On January 27, 1945, the 6th Ranger Battalion and the 6th Army Special Reconnaissance Unit (the Alamo Scouts) began the most dangerous and important mission of their careers to rescue 500 American, British and Dutch prisoners-of-war held at a camp near Cabanatuan. This daring plan was fraught with difficulties - the rangers had to struggle with harsh jungle terrain, 30 miles behind enemy lines against a far larger force, knowing that if their secret mission was leaked, the POWs would be massacred by their captors. Yet, with the help of a Filipino guerilla force, they managed to liberate...

For 5 days in May 1980, thousands watched around the world as the shadowy figures of the SAS performed a daring and dramatic raid on the Iranian Embassy in London, catapulting a little-known specialist unit into the full glare of the world's media. Hailed by Margaret Thatcher as "a brilliant operation, carried out with courage and confidence," the raid was a huge success for the SAS, who managed to rescue nineteen hostages with near-perfect military execution, although two hostages were killed by terrorists. Despite the acclaim and media attention, details of the siege are still largely...