Vehicles Of The Long Range Desert Group 1940 45

A fascinating study of the specialized vehicles, kit and techniques of the Long-Range Desert Group who pioneered long-range desert warfare in World War II and worked closely with the embryonic SAS. The Long Range Desert Group was one of the most famous special units of World War II, operating heavily modified vehicles deep behind enemy lines to gather intelligence and support the raids of David Stirling's new Special Air Service. When war broke out, a pre-war explorer and army officer, Ralph Bagnold, convinced Middle East Command of the need for a reconnaissance force to penetrate into Italian-held desert. Bagnold tested four types of vehicles over rocks and through soft sand to find the best one for his new unit. He selected the Chevrolet WB (30 CWT) as the signature vehicle of the Long Range Desert Group because it is 'fast, simple and easy to handle'. With left-hand steering, horizontal grill and round fenders on the rear wheels, these trucks proved themselves popular and effective. The durability of the Chevrolets was demonstrated in January 1941 with an audacious raid on the Italian fort/air strip at Murzuk, hundreds of miles behind enemy lines. This book explains the detail of all the vehicles of the LRDG, as well as their modifications, driving techniques and special kit for surviving behind enemy lines in one of the most hostile environments on earth.

Osprey's study of patrolmen of the Long Range Desert Group of World War II (1939-1945). Nicknamed the 'Libyan Desert Taxi Service' by the SAS, the Long Range Desert Group was tasked with strategic reconnaissance and raiding operations deep inside the enemy-held deserts of North Africa. Armed with light weapons only, and equipped with specially converted light cars and trucks capable of withstanding the harsh conditions, the LRDG quickly proved it could operate in parts of the desert which other troops, including the enemy, found impassable. This new Warrior title examines the soldiers of the LRDG from the group's formation, through training, to combat in vast, lonely, and deadly deserts of North Africa.

A major illustrated history of the Long Range Desert Group from the foremost expert on British wartime special forces. Formed in June 1940 for the purpose of gathering intelligence behind enemy lines, the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) played a secretive but vital role in North Africa during World War II. Highly trained in mechanized reconnaissance and specializing in desert operations, the unit provided support to the Special Air Service (SAS) in missions across the vast and treacherous terrain of the Western Desert. In this highly illustrated history of the LRDG, Gavin Mortimer reveals the origins and dramatic operations of Britain's first ever special forces unit.

From the author of D-Day: “an amazing tale of how the world’s very first special force was created specifically for North Africa during WWII” (Books Monthly). The origins of most of the West’s Special Forces can be traced back to the Long Range Desert Group, which operated across the limitless expanses of the Libyan Desert, an area the size of India, during the whole of the Desert War from 1940 to 1943. After the defeat of the Axis in North Africa, they adapted to serve in the Mediterranean, the Greek islands, Albania, Yugoslavia, and Greece. In the process, they became the stuff of legend. The brainchild of Ralph Bagnold, a prewar desert explorer featured in fictional terms in The English Patient, the LRDG used specially adapted vehicles and recruited only men of the right temperament and high levels of fitness and endurance. Their work was often dangerous, always taxing, exhausting, and uncomfortable. They were a new breed of soldier, and the Axis never managed to field a similar unit. Once the desert war was won, they transferred their skills to the Mediterranean sector, retraining as mountain guerrillas, serving in the ill-fated Dodecanese campaign, then in strife-torn Albania, Yugoslavia, and Greece, fighting alongside the mercurial partisans. In addition, the LRDG worked alongside the fledgling SAS and established, beyond all doubt, the value of highly trained Special Forces, a legacy which resonates today. “Genuinely gripping, a tale of eccentrics and their high adventures during very dangerous times.” —Classic Military Vehicle

This splendid record takes the reader behind enemy lines not only in North Africa but in Italy, the Aegean and the Balkans.The Author, who commanded the LRDG, paints a vivid picture of the unit's colourful characters: for example, Ralph Bagnold who put to good use the knowledge he gained from his pre-war desert travels.The LRDG was truly international with New Zealanders and Rhodesians playing key roles.This classic book won acclaim from the critics on its first publication by virtue of the author's unique knowledge, experience and narrative skills.

The first Italian armoured cars were used in the war in Libya in 1911-12 against the Ottoman Empire. With few tanks being developed, the Italians relied instead on the development of more mobile armoured cars like the Ansaldo Lancia 1 Z, during World War I, but post-war the army, focusing on the Alpine battlegrounds of Italy's northern borders, did not consider armoured cars suitable for reconnaissance duties. The experience of the Spanish Civil War would provide the much needed last push for the Italians to develop modern armoured cars. The result were the famous AB 41-43 models, which fought against the British in North Africa and Marshall Tito's forces in Yugoslavia, along with other vehicles such as the AS 36 light armoured car. Using detailed colour plates and contemporary photographs, this book examines the development of the Italian armoured car in the two world wars and the inter-war years, from the deserts of North Africa to the slopes of the Alps.

Formed on 3 July 1940, the Long Range Desert Group was the brilliant product of the vision of Major Ralph Bagnold of the Royal Corps of Signals. As a model for what is now commonly know as a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol unit, the Group can have few equals.

This first pictorial history of the LRDG “covers all aspects of [its] work and the vehicles and weapons they used in their devastating raids” (Beating Tsundoku). The Long Range Desert Group has a strong claim to the first Special Forces unit in the British Army. This superb illustrated history follows the LRDG from its July 1940 formation as the Long Range Patrol in North Africa, tasked with intelligence gathering, mapping and reconnaissance deep behind enemy lines. Manned initially by New Zealanders, in 1940 the unit became the LRDG with members drawn from British Guards and Yeomanry regiments and Rhodesians. So successful were the LRDG patrols, that when the Special Air Service was formed, it often relied on their navigational and tactical skills to achieve their missions. After victory in North Africa the LRDG relocated to Lebanon before being sent on the ill-fated mission to the Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean. Serving independently, when the Germans overwhelmed and captured the British garrisons, many LRDG personnel escaped using their well-honed skills. Many images in this, the first pictorial history of the LRDG, were taken unofficially by serving members. The result is a superb record of the LRDG’s achievements, the personalities, their weapons and vehicles which will delight laymen and specialists alike. “Well written . . . The photographs brought together here are a stunning selection despite the various quality as it shows the men and machines living the war they fought in.”—Armorama “A must-read page turner.”—Richard Gough, military author and historian “Informative and full of exciting detailed accounts of operations that occurred throughout the LRDG’s reign of terror on the Axis forces during the war.”—AMPS