Reasons in Writing tells Southby-Tailyour's story of the Falklands War largely through the medium of diaries and letters written during his peacetime tour of duty in the seventies and the war itself. Reasons in Writing, is unlikely to be rivalled for its immediacy, insight and deep and genuine feeling for the Islands themselves, based on experience gained (unlike any other participant civilian or service) before, during and after that fateful winter of 1982.
When the Royal Marines Commandos returned to a chaotic Helmand in the winter of 2008, they realised that to stand any chance of success they would need to pursue an increasingly determined Taliban harder than ever before. This time they were going to hunt them down from the air. With the support of Chinooks, Apaches, Lynx, Sea Kings and Harriers, the Commandos became a deadly mobile unit, able to swoop at a moments notice into the most hostile territory. From huge operations like the gruelling Red Dagger, when 3 Commando Brigade fought in Somme-like mud to successfully clear the area around the capital of Helmand, Lashkar Gar, of encroaching enemy forces, to the daily acts of unsupported, close-quarters 360-degree combat and the breath-taking, rapid helicopter night assaults behind enemy lines - this was kind of battle that brought Commando qualities to the fore. As with the Sunday Times bestselling 3 Commando Brigade, ex-Marine Lieutenant Colonel Ewen Southby-Tailyour brings unparalleled access to the troops, a soldier's understanding of the conflict and a visceral sense of the combat experience. This is the real war in Afghanistan as told to him by a hand-picked band of young fellow marines as they encounter the daily rigours of life on the ground in the world's most intense war zone.
The Seventh ship to bear the name, the Assault Ship and Commando Carrier HMS Fearless was first commissioned in 1965. Over the next 37 years she was seldom far from the actions in which British forces were engaged world-wide, be they in Aden, Malaysia and Borneo, Northern Ireland, the Cold War (Norway), South Rhodesia, Falklands, the Gulf, Afghanistan and so on. Thousands of sailors, Royal Marines and soldiers served on board over her 19 commissions. Now paid off, Fearless has a great story to tell and the Author, a former senior Royal Marine who knows her well, is superbly qualified to tell it.
The 3 Commando Brigade's six month deployment in Helmand Province was among the finest pieces of soldiering I have come across' General Sir Richard Dannett, Chief of General StaffIn October 2006, the Royal Marine Commandos took up their six month tour of duty in war-torn Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan - the toughest and hottest war zone on earth. After the tactical retreat of their predecessors, the Paras, the Marines knew they would have to take a different approach to have any chance of success. So they took the war to the enemy. Roving and aggressive, the Commandos forced the insurgent Taliban on to the back foot. As a result, they were involved in daily fire fights of an intensity not encountered by British troops since North Korea.3 Commando Brigade is a thrilling first-hand account of that dogged, heroic pursuit of the Taliban by the ordinary Marines, sailors and soldiers responsible. It is a story of valour, fortitude, supreme physical and mental fitness, and unrivalled professionalism under the most testing of circumstances. The account explodes from the first page with Operation Glacier, a graphic, no-holds-barred account of a Commando attack on a key Taliban base south of Garmsir - a battle that ends with the dramatic recovery of a Corporal's body from alongside the fort by Apache helicopters. From this opening salvo the action never lets up, offering a startlingly honest account of the war in Afghanistan as told by the junior officers, corporals and marines on the ground.
This is a revelatory account of three un-tabulated special forces operations, PLUM DUFF, MIKADO and KETTLEDRUM, that were tasked to destroy Argentina's Exocet missiles during the 1982 Falkland's campaign. In that context alone this book is of international military importance. ?Using previously unknown material and through interviewing key players who have remained silent for 30 years, Ewen Southby-Tailyour has finally established the truth: that it has taken so long reflects the sensitivities, both military and personal, involved. ?Interviews with the SAS officer commanding Operation PLUM DUFF, members of the reconnaissance patrol for Operation MIKADO, plus the navigator of the helicopter that flew eight troopers into Tierra del Fuego, has allowed the author to describe the tortuous events that led, instead, to a significant survival story. ?The RAF pilots ordered to conduct an 'assault-landing' of two Hercules onto Rio Grande air base during Operation MIKADO have spoken of the extraordinary procedures they developed: so have the commander of the SBS and the captain of the British submarine involved in Operation KETTLEDRUM. ?The Super Ätendard pilots who sank HMS Sheffield and MV Atlantic Conveyor and then 'attacked' HMS Invincible, plus a key member of the Argentine special forces and the brigadier defending Rio Grande, add credence, depth and gravitas to the saga: as does an equally revealing interview with the SIS (MI6) officer who led the world-wide search for Exocets on the black market. ?Disturbing over-confidence by commanders at home was finely counter-balanced by stirring accounts of inspiring physical and moral courage across the South Atlantic. ?Exocet Falklands is a ground-breaking work of investigative military history from which many salutary lessons can be learned.??As featured in the Daily Record, Western Morning News, Plymouth Herald and on BBC Radio Wiltshire.
