Combined Operation Books

In the heat of conflict, courage is forged. It’s 1940 and the British Expeditionary Force is caught ill-prepared for the onslaught of the German Blitzkrieg and its deadly panzers. Caught in the desperate retreat to Dunkirk, Tom Harsker, son of a WWI ace, discovers he is a natural soldier. Escaping to England and with complete disaster narrowly averted, Tom is selected to join the newly formed Commandos. With Britain standing alone and the seemingly inexorable German forces massing across the Channel for invasion, Tom and his fellow Commandos must battle against all odds in daring raids to buy precious time. "The first of our section had reached the walls of the building. The other sections were moving around the side when there was a sudden flash, an explosion and screams. The night was then lit by the flashes of guns and the sound of shots. We had been spotted. This was not the time to panic. We had to keep going and complete our part of the mission." Commando is a tale of courage and brotherhood that will resonate with anyone who has ever faced their fears in pursuit of a greater good. The explosive first mission in Griff Hosker's action-packed 11-part Combined Operations series. A must-read for fans of Ben Kane, Bernard Cornwell, Simon Scarrow and Anthony Riches. Lock and load -the war is just getting started.

It is 1940 and Britain is fighting alone against the Germans. With the RAF fighting above the skies of England it is down to the Commandos to go back to France and cause as much trouble to the Germans as possible. When the Italians join in alongside the Germans it seems that Britain is about to sink beneath a sea of Fascists. A fast moving novel which follows one section of Commandos as they fight in France and North Africa.

Tom Harsker and his section now operate out of Malta as they help to prepare the way for the invasion of Sicily. Sent first by boat and then by air they have to survive behind enemy lines before being sent in before the main force to attack the Axis forces at Salerno. A fast moving book which follows the actual events of 1943.

D-day is over but the Germans still have the allies ringed in a tiny part of Normandy. The Commandos are given a task to go behind the enemy lines to destroy a fuel dump. They become part of the force which closes the Falaise Gap and endure the horrific fighting against the elite S.S. Concluding with the liberation Paris this is a fast moving novel which portrays the lives of ordinary soldiers as they do extraordinary things.

With Paris in Allied hands it seems as though the war is almost over but when the Airborne Brigade fail to capture Arnhem then Tom and his Commandos become part of the force which is sent to capture Antwerp and the islands which guard the mouth of the Scheldt River. Based on the actual amphibious landing this fast moving novel shows the battles, the raids and the strategy which led to the capture of this vital port and helped to shorten the war.

The war might be coming to an end but the missions do not get any easier for Tom Harsker and his elite Commando unit. With new men to replace the dead they are sent to destroy a factory making parts for V-2. As the war enters its final months they are attached to the 1st Commando Brigade in Montgomery’s Army and they lead the drive to the German heartland. Tasked with trying to save the lives of as many of the inmates of a death camp they have to go deeper behind enemy lines and, once again face the S.S. A fast-moving novel which brings the Commando’s war to an end.

Lieutenant Harsker and his elite Commandos are given no respite as they are sent behind enemy lines to help the Canadians on the ill-fated attack at Dieppe. After escaping, by the skin of their teeth, they are sent to North Africa to destroy valuable equipment which has fallen into the enemy's hands. A fast-moving novel the action moves from Europe to Africa and from sea to land.

It is 1941 and Britain is pressed on all sides. With Japan in the war and convoys being sunk by submarines and surface raiders the last bastion fighting Hitler is beleaguered. The Commandos are the only ones who can fight beyond the Atlantic Wall. Tom Harsker and his section are sent behind enemy lines to destroy gun emplacements and then rescue a captured Resistance leader. Then they are given the task of joining the Campbelltown Raid on St. Nazaire. There they find themselves in greater danger than ever before.

The greatest invasion in the history of mankind is about to take place and the world is watching yet the fate of the civilised world rests in the hands of a very small number of men.. D-Day is approaching and the Commandos are needed not only to attack the Atlantic all but to discover what will be waiting for them when they do attack. Based on actual battlefield detail this is a fast-moving novel which culminates in the attack on Sword Beach in 1944.

Tom Harsker has been out of the army for almost five years. His marriage to Susan has produced three adoring children. Running, with his father Bill Harsker, a successful air freight business his world seems complete. When the Communist threat grows then he is thrown into a dangerous world once more. The Berlin Airlift brings some danger but when he is summoned to the War office at the start of the Korean War then his personal peace is shattered along with the rest of the world. With just Captain Poulson from his original section the Major has to forge a new unit to operate behind the enemy lines. This time those lines are half a world away. He has to contend with a language he does not understand and enemies closer to him than he is used. The novel covers the first two months of a war which presents new and unexpected challneges to Major Tom Harsker V.C.

Tom and his men think that, after taking Walcheren and securing Antwerp, they will be due a leave. When three of them are sent to train other soldiers they think that it will be an easy assignment. Their break from war is rudely interrupted when Adolf Hitler launches Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein ("Operation Watch on the Rhine"), they are thrown back into the maelstrom of war. They are caught up in the retreat of the cavalry from St. Vith and they, and their American allies have to fight to defend every inch of the snow covered forests of the Ardennes. It will be a test of all their skills as they face the new German tanks, the King Tiger and the Jagdpanther. The fast moving novel reflects the actual events of December 1944.

With a surprise attack launched behind North Korean lines, the UN forces think that the war in Korea is over. Already plans are in place to bring the troops home for Christmas and Major Tom Harsker, recently recovered from a life-threatening wound, is told that he, too, will soon be home. When the Chinese unleash the seemingly limitless hordes of men across the border then reality sets in. Forced to defend Seoul with their lives the new Commandos quickly learn that the Korean War is not a police action but a serious war.