This title looks closely at the patrolmen who served in the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG), the brainchild of Major Ralph Bagnold. The LRDG was tasked with strategic reconnaissance and raiding operations deep behind enemy lines in the desert wastes of North Africa. Originally raised on 3 July 1940, with General Wavell's personal support, it initially consisted of New Zealand volunteers commanded by British officers, who had explored the wide, unmapped expanses of the Libyan desert pre-World War II. Organized in patrols armed with light weapons and equipped with specially converted light cars a.

Osprey's study of patrolmen of the Long Range Desert Group of World War II (1939-1945). Nicknamed the 'Libyan Desert Taxi Service' by the SAS, the Long Range Desert Group was tasked with strategic reconnaissance and raiding operations deep inside the enemy-held deserts of North Africa. Armed with light weapons only, and equipped with specially converted light cars and trucks capable of withstanding the harsh conditions, the LRDG quickly proved it could operate in parts of the desert which other troops, including the enemy, found impassable. This new Warrior title examines the soldiers of the LRDG from the group's formation, through training, to combat in vast, lonely, and deadly deserts of North Africa.

A fascinating study of the specialized vehicles, kit and techniques of the Long-Range Desert Group who pioneered long-range desert warfare in World War II and worked closely with the embryonic SAS. The Long Range Desert Group was one of the most famous special units of World War II, operating heavily modified vehicles deep behind enemy lines to gather intelligence and support the raids of David Stirling's new Special Air Service. When war broke out, a pre-war explorer and army officer, Ralph Bagnold, convinced Middle East Command of the need for a reconnaissance force to penetrate into Italian-held desert. Bagnold tested four types of vehicles over rocks and through soft sand to find the best one for his new unit. He selected the Chevrolet WB (30 CWT) as the signature vehicle of the Long Range Desert Group because it is 'fast, simple and easy to handle'. With left-hand steering, horizontal grill and round fenders on the rear wheels, these trucks proved themselves popular and effective. The durability of the Chevrolets was demonstrated in January 1941 with an audacious raid on the Italian fort/air strip at Murzuk, hundreds of miles behind enemy lines. This book explains the detail of all the vehicles of the LRDG, as well as their modifications, driving techniques and special kit for surviving behind enemy lines in one of the most hostile environments on earth.

Formed in July 1940 for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering behind enemy lines, the Long Range Desert Group was the first British special force unit. In no time the LRDG earned itself an enviable reputation for deep penetration patrols into German and Italian held territory. Its successes on prolonged missions into harsh terrain and under extreme climatic conditions were out of all proportion to its size. Wide-ranging military skills, including exceptional navigation techniques, and the highest standards of discipline and leadership were required from all ranks. Many of the previously unpublished and well captioned images in this comprehensive and well researched book come from the collections of LRDG veterans. They show the weapons, equipment, uniforms and insignia used and, together with personal accounts and operational reports, bring to life the extraordinary achievements of this legendary unit. The result is a fascinating record of the LRDG’s contribution to the Allied victory in North Africa.

This first pictorial history of the LRDG “covers all aspects of [its] work and the vehicles and weapons they used in their devastating raids” (Beating Tsundoku). The Long Range Desert Group has a strong claim to the first Special Forces unit in the British Army. This superb illustrated history follows the LRDG from its July 1940 formation as the Long Range Patrol in North Africa, tasked with intelligence gathering, mapping and reconnaissance deep behind enemy lines. Manned initially by New Zealanders, in 1940 the unit became the LRDG with members drawn from British Guards and Yeomanry regiments and Rhodesians. So successful were the LRDG patrols, that when the Special Air Service was formed, it often relied on their navigational and tactical skills to achieve their missions. After victory in North Africa the LRDG relocated to Lebanon before being sent on the ill-fated mission to the Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean. Serving independently, when the Germans overwhelmed and captured the British garrisons, many LRDG personnel escaped using their well-honed skills. Many images in this, the first pictorial history of the LRDG, were taken unofficially by serving members. The result is a superb record of the LRDG’s achievements, the personalities, their weapons and vehicles which will delight laymen and specialists alike. “Well written . . . The photographs brought together here are a stunning selection despite the various quality as it shows the men and machines living the war they fought in.”—Armorama “A must-read page turner.”—Richard Gough, military author and historian “Informative and full of exciting detailed accounts of operations that occurred throughout the LRDG’s reign of terror on the Axis forces during the war.”—AMPS

During World War II, agents of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) infiltrated Japanese-occupied Malaya. There they worked with Malayan guerrilla groups, including the communist-sponsored Malayan Peoples Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA), regarded as the precursor of the communist insurgent army of the Malayan Emergency. This book traces the development of SOE's Malayan operations, and analyses the interactions between SOE and the various guerrilla groups. It explores the reasons for and the extent of Malay disillusionment with Japanese rule, and demonstrates how guerrilla service acted as a training ground for some later Malay leaders of the independent nation. However, the reports written about the MPAJA by SOE operatives just after the war failed to draw out the likely future threat posed by the communists to the returning colonial administration. Rebecca Kenneison shows that the British possessed a wealth of local information, but failed to convert it into active intelligence in the period prior to the Malayan Emergency. In doing so she provides new insights into the impact of SOE on Malayan politics, the nature of Malayan communism's challenge to colonial rule, and British post-war intelligence in Malaya.

A major illustrated history of the Long Range Desert Group from the foremost expert on British wartime special forces. Formed in June 1940 for the purpose of gathering intelligence behind enemy lines, the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) played a secretive but vital role in North Africa during World War II. Highly trained in mechanized reconnaissance and specializing in desert operations, the unit provided support to the Special Air Service (SAS) in missions across the vast and treacherous terrain of the Western Desert. In this highly illustrated history of the LRDG, Gavin Mortimer reveals the origins and dramatic operations of Britain's first ever special forces unit.