Blondie Hasler was the leader of the famous 'Cockleshell Heroes'. He designed the canoes which were used in the operation, he recruited and trained the twelve men who made up this most secret team and led them on their daring mission, code name 'Operation Frankton', to attack enemy shipping in Bordeaux harbor. He was one of only two 'Cockleshell Heroes' who came back alive, the other being Bill Sparks, his partner in the cockleshell Catfish. His story is told by former Royal Marine, Ewen Southby- Tailyour. The story of how Blondie managed to make contact with the Maquis once he and Sparks had completed the mission is well worth a book in itself. Although the book offers a new insight into the men that were the 'Cockleshell Heroes' Blondie Hasler was more than just a 'Cockleshell Hero'. Ewen Southby- Tailyour has been given full access to family archive material, which reveals Herbert George Hasler as an extraordinary figure who makes this one of the outstanding biographies of the year.
This is the authority on special forces, ideal for any level of military enthusiast. So if you want to know about special forces weapons or transport or even their elite use of surveillance equipment including human presence sensors then this is the kit you need.
The Seventh ship to bear the name, the Assault Ship and Commando Carrier HMS Fearless was first commissioned in 1965. Over the next 37 years she was seldom far from the actions in which British forces were engaged world-wide, be they in Aden, Malaysia and Borneo, Northern Ireland, the Cold War (Norway), South Rhodesia, Falklands, the Gulf, Afghanistan and so on. Thousands of sailors, Royal Marines and soldiers served on board over her 19 commissions. Now paid off, Fearless has a great story to tell and the Author, a former senior Royal Marine who knows her well, is superbly qualified to tell it.
“A fascinating account of three SAS missions to counter the Exocet missile . . . from ill-thought out ideas to near suicidal one-way trips onto enemy soil.”—Soldier Magazine This is a revelatory account of three un-tabulated special forces operations, PLUM DUFF, MIKADO and KETTLEDRUM, that were tasked to destroy Argentina’s Exocet missiles during the 1982 Falkland’s campaign. Interviews with the SAS officer commanding Operation PLUM DUFF, members of the reconnaissance patrol for Operation MIKADO, plus the navigator of the helicopter that flew eight troopers into Tierra del Fuego, has allowed the author to describe the tortuous events that led, instead, to a significant survival story. The RAF pilots ordered to conduct an “assault-landing” of two Hercules onto Rio Grande air base during Operation MIKADO have spoken of the extraordinary procedures they developed: so have the commander of the SBS and the captain of the British submarine involved in Operation KETTLEDRUM. The Super Étendard pilots who sank HMS Sheffield and MV Atlantic Conveyor and then “attacked” HMS Invincible, plus a key member of the Argentine special forces and the brigadier defending Rio Grande, add credence, depth and gravitas to the saga: as does an equally revealing interview with the SIS (MI6) officer who led the world-wide search for Exocets on the black market. Disturbing over-confidence by commanders at home was finely counter-balanced by stirring accounts of inspiring physical and moral courage across the South Atlantic. Exocet Falklands is a ground-breaking work of investigative military history from which many salutary lessons can be learned. “Between politics, diplomacy and barbouzeries, this well-documented work will lead you in the arcane of what should have changed the course of this war.”—Air Fan
Based on the author's 32 years as a Royal Marines officer in numerous war zones, including leading the amphibious assault in the Falklands War, Death's Sting tells this fictional tale of international intrigue, murder, love and revenge.The Balkans War of the 1990s is the setting, with 200,000 Serbs about to be ethnically cleansed despite United Nations attempts to prevent the slaughter, rape and destruction of their 500-year homeland.During a Serbian artillery attack Matea Markovic and her young son are saved by James Laidlaw, ex-Royal Navy officer and European Community monitor, but he soon realises that there are even greater evil forces at play. Colonel Ante Slavic of the Croatian army is determined to prevent James from discovering the truth of his murderous campaign and is prepared to kill anyone who stands in his way, including Matea and her son.With American Special Forces and the Secret Services of France, Germany, Greece and Britain all in theatre James is forced to fight on many fronts.James, Matea and her son are in danger once again when the indicted war criminal Slavic, on the run from justice, pursues them to the rugged south Cornish coast where the outcome, and who is destined for a watery grave, are far from certain.While the author's expertise and experience is demonstrated throughout, readers will have to decide for themselves how close to the truth Death's Sting really is.
