers in the Pacific theater of operations. Part II traces the exploits of the Beach Jumpers and their descendants in Vietnam and during the post-Vietnam era. The volume includes maps, photos, and a diagram.
Deception
Author: Robert M. Clark
Publisher: CQ Press
ISBN: 1506375227
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255
Book Description
"The chapters on the exercises are a treasure chest of material to work with, covering a whole array of scenarios. . . . I think virtually every page and topic could spark robust and spirited classroom discussion starting with the text title itself." —Ronald W. Vardy, University of Houston "Most students have very little or no background [in this subject area], so Clark’s work is great to introduce students to intelligence and the analytical disciplines . . . a really excellent book that fills a gaping hole in the public literature and is of genuinely great value to both students and practitioners." —Carl A. Wege, Professor Emeritus, College of Coastal Georgia Bridging the divide between theory and practice, Deception: Counterdeception and Counterintelligence provides a thorough overview of the principles of deception and its uses in intelligence operations. This masterful guide focuses on practical training in deception for both operational planners and intelligence analysts using a case-based approach. Authors Robert M. Clark and William L. Mitchell draw from years of professional experience to offer a fresh approach to the roles played by information technologies such as social media. By reading and working through the exercises in this text, operations planners will learn how to build and conduct a deception campaign, and intelligence analysts will develop the ability to recognize deception and support deception campaigns. Key Features New channels for deception, such as social media, are explored to show readers how to conduct and detect deception activities through information technology. Multichannel deception across the political, military, economic, social, infrastructure, and information domains provides readers with insight into the variety of ways deception can be used as an instrument for gaining advantage in conflict. Contemporary and historical cases simulate real-world raw intelligence and provide readers with opportunities to use theory to create a successful deception operation. A series of practical exercises encourages students to think critically about each situation. The exercises have several possible answers, and conflicting raw material is designed to lead readers to different answers depending on how the reader evaluates the material. Individual and team assignments offer instructors the flexibility to proceed through the exercises in any order and assign exercises based on what works best for the classroom setup.
Publisher: CQ Press
ISBN: 1506375227
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255
Book Description
"The chapters on the exercises are a treasure chest of material to work with, covering a whole array of scenarios. . . . I think virtually every page and topic could spark robust and spirited classroom discussion starting with the text title itself." —Ronald W. Vardy, University of Houston "Most students have very little or no background [in this subject area], so Clark’s work is great to introduce students to intelligence and the analytical disciplines . . . a really excellent book that fills a gaping hole in the public literature and is of genuinely great value to both students and practitioners." —Carl A. Wege, Professor Emeritus, College of Coastal Georgia Bridging the divide between theory and practice, Deception: Counterdeception and Counterintelligence provides a thorough overview of the principles of deception and its uses in intelligence operations. This masterful guide focuses on practical training in deception for both operational planners and intelligence analysts using a case-based approach. Authors Robert M. Clark and William L. Mitchell draw from years of professional experience to offer a fresh approach to the roles played by information technologies such as social media. By reading and working through the exercises in this text, operations planners will learn how to build and conduct a deception campaign, and intelligence analysts will develop the ability to recognize deception and support deception campaigns. Key Features New channels for deception, such as social media, are explored to show readers how to conduct and detect deception activities through information technology. Multichannel deception across the political, military, economic, social, infrastructure, and information domains provides readers with insight into the variety of ways deception can be used as an instrument for gaining advantage in conflict. Contemporary and historical cases simulate real-world raw intelligence and provide readers with opportunities to use theory to create a successful deception operation. A series of practical exercises encourages students to think critically about each situation. The exercises have several possible answers, and conflicting raw material is designed to lead readers to different answers depending on how the reader evaluates the material. Individual and team assignments offer instructors the flexibility to proceed through the exercises in any order and assign exercises based on what works best for the classroom setup.
