Phil Ward is a decorated combat veteran commissioned at age nineteen. A former instructor at the Army Ranger School, he has had a lifelong interest in small unit tactics and special operations. He lives in Texas on a mountain overlooking Lake Austin.
Major John Randal leads the Abyssinian army which he has managed to raise to fight the Italians in central Abyssinia. Using guerilla style tactics the Italian forces are slowly starting to retreat , then surrender. Different divisions of the British army are also routing the Italian soldiers. They are afraid to surrender to the Abyssinian forces. Their mistreatment of the local population is well known . They on l y feel safe surrendering to the British troops. The bravery and courage of Major Randals forces is legendary. A lot of the battles they fought is only known to a select few. Most lost to history. An absolutely stupendous read!! Enjoyed immensely!!! My highest recommendation!!
The first two books in this Raiding Forces were excellent. Book 3 is continued to book 4 which is continued to book 5......which apparently will be continued in book 11........These 3 books are each entire too long, are boring in places, are very repetitive saying the same thing over and over, and....are too complicated for the average reader (that would be me) to follow and comprehend with too much technical jargon and what too many abbreviations. I'm going to read book 6, hoping it is more like 1 & 2.
Another great book. I’m trying to read them all.
During this time of social isolation I have found them very entraining. I’m off to find some others to read. I heard of the English trying to run the Italians out of east Africa. Well here’s a very good history of that action. I enjoyed it and recommend it highly.
Book 5 in the raiding forces series keeps things hopping in this fast paced series. Loved every minute of it. John Randal is an awesome character, one you root for and he never disappoints. I had to go back and read this one again it was so much fun.
A tad wordy for my taste but an excellent story one the less. Excellent continued character development. From what I remember from high school history this could be a true story. Nice job Mr. Ward
This book could stand alone but I feel it should be read in series to keep the continuity of characters and their romances. Plenty of action throughout this series. Looking forward to the next book.
This series is exciting non-stop adventure with a fictional view of the history of early World War Two, and the advent of Special Operations. There is a touch of romance thrown in. It is hard to put the books down.
I didn't see it coming from the previous novel but it looks like MAJ. Randell and Lady Seaborne will weather the return of her husband. Great War/Love story told in true Warrior Fashion. Can't wait to start number 6!!!
This is book 5 of a series. The last 3 books are considered a trilogy based on Africa operations during WWII. I thought the first two books were great and disliked the trilogy (last 3 books). On to book 6 with hopes for return to greatness!
The small units perspective remains an interesting novelization of arenas of the War that don't get the attention of historians and their chronology of the grand sweep of events.
I once again enjoyed Mr. Ward's story. You actually root for the character's and, even though we know the outcome, you still get caught up in the excitement.
Deeply Detailed,Full of Action,Sometimes Laughable!
You can get lost (in a good way) in Phil Ward's fictionalized historical series Raiding Forces due to the intricate details & explanations of the WW2 commando actions of the British forces prior to the U.S.A.'s entry into the war. This fifth installment "Guerilla Command" is to date the most in-depth and uniquely detailed of the series. The author takes the reader through the majority of military actions that Britain had to complete to liberate Italian East Africa and gain secure control over the Suez Canal & the Red Sea area around the horn of Africa. Mr.Ward's research into the backgrounds of battles,events,situations and characters as always is excellent (I checked quite a number of them, fascinating study). The only negative I can comment on is the lack of maps of the areas of the main battles. For me this was an awesome read, very enjoyable and at times laugh out loud funny! A great adventure!
While not the best of the series, this was still excellent. In this book there were more large group movements instead of just the tighter raiding force.
Truly enjoyed reading this book. As with the previous books of this series it has lots of action and military language to lend credibility to the story line.
Not as good as the first 4 books in the series but still a great story. I r alt enjoy the caricatures. Got to reload my Amazon gift card and get the next book