During the desert war of 1940-43, the British Army developed a unique unit of men from Commonwealth and British Armies to operate deep in the North African Desert (mostly in Lybia) to work behind the German lines. The purpose of this unit, the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG)was to perform reconnaissance as to the strength of the Axis forces. There were also a few raids and they were used to pathfind for the SAS.

This unit required a special sort of soldier who was able to live and work in a self sufficient manner for about two weeks. These groups generally used a Jeep for the command car and three Chevrolet 30 cwt trucks. These vehicles were specially outfitted for operation off road and in sand. They also had to carry all the equipment needed, including food and water for the duration of the two week patrol.

Their primary mission was one of observing Axis vehicle movements on the main coastal road. For this, they had to get rather close and yet be unseen by the enemy. It meant a full day of being nearly completely still in a low hideout to record the number and types of vehicles on the road. This sort of information allowed the British to anticipate the strength of enemy forces in the region.

In addition, the LRDG carried out a few raids, some of which were quite successful. It is telling that the casualties amongst the LRDG were the lowest of any Allied group with fewer than 40 troopers having been lost during the entire desert campaign.

In this book on the men of the LRDG,  author Tim Moreland covers a brief chronology on the desert war, followed by the concept of the group, its role in the area and the training of the men in the unit. This is followed by a section on recruitment and the equpment used by these men. The bulk of the book is on life in the field as well as some of the battles that the unit was involved in. All of this is superbly illustrated by Raffaele Ruggeri and an excellent collection of period photographs.

In all, another excellent book on one of the more interesting units of WWII and the inspiration of TV's 1960's series 'Rat Patrol'.

July 2010

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