By Sea, By Land: The Authorised History of the Royal Marines - Tapa dura

The Royal Marines are respected all over the world as one of the truly elite fighting forces. Researched with the active co-operation of the Royal Marines, this is the official up-to-date history of the corps from the end of the First World War to the present day.

The main campaigns are illustrated with maps and there is a comprehensive list of orders of battle and unit organisation. There have been many books published on the Royal Marines in the last ten to fifteen years, but this is the first to be written with the enthusiastic involvement of the Marines themselves. It is the most detailed account that will ever be available to the general public.

The first edition of this authorised history of the Royal Marines was published in 1980. Two years later, 3 Commando Brigade RM spearheaded the recovery of the Falkland Islands. The lesson of the Falklands War have been studied and applied not only in the Corps but in a wider sphere of British military and political thinking. After periods in the post-war era when the future of the Royal marines was questioned, the strategic importance of their amphibious role is now properly recognised. New specialist amphibious shipping is on order for the Royal Navy.

'By Sea, By Land' is a comprehensive account of the Corps' action since the First World War. It reveals the changing nature of warfare between 1919 and the present day and the way in which the Marines' involvement in sea service and naval gunnery between the wars was replaced by amphibious and commando operations. James Ladd describes how commando units have been deployed by other means and how tactical flexibility can be achieved by the use of canoes, parachutes and skis, as well as by raiding and landing craft. Today's marines are trained to fight in mountainous, jungle or Arctic terrain and to operate as part of NATO, against terrorism or in support of the United Nations. His versatility is the versatility of the Corps and the story which this book tells indicates that with a proud tradition and a record of service second to none, the Corps will continue to provide an essential part of Britain's armed forces.