Book picks similar to
Unit Pride by John McAleer


military
fiction-historical
favorits
military-cold-war

Torpedo Run


Robb White - 1962
    Navy PT boat, the Slewfoot, is off the coast of New Guinea during World War II. The new captain can only operate "by the book" which causes deep resentment and even mutiny, resulting in a test of wills.

Black Squadron


Michael Stephen Fuchs - 2021
    engagement from the invasion of Sicily to Black Hawk Down. The Rangers are upright, loyal, and never leave their brothers behind.But now the Rangers may be the only ones who can stop a rogue Black Squadron from leaving everyone bleeding out in the street – and also kicking off a shooting war between two nuclear powers.It’s Black Hawk Down meets Training Day in this explosive collision of two legendary special-operations units battling to survive and prevail in the most dangerous city on the planet.

Kalvan Kingmaker


John F. Carr - 2000
    Beam Piper's groundbreaking parallel world's SF novel, Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, and the sequel, Great Kings' War by John F. Carr and Roland Green. The Paratime Police patrol an infinity of alternate earths. Their prime directive is to protect the Paratime Secret thereby keeping this infinity of worlds from mixing and destroying each other, or from learning the parasitical Home Time Line is secretly looting their resources.When Penn. State Policeman Calvin Morrison is accidentally dropped off from a cross-time conveyer onto Styphon's House Subsector, he threatens both the Paratime Secret and leadership of the gunpowder theocracy, who owe their power to their secret knowledge of the "fireseed" formula. In just a few weeks, by the use of his knowledge of military strategy, Kalvan saves the small princedom of Hostigos from an invasion orchestrated by Styphon's House.Kalvan Kingmaker opens right after Kalvan's decisive victory over the Holy Host of Styphon. With Great King Kaiphranos of Hos-Harphax in mourning over his eldest son's death, the time is ripe for the Army of Hostigos to invade Harphax and topple the Iron Throne. At the holy city of Balph, the Inner Circle is reeling. Archpriest Roxthar, a rare true believer in Styphon, is conducting a full-blown inquisition of Styphon's corrupt upper priesthood. Once his reformation is complete, Roxthar's next job will to rebuild the Holy Host and defeat and destroy the Usurper Kalvan.Meanwhile, there is a great migration of nomads across the Sea of Grass; they are the wild card. As the nomads pour across the Great Middle River, pushing the clans and tribes that live there into the Great Kingdoms, the big question soon becomes: Will Styphon's House be buried by the human wave, or will they use the nomads in their war to the death with Kalvan and Hos-Hostigos?

Hullo Russia, Goodbye England


Derek Robinson - 2008
    and qualifies to fly the Vulcan bomber. Piloting a Vulcan is an unforgettable experience: no other aircraft comes close to matching its all-round performance. And as bombers go, it's drop-dead gorgeous.But there's a catch. The Vulcan has only one role: to make a second strike. To act in retaliation for a Russian nuclear attack. Silk knows that knows that if he ever flies his Vulcan in anger, he'll be flying from a smoking wasteland, a Britain obliterated. But in the mad world of Mutually Assured Destruction, the Vulcan is the last--the only--deterrent.Derek Robinson returns with another rip-roaring, gung-ho R.A.F. adventure, one that exposes and confronts the brinkmanship and saber-rattling of the Cold War Era.

Killigrew of the Royal Navy (Kit Killigrew Naval Adventures Book 1)


Jonathan Lunn - 2017
    Idealistic young naval officer Kit Killigrew wants to stop them. With the aid of Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Napier, Killigrew hatches a daring plan to infiltrate the slavers and discover the whereabouts of the biggest slave market in West Africa. But Kit will also need find out the identity of a shadowy British figure, one of the slave trade’s major investors. A veteran of campaigns in Syria and China, Killigrew now sets out on a perilous high-seas adventure that will challenge him to his very limits… Full of sea-salt, gunpowder and nail-biting naval action, this is the first in the extraordinary Killigrew naval dramas, perfect for fans of C.S. Forester, Patrick O’Brian and Julian Stockwin. Praise for the Killigrew Novels ‘A hero to rival any Horatio Hornblower. Swashbuckling? You bet’ Belfast Telegraph‘If you revel in the Hornblower and the Sharpe books, grab a copy of Jonathan Lunn’ Bolton Evening News‘A new naval hero who will delight lovers of seafaring yarns’ Manchester Evening News The Kit Killigrew Naval Series Killigrew of the Royal Navy Killigrew and the Golden Dragon Killigrew and the Incorrigibles Killigrew and the North-West Passage Killigrew’s Run Killigrew and the Sea Devil Please note this novel was previously published as  Killigrew R.N .

Semper Fidelis


Johnnie M. Clark - 1988
    A machine gunner deep in the Vietnam bush, Shawn fought and won battles with no names, and watched brave friends give the ultimate sacrifice. Death chased him. Rain, leeches, and malaria sapped his strength. And back home in an ungrateful country, right and wrong were decided by what was easiest. Prayer was his last refuge, but it was hardest of all.