A Genius for Deception
Author: Nicholas Rankin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199739501
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 489
Book Description
In February 1942, intelligence officer Victor Jones erected 150 tents behind British lines in North Africa. "Hiding tanks in Bedouin tents was an old British trick," writes Nicholas Rankin. German general Erwin Rommel not only knew of the ploy, but had copied it himself. Jones knew that Rommel knew. In fact, he counted on it--for these tents were empty. With the deception that he was carrying out a deception, Jones made a weak point look like a trap. In A Genius for Deception, Nicholas Rankin offers a lively and comprehensive history of how Britain bluffed, tricked, and spied its way to victory in two world wars. As Rankin shows, a coherent program of strategic deception emerged in World War I, resting on the pillars of camouflage, propaganda, secret intelligence, and special forces. All forms of deception found an avid sponsor in Winston Churchill, who carried his enthusiasm for deceiving the enemy into World War II. Rankin vividly recounts such little-known episodes as the invention of camouflage by two French artist-soldiers, the creation of dummy airfields for the Germans to bomb during the Blitz, and the fabrication of an army that would supposedly invade Greece. Strategic deception would be key to a number of WWII battles, culminating in the massive misdirection that proved critical to the success of the D-Day invasion in 1944. Deeply researched and written with an eye for telling detail, A Genius for Deception shows how the British used craft and cunning to help win the most devastating wars in human history.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199739501
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 489
Book Description
In February 1942, intelligence officer Victor Jones erected 150 tents behind British lines in North Africa. "Hiding tanks in Bedouin tents was an old British trick," writes Nicholas Rankin. German general Erwin Rommel not only knew of the ploy, but had copied it himself. Jones knew that Rommel knew. In fact, he counted on it--for these tents were empty. With the deception that he was carrying out a deception, Jones made a weak point look like a trap. In A Genius for Deception, Nicholas Rankin offers a lively and comprehensive history of how Britain bluffed, tricked, and spied its way to victory in two world wars. As Rankin shows, a coherent program of strategic deception emerged in World War I, resting on the pillars of camouflage, propaganda, secret intelligence, and special forces. All forms of deception found an avid sponsor in Winston Churchill, who carried his enthusiasm for deceiving the enemy into World War II. Rankin vividly recounts such little-known episodes as the invention of camouflage by two French artist-soldiers, the creation of dummy airfields for the Germans to bomb during the Blitz, and the fabrication of an army that would supposedly invade Greece. Strategic deception would be key to a number of WWII battles, culminating in the massive misdirection that proved critical to the success of the D-Day invasion in 1944. Deeply researched and written with an eye for telling detail, A Genius for Deception shows how the British used craft and cunning to help win the most devastating wars in human history.
Special Operations in World War II
Author: Andrew L. Hargreaves
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806151277
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 605
Book Description
British and American commanders first used modern special forces in support of conventional military operations during World War II. Since then, although special ops have featured prominently in popular culture and media coverage of wars, the academic study of irregular warfare has remained as elusive as the practitioners of special operations themselves. This book is the first comprehensive study of the development, application, and value of Anglo-American commando and special forces units during the Second World War. Special forces are intensively trained, specially selected military units performing unconventional and often high-risk missions. In this book, Andrew L. Hargreaves not only describes tactics and operations but also outlines the distinctions between commandos and special forces, traces their evolution during the war, explains how the Anglo-American alliance functioned in the creation and use of these units, looks at their command and control arrangements, evaluates their impact, and assesses their cost-effectiveness. The first real impetus for the creation of British specialist formations came in the desperate summer of 1940 when, having been pushed out of Europe following defeat in France and the Low Countries, Britain began to turn to irregular forces in an effort to wrest back the strategic initiative from the enemy. The development of special forces by the United States was also a direct consequence of defeat. After Pearl Harbor, Hargreaves shows, the Americans found themselves in much the same position as Britain had been in 1940: shocked, outnumbered, and conventionally defeated, they were unable to come to grips with the enemy on a large scale. By the end of the war, a variety of these units had overcome a multitude of evolutionary hurdles and made valuable contributions to practically every theater of operation. In describing how Britain and the United States worked independently and cooperatively to invent and put into practice a fundamentally new way of waging war, this book demonstrates the two nations’ flexibility, adaptability, and ability to innovate during World War II.
