Mike Rossiter

A fairly straightforward telling of the activities of the Royal Marine Commando units involved in capturing Basra in the Gulf War of 2003. The cover carries a blurb from the News of the World review, which promises that the book is "Fast-paced with relentless battle action". I'm not sure what book they were reading, but I'm pleased to say that Target Basradoesn't live down to that description, and for that, I'm grateful.

What we get is, as I said, a fairly straightforward account of the show more deployment, with a good examination of the background; a clear retelling (as far as the author is able) of the events, and a brief sketch of what happened next. Tactical mistakes, accidents and shortfalls are not glossed over. Political masters come in for a fair amount of criticism, pretty much well deserved; reading this in the spring of 2026 with the US/Israeli war against Iran still unresolved did rather make me think that some people never learn anything from experience. Through its history of conflict with Iraq, and its sovereign territory just a short distance from the theatre of operations (metres rather than miles), Iran is a silent presence throughout the book, and serves to remind us of the pitfalls in getting involved in Middle Eastern politics. And the US armed forces are not always described in glowing terms either. A little while ago, I read an account of the entry of US forces to Baghdad, and their reliance on armoured personnel carriers was clear. The Commando units were quite prepared to leave their vehicles when the situation demanded it and press home their missions on foot.

Another book I recently read was an account of the occupation of Germany in 1945 and the efforts made to restore civilian government and de-Nazify German society. In that case, mistakes were made because, quite simply, what planning there had been for this event hadn't considered all the possible scenarios, and so very often, the officers on the ground were reduced to making things up as they went along. Yet that lesson seems to have been ignored with the political leadership only wanting swift victories. I do recollect that one of my colleagues at the time, who held a commission in the Territorials, spent some months in Basra attached to REME working to restore water treatment facilities, and this was good work. But overall, the eventual outcome, as we know, was less than optimal.

A slight niggle: the book's designers felt that it would be a nifty idea to make the photographs look distressed, as though they'd been sellotaped to the wall of a bunker somewhere. And the handful of maps were scattered through the body of the book, rather than being located in one place, where they could be easily found. On the other hand, the book does have an appendix listing the decorations awarded as a result of this action; this is something that other military books so often miss out.

Target Basra is a quick and easy read; but twenty years on, its story bears retelling, partly so that these things are not forgotten, and partly to try to get us from making the same mistakes in future. show less

Now I had made a concerted effort to move away from war ditty's for a while, but this jumped out at me in the library and I had to read it, especially as not too long ago I had read two submarine books which made reference to this story. I had high hopes for it, mainly as it wasn't written by an American so there was not likely to be any flowery references and Hollywood style descriptions. And I wasn't disappointed, however considering the title, there is little about the Belgrano and the show more Conqueror (the sub who sunk her) and their actual battle as it tends to provide a more historical lead in about the Falklands/Ilas Malvinas and the political and Defence strategy. But even so, these tit bits of information are invaluable to getting the whole story pieced together as well as creating more and more tension as the moment nears.
Unlike previous storys I had read, this covered off very well witness accounts from both the British and Argentinian forces, and those firing the torpedoes, and those left swimming in the drink, and unlike other tales, a lot came from the the ratings, not ranking or commanding officers which had a good truthful spin on it.
It is very well written, and so easy to read - I read it within four days, just couldn't put it down. And other than some 'stock standard' photos in it, there are a few that I had never seen and some curious ones thrown in as light humour.

It isn't quite a Pursuit, Operation Cerberus or Battle of Jutland in tension, dramatics, or historical longevity, but a gripping tale that once again had me thinking, "How the hell did we win?" show less

An interesting book, and worth reading if you're interested in the subject matter. I enjoyed it, but there's something about the modern genre of non-fiction books which have to have a quest or a mission involved which I find irritating. I would probably have liked more on the Ark Royal and less on the quest to film her wreck - but then I suppose there are plenty of good solid books about the Ark Royal out there.

World War II...check...navy...check...

Two of my favourite subjects come together in a book by a man who I have reviewed in the past. Rossiter wrote a great story on the recovery of a B29 bomber that had crashed in Greenland and here he was coming back looking for what is undoubtedly the greatest aircraft carrier known.

The book is in fact two stories nicely weaved into a seamless historical bio of both the ship during its battles in WWII, and Rossiter's battles (some would say obsession) show more with locating the wreck in the western Mediterranean.

As it is a non-fictional piece of work there is no need to hold off from revealing the outcome, it is there in public domains for all to see for themselves; Ark Royal was the most modern carrier made (which ironically also doomed it), she fought with distinction on the Atlantic and Mediterranean, hunted down the likes of the Graf Spee, Admiral Hipper, and most famously Bismarck. She offered support and relief to the embattled armies fighting on Crete and Malta and against Rommel in North Africa, and despite high-ranking officials (including Churchill himself) survived many attempts at her destruction through lack of support and weaponry. Even the Nazi propaganda machine claimed her sunk on more than one occasion...

Mike Rossiter is owed a lot in locating and filming her hull 1000m below the surface, and thanks must also go to Paul Allen who at the time owned the largest luxury yacht in the world and loaned it for the expedition.

A book that suits war buffs and civvies alike, the book is not full of too much jargon and worded well to tell a story... show less