The Last Eagle


Michael Wenberg - 2011
    The crew, however, isn’t content to sit out the war. With help from unexpected sources—a naval attaché with the British Embassy and a courageous American reporter and her photographer sidekick—they overcome their captors, regain control of the "Eagle," and escape. The German’s are convinced the "Eagle's" crew has no stomach for a fight and will seek refuge in Sweden. But the Poles have something else in mind—join up with the British Fleet and continue fighting against their homeland's Nazi conquerors. They face stiff odds. The "Eagle" has little food and water, few torpedoes, and no sea charts. And before she can rendezvous with the British somewhere in the North Sea, she must traverse the Baltic, which has become little more than a Nazi-controlled lake. This story is inspired by the exploits of the Polish submarine, "Orzel," during the early weeks of World War II. Winston Churchill called her escape from the Nazis “an epic.”

Warriors of Blood and Shadow: Boxed Set 1


Andy Peloquin - 2020
    One hardened captain and his elite commandos are the only hope of salvation…The lone survivor of a brutal massacre, Captain Aravon fights to honor and avenge those who died under his command. Burning for vengeance, he leaps at the chance to spearhead a specially-trained company and pay back his tragic defeat with blood.But enemy forces lurk in every shadow, outnumbering his soldiers thousands-to-one and threatening to turn Aravon’s mission into his final downfall.One soldier must stand against impossible odds and turn the tide of battles doomed to defeat. If he fails or falters, the barbarous invaders will drown his realm in fire, ashes, and death.

The Fall of Night


Christopher G. Nuttall - 2014
     Britain – and the European Union – is struggling to remain civilised. Unemployment is high, ethnic and religious tensions are rising sharply, crime is skyrocketing, the value of money is falling and the whole system is on the verge of collapse. Across the continent, united only in name, countless individuals struggle to keep themselves afloat and survive for a few more days. But weakness invites attack and covetous eyes set their sights on the remains of Europe’s industry and trained population. As a military juggernaut descends on an unprepared continent, the remains of Britain’s once-proud military must fight to defend their country ... or watch helplessly as Britain falls into darkness. [As always, my books are DRM-free. Samples of this title (and others) can be downloaded from my website: www.chrishanger.net. Reviews and comments are always welcome.]

Show of Force


Charles D. Taylor - 1980
    David Charles and Alex Kupinsky are worried because, as the admirals of these fleets, they may be responsible for all-out nuclear war. They are also concerned because once, a long time ago, they were the best of friends…As Admirals Charles and Kupinsky face imminent disaster, forced to make their moves on the chessboard of modern warfare, we look back over their pasts as men of peace and men of war. David Charles learned the hard way in the tragic Bay of Pigs, on the treacherous rivers of Vietnam, and in the backrooms of embassies around the world. Alex Kupinsky was raised by the man who watched his father die in World War II–the same man who has since become Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union.Moving from the real past to the possible future, from romantic memories of the women left behind to hard action on the high seas, SHOW OF FORCE is the story of men turned warriors, of a world turned battlefield. And as communications break down between Washington, Moscow, and the fleets themselves, it becomes the story of two men with the power to stop that ultimate folly of the mighty, World War III.

Opening Moves


Colin Gee - 2012
    Most of the characters therein are a figment of the author’s imagination. Without exception, those characters that are historical figures of fact or based upon historical figures of fact are used fictitiously, and their actions, demeanour, conversations, and characters are similarly all figments of the author’s imagination.]

The Mercenary Option


Dick Couch - 2003
    Officially, the group is a rogue operation with no government affiliation. But when the impossible becomes absolutely necessary, IFOR is...THE MERCENARY OPTIONShortly after the terror attacks on America, the American president announces the construction of an oil pipeline across Afghanistan. To stop this, and deter further Western encroachment in Central Asia, a vindictive Saudi prince retains ex-KGB terror broker Pavel Zelinkow -- a prime mover behind al Qaeda's 9/11 attack. Zelinkow plans to steal two nuclear weapons, detonating one of them among the pipeline construction crews and their military guardians, while the target of the second bomb is a mystery. U.S. special operations forces cannot be used against the terrorists hiding in Iran, so IFOR is called into action for the first time on a mission that will test them to their limits: take out the terrorists, recover the nukes, and get Zelinkow -- dead or alive.

Storming the Gap First Strike


Brad Smith - 2019
    Their mission: protect the bridges over the Fulda River in a desperate bid to halt the onslaught of Soviet Armor before it can strike west and bring the Western alliance to its knees.As the first volume of a series that tells one version of the war’s progress, First Strike can be enjoyed as a companion to the platoon-scale wargame or by casual readers as a close-up view of mechanized combat in a war that never was.“The M1’s round carved into the hull deck of the rear tank. A bright emerald glow filled the thermal sight. When, at last, it dissipated, the T-80 was nothing but a heap of smoldering steel. The remaining enemy tank was caught between the two dead T-80s. It pivoted left and right, but the thick woods on either side blocked its progress.”

The Greatest Enemy


Douglas Reeman - 1970
    Now she is working out her last commission in the Gulf of Thailand. To Lieutenant-Commander Standish, the frigate seems to mark the end of his hopes of a career in the Navy. Then a new captain arrives, a man driven by an old-fashioned, almost obsessive patriotism. And under his stubborn leadership Standish and the crew discover a long-forgotten unity of purpose...

To Do or Die


Max Adams - 2010
    His task completed, he anticipates an early return to Britain, but instead he's sent to the Saarland region, where the French have launched an ill-advised invasion into German territory. Dawson's demolition skills are needed to clear a way through a minefield. Within hours everything goes wrong and Dawson and a fellow sapper are caught on the wrong side of the front line. Their obvious escape route blocked, they head north, but their troubles have only just begun.