Read more
How have the U.S. Army Rangers acted as special operations forces in military operations since 1942? Hogan's study examines the nature and purpose of the Rangers over the past fifty years and shows how they have served as scouts, raiders, assault troops, and elite infantry. They have spearheaded amphibious landings, raided enemy prison camps, patrolled behind enemy lines in Korea, served alongside Green Berets in Vietnam, and carried out special missions in Grenada. Professional officers, military historians, students, and general readers will find this a fascinating history.
This analytical account opens with a short description of the origins of the Ranger legend in America and then moves to a discussion of their use in World War II, as commandos in 1942, then as spearheaders in 1943 and 1944, as line infantry in Europe and as special operations forces in the Pacific. This provocative assessment also traces the development of Ranger raider units in Korea, the special training and use of Green Berets as Rangers in Vietnam, and the shifting of Ranger roles into more complex and varied types of operations in Vietnam and Grenada and in a world of increasing terrorism and changing combat situations. Illustrations, maps, and a lengthy bibliography add to the usefulness of the study.
List of contents
Preface
Introduction
Origins of a Legend
American Commandos
The Spearheaders
Line Infantry
The Anomaly of the 6th Ranger Battalion
The Rangers in Eclipse
Raiders for Korea
A Turning Point
Rangers Lead the Way
"Lurps" and Green Berets
Improvisation in Vietnam
"A Foot Infantry Battalion . . . Finest in the World"
"Ronnie's Rangers"
Conclusion
Bibliographical Essay
Index
About the author
DAVID W. HOGAN, JR. is Historian, Contingency Operations and Low Intensity Conflict Branch, Histories Division, U.S. Army Center of Military History.
