Great Raids In History: From Drake To Desert One

by Samuel A. Southworth

This thrilling collection of all-new works by a variety of military historians studies the most audacious soldiers in history—the raiders—who put their lives on the line in winner-take-all incursions deep into enemy territory. Each chapter focuses on a different raid, and the breathtaking chances, hard choices and combat that resulted. Raiders don’t always win, but they never fail to astonish! “All 19 recorded here—Custer at the Washita, for example, or Mosby at Fairfax Courthouse, Israelis at Green Island, Americans at Son Tay—had a powerful impact on the conflicts of which they were a part. Reading about them, even about the failures, is an eloquent reminder of the courage they demanded.”—Naval Institute Proceedings

Genres: Military Fiction, History, Military History, Nonfiction

338 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book alot- although I will be honest about its shortcomings right off. Coming from Castle Books, it is on the popular history/academic divide. Thus the maps/diagrams/pictures/colour anything are sorely lacking or in the case of colour plates- completely nonexistent. This is a pity- I'd LOVE to see what the Osprey press people would do with the same material- in fact they probably have a book for each event you might want to pick up. But for all its shortcomings on that front- STILL a great little book for all my reading constituencies.
Written in 1997 this book traces the history of the "Raid" using 19 distinct episodes from Drake at Cadiz in the late 1500s to the Disaster at Desert One in 1980 in Iran. They are intentionally a mixed bag- some like the Big Napoleonic Cossack Raids in 1813-14 and Lawrence of Arabia/Feisal at Aquaba big successes. Some like Dieppe and Desert One- dismal failures. Others like Custer at the Washita , First Chindit, or the Belgian/American Paradrop in the Congo a very mixed bag to be sifted over. All the while- with different authors on each episode we get a strong history with analysis. Very readable- although my brain was SCREAMING for more visual content.
A great little survey for the junior reader- with a little guidance with some of the more complex political passage- any reader down to about 11 should be able to understand the content. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast - a really strong offering that will spar ideas for a thousand real and imagined raids- in all sorts of heavily gamed periods. In fact if this book does not inspire you to play a game or start a little raiding force- you have very strong self control- what are you doing in our hobbies? A strong rec for gamers from the Renaissance through 7YW/AWI/Napoleonic/ACW/Colonial/WWI/WWII !!!

[Cathy Ragsdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, learned so much and it is a very fun read.

[Lyn Sweetapple · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very broad collection of Western focused raids. The stories were well told, but some more background information or maps could be included. Some highlights include the French paid bounties for English settler scalps in New England during the early 1700s. Although the French and Indian War (the 7 years war in Europe) is the most known, it appears the French and British had open warfare involving Native allies all through the 1700s. John Paul Jones naval raid in British waters forced the British Navy to stay near home which the French took advantage of. There was an price increase in marine insurance "... no trivial matter for a maritime nation." The modern Cossack culture (which included their participation in the Napoleonic Wars -- see the fascinating battle of Luneberg) started around 1450 as Ukrainians took refuge from Polish and Lithuanian overloads by moving to the steppes. They quickly acquired horse and military skills. Custer's wife was probably the most successful PR person in history. Custer in 1867 was given the command of the 7th Cavalry and quickly showed his incompetence, vicious disciplinarian and pompous behavior (he brought his own female cook) and wrote that "while [the 7th Cavalry] was attempting to kill Indians, I was studying the problem of how to kill time in the most agreeable manner. My campaign was a decided success." Though his couldn't totally be blames as the new president, Grant, commander of the Army, Sherman, and the commander of the Department of the Missouri, Sheridan, were not accustomed to defeat. The result was the Washita Massacre. Koos de la Rey of the Transvaal is an amazing self taught commando. His tactics forced the surrender of the Scots Greys. He was surprisingly honored after WWI not by the Boers, but by the British. A development of professional British Commandos created some havoc. To remove a dead tree on the grounds of a grand house that served as their camp, they decided to use explosives. As per TE Lawrence a little will do but more is better caused every window to be blown out of the house. They made amends by replacing all the windows, however every greenhouse nearby had been visited the night before by cammo clad men. One of Brigadier Wingate's contributions to the commando was to redo the rations. His daily ration was, "twelve hardtack biscuits, 2 ounces raisins and nuts, 4 ounces dates, a bar of chocolate or hard candy, vitamin C tablets, and a packet of powdered milk for tea. A soldier could more easily carry 5 days food. These long range soldiers adopted the name Chindits form the dragon statues on Buddhist temples. We complain or changing from summer time, but during WWII Britain was on double summer time to match time with Germany. I hope you find this book as interesting as I did.