SAS: Storm Front: The Storming Bestseller from the Author of Harrier 809

I bought this book on a whim, it looked good and the price was right but I really did not know what to expect. Well what a fantastic book and piece of history to stumble across!! The author conveys one of Britain's secret hot wars within the cold war period with unrivalled clarity. I simply did not appreciate this period of history within the British Armed forces prior to this. The entire campaign in Oman was of exceptional importance for a number of reasons, mainly oil and this explained (as it usually does) the reason for the UK's interest in the conflict. I really must take my hat off to the author, for not giving me one thrilling story, but several each with their own sub-plots, from the original coup, through to the initial Op JAGUAR and finally the epic battle of Mirbat from both the ground and the air, which quite frankly should be taught in all schools in the country alongside Rorke's Drift as an epic battle of desperation won against overwhelming odds. Rowland White also brings up some interesting points or criticisms which are very apt today, British politicians wanting to fight wars on the cheap without proper equipment, the lack of any real recognition of the battle and the embarassingly low MiD award to L/Cpl Labalaba when he was probably one of the SAS regiment's bravest soldiers in the battle and I have seen and read of VC's being given out for a lot less than his actions that day!! Finally the author makes some poignant observations about how this successfully conducted campaign against insurgency, though against communists, may be cross-applied to the modern conflicts we are in today in trying to maintain stable governments in various states around the world. It is almost as if this entire campaign has been forgotten by the British politicians, yet it would serve as a valuable template for the similar operations we find ourselves in today. If you want to learn more about British world influence in the Cold War, modern history of the SAS or simply just want a really good entertainingly told slice of British modern history, buy this book you will NOT be disappointed!!!

This is an excellent book despite being a little disjointed in places, particularly at the start. It provided a very detailed historical context but I would have preferred this as a concise chapter at the start to set the scene. Some of the details could have been consigned to notes in an appendix. Without any experience as a pilot, some of the detail of how helicopters were quickly manoeuvred out of harms way went straight over my head. If you want an easier, faster-paced but less detailed account you might want to consider SAS Operation Storm: Nine men against four hundred by Roger Cole (who fought at the Battle of Mirbat) and Richard Belfield. One thing that has struck me about all accounts of this battle I have read is what a liability the 25-pound gun turned out to be; the SAS would have been better off with another GPMG. If the Adoo (enemy) had controlled it, it could have been turned and fired at the BATT house, killing all the SAS soldiers inside or destroying their sanctuary. The battle would have been lost and the outcome of the Oman Civil War might have been very different. This danger of the gun falling into Adoo hands was surely not lost on Labalaba who had the presence of mind to race across exposed ground to reach it; for a while he was helped but, for over an hour, he fired the gun single-handedly. He was eventually killed and surely deserves a posthumous Victoria Cross.

Rowland White covers the situation on the Omani side of the Arabian Peninsular from the time the British pulled out of Aden, turning what was the Peoples’ Democratic Republic of Yemen over to Marxists who had been backed in their struggle for independence by the Peoples’ Republic of China. He explains how Oman, which while being pro-British was ruled by the aged and eccentric Sultan Said bin Taimur, appeared to be yet another easy target for the Peoples’ Republic of China to stir-up political unrest and overthrow the Sultan using insurgents backed by forces from South Yemen. White details Britain’s clandestine involvement in the overthrow of the Sultan by his son – Qaboos bin Said, in basically a bloodless coup which resulted in the old Sultan ending his days in a private suite at London’s Dorchester Hotel, along with his extended entourage. The Omani insurgents and their Yemeni allies along with the Peoples’ Republic of China then stepped-up their campaign to overthrow young Sultan Qaboos, who in turn turned to Britain for support. This was secretly provided by the British Government with ex-officers of the RAF transferring to the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force, and members of the British Army to the Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces as trainers, as well as the SAS training irregular Omani forces in Dhofar, the area adjoining Southern Yemen. The book relates the heroic activity of the few SAS and the supportive Sultan of Oman’s Air Force who miraculously lead Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces irregular troops to overcome vastly superior numbers of insurgents and thus winning the day for Sultan Qaboos bin Said who through good governance can now boast of a country with a very high standard of living for its citizens. Well worth a read!

