During modern times, one thing that has become more and more common in the military are specialized units. As with modern medicine, there no longer seems to be a soldier or sailor or airman who can do a variety of tasks. This was pretty much true during WWII as it is today.

The Navy had a number of specialized units, all designed to enhance the fighting capability of Allied armed forces. While most of these were very much in the Navy's purview, some of them went a bit beyond things nautical.

One was Amphibious Scouts and Raiders. These small groups had the task of surveying possible landing sites and gathering intelligence on the scope and make up of defenses not only in the water, but along the shore as well. Beach Jumpers were an unusual group whose mission was to simulate possible landings through the use of pyrotechnics and loudspeakers. These groups were surprisingly successful when used. Naval Combat Demolition Teams were formed to remove obstacles from the path of in-coming landing craft. This included blowing up the obstacles and removing mines, frequently while under fire during the initial landings. The Underwater Demolition Teams are probably the most well known today and during the war, one of the more secretive groups. These men had the task of destroying obstacles prior to invasion and were used primarily in the Pacific. The final unit was Naval Group China. These men performed a wide array of missions from weather observation to training Chinese guerilla units. Naturally, the Army felt this should be their job, but they did not have the trust of the Chinese and so spent much of the war inhibiting the Naval mission by not providing supplies or replacements (since everything had to be flown in by the Army).

The author covers the development and the exploits of these units along with a number of excellent period photos and some well done art work. The book is one about units that are rarely covered in other works and provides a look at yet another important aspect of WWII.

January 2015

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