This is an account of two episodes in the unconventional career of John Cross, a retired Lt Col of the Brigade of Ghurkas. After the end of World War II he was one of the "first in" in the counter-insurgency operations against the Vietminh, commanding a battalion of the very Japanese troops he had been sent to disarm. This story provides the backdrop to his return to Indo-China as British Defence Attache to Laos between 1972 and 1976, where he became doyen of the Corps of Attaches, itself a source of intrigue and national rivalry. His mastery of the main languages of the region gave him access to high Laotian political circles. Cross uses his personal photographs to shed light on the conflict in Laos - a little-known sideshow to the war in Vietnam. His observations - often acerbic and highly uncomplimentary - provide insights into a diplomatic community and a narrative on the course of events in Vientiane, as communist supremacy was asserted over the whole region.

First In, Last Out: An Unconventional British Officer in Indo-China (1945-46 And 1972-76)

Cross, J.P.

Biographies & Memoirs

Potomac Books Inc.

A Face Like a Chicken's Backside: An Unconventional Soldier in South East Asia, 1948-71

History

Military

Naval Inst Pr

In Gurkha Company: The British Army Gurkhas, 1948 to the Present

Engineering & Transportation

Engineering

Olympic Marketing Corp

Jungle Warfare: Experiences and Encounters

Arms & Armour

In almost forty years in Asia without a home posting, British officer John Cross spent ten of them 'under the jungle canopy'. He amassed a wealth of experience fighting against Communist Revolutionary Warfare, and training others to do so. As a result he was called upon to work in many formidable situations, and twice found himself on an army short-list of one for difficult tasks.Cross focuses on five stages in his extraordinary army career. He spent eight years as a company commander with the Gurkhas in Malaya fighting jungle operations against the communists. After that he took part in the attempt to end twenty years of guerrilla domination over the aborigines in north Malaya, and secured the territory between Thailand and the aboriginal population that had been occupied and used by the guerrillas.As commander of the Sarawak and Sabah Border Scouts in Borneo, Cross was constantly on the move. At one point in this hectic period in his service he narrowly escaped having his head cut off by an angry tribesman. He then commanded the Gurkha Independent Parachute Company, which had to operate like paras, SAS men and conventional soldiers, during the latter part of the Indonesian Confrontation with Malaya.Finally, Cross was the last commander of the British Army's Jungle Warfare School, which trained officers and men from five continents - including American trackers who, as a result, had the price on their heads doubled in Vietnam.After the closure of the Jungle Warfare School, John Cross was asked to work in both the Royal Thai Army and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Instead he became Defence Attaché in Laos.This fascinating book provides vivid insight into the realities of jungle warfare by one of its most experienced practitioners.

A Face Like a Chicken's Backside: An Unconventional Soldier in South East Asia, 1948–71

Historical

Frontline Books

This firsthand account of jungle warfare was written by a top military expert on the subject who draws from his own experiences fighting in Southeast Asia. A former officer in the Gurkha regiment of the British army, with unrivaled knowledge of jungle fighting techniques, Cross cites examples from both the British and Japanese sides during World War II and goes onto demonstrate how tactics and strategy evolved in later campaigns in the Malay, Borneo, Indo-China and Vietnam theaters. First published in hardcover in 1989 and out of print for years, the book is now available for the first time in paperback.

Jungle Warfare: Experience and Encounters

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Naval_Institute_Press

This is the astonishing tale of two episodes in the life of Colonel J P Cross, jungle fighter and linguist extraordinaire. As a young officer at the end of the war against Japan in 1945, he took part in counterinsurgency operations against the Vietminh at a time of chaos and confusion. Sent to the area to help disarm the defeated Japanese, Cross found himself commanding a battalion of the very same troops against the Vietminh. That period provides the backdrop to Cross’s experiences as British Defence Attache to Laos between 1972 and 1976. His mastery of the languages of the region allowed him rarely accorded access to high Laotian political circles. Allowed to wander at will even by the Communists, he was in the unique position to survey the subterfuge and rivalry surrounding an overlooked yet fascinating sideshow to the Vietnam War. A remarkable man, J P Cross provides an absorbing account of his life amidst the cut and thrust of Laotion politics.

First In, Last Out: An Unconventional British Officer in Indo-China

Leaders & Notable People

Greenhill Books

Pen & Sword Military

Gurkhas at War, the result of in-depth interviews conducted by editors J. P. Cross and Buddhiman Gurung, provides these remarkable soldiers with the opportunity to put their own experiences and stories in print.   These first-person narratives center on the sixty-year period from the outbreak of the Second World War to the confrontation in East Timor, including the lengthy battles against the Japanese in the Burmese jungle, campaigns against the Communists in Malaya and Hong Kong, as wells as more recent deployments in the Falklands Campaign and Gulf War. We also gain insight into the changes wrought by Indian independence, which forcibly divided the Gurkha allegiance between the ex-colony and her old master. The tactless mismanagement of the various