Showing results by author "Michael Asher" in All Categories

Michael Asher served in Northern Ireland with the Paras at the height of the IRA campaigns of the 1970s. He witnessed the result of using highly motivated assault troops in 'peacekeeping operations'. His depiction of the strengths and weaknesses of the British Army's elite airborne forces comes from his personal experience of what it was like for ordinary soldiers. From the Paras to the SAS and then service with the Special Patrol Group in Northern Ireland, Michael Asher's military odyssey eventually led him to leave the forces for a new life in the Sudanese desert. 

Libya 1942 - Rommel's Africa Korps is sweeping across Northern Africa. The ragged Allied forces engage the enemy in brutal fire-fights on the desert sands. Meanwhile, the Allied commander-in-chief sends a coded message to the Prime Minister – the courier is First Officer Madeleine Rose, WRNS – codename Runefish.

Egypt, October 1942. The battle for North Africa rages fiercely along the length of the Egyptian coast. Punching their way deep behind enemy lines, the newly formed SAS carries out daring raids against the Germans. Lt Tom Caine leads a small squad of men on a desperate mission. His brief: to sabotage a terrible weapon being secretly developed by the Nazis in the desolate Libyan hills…

Tunisia 1943 - the Allies' advance is halted by determined Axis forces. The 8th Army has no choice but to outflank the enemy along their impenetrable Mareth line in the hellish Matmata hills. On a mission to safeguard this movement, Captain Tom Caine's SAS patrol is diverted by a strange emergency signal that draws them to a derelict aircraft and a mysterious black box. Besieged by a Nazi Death's Head unit intent on retrieving the box and betrayed by a comrade who steals it, Caine must make a choice.