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Elite Military Formations in War and Peace. Edited by A. Hamish Ion and Keith Neilson. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1996.192 pages. $55. Commando! The MIZ Unit's Secret War Against Japan. By A. B. Feuer. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1996.208 pages. $55. Reviewed by Major Bernd Horn (Canadian Forces).
The subject of elite units inevitably elicits an emotional response based on preconceived images. The general public, fed by Hollywood portrayals, visualizes fearless adventurers fighting against desperate odds, or well-toned, muscular automatons of death, trained and equipped with the latest technology. In many military circles, however, elite forces arouse a different image, one of an exclusive club with pampered members who fail to provide an adequate return for the costly investment in personnel, equipment, and training.
This intriguing subject is examined in two entirely different manners by the books considered here. In Elite Military Formations in War and Peace, the editors have assembled a collection of works by distinguished scholars who touch on the question of elite forces from ancient times to the near present. The book begins with an excellent overview of military elites in history. In this chapter, the author explains the emergence of the concept of elites in society and how this became interrelated to the rise of professional armies. Throughout, the difficulty of defining who or what constitutes an elite is accented.
The reader is next exposed to a kaleidoscope of periods, commencing with a survey of elite forces in ancient armies and continuing with separate accounts of the military and political composition of opposing forces in medieval Japan and the English Civil War. Although this survey provides great detail about the periods, the treatment of elite forces is extremely limited.
An examination of German elites by Hans Koch provides an excellent study of the Prussian Guard. He notes the overwhelming effect of their superior training when...