From the mid-sixties to the mid seventies a war was fought in Dhofar, in the southeast of the Sultanate of Oman. This book provides a well written account of events related to that war in the first years of the 1970s, largely from the point of many of the participants fighting on the ground and the the British Pilots who fought along with them in a variety of aircraft.. While the larger regional aspects of this war are dealt with in some detail, this book is foremost an account of the men who took part in the military action. The dramatic battle of Mirbat, where a very small force of SAS soldiers managed to withstand for several crucial hours a much larger rebel force untill reinforcements turned the battle, is very vividly described. The book will appeal to readers familiar with Oman and to readers interested in the military exploits of this relatively unknown 'secret' war. .

An excellent and superbly researched account of the bravery of the SAS, and the bravery of the pilots, either seconded or contracted to the SOAF, who saved the BATT (SAS) force at the battle for Mirbat. I was a fairly regular visitor to Sharjah, Masira and Salalah between 1972 and 1974; mainly ferried out by the RAF from Akrotiri in Cyprus, via Dubai, in a combination of Hercules and Andovers. Before everything hit the fan in Lebanon, I made the Dubai leg from Nicosia, changing planes at Beirut, with what was then Middle East Airlines. That stopped when it became safer to hop in a Hercules, ear defenders and all! I happened to be in the Officers Mess at Masirah, having flown up from Salalah, when news broke about the attack on the Officers Mess barbecue at Salalah. Although it is not mentioned in the book, I did see the medics at Masirah in an urgent huddle with a couple of the RAF officers, before leaping out of the Mess at great speed. I assumed at the time that they were called out to fly down to Salalah to assist the docs and surgeons? While at Salalah I was billeted in what was laughingly known as "The Political Bungalow". It was forty years ago, but, If my memory serves me correctly, it was a sort of hut, but one with air conditioning, which was marvellous! All in all, an exciting period of time for a NAAFI District Accountant!! D.B.

Rowland White (author of Vulcan 607 ) returns here with an in-depth chronicling of Britain's participation during the formative years of the current state of Oman in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, culminating in the battle at Mirbat, where 9 SAS operatives held back an onslaught of approximately 300 insurgents. While the book brings more light to perhaps a less well known participation of British armed forces, on the operation of the SAS and the seconded RAF pilots, I find the book to be less than ideally balanced between providing copious amounts of detail and making it all into a compelling, page turning story. The research is generally good and sufficiently thorough; still the author does err on occasion, or rather starts confusing model designations of some equipment after a while. Unfortunately it all gets somewhat long winded on occasion and in my opinion the moments, where you are really gripped by the story are too few or far between for a five star rating. In this sense the book is a far cry from something like Marlantes' Matterhorn , which manages to join the grunt's view, character development, the political background together with the strategic aspect much more successfully, and which is so much better in terms of being a page turner. It will also not capture the battle of a small group of Western soldiers against overwhelming odds nearly as well as Bowden has done in Black Hawk Down . As there is little other material on the Omani civil war (if that is the correct term) and as the research is generally good, I still think the book deserves 4 stars, even if it is not the fascinating read one would hope for.

As ex military from the same era, this book had me hooked. It does start slowly but it needs to provide the background to this little known conflict. The whole story in its typically British tight purse string way of trying to fight a conflict without actually admitteding they're involved in it, is astounding as is the bravery of all those involved considering of course they're fighting and risking life for a small Sultanate at the end of the Red Sea.

for the non Army/RAF reader, this book is over-stuffed with detail, and jumps in time forwards and back, so that the narrative is impossible to follow. Typical example is "John Jones" arrived in Oman, one then gets his history & various anecdotes of his previous career, by then one has forgotten why he'd got to Oman or even why Oman has anything to do with it. I struggled, as I'd enjoyed the author's Vulcan & Phoenix books, but gave up half way through irritated & frustrated that I'd not been able to get to grips with a potentially interesting yarn. Maybe all those endless potted histories should have been an appendix, ditto for the weapons. Certainly I doubt I'll attempt another of his hefty tombs. Rather sad, really.

Who dares, wins. The original, and still the best, Special Forces. A story of a legend being made. A fantastic read.

Great story about little know or covered topic. Highly Recommend!

It really didn't tell an enjoyable story. Unless one has interest in the actual events and history of Oman. This book isnt for you.. I got bored 15 pages in from all the tedious names and facts of people and events that had no relevance to me.

While the Battle of Mirbat may be well known this story really builds up the background and setting of the SAS battle at Mirbat. Great insight into a little known and oft forgotten unofficial war by the SAS and RAF.

About time the public realised what lengths loyal men (and women) in our time have done to protect them from the NOW obvious real threat to our Standards and our way of Life