5 used & new from £84.74
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
It Had to be Tough: The Fascinating Story of the Origins of the Commandos and Their Special Training in World War II
  
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

It Had to be Tough: The Fascinating Story of the Origins of the Commandos and Their Special Training in World War II (Paperback)

by James Dunning (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


1 new from £275.00 4 used from £84.74

Product details

  • Paperback: 222 pages
  • Publisher: The Pentland Press; First Edition edition (Mar 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1858217482
  • ISBN-13: 978-1858217482
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,330,275 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

From the Publisher

First edition sold out in just 3 weeks! 2nd edition printed.
In the dark days of 1940, following the fall of France and the evacuation of Dunkirk, Churchill boldly ordered the raising of a new elite fighting force - The Commandos. A succession of daring raids on occupied Europe raised the Allies' flagging morale and made the Commandos one of the most respected - and feared - units of World War II. Sixty years on, this book tells the extraordinary story of the training of that elite force. It traces the development of the extreme and often unorthodox training methods and techniques used to prepare for a wide range of operations and instil the indomitable fighting spirit with which the name "Commando" became synonymous.

Written by a founder member of the Commandos, this book also provides a unique insight into the lives of the men who pioneered this new style of military training which introduced such new military subjects as unarmed combat, cliff assaults, mountain warfare, amphibious landings from small boats and parachuting.

"Commando training" has since become the foundation for secret service and elite forces around the world. As well as being a book of significant interest to military historians, "It Had To Be Tough" holds valuable lessons for all those - military and civilian - in leadership and adventure training today and yet, at the same time, offers a fascinating story to interest all readers.

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable addition to the historiography of the Commandos, 30 Jan 2001
By cmessen982@aol.com (London, Britain) - See all my reviews
James Dunning was a member of No 4 Commando during WW2 and took part in a number of its raids before becoming a Commando instructor. His account concentrates on all aspects of Commando training, from the very early ad hoc days of 1940 to details of how the Commando Training Centre in Scotland operated. He stresses that the principles and techniques which were evolved still apply very much to today's Royal Marine Commandos. He writes extremely well and with authority. First Class.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4.0 out of 5 stars It had to be tough ... and apparently it was!, 12 Mar 2008
By Steen Lykke Laursen "Fortes Fortuna Juvat" (Oksboel, Denmark) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I read a US edition - "The British Commandos: The Origins and Special Training of an Elite Unit" (Paladin Press 2000/2007) - that I can't seem to find here.
If you want to read at length about the daring commando raids and operations, you have got the wrong book. The subtitle does not lie. This book is almost entirely about the pioneering efforts to establish and train these, in their day, innovative and trend setting units.
James Dunning presents knowledge and insight with a passion and in such detail one may well get the impression, that he is writing about his closest family. This book is jam-packed with the names of eccentric commando-pioneers, tough personalities, dedicated professionals, adventurous amateurs, ingenious men of war and the many almost anonymous places where they trained before they went to places all too familiar to military history buffs like me/us.
The reputation of the Commandos did not grow out of daring and courage alone - a lot of hard work and purposeful training played an important part: "Planning, Practice and Preparation Prevent Piss Poor Performance".
It is amazing to see that a good deal of the training aids and methods we consider a natural ingredient in modern military training apparently have their origins in Lochailort and Achnacarry.
Did you know that the commandos were largely billeted outside the barracks and lived in rented rooms among the civilians? The amount of information and the detail is staggering.
These brave bearers of the green beret, James Dunning included, paved the way for to days infamous British Special Forces like The Parachute Regiment, SAS and SBS.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

   

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject











i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.