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Commando Country

Stuart Allan documents the Scottish Highlands training grounds that forged Allied special forces and covert units.

Commando Country book cover
Author
Stuart Allan
Publisher
National Museums Scotland
Price
£12.99
ISBN
9781905267149
Published
2008

Commando Country by Stuart Allan

Stuart Allan explores the remote Highland landscape between Inverness and Oban that became the toughest Allied training ground of the Second World War. Within this “protected area” lay twenty Special Training Centres, where British and Allied commandos, SOE agents, SIS handlers, OSS teams, and naval raiders learned mountain warfare, small-boat operations, and survival in atrocious weather. The book recalls the fatalities, the relentless regime, and the skills forged in Scotland’s lochs and peaks.

Allan also traces the legacy of those who trained there, culminating in the 2004 march of Commando veterans to the Spean Bridge memorial for a final farewell. Operational snapshots link Achnacarry’s training syllabus to raids and clandestine missions worldwide, demonstrating why the Highlands remain synonymous with commando spirit.

National Museums Scotland. £12.99. ISBN 9781905267149.