Raiding Forces Series

Book 1

The first in a series of meticulously researched World War II novels about hit-and-run raids against Hitler's war machine by British forces -- under the command of a U.S. soldier -- "Those Who Dare" is sure to appeal to avid military fiction fans. By May 1940, panzer divisions had decimated Belgium and reached Calais. Lieutenant John Randal of the U.S. 26th Cavalry Regiment volunteers his expertise to help slow their advance. What unfolds is a blend of military guerrilla tactics, suspense, humour, cultural and social commentary, and war buddy camaraderie -- plus a little romance between the American GI and the widowed Lady Jane Seaborn. Along the way readers meet such colourful characters as Captain David Niven in MO-9 and Captain "Geronimo Joe" McKoy with his Travelling Wild West Show and Shooting Emporium. The author -- a decorated combat veteran -- covers the details of war extensively, from the five points of contact of a parachute landing fall to descriptions of a British raider's A-5 flinging ferries before the first 12-gauge shell casing hits the floor. As the novel ends, Major Randal's men, fresh from Operation Tomcat in France, learn they will deploy via sea transport within 48 hours on their next mission. The second book, which is already written, tells that tale.

Book 2

Dead Eagles

by Phil Ward

Published 1 January 2011

In this sequel to "Those Who Dare", U.S. Major John Randal, Commander of Strategic Raiding Forces, is back, leading an expert -- albeit motley -- crew of Royal Marines and Royal Navy officers on bigger and bolder missions to foil Hitler's Third Reich. Off the Brits' Gold Coast colony in Africa, the Germans are operating a naval intelligence ring that gathers information about British convoys in the southern sea-lane. Couriers carry the data to nearby Rio Bonita, a tiny Portuguese island protectorate, whence they are broadcast to Nazi U-boats and surface raiders from a clandestine radio station onboard one of three interned enemy ships. As a result, British convoys vital to the war effort are ravaged. Major Randal and the Raiding Forces' mission is to invade Rio Bonita and spirit away the three ships. Failure means either imprisonment or hanging for piracy -- and that Portugal will declare war on its oldest ally. Peopling "Dead Eagles" are eccentric characters new and old. There is Wild West showman Captain "Geronimo Joe" McKoy; the stunning Lady Jane Seaborn, who adopts the Raiding Forces as her own pet project; and Lady Jane's bombshell of a driver, Pamala Plum-Martin. Even Ian Fleming puts in an appearance, submitting a plan for "Operation Ruthless", the goal of which is to board a Luftwaffe bomber and crash it into the English Channel. This action-packed adventure story features a daring Commando raid, an epic sea battle, beautiful spies, head-hunting pygmy cannibals, and hooker warfare, all culminating in a deadly shoot-out in a crowded French bar.

Book 4