Combined Operations: The Official Story Of The Commandos

by Hilary St. George Saunders (Foreword), Louis Mountbatten

This is an astonishing account of the accomplishments of those picked men from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force who work with U.S. Ranges and others for the United Nations in what is known officially as Combined Operations, or more popularly, the Commandos.

Genres: History, Military Fiction

204 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1943

Reviews

[Dan McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great account of the missions of the UK commandos during the early war. It was written in 1943, so it runs into issues if you want a complete account of actions (still classified, actors are still in POW camps, etc.) Put it is a good account of the readily accessable information at the time.

[Professor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book's jacket claims it was written by Evelyn Waugh, but I'm guessing that is another wartime exaggeration. Combined Operations is an odd introduction to Britain's Commando units actions in the Second World War. Written during the war, it at time gets extremely specific, but at others is maddeningly vague. There is a fair amount of assumption that you, the reader, will already know X or Y figure or event, and the book is merely filling in the details. Every action, even failed ones, are presented as successes of one kind or another, even disasters like Dieppe, which is in keeping with the propaganda this is. What is interesting is seeing the particular way the British spin the events and the war itself-their soldiers are cheery and jokey in the face of it all, and there are of course many jabs at the Germans and Italians. Even though the accounts are suspect, the basic tactics of the commandos and the events are interesting to read about. Still, I am sure that are better, more complete, and more recent works on this subject.