Hachette Military Collection – serie

An eye-opening account of Australian combat history, untold . . . until now.'thoroughly researched and compelling . . . a chilling account' - SUNDAY TELEGRAPHIn 1969 a ragtag unit of 39 men were thrown together at Nui Dat, Vietnam. It was so slapdash a group it didn't even have an officer or a sergeant in charge. A rugged ex-Royal Marine stepped forward to take the lead. Jim Riddle was only an acting corporal, but he knew enough of war to keep these young diggers alive. When the platoon was involved in a high-risk ambush Riddle proved his leadership skills, bringing his men through unscathed and leaving the battlefield littered with enemy bodies.Despite their success, immediately afterwards the platoon was disbanded. According to the army they'd never existed - theirs was a ghost platoon. Frank Walker details what happened at that ambush and why the army buried their existence, and the secrets that went with it. His findings are a shocking indictment of the long-term effects of war. The men of the platoon - who'd fought so hard for their country - had to fight again to reveal the truth. But the price they all paid was far too high. GHOST PLATOON is a gripping story of the soldiers who should never be forgotten . . . or denied. Now part of the HACHETTE MILITARY COLLECTION.

'This is what an SAS career is really like'AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE MAGAZINEElite SAS Patrol Commander Stuart 'Nev' Bonner takes us inside the extraordinary and dangerous world of secret combat operations in this explosive, behind-the-scenes look at life inside the SAS. A world where capture means torture or death, and every move is trained for with precision detail to bring elite soldiers to the very peak of fighting ability.In a career spanning twenty years, fourteen of them in the SAS, Bonner shares with us the inside story of being out in front - and often behind enemy lines.From patrolling the mountains of East Timor to covert operations in Bougainville and the Solomon Islands, from sweeping into the Iraqi desert ahead of invading US forces to cripple Saddam Hussein's communications to patrolling in war-torn Baghdad and being in the middle of the disastrous Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan - this is a no-holds-barred account of what it's like to live, eat and breathe SAS. Now part of the HACHETTE MILITARY COLLECTION.

'This book drips with adventure and intrigue'THE AGEIn 1963, Australian Army Captain Barry Petersen was sent to Vietnam. It was one of the most tightly held secrets of the Vietnam War. Petersen was ordered to train and lead guerrilla squads of Montagnard tribesmen against the Viet Cong in the remote Central Highlands. He successfully formed a fearsome militia, named 'Tiger Men'.A canny leader, he was courageous in battle, and his bravery saw him awarded the coveted Military Cross and worshipped by the hill tribes. But his success created enemies, not just within the Viet Cong. Some in US intelligence saw Petersen as having 'gone native' and were determined he had to go, by any means possible. He was lucky to make it out of the mountains alive.THE TIGER MAN OF VIETNAM reveals the compelling true story of a little-known Australian war hero. Now part of the HACHETTE MILITARY COLLECTION.

'An unpretentious Aussie's experiences in one of the most ramshackle and soul-destroying military organisations on Earth.' COURIER-MAILA real-life boy's own adventure, MARCHING WITH THE DEVIL is a hell-raising account of five years in the infamous French Foreign Legion.'In 1894 a French Foreign Legion General said, "Legionnaires, vous etes faits pour mourir, je vous envoie la ou on meurt." Legionnaires, you are made for dying, I will send you where you can die. When I was in my mid-teens and first read those words they were powerful and confronting. I read them as a challenge and an invitation. The words, and the feelings they evoked, remained with me until I was ready. On 20 May 1988, I enlisted in the French Foreign Legion.'Searching for something he wasn't finding in his life in Australia, David Mason joined the French Foreign Legion. This is a frank account of how Mason came first in basic training, trained other Legionnaires, went to Africa, did sniper, commando and medic training and took part in two operations, both in the Republic of Djibouti where a civil war nearly crippled the nation. It tells of his daily life in the Legion, in the training regiment, in Africa and with the Legion's Parachute Regiment. But more than this: it reveals his disillusionment, frustration and disappointment with the much mythologised Legion, and how the Legion today is not what it seems - or could be. Now part of the HACHETTE MILITARY COLLECTION.'Remarkable' THE AGE

Clive 'Killer' Caldwell was a natural and brilliant pilot, a superb shot, and a born leader. He saw action against the Germans, Italians and Japanese, and remains Australia's greatest ever fighter pilot - this is his definitive biography.Born and brought up in Sydney, it was obvious from an early age that nothing would stand in Caldwell's way. He bluffed his way into the RAAF, then made sure that he was posted exactly where he thought he should be.His ability was unquestioned by all those around him, and he devised the vital 'shadow shooting' technique which contributed so much to Allied success in the air in the North African campaign, and in northern Australia. But he was never afraid of voicing his opinions to all those above and below him, be it about the training of pilots, or the equipping of Spitfires for use against the Japanese - or trying to run the show his way.Caldwell ended his military career in the Morotai Mutiny in 1945, where he and a number of other Australian pilots tried to resign their commissions in protest at not being allowed by General MacArthur - and the RAAF - to take part in the main action. And then he was embroiled in the Barry inquiry into booze smuggling by him and other pilots. KILLER CALDWELL is a colourful portrait of this colourful Australian. Now part of the HACHETTE MILITARY COLLECTION.'an outstanding airman and a popular national hero.' Australian War Memorial