I have just finished reading the best combat writing I have ever read, and I've read a lot of it. The book is only 140 pages long and was originally written as a study for the Marine Corps. The title is "Small Unit Action In Vietnam" and it's by Capt. Francis West. The title sounds dry but the writing is incredibly good and personal. The book is out of print, I think, but if you enjoy and/or collect combat writing look around for a used copy. Under the name of Bing West he also wrote a book about Vietnam called The Village and another about the first Gulf War but I haven't read those yet.
Originally posted by AmauroteNot really. This book is primarily about the tactics of units from squad through battalion size, primarily squads and platoons. There's a lot about the interactions of well trained men under fire: individual with individual, squad with squad, platoon with platoon, ground with air support, infantry with artillery support etc. Unfortunately I'm making it sound kind of technical and boring. It's technical to be sure, but not boring at all. It's a clear, professional look at Marine infantry combat in Vietnam by a professional Marine and first class writer.
I'm just wondering, does this cover US sniper tactics at all?
i saw this on another forum, "Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America", haven't read it, tho ... it got an average of 2.5 stars on Amazon, some people gave it 5: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0971680728/qid=1120446033/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-3552243-8368813?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
(i guess this is all old news, it's from 2002.)
oh, wait, one of the reviewers said "The sale of this book is mainly a money making scheme since the CIA translation is available for free all over the internet. "
"China's Military Planners Took Credit for 9/11"
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/9/24/143618.shtml
"Spy Handbooks"
http://mprofaca.cro.net/ciabook.html
Copy of Unrestricted Warfare:
http://cryptome.org/cuw.htm
Originally posted by sasquatch672I have not read that, SQ. I'll keep an eye out for a used copy. Thanks.
Don't know if you ever got into it, but "On Attacks" by Rommel is probably the preeminent infantry text ever written. It's still taught at West Point. THAT'S a book where you sit down with three beers and you put the book down when you're finished the beer.