Suchergebnisse

"Britain's SBS - or Special Boat Service - was the world's first maritime special operations unit. Founded in the dark days of 1940, it started as a small and inexperienced outfit that leaned heavily on volunteers' raw courage and boyish enthusiasm. It went on to change the course of the Second World War - and has served as a model for special forces ever since"--Publisher's description

War in the ancient world : 3000 BCE-500 CE -- War in the medieval world : 500-1500 -- Early modern warfare : 1500-1750 -- The age of revolution : 1750-1830 -- The dawn of mechanized warfare : 1830-1914 -- Era of the world wars : 1914-1945 -- Conflicts after World War II : 1945-present -- Directory.

"On June 27, 1976, a group of Arab and German terrorists hijacked Air France flight 139 en route from Tel Aviv to Paris. The plane was diverted to Entebbe Airport in Uganda, where the terrorists demanded the release of fifty-three "freedom fighters" in Israeli, Kenyan, and European jails in return for the safe release of the 253 passengers and crew. Idi Amin, whose murderous rule of Uganda was then in its fifth year, made no attempt to intervene. After most of the non-Israeli hostages had been released, Israel faced an impossible choice: give in to terrorism or risk a rescue that had a high chance of failure. In the wake of the massacre of eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, this decision was almost incalculably difficult. As Saul David recounts in this reconstruction of one of the most complex Special Forces missions ever, Operation Thunderbolt required more than just tactical audacity. In a mere two days, three of the most important men in Israeli history--Ehud Barak, Shimon Peres, and Yitzhak Rabin--marshaled resources, secured necessary international partners, and masterminded the raid that would astonish the world. This book gives us the first comprehensive account, using classified documents from archives in tour countries and interviews with key participants, including Israeli soldiers and politicians, hostages, and a former terrorist. The result brings to life the role that ingenuity and bravery can play against even the most impossible odds and the most committed opponents."--Book jacket

Politiker und militärische Befehlshaber tragen in Kriegssituationen eine unglaubliche Verantwortung - der kleinste Fehler kann katastrophale Konsequenzen haben. Der Militärhistoriker Saul David hat zweitausend Jahre Kriegsgeschichte untersucht und die Ursachen und Folgen von Fehlentscheidungen analysiert: beginnend mit den römischen Eroberungen, über die Kreuzzüge im Mittelalter und die Schützengräben des Ersten Weltkriegs bis hin zu den Kriegsschauplätzen unserer Zeit, wie dem Krieg um dieFalklandinseln oder dem Golfkrieg. Dabei sind Geschichtslektionen der anderen Art entstanden, die auf eindringliche Weise aufzeigen, wie unberechenbar der menschliche Faktor gerade in der Kriegssituation bleibt, wo Inkompetenz, Eitelkeit oder Leichtsinn oft über Leben und Tod entscheiden