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18 Platoon Hardcover – 1 Sept. 1998

by Sydney Jary (Author)

19 ratings

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Print length

166 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Light Infantry Office
Publication date

1 Sept. 1998
ISBN-10

1901655016
ISBN-13

978-1901655018
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Russell Lewis
232
Paperback
25 offers from £3.25
Patrick Hennessey
346
Paperback
52 offers from £0.75
Karl Marlantes
2,930
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34 offers from £1.27
L. David Marquet
3,959
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28 offers from £4.27
Sydney Jary
16
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4 offers from £37.93
George MacDonald Fraser
1,248
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12 offers from £1.96

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Light Infantry Office; 4th Revised edition (1 Sept. 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 166 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1901655016
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1901655018

Best Sellers Rank: 266,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,100 in World War II Biographies & Memoirs
- 1,453 in World War II Biographies (Books)
- 3,450 in European Historical Biographies

Customer reviews:
19 ratings

Russell Lewis
232
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25 offers from £3.25
Patrick Hennessey
346
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Jim Storr
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Garry McCarthy
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James Holland
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. How2become
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Customer reviews

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Photo enthusiast

Normandy to Bremen 1944 with a platoon commander

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 September 2020

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An expensive little book but worth every penny and much more. It proves that someone who was THERE and who happened to be a gifted writer can say more in 150 pages than can a civilian historian in 600. Jary's 18 Platoon fought from Normandy 1944 to Bremen 1945, like so many units taking over 100% casualties as did his battalion. When looking at overall casualty returns, it is always necessary to realise that almost all of them come out of the rifle companies 'at the sharp end'. When he landed, Jary was told to expect to last three weeks. How did a young officer not even twenty-one cope? How did he learn to manage his men and form them into a high-morale and professional front-line unit? How did he learn to 'read a battle' from sounds and other clues? Jary tells you, in a riveting account that I could not put down until I finished it. Highly, highly recommended. No men should be asked to go through what those soldiers did, but thank god enough were found. I would myself have liked a pop at the bastard who questioned why he should give Jary a job after his return home, but as a child I remember ex-servicemen missing limbs selling cigarettes and matches to cinema queues, having given everything to return civilization to Europe, whatever their backgrounds that was all they were considered good for. Anyway, I digress, Jary had a long life running his own business and a happy mariage, after reading his harrowing account I was really pleased to know that. A gem of a book.

7 people found this helpful

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Charles Vasey

An Officer and a Gentle Man

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 May 2009

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Sydney Jary led 18 platoon of 4/Somerset Light Infantry in Normandy, the Netherlands and Germany in 1944 and 1945. Working with excellent NCOs he built the sort of "band of brothers" that forms the backbone of all armies; and had the ability to encapsulate this bond in a splendid little book. Jary's writing is almost in the same class as John Masters' BUGLES AND A TIGER (I think I've read Masters a dozen times and had four versions "liberated" by chums). Not only does it perfectly encapsulate friendship and pride of corps; but it avoids either a winsomely Great War Poets approach or that of the opposite Captain Hurricane Jerry killers persuasion. Jary clearly enjoys combat, yet admits to be being a pacifist at times. His section on looking into the destroyed assault guns is a good example of the latter.

For the military reader there are some very useful points on the supposed superiority of the Wehrmacht over the BLA and some interesting comments on the American army and how it treated its squaddies. There is also plenty of the chaos and sudden surprise of close combat, and with Jary close is exactly what combat is.

For those interested in leadership this (and Masters' book) are very thought-provoking though perhaps one cannot carry over principles hardened in combat to how you run a board meeting. Jary has some poignant comments on re-entering civilian life. Perhaps the book's strongest point is its decency.

Thoroughly recommended.

25 people found this helpful

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Kelland H.

A true picture of life as an infantry subaltern in WW2

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 October 2011

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This book is one of the most excellent books to be found on what life as an infantry officer in WW2 was like. Written in a sensitive and reflective manner, this is no gung-ho account, full of blood and thunder. True, they were there, and in large amounts, but Jary was a man who loved his men and had a healthy respect, coupled with compassion, for the enemy. It emphasises the importance of patrolling and how good infantry tactics can be used most effectively on the battlefield without resorting to artillery or armour. The book came about almost by accident but I understand it is required reading for every aspiring young officer at Sandhurst, and rightly so. Highly recommended and a page turner throughout.

10 people found this helpful

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Peter Trinder

Fascinating tead

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2019

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Fascinating story of brave men and their young leader.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Excellent!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 September 2019

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I’ve been meaning to buy a copy for 10 years! It is a treatise on tactical leadership that will be relevant for years to come.

2 people found this helpful

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Richard

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 June 2016

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A classic.

2 people found this helpful

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rickster

top insight into British Army Infantry in WWII N Europe.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 January 2013

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Should be read by any young man considering soldiering as a career. EXcellent and gripping read....on a par with "With the Jocks".

4 people found this helpful

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J.M. Chris

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 October 2014

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Perfect book. Very realistic written

2 people found this helpful

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18 Platoon Hardcover – 1 Sept. 1998

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