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    SAS and Other Special Forces
    SAS and Other Special Forces
    SAS and Other Special Forces
    Ebook246 pages1 hour

    SAS and Other Special Forces

    By HarperCollins UK

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    About this ebook

    Who are the world's best soldiers? Since the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980, the Falklands and the 1991 Gulf War, the British SAS have often been described as the greatest experts in Special Operations.

    What are the secrets of their success, and how does anyone pass their arduous training programme? This reference book investigates the skills, weapons and tactics of the world's elite military units. From the SAS – Australian and New Zealand as well as British – to the special Boat Squadron, the US Special Forces, US navy SEALs, Delta Force, Germany's GSG9 and the new commando forces created from the Spetnaz units of the former Soviet army. The book includes information on the latest equipment to enter the service – from sniper rifles and silenced pistols to burst-transmission radios, satellite navigation aids, low opening parachutes and mini-submarines.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateApr 10, 2014
    ISBN9780007555246
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      Book preview

      SAS and Other Special Forces - HarperCollins UK

      Introduction

      The United States Department of Defense Dictionary of Military Terms defines special forces as Military personnel with cross training in basic and specialised military skills, organised into small, multi-purpose detachments with the mission to train, organise, supply, direct, and control indigenous forces in guerrilla warfare and counter-insurgency operations and to conduct unconventional warfare operations.

      Special forces have however existed since the beginnings of organised war. In 1100BC Gideon initiated a guerrilla and conventional campaign against the Midianites and Amalakites, an Arabic people living east of the Jordan. The Old Testament (Judges 7) describes how Gideon initiated the first recorded ‘selection process’ to hone down his force into a flexible and motivated team. First he sent home all those who were frightened, reducing numbers from 22,000 to 10,000. After a tough march the remaining 10,000 reached a stream. Most of them ‘switched off’ and lay face down lapping up the water; only 300 remained alert, stooping to drink water by the handful. Gideon took this small group, split it into three and — using the advantage of night and shock psychological tactics — attacked the Amalakites and Midianites as they camped in a valley.

      Special Forces in training: wearing a gas mask, body armour and fire-resistant uniform, they prepare to assault a building from the roof.

      At the close of the war in Rhodesia a group of Patriotic Front guerrillas arrive at an assembly point. The ZIPRA and ZANLA guerillas were armed and equipped by China and the Soviet Union.

      Gideon is a classic example of a charismatic leader selecting a small force and employing it with novel tactics to destroy a larger, less flexible one.

      The real value of special forces was revealed after the Industrial Revolution. This produced a society which was no longer semi-rural and self-sufficient, but dependent on the free movement of goods and services by road, canal, rail, sea and finally air. The power to produce goods and move them came from water, steam power, electricity, the internal combustion engine and, later, nuclear energy. The fuel and power for this network had to be stored or distributed. Society had become a complex self-supporting structure which was vulnerable to attack.

      Special Forces use many non-standard weapons. This M16A2 modified to function as a light machine gun was developed by the manufacturers for US Special Forces.

      Small, handy, and firing a round designed to penetrate body armour, the Russian PSM pistol was first issued to the Soviet Spetsnaz units.

      So too as armies became equipment-heavy they required fuel, ammunition and food, and developed long, vulnerable logistic trains. Though weapons were becoming more accurate and destructive, they were also becoming complex and vulnerable. They could be immobilised if fuel or spare parts were unavailable.

      Tactical and strategic air attacks could be launched in depth against these military and civilian networks. But long before bombers had been built and flown, special forces — which could be landed by sea or inserted overland — had delivered precise attacks.

      The Confederate cavalry raids of the American Civil War hit Union depots, telegraph lines and railways. These were copied by the Boer Commandos forty years later in South Africa. About 17 years on, TE Lawrence built up a relationship with Hussein Sherif of Mecca and his son Feisal, which led to the Arab Revolt against the Turks. Interestingly the Revolt in the Desert marks a watershed in special forces operations, since they were conducted using aircraft, armoured vehicles, horses and camels as well as knives and automatic weapons. On the Western Front in France, German Storm Troops employed infiltration by small groups to penetrate and disrupt the allied front.

      The Russian army has always believed in the value of snipers. The sniper’s hood is see-through, and he is armed with an SVD 7.62 mm sniper rifle.

