Army Commandos 1940-45

by Mike Chappell

Book Overview

The period from early 1940 to the end of 1942 was a time of gloom and uncertainty for the British, who stood alone against the assembled might of the Axis powers. They badly needed a champion, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1855325799
• ISBN13: 9781855325791
• Release Date: September 1996
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (UK)
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 7.3" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

Good overview of the subject

This book nicely covers the origins, operational and organizational history, uniforms and equipment of the famous Commando forces. Several of the photographs are not of the highest quality but the reality is that small unit raids are not the ideal circumstance for optimum photography. The color plates and captions are good. My only criticism is that the illustrator (Mike Chappel, also the author) does excellent work with clothing and equipment but his faces and body postures are not as good. That's not a major issue in this kind of book.

Splendid Little Narrative

This is the trade edition of Elite No. 64 so this review will be identical to that.The famed British Commandos had their origins in the dark days of 1940 after the Army had been forced to evacuate at Dunkirk. Although the active campaigning continued in the Middle East and war broke out in the Far East in Dec 1941, those were peripheral campaigns and would never result in the defeat of Hitler's forces. The attack on the Soviet Union in 1941 led to a powerful ally but Stalin was always on the lookout for the main chance and there was always a possibility that he would make an armistice with Germany well into 1943.The Navy and the RAF could strike directly at Germany's far flung forces but the only one that could strike Germany itself was the RAF. The Army therefore under the direct orders of Churchill combed its ranks for men of initiative and daring and those of the foreign exiles in Britain. These units became known under various titles but eventually they settled on Commandos, a term taken from the valorous opponents of the Boer War, whose mounted raiders wreaked such havoc on the railbound British attackers in 1900.For the first two years, raids were conducted from the sea on islands in the North Sea, the French Coast, and in the Middle East. After the turn of the tide of war, the Commandos acquired much more heavy armament and became what is termed light infantry serving on the flanks of the forces landing in Normandy. There has always been much controversy within the armies of the world objecting to elite forces on the grounds that they take the best men and leave the plodders to trudge on. Of course, this is mostly specious because in all cases that I know of special troops amounted to very few in a mass army. But it has hindered US Special Forces and Rangers over the years.In the case of the British Army Commandos this led to their disbandment after WWII. Today the Special Air Service carries out these specialized raiding tasks while there are still Commando units in the Royal Marines.This work shows the usual fine work of this author and illustrator. Everything he has ever done has been of quality.

Fine Study of FIne Men

ARmy Commandos published 2001, is the trade edition of Elite No. 64 so this review is identical to that.The famed British Commandos had their origins in the dark days of 1940 after the Army had been forced to evacuate at Dunkirk. Although the active campaigning continued in the Middle East and war broke out in the Far East in Dec 1941, those were peripheral campaigns and would never result in the defeat of Hitler's forces. The attack on the Soviet Union in 1941 led to a powerful ally but Stalin was always on the lookout for the main chance and there was always a possibility that he would make an armistice with Germany well into 1943.The Navy and the RAF could strike directly at Germany's far flung forces but the only one that could strike Germany itself was the RAF. The Army therefore under the direct orders of Churchill combed its ranks and those of the foreign exiles in Britain for men of initiative and daring. These units were first known under various titles but eventually they settled on Commandos, a term taken from the valorous opponents of the Boer War, whose mounted raiders wreaked such havoc on the railbound British attackers in 1900.For the first two years, raids were conducted from the sea on islands in the North Sea, Norway, the French Coast, and in the Middle East. After the turn of the tide of war, the Commandos acquired much more heavy armament and became what is termed light infantry serving on the flanks of the forces landing in Normandy. There has always been much controversy within the armies of the world objecting to elite forces on the grounds that they take the best men and leave the plodders to trudge on. Of course, this is mostly specious because in all cases that I know of special troops amounted to very few in a mass army. But it has hindered US Special Forces and Rangers over the years.In the case of the British Army Commandos this led to their disbandment after WWII. Today the Special Air Service carries out these specialized raiding tasks while there are still Commando units in the Royal Marines.This work shows the usual fine work of this author and illustrator. Everything he has ever done has been of quality.