A concise history of the unique integrated commando-style brigade of US and Canadian volunteers formed in 1942.Hand picked, and trained in airborne, amphibious, mountain and winter warfare, demolitions and close-quarter tactics, they left a combat legacy still recognized amongst today's Special Forces. This book explores the remarkable results the FSSF achieved in Italy - in the harsh mountain fighting on the Winter Line, in the trenches of Anzio, and in the breakt...

Between 1914 and 1945, American volunteers enlisted in foreign militaries across land, sea and air; this fully illustrated study describes their service.US volunteers served in a variety of foreign military organizations, from World War I's Western Front to the skies of China in World War II. In this book, Bret Werner explores these volunteers' stories including high-profile examples such as the Lafayette Escadrille in World War I and the Flying Tigers in World War...

In December 1943 Monte La Difensa was part of the formidable German defences overlooking the Allies' planned route to Rome via Monte Cassino. In the First Special Service Force's first combat in the Mediterranean theater, the Force would employ its special training in mountain and winter warfare to scale the peak, capture it, and then hold it against the inevitable German counterattacks. Astonishing their superiors, the First Special Service Force succeeded in the face of seemingly impossi...

In December 1943 Monte La Difensa was part of the formidable German defences overlooking the Allies' planned route to Rome via Monte Cassino.In the First Special Service Force's first combat in the Mediterranean theater, the Force would employ its special training in mountain and winter warfare to scale the peak, capture it, and then hold it against the inevitable German counterattacks. Astonishing their superiors, the First Special Service Force succeeded in the f...

On August 17–18, 1942, 211 men of the US Marine Corps' 2nd Raider Battalion conducted a daring amphibious raid on the Japanese-occupied Makin Island in the South Pacific.This ambitious but flawed operation was intended to divert Japanese reinforcements bound for Guadalcanal, over 1,000 miles to the southwest, in the wake of the US landings there ten days earlier; the Raiders were to destroy the seaplane base and radio station, take prisoners, and collect intelligen...

Take a trip back in time to the chaos and destruction of the greatest invasion in military history, viewed through the lens of Canadian paratroopers. Men of Steel is the exciting story of some of Canada's toughest and most daring soldiers in the Second World War.In the dead of night, on 5/6 June 1944, hundreds of elite Canadian paratroopers hurled themselves from aircraft behind enemy lines. That daring act set the stage for the eventual success of the Allied invasion flee...

"A gem of a book that highlights the 'fog of war' as seen by American, British, and Canadian airborne units when they parachuted behind enemy lines." — WWII HistoryMagazine"Gentlemen, do not be daunted if chaos reigns; it undoubtedly will." So said Brigadier S. James Hill, commanding officer of the British 3rd Parachute Brigade, in an address to his troops shortly before the launching of Operation Overlord—the D-Day invasio...

A percentage of sales benefit The Greatest Generations Foundation.A World War II veteran in the twilight of his life stands once again on the soil where he fought the Nazis when he was young man. He remembers those long-gone days of terror and valor and thinks of friends who died before his eyes. In a voice tinged with age and emotion, he talks about what he saw and heard and felt. Why would he want to revisit the places where he saw hell erupt around him? For many veterans, the ex...

The thrilling story of the Airborne and Ranger troops that saw the worst of WWII action—told for the first time in the voices of the soldiers themselves.From the first parachute drops in North Africa to the final battles in Germany, U.S. Ranger and Airborne troops saw the worst action of World War II. In Beyond Valor, Patrick O'Donnell, a pioneer of internet-based “oral history” who has collected the first-person stories of hundreds of veterans on his onli...

In the midst of the Second World War, the Germans introduced a new kind of warfare that had never been seen before, featuring a new kind of soldier: the paratrooper. The public and military alike were astonished by the feats of daring and martial prowess displayed by the intrepid troops, who soon became the epitome of the modern combat soldier.The Allies countered by setting up their own airborne forces. In Canada, 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion was established to serve as the "tip...

"An excellent, balanced history of the 23rd Special Troops . . . may be one of the most important books to come out of World War II." — Engineer MagazineNo history of the war in Europe has ever taken into account the actions of the men of the US 23rd Special Troops. These men took part in over twenty-two deception operations against the German army. Some of these operations had tremendous impact upon how the battles in Europe were fought. The men who parti...

“An important contribution to the history of World War II . . . I have never before been able to learn so much about maintenance methods of an armored division, with precise details that underline the importance of the work, along with descriptions of how the job was done.”—Russell F. Weigley, author of Eisenhower’s Lieutenants“Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost anyone. . . . His stories are vivi...