Commando!: The M/Z Unit's Secret War Against Japan

This little-known story of Australia's M/Z Unit commandos, and the part they played in the Southwest Pacific during World War II, is a fascinating account of daring, clandestine operations conducted by the Allies deep into enemy-held territory. M Unit personnel were secretly landed to set up coastwatching posts and radio stations to report on Japanese shipping movements and bombing flights heading to raid Allied positions. Members of the Z Unit carried out assigned raids into enemy controlled areas, and also attacked targets of opportunity. Many commandos were delivered on their missions by U.S. Navy submarines that sneaked into dangerously shallow waters to put the men ashore―and then returned to pick them up. Other operatives were inserted by PT boats, Catalina aircraft, parachute, and snake boats. Many of these operations are still classified.

A. B. FEUER is a military historian and freelance newspaper and magazine journalist. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-1946 and is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Society for Military History. His previous works include Commando: The M/Z Unit's Secret War Against Japan (Praeger, 1996), The Spanish-American War at Sea (Praeger, 1995), and The Santiago Campaign of 1898 (Praeger, 1993).