Guerrillas in uniform: churchill's private armies in the Middle East and the war against Japan 1940- 1945
- London: Hutchinson, 1989
- 277p.
Special forces were created by Winston churchill in response to Britain's critically beleaguered position in World War II. The object of putting guerrillas in uniform was to raid deep behind enemy lines to occupy and distract the enemy until conventional armies could return to the fray. Special forces did not succeed in making a significant contribution to the final allied victory, with the possibility of continued reduction of nuclear weapons, the need to nurture highly trained fighting elites is perhaps greater.