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Commando: Hit and Run Combat in World War II
Vintage paperback
250 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
5 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth John Macksey
55 books16 followersBritish author and historian who specialized in military history and military biography, particularly of the Second World War. Macksey was commissioned in the Royal Armoured Corps and served during the Second World War (earning the Military Cross under the command of Percy Hobart). Macksey later wrote the (authoritative) biography of Hobart.Macksey gained a permanent commission in 1946, was transferred to the Royal Tank Regiment in 1947, reached the rank of major in 1957 and retired from the Army in 1968.
Amongst many other books, Macksey wrote two volumes of alternate history, one, entitled Invasion, dealt with a successful invasion of England by Germany in 1940 and the other describing a NATO–Warsaw Pact clash in the late 1980s. The latter book was done under contract to the Canadian Forces and focuses on the Canadian role in such a conflict. He was an editor and contributor to Greenhill's Alternate Decisions series since 1995.
In Macksey's Guderian – Panzer General, he refuted the view of historian Sir Basil Liddell-Hart regarding Hart's influence on the development of German Tank Theory in the years leading up to 1939.
Amongst many other books, Macksey wrote two volumes of alternate history, one, entitled Invasion, dealt with a successful invasion of England by Germany in 1940 and the other describing a NATO–Warsaw Pact clash in the late 1980s. The latter book was done under contract to the Canadian Forces and focuses on the Canadian role in such a conflict. He was an editor and contributor to Greenhill's Alternate Decisions series since 1995.
In Macksey's Guderian – Panzer General, he refuted the view of historian Sir Basil Liddell-Hart regarding Hart's influence on the development of German Tank Theory in the years leading up to 1939.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 26, 2020
Overreliance on code names and description of multiple small operations vs. taking more time to examine broader themes in the development of unconventional warfare hobbles the book, but, some interesting point:
- Churchill was the most vocal and important proponent of unconventional strikes, partly to get the feeling that the Brits were doing something in the initial dark days of WWII, and partly because the operations appealed to his personality. But, in general, conventional commanders (as if largely the case today), viewed small "elite" forces in their region with suspicion, and usually argued (as did King and MacArthur in the Pacific) that their own forces were elite enough and could do whatever the smaller "commando" forces could do.
- On reason the first Ranger unit was created (1st Ranger Battalion under William Darby) was because the US Navy could not spare Marines from the Pacific to participate in the preparation for the invasion of North Africa. The Marines had served the pre-invasion recon and strike functions in the Pacific and that capability was needed in N Africa.
Brit Commandos adopted the Green Beret in 1942, and like the American Rangers they clashed with the Royal Marines who saw the commando missions as their role.
- Churchill was the most vocal and important proponent of unconventional strikes, partly to get the feeling that the Brits were doing something in the initial dark days of WWII, and partly because the operations appealed to his personality. But, in general, conventional commanders (as if largely the case today), viewed small "elite" forces in their region with suspicion, and usually argued (as did King and MacArthur in the Pacific) that their own forces were elite enough and could do whatever the smaller "commando" forces could do.
- On reason the first Ranger unit was created (1st Ranger Battalion under William Darby) was because the US Navy could not spare Marines from the Pacific to participate in the preparation for the invasion of North Africa. The Marines had served the pre-invasion recon and strike functions in the Pacific and that capability was needed in N Africa.
Brit Commandos adopted the Green Beret in 1942, and like the American Rangers they clashed with the Royal Marines who saw the commando missions as their role.
October 25, 2021
I enjoyed reading the book despite the fact that I had expected it to contain more 'action'. Some of the raids are described in some detail, but overall it is more the history of how the different organizations developed the forces that performed the raiding and why. But it does do a good job on this.
It also clearly shows how the tradional services, Army/Navy, viewed this bunch of guerrilla types. There are a lot of codenames for all of the different raids that were planned and/or performed. Some quite daring, some really more like a fantasy considering the means available and the objectives set for them. The actions that are more detailed sometimes makes one wonder what they were thinking at that time. But the men that performed them were really brave and often did the best with what they had.
Good overview that wets the appetite for more detailed books on the subject.
It also clearly shows how the tradional services, Army/Navy, viewed this bunch of guerrilla types. There are a lot of codenames for all of the different raids that were planned and/or performed. Some quite daring, some really more like a fantasy considering the means available and the objectives set for them. The actions that are more detailed sometimes makes one wonder what they were thinking at that time. But the men that performed them were really brave and often did the best with what they had.
Good overview that wets the appetite for more detailed books on the subject.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews