Israeli Paratroopers 1954 2016

From the creation of the first volunteer paratroop unit shortly after the birth of Israel and of the Israeli Defense Force, this arm of service has been recognized as elite. They have also been the first choice for daring special missions, and it is mainly from their ranks that Israel's Special Forces units have been recruited. A unique aspect of the Israeli military is the cross-posting of officers from the airborne, armoured and other units, to ensure that all unit commanders share their aggressive qualities and thorough understanding of the capabilities of all arms. In this way the influence of the paratroop arm has been out of proportion to its size. This fully illustrated study is a complete history of Israeli paratroopers from its creation to the present day, including relevant developments in their role and organization, as well as their achievements and setbacks in conflicts such as the Six Days War and Yom Kippur War.

The M4 carbine has become one of the defining military firearms of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Developed as a fusion of the XM177E2 Colt Commando and the M16A2 assault rifle, the M4 offered a more convenient battlefield firearm than the full-length M16 variants, and the US Army adopted it as the standard infantry weapon in the 1990s. Today, military and law-enforcement personnel of more than 60 countries have adopted either the M4 or the M4A1 variant, both of which have been tested and proven in major combat operations worldwide. This study describes the development process in detail, from production of the first XM4 prototypes in 1984 through numerous modified types until it emerged into official use as the M4 in 1994. The M4 offered a weapon that was 1lb lighter and 6in shorter than the standard M16A2, yet could still deliver precision semi-auto and full-auto firepower up to an effective range of 500m. Over time, its capabilities have been enhanced by the M4A1 modifications plus an extensive range of tactical accessories, including optical day/night sights, laser/infrared designators, under-barrel grenade launchers and shotgun modules, foregrips, furniture options, mounting rails, and sound suppressors. Numerous M4/M4A1 combat operations are investigated to reveal why the weapon has received such high levels of approval by front-line combat troops, not only in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the M4/M4A1 has been intensively combat-tested, but also in contexts such as Colombia, India, Israel, and the Philippines. Profusely illustrated with photographs and artworks, and drawing its research from the latest declassified documents, this is a complete guide to one of the most important and widely distributed tactical infantry weapons of the last quarter-century.

From the creation of the first volunteer paratroop unit shortly after the birth of Israel and of the Israeli Defense Force, this arm of service has been recognized as elite. They have also been the first choice for daring special missions, and it is mainly from their ranks that Israel's Special Forces units have been recruited. A unique aspect of the Israeli military is the cross-posting of officers from the airborne, armoured and other units, to ensure that all unit commanders share their aggressive qualities and thorough understanding of the capabilities of all arms. In this way the influence of the paratroop arm has been out of proportion to its size. This fully illustrated study is a complete history of Israeli paratroopers from its creation to the present day, including relevant developments in their role and organization, as well as their achievements and setbacks in conflicts such as the Six Days War and Yom Kippur War.

In 1947, when the UN partitioned Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, the true war for Israel's existence began. Throughout the War of Independence (1948), the PAL'MACH (Hebrew abbreviation for 'Strike Companies') spearheaded Israel's forces. Disbanded in 1949, the PAL'MACH was replaced by other specialist units, including paratroop forces, the GOLANI Infantry Brigade, the Naval Commandos, and territorial and other reconnaissance commando formations. An acknowledged expert on the Israeli Defence Forces, Samuel Katz presents an overview of these IDF elite units, including the mysterious SAYERET MAT'KAL, a highly classified elite unit whose exploits involve the 1972 raid on a hijacked Belgian Sabena Boeing 707.

Over the last two decades, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) has introduced a variety of new AFVs. Old models such as the M48 and M60 have been improved beyond recognition, in the form of the Magach 7. The performance of Israel's indigenous Merkava tank has been similarly enhanced with new variants and the new Merkava 4 MBT has recently entered service. Israeli infantry have also received machines such as the Achzarit assault carrier, the Puma combat engineer vehicle and the Nagmachon and Nakpadon (tank-based carriers intended for low intensity conflicts). This book examines the design, modification and combat history of these formidable fighting machines.

Following the devastation of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) underwent significant structural and tactical changes in their battle doctrine. In only a few years the IDF evolved into a truly modern fighting force, much better prepared to confront the Palestinian terrorist attacks that were to follow. Written by an ex-soldier of the IDF, this richly illustrated book chronicles the history of the IDF from the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War to the late 1980s, and covers the various units of the IDF including the Paratroop and Infantry Branch, the Engineering Corps and the Armoured Corps.

Established in 1932, the Vozdushno-desantnye voyska ('air-landing forces', or VDV) of the Red Army led the way in airborne doctrine and practice. Though they were initially handicapped by a lack of infrastructure, due in part to a turbulent political climate in the 1930s, they still conducted major drops during World War II, including at the Dnepr River in September 1943. After the war ended, the VDV became independent of the Air Force and were elevated to the role of strategic asset. The newly rebuilt divisions were now organized and trained to conduct deep insertions behind enemy lines, attacking command-and-control facilities, lines of communication, and key infrastructure targets such as nuclear power plants. This training came into play in numerous Cold War confrontations, including Soviet operations in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968). During the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979–89), the VDV proved to be the most formidable of the Mujahideen's opponents, with the development of the air assault concept – the transport, insertion and support of air-landed troops by helicopter rather than parachute. This title explores the development of the VDV from their conception in 1930 to their role in the Cold War and in the later invasion of Afghanistan. Supported by contemporary photography and specially commissioned artwork of uniforms and battlescenes, this title is a comprehensive and engaging guide to the history of airborne forces in the Soviet period.

This book reexamines one of the most intense controversies of the Holocaust: the role of Rezs Kasztner in facilitating the murder of most of Nazi-occupied Hungary’s Jews in 1944. Because he was acting head of the Jewish rescue operation in Hungary, some have hailed him as a savior. Others have charged that he collaborated with the Nazis in the deportations to Auschwitz. What is indisputable is that Adolf Eichmann agreed to spare a special group of 1,684 Jews, who included some of Kasztner’s relatives and friends, while nearly 500,000 Hungarian Jews were sent to their deaths. Why were so many lives lost? After World War II, many Holocaust survivors condemned Kasztner for complicity in the deportation of Hungarian Jews. It was alleged that, as a condition of saving a small number of Jewish leaders and select others, he deceived ordinary Jews into boarding the trains to Auschwitz. The ultimate question is whether Kastztner was a Nazi collaborator, as branded by Ben Hecht in his 1961 book Perfidy, or a hero, as Anna Porter argued in her 2009 book Kasztner’s Train. Opinion remains divided. Paul Bogdanor makes an original, compelling case that Kasztner helped the Nazis keep order in Hungary’s ghettos before the Jews were sent to Auschwitz, and sent Nazi disinformation to his Jewish contacts in the free world. Drawing on unpublished documents, and making extensive use of the transcripts of the Kasztner and Eichmann trials in Israel, Kasztner’s Crime is a chilling account of one man’s descent into evil during the genocide of his own people.