Reasons in Writing tells Southby-Tailyour's story of the Falklands War largely through the medium of diaries and letters written during his peacetime tour of duty in the seventies and the war itself. Reasons in Writing, is unlikely to be rivalled for its immediacy, insight and deep and genuine feeling for the Islands themselves, based on experience gained (unlike any other participant civilian or service) before, during and after that fateful winter of 1982.
Andre Hue was a daredevil. By the age of twenty the Anglo-Frenchman had survived shipwreck and years undercover in France, sabotaging German supply lines. Returning to Britain, he was recruited by SOE to parachute behind enemy lines on 5 June 1944, to unite resistance forces in Brittany and paralyse local German troops during the Allied invasion. Though Hue's mission was fraught with difficulty - he missed his landing site, his secret base camp became the site of a pitch battle and a band of Cossacks tried to hunt him down - he knew that thousands of lives depended on his success or failure . . .
A British Naval commander’s eyewitness account of the 1982 war in the South Atlantic. Since he was in charge of the amphibious operations in the Falklands War, it goes without saying that there is no one better qualified to tell the story of that aspect of the campaign than Commodore Michael Clapp. Here he describes, with considerable candor, some of the problems met in a Navy racing to war and finding it necessary to recreate a largely abandoned operational technique in a somewhat ad hoc fashion. During the time it took to “go south,” some sense of order was imposed and a not very well defined command structure evolved, this was not done without generating a certain amount of friction. He tells of why San Carlos Water was chosen for the assault and the subsequent inshore operations. Michael Clapp and his small staff made their stand and can claim a major role in the defeat of the Argentine Air and Land Forces.
When the Royal Marines Commandos returned to a chaotic Helmand in the winter of 2008, they realised that to stand any chance of success they would need to pursue an increasingly determined Taliban harder than ever before. This time they were going to hunt them down from the air. With the support of Chinooks, Apaches, Lynx, Sea Kings and Harriers, the Commandos became a deadly mobile unit, able to swoop at a moments notice into the most hostile territory. From huge operations like the gruelling Red Dagger, when 3 Commando Brigade fought in Somme-like mud to successfully clear the area around the capital of Helmand, Lashkar Gar, of encroaching enemy forces, to the daily acts of unsupported, close-quarters 360-degree combat and the breath-taking, rapid helicopter night assaults behind enemy lines - this was kind of battle that brought Commando qualities to the fore. As with the Sunday Times bestselling 3 Commando Brigade, ex-Marine Lieutenant Colonel Ewen Southby-Tailyour brings unparalleled access to the troops, a soldier's understanding of the conflict and a visceral sense of the combat experience. This is the real war in Afghanistan as told to him by a hand-picked band of young fellow marines as they encounter the daily rigours of life on the ground in the world's most intense war zone.
Blondie Hasler was the leader of the famous 'Cockleshell Heroes'. He designed the canoes which were used in the operation, he recruited and trained the twelve men who made up this most secret team and led them on their daring mission, code name 'Operation Frankton', to attack enemy shipping in Bordeaux harbor. He was one of only two 'Cockleshell Heroes' who came back alive, the other being Bill Sparks, his partner in the cockleshell Catfish. His story is told by former Royal Marine, Ewen Southby- Tailyour. The story of how Blondie managed to make contact with the Maquis once he and Sparks had completed the mission is well worth a book in itself. Although the book offers a new insight into the men that were the 'Cockleshell Heroes' Blondie Hasler was more than just a 'Cockleshell Hero'. Ewen Southby- Tailyour has been given full access to family archive material, which reveals Herbert George Hasler as an extraordinary figure who makes this one of the outstanding biographies of the year.
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