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806151277
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 605
Book Description
British and American commanders first used modern special forces in support of conventional military operations during World War II. Since then, although special ops have featured prominently in popular culture and media coverage of wars, the academic study of irregular warfare has remained as elusive as the practitioners of special operations themselves. This book is the first comprehensive study of the development, application, and value of Anglo-American commando and special forces units during the Second World War. Special forces are intensively trained, specially selected military units performing unconventional and often high-risk missions. In this book, Andrew L. Hargreaves not only describes tactics and operations but also outlines the distinctions between commandos and special forces, traces their evolution during the war, explains how the Anglo-American alliance functioned in the creation and use of these units, looks at their command and control arrangements, evaluates their impact, and assesses their cost-effectiveness. The first real impetus for the creation of British specialist formations came in the desperate summer of 1940 when, having been pushed out of Europe following defeat in France and the Low Countries, Britain began to turn to irregular forces in an effort to wrest back the strategic initiative from the enemy. The development of special forces by the United States was also a direct consequence of defeat. After Pearl Harbor, Hargreaves shows, the Americans found themselves in much the same position as Britain had been in 1940: shocked, outnumbered, and conventionally defeated, they were unable to come to grips with the enemy on a large scale. By the end of the war, a variety of these units had overcome a multitude of evolutionary hurdles and made valuable contributions to practically every theater of operation. In describing how Britain and the United States worked independently and cooperatively to invent and put into practice a fundamentally new way of waging war, this book demonstrates the two nations’ flexibility, adaptability, and ability to innovate during World War II.
Donovan's Devils
Author: Albert Lulushi
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1628726229
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 473
Book Description
The stirring, little-known story of the forerunners to today's Special Forces. The OSS—Office of Strategic Services—created under the command of William Donovan, has been celebrated for its cloak-and-dagger operations during World War II and as the precursor of the CIA. As the "Oh So Social," it has also been portrayed as a club for the well-connected before, during, and after the war. Donovan's Devils tells the story of a different OSS, that of ordinary soldiers, recruited from among first- and second-generation immigrants, who volunteered for dangerous duty behind enemy lines and risked their lives in Italy, France, the Balkans, and elsewhere in Europe. Organized into Operational Groups, they infiltrated into enemy territory by air or sea and operated for days, weeks, or months hundreds of miles from the closest Allied troops. They performed sabotage, organized native resistance, and rescued downed airmen, nurses, and prisoners of war. Their enemy showed them no mercy, and sometimes their closest friends betrayed them. They were the precursors to today's Special Forces operators. Based on declassified OSS records, personal collections, and oral histories of participants from both sides of the conflict, Donovan's Devils provides the most comprehensive account to date of the Operational Group activities, including a detailed narrative of the ill-fated Ginny mission, which resulted in the one of the OSS's gravest losses of the war. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1628726229
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 473
Book Description
The stirring, little-known story of the forerunners to today's Special Forces. The OSS—Office of Strategic Services—created under the command of William Donovan, has been celebrated for its cloak-and-dagger operations during World War II and as the precursor of the CIA. As the "Oh So Social," it has also been portrayed as a club for the well-connected before, during, and after the war. Donovan's Devils tells the story of a different OSS, that of ordinary soldiers, recruited from among first- and second-generation immigrants, who volunteered for dangerous duty behind enemy lines and risked their lives in Italy, France, the Balkans, and elsewhere in Europe. Organized into Operational Groups, they infiltrated into enemy territory by air or sea and operated for days, weeks, or months hundreds of miles from the closest Allied troops. They performed sabotage, organized native resistance, and rescued downed airmen, nurses, and prisoners of war. Their enemy showed them no mercy, and sometimes their closest friends betrayed them. They were the precursors to today's Special Forces operators. Based on declassified OSS records, personal collections, and oral histories of participants from both sides of the conflict, Donovan's Devils provides the most comprehensive account to date of the Operational Group activities, including a detailed narrative of the ill-fated Ginny mission, which resulted in the one of the OSS's gravest losses of the war. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.