Special Forces History

Trace the gripping military history of covert operations, where elite warriors risk everything behind enemy lines. Whether you are powering through a heavy workout or driving on a long commute, this intense audio experience drops you directly into the world’s most dangerous missions...

When British troops first deployed to Northern Ireland in 1969 to keep apart rioting factions of loyalists and nationalists, they could not have known that they were being drawn into the longest campaign in the British Army's history, a battle against the threat of a new rising force - the...

Bloomsbury presents 2SAS by Gavin Mortimer, read by John Hopkins. Drawing on recently declassified files and interviews with veterans, this is a fascinating history of Bill Stirling and 2SAS – pioneering founders of modern special forces. David Stirling is the name synonymous with the wartime...

Prime Minister Winston Churchill had no qualms about using native German speakers from Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Germany itself. The majority were Jews who had fled persecution. Two examples of these secret units were X Troop Commandos and the Special Interrogation Group. The SIG men deserve their legendary status. They fought, and often died, wearing Wehmacht uniform. As this book reveals that, after infiltrating Field Marshal Rommel's Afrika Korps, one detachment even drew Nazi pay.

In January 1951, Lieutenant Evgeniy Borisov was sent to the headquarters of the Soviet 5th Army in Spassk-Dalnii, a small city in the Russian Far East. Borisov was there on a secret mission. Together with his superior, Major Rusinov, his job was to establish the 91st Special Forces Company. The 91st was to be one of forty-six similar units spread out across the Soviet Union. The new forces were called "spetsnaz"—short for spetsnialnoe naznachenie, which translates to "special purpose."

Germany’s Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) is one of the most elite, secretive, and highly skilled special operations forces in the world—yet few outside military circles truly understand its origins, its purpose, or its extraordinary capabilities. This gripping and in-depth exploration pulls back the veil on the unit born out of a national crisis and forged in the fires of global conflict.

Across the globe, elite military units operate in the shadows, trained to execute missions that conventional forces cannot. From daring covert operations to navigating the most hostile terrain on Earth, these specialist teams are forged for the extraordinary. In this gripping exploration, Dr. Stephen Bull delves into the world of elite forces such as the UK's SAS, the US Navy SEALs, and Russia's Special Forces Group.

A Wall Street Journal national security reporter takes readers into the lives of U.S. Special Forces on the front lines against the Taliban and Islamic State, where a new and covert war is keeping Afghanistan from collapse. “Powerful, important, and searing." —General David Petraeus, U.S...

The New York Times Bestseller and Winner of the 2015 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History. Since the attacks of September 11, one organization has been at the forefront of America's military response. Its efforts turned the tide against al-Qaida in Iraq, killed...

For over seventy years, the Korean Peninsula has existed under the shadow of unfinished war. Facing one of the world’s largest armies just across the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea has had to forge a defense force unlike any other. At the sharpest edge of that effort stands the Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command (ROK-SWC) — better known as the Black Berets.

At the beginning of 1941, it was unclear whether the Allies would be able to remain in the war for much longer. The potential of a German invasion of Britain loomed. The Battle of Britain, fought throughout the summer and early autumn of 1940, was unquestionably epic in scope. The largest air campaign in history at the time, the vaunted Nazi Luftwaffe sought to smash the Royal Air Force, but thankfully, the RAF stood toe to toe with the Luftwaffe and ensured Hitler’s planned invasion was permanently put on hold.

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 an original series on MGM+! “Reads like a mashup of The Dirty Dozen and The Great Escape, with a sprinkling of Ocean’s 11...

“For six days, it was the Iranian Embassy on Princes Gate in London that riveted the world. . . . Macintyre’s superb reconstruction restores it to vivid, complex life.”—The Washington Post A thrilling tick-tock recounting of one of the most harrowing hostage situations and daring rescue...

Special Forces soldiers are daring, seasoned troops from America's heartland, selected in a tough competition and trained in an extraordinary range of skills. They know foreign languages and cultures and unconventional warfare better than any U.S. fighters, and while they prefer to stay out of...

With the 50th anniversary of the Son Tay Raid, there was such an outpouring of articles and commemorations honoring the raid. It also prompted memoirs from North Vietnamese commanders. We have assessed the current state of the body of knowledge regarding the Son Tay Raid. We can now objectively debunk misconceptions, conspiracy theories, rumors, and outright fabrications. You'll see the facts. You'll step aboard the three aircraft carriers that launched 59 aircraft for the raid.

The Vietnamese stole their land. The NVA raped their daughters. The Green Berets know them as the most fearless and loyal warriors in the land. They were the Montagnards, who called themselves “Sons of the Mountains” and always fought to the death. In this incredible memoir of wall-to-wall combat in the jungle near the Laotian border, Special Forces Lieutenant Don Bendell recounts the saga of the A camp of Dak Pek, 242.

With his parting words "I shall return," General Douglas MacArthur sealed the fate of the last American forces on Bataan. Yet one young Army Captain, named Russell Volckmann, refused to surrender. He disappeared into the jungles of north Luzon where he raised a Filipino army of over 22,000 men. For the next three years he led a guerrilla war against the Japanese, killing over 50,000 enemy soldiers. At the same time he established radio contact with MacArthur's HQ in Australia and directed Allied forces to key enemy positions.

In 1991, Chuck Mawhinney was reluctantly dragged out of anonymity when it was revealed that he held the record among United States Marine Corps snipers with over 103 confirmed kills.

World War II was by far one of the most significant wars of all time. Ripples of the splash this war made on history are still being felt today. Even more so than its predecessor, this was the most comprehensive global war. The focal point is the European battle front but there was just as much, if not more in Asia and even in Africa and the Americas.