      Detail of the SVD sniper rifle. This robust and reliable weapon is still in Russian service and has been widely exported

      The first airborne forces were used by the Soviet Union against ‘bandits’ in the Caucuses between the wars (Conflicts in the Caucuses have returned to haunt Russia in the 1990s). In World War II the Germans used gliders to carry combat engineers to attack the Belgian fort of Eben Emael. The Allies developed their own forces and techniques including seaborne and air landed groups. The US Rangers and British Commandos, as well as national airborne forces, were established during the war and survived its conclusion.

      North Africa had a porous front line between 1940 and 1942, which allowed long range vehicle patrols to move freely, and here various Allied groups operated. The Special Air Service (SAS) along with the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) and Popski’s Private Army (PPA) operated against German and Italian forces deep in enemy territory. PPA fought in Italy and the SAS throughout Europe and the Aegean.

      Though the SAS was disbanded at the end of the war, it was revived soon afterwards and has continued through a careful selection process to produce outstanding soldiers and leaders. The title and techniques have been adopted by the Belgian, Rhodesian, Australian and New Zealand armies, and copied by numerous armed forces throughout the world.

      This Heckler and Koch sub-machine gun is fitted with a laser sight which places a red dot on the target. A flashlight is also attached, not only providing light but improving the balance of the weapon.

      Post war operations by special forces have included Korea and Malaysia, Borneo, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, the Yemen, Oman, the Falklands, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. Some of these have involved ‘hearts and minds’ operations in which teams have given local governments medical and farming assistance; others have been training missions to teach military skills to local soldiers. Finally, some have been reconnaissance missions or direct attacks on human or infrastructure targets.

      Modern special forces may have an extensive range of sophisticated weapons, surveillance and communications equipment, but with it they need superior military skills and psychological and physical resources. These are vital since they may be required to work in small groups deep in enemy territory, where the climate may be as hostile as the forces they are operating against. Observation posts (OPs), which may be claustrophobic burrows in hedges or scrub, will have to be manned by day and night.

      The interior of the Iranian Embassy after the SAS stormed it in 1980: an operation that made this secretive British unit a household name.

      Cross-training within the patrol will mean that men have more than one specialisation — for example a medic may also be a signaller, or a demolitions expert may have specialised weapons skills. Though the name has been used in jest, it contains a great deal of truth: these men really are ‘super soldiers’.

      The US Stinger surface to air missile (SAM), the Stinger was first used by the SAS in the Falklands in 1982 and has since seen action in Africa, Afghanistan and Central America. Its light weight makes it an ideal weapon for special forces.

      In the final years of the 20th Century the versatility of special forces will ensure that they have a role worldwide. Though cruise missiles and l,000lb laser-guided bombs may be capable of hitting targets as small as air conditioning vents, special forces can observe, evaluate, and act independently and with an exact level of violence. Over 3,000 years later the shock tactics of Gideon’s 300 selected men are still as effective as they were in the darkness of that crowded enemy camp.

      The death of a Huey, hit by a Stinger.

      CHAPTER 1

      The Heroic Elite

      Writing about 500BC in Imperial China, Sun Tzu Wu produced a book of military aphorisms which guided tactics and strategy in China for centuries and were adopted by Mao Tse Tung in his military writings in the 1940s. Centuries before the ‘Boss’ of a special forces patrol called his team together to discuss an upcoming operation in what the SAS call a ‘Chinese Parliament’, Sun Tzu had identified some of the principles of leadership which motivate soldiers, non commissioned officers (NCOs) and officers:

      "The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.

      Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you wherever you may lead. Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.

      The operations undertaken by special forces succeed in part because they are well equipped and briefed, but also because the men have been carefully tested and selected and because they are led by men they trust, and who trust them.

      Military history is full of examples of gifted, charismatic leaders who have attracted a small group of men — and sometimes women — who have achieved successes against greater numbers through a mixture of guile, surprise, courage and fighting skill. These men and their leaders are an elite.

      Leadership alone will not win battles; equipment and training are the other two sides of a tripod which ensures success. Even the most courageous and successful soldier in special forces started as a nervous recruit. It was the tough but intelligent training, combined with their own motivation, that made them ‘special’. Superior equipment can include weapons, communications, transportation, and sensors and intelligence gathering equipment.

      Biblical special forces

      The Bible gives us a good example of special weapons, training, tactics and leadership with Joshua, Gideon and David. Gideon’s selection course and novel tactics are covered in the introduction to this book. Before Gideon’s operations, Joshua was leading the children of Israel from Egypt to occupy the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. He sent

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