The British Commandos: The Origins and Special Training of an Elite Unit - Tapa blanda

In the dark days of 1940, following the fall of France and the evacuation of Dunkirk, the invasion of Great Britain by the Nazi war machine was imminent. To defend his country, Churchill boldly ordered the raising of a new elite fighting force to take the fight to the enemy by harassing them in Europe with small, specially trained raiding parties that would boldly attack targets along the extended Nazi-held European coastline, from Norway to France. This elite force was to be called "The Commandos". The succession of daring raids on occupied Europe raised the Allies' flagging morale and made the Commandos one of the most respected - and feared - units of World War II. Sixty-nine years on, this book tells the extraordinary story of the training of that elite force. It traces the development of the extreme and often unorthodox training methods and techniques used to prepare for a wide range of operations and instil the indomitable fighting spirit with which the name"Commando" became synonymous. Written by a founder member of the Commandos, this book also provides a unique insight into the lives of the men who pioneered this new style of military training which introduced such new military subjects as unarmed combat, cliff assaults, mountain warfare, amphibious landings from small boats and parachuting. "Commando training"has since become the foundation for secret service and elite forces around the world. As well as being a book of significant interest to military historians, The British Commandos holds valuable lessons for all those - military and civilian - in leadership and adventure training today.

In June 1940, the invasion of Great Britain by the Nazi war machine was imminent. But in the midst of plans to defend the country from the might of Hitler's Wehrmacht, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's vision was to take the fight to the enemy - harass them in Europe with small, specially trained raiding parties that would boldly attack targets along the extended Nazi-held European coastline, from Norway to France. Paladin Press is honored to reissue this historic book, originally published in Britain under the title It Had to Be Tough. Written in the style of a warrior who fought in the largest and possibly the most important conflict in human history, The British Commandos reminds us that irregular warfare is not new and that the winners are often those who "train hard, fight easy."