Commando General The Life Of Major General Sir Robert Laycock Richard B Mead by Richard B Mead 9781473854079, 9781473854086, 9781473854093, 1473854075, 1473854083, 1473854091 instant download after payment.

Always marked out for high rank, Robert Laycock came into his own when selected to raise 8 Commando, a new 'crack' unit early in the Second World War. After training, 7, 8 and 11 Commandos were sent to the Middle East in early 1941 and all became Layforce under Laycock's command. Layforce was disbanded after Crete fell. Laycock took part in the abortive raid on Rommel's HQ. As commander of the Special Service Brigade Laycock played an important role in the Sicily landings and at Salerno. In October 1943 he succeeded Mountbatten as Chief of Combined Operations, coordinating combined services operations and training and attending Allied conferences. In later life Laycock became Governor of Malta and Colonel of the SAS. In this long overdue biography, the author reveals the detail of this fine soldier's character and superb military record.

In early June 1940 Great Britain was on the back foot. The British Expeditionary Force had been ejected from the continent of Europe and, although the majority of its men had been rescued, all its heavy weapons and transport had been abandoned at Dunkirk. France, the country’s only ally outside the British Empire, was a broken reed and would shortly capitulate to the Germans. The prospect of invasion seemed all too likely and, unsurprisingly, the focus of the armed forces was exclusively on defence.

Winston Churchill, Prime Minister for just a month, was determined to find some way to take the battle to the enemy rather than simply wait to be attacked. The main obstacle was water. Germany was already in control of the coastline of Europe from North Cape to the Pas-de-Calais and would shortly extend its rule to the Spanish frontier. The chances of crossing the intervening seas in significant strength in the immediate future were minimal, but Churchill saw an opportunity for small-scale operations to show the enemy that he was not safe in Fortress Europe.