Blackwell UK
Commando Country
ISBN: 9781905267149
Format: Paperback
Publisher: National Museums of Scotland
Commando Country looks across the origins and development of new forces like the Commandos and Special Operations Executive, finding common ground for the intensive training they relied on to carry out raids and resistance operations throughout occupied Europe and beyond.
Drawing on official sources and the testimony of trainees and their instructors, Stuart Allan considers not only the military utility of the highland environment but also its relationship to the ethos of this most uncompromising kind of warfare. More
Reviews:
' ... a history that's rich in technical detail, yet, thankfully, remains subservient to the story of the people.' The Herald'... This well-researched book is worthy of its exciting subject. Recommended.'Colonel Oliver Lindsay, The Guards Magazine
RRP £12.99
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The Scottish highlands played a pivotal role in the secret development of special service training during the Second World War. The remote and rough terrain came into its own as a training and testing ground for new types of fighting. "Commando Country" looks at the variety of special training establishments set up (mostly highland shooting lodges), and at how use was made of the landscape and coastline and of specialist civilian skills such as stalking and mountaineering. It stresses how these new methods of warfare, tested in Scotland, spread internationally into the present day elite status of 'special forces' world-wide.The story involves many famous names from a variety of backgrounds such as actors David Niven and Alec Guinness, mountaineer John Hunt, and polar explorer Martin Lindsay, as well as famous military figures such as David Stirling, founder of the SAS and Special Operations Executive agent Violet Szabo. Conveying the atmosphere of remote highland locations, the book makes strong use of photographs and personal testimony collected from those involved, bringing a unique Scottish perspective to a popular subject.
