Tim Moreman - Böcker

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 detailed examination of one of the crucial campaigns of World War II in Burma, in which British and Commonwealth forces achieved their first decisive victory over Japanese arms.The hard-fought Second Arakan campaign was a second attempt by Allied arms to advance in the coastal Arakan region in western Burma, following a failed first effort in early 1943. The battles fought shattered the myth of Japanese invincibility that had for over two years crippled the Allied cause, and for the first time offered the prospect of successful offensive operations against the Japanese in Burma.Military historian Tim Moreman examines the wide range of actions that made up the Second Arakan campaign, from XV Indian Corps’ initial push down the Burmese coast towards Akyab Island, to the key events of the major Japanese Ha-Go operation launched by Twenty-Eighth Army. These include the Battle of the Admin Box near Sinweyza, where the surrounded 7th Indian Division inflicted a serious defeat on the Japanese 55th Division; the reinforcement of Imphal and Kohima; and the seizure of Razabil, the Tunnels and Point 551 between March and May 1944. Packed with maps, diagrams, battlescene artworks and photographs that guide the reader through this complex campaign in easy to follow detail, this work provides a must-have illustrated companion to this decisive victory for British and Commonwealth arms over the Imperial Japanese Army.

This book focuses on the British Commonwealth armies in SE Asia and the SW Pacific during the Second World War, which, following the disastrous Malayan and Burma campaigns, had to hurriedly re-train, re-equip and re-organise their demoralised troops to fight a conventional jungle war against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). British, Indian and Australian troops faced formidable problems conducting operations across inaccessible, rugged and jungle-covered mountains on the borders of Burma, in New Guinea and on the islands of the SW Pacific. Yet within a remarkably short time they adapted to the exigencies of conventional jungle warfare and later inflicted shattering defeats on the Japanese. This study will trace how the military effectiveness of the Australian Army and the last great imperial British Army in SE Asia was so dramatically transformed, with particular attention to the two key factors of tactical doctrine and specialised training in jungle warfare. It will closely examine how lessons were learnt and passed on between the British, Indian and Australian armies. The book will also briefly cover the various changes in military organisation, medical support and equipment introduced by the military authorities in SE Asia and Australia, as well as covering the techniques evolved to deliver effective air support to ground troops. To demonstrate the importance of these changes, the battlefield performance of imperial troops in such contrastingoperations as the First Arakan Campaign, fighting along the Kokoda Trail and the defeat of the IJA at Imphal and Kohima will be described in detail.

This book focuses on the British Commonwealth armies in SE Asia and the SW Pacific during the Second World War, which, following the disastrous Malayan and Burma campaigns, had to hurriedly re-train, re-equip and re-organise their demoralised troops to fight a conventional jungle war against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). British, Indian and Australian troops faced formidable problems conducting operations across inaccessible, rugged and jungle-covered mountains on the borders of Burma, in New Guinea and on the islands of the SW Pacific. Yet within a remarkably short time they adapted to the exigencies of conventional jungle warfare and later inflicted shattering defeats on the Japanese. This study will trace how the military effectiveness of the Australian Army and the last great imperial British Army in SE Asia was so dramatically transformed, with particular attention to the two key factors of tactical doctrine and specialised training in jungle warfare. It will closely examine how lessons were learnt and passed on between the British, Indian and Australian armies. The book will also briefly cover the various changes in military organisation, medical support and equipment introduced by the military authorities in SE Asia and Australia, as well as covering the techniques evolved to deliver effective air support to ground troops. To demonstrate the importance of these changes, the battlefield performance of imperial troops in such contrastingoperations as the First Arakan Campaign, fighting along the Kokoda Trail and the defeat of the IJA at Imphal and Kohima will be described in detail.

This book provides a fascinating exploration of the Japanese conquest of Burma, as the Allied forces were forced back in disarray to India and China.The Japanese invasion of Burma in January 1942 marked the beginning of the single longest campaign of World War II. In the Burmese jungles, the battle-hardened, highly trained and lightly equipped Imperial Japanese Army quickly proved itself a vastly superior fighting force in clashes against the British, Indian and Gurkha troops that formed Burma Army and Chinese nationalist forces deployed in eastern Burma. This superbly illustrated book narrates Burma Corps’ epic fighting retreat northwards, carried out mostly in contact with the enemy and across hundreds of miles of highly malarial and extremely difficult terrain, to safety in India. Among the battles covered are the disaster at the Sittang Bridge on 22 February 1942 (where 17th Indian Division was all but destroyed), the fall of Rangoon in March 1942 and the clashes at Yenangyaung, Monywa and Shwegyin.The performance of the opposing commanders and forces is also examined in detail, highlighting the success of Japanese aggressive light infantry tactics, which ruthlessly exploited the cover and concealment provided by the jungle to outflank, bypass and encircle their bewildered enemy.

From their inception in June 1940, British Commando units conducted a succession of daring hit-and-run raids from the sea into North-West Europe, Scandinavia, Italy and the Middle East. Among the highly publicised Commando operations were the raids on Vaagso, Dieppe, and St Nazaire. The Commandos also spawned a range of other Special Forces, including the Special Air Service, Special Boat Service and the Parachute Regiment. This book provides a detailed examination of the Army (and later Royal Marine) Commandos raised in the United Kingdom, from 1940 through to 1946, when the Army Commandos were disbanded and the role was assigned exclusively to the Royal Marines.

Formed in September 1941 from the Western Desert Force, British 8th Army (comprising British, Commonwealth, Free French and Polish troops) went on to wage a lengthy, hard-fought campaign against Axis forces across the deserts of North Africa. The Desert War was unlike any other fought by the British Army, involving highly mobile operations covering vast distances. The hot, unforgiving climate in which the troops lived and fought was almost as troublesome as the enemy. During its two-year period of service in North Africa, 8th Army underwent major changes in organization, equipment and training to accustom it to desert warfare.

The Chindits were a specially organized, equipped and trained body of men employing innovative fighting methods based on ideas originally developed by Major-General Orde Wingate. Raised to fight deep behind Japanese lines in the Burmese Jungle in World War II, their contribution to the Allied cause remains controversial to this day. Accompanied by full-colour illustrations this book describes the origins of this elite formation, detailing their recruitment, training and specialist fighting methods, and reveals the distinctive dress, equipment and weapons used, as well as the immense hardships suffered by the officers and men involved.

This Osprey Command title looks closely at the early life, military experiences and key battlefield exploits of Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, first Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1887-1976), perhaps the best-known, most highly respected and most controversial British general of World War II. Monty's reputation was made while in command in North Africa, in the Mediterranean and then North-West Europe. Arguably his best-known achievement was rebuilding a dispirited and defeated eighth army and inflicting a decisive defeat on Rommel at El Alamein. Montgomery's style and exercise of command and his personal reputation were largely shaped by his highly driven, but often difficult and enigmatic personality. He made an incalculable contribution to the Allied victory in Europe, and his leadership had played a crucial role in transforming the British Army into a war-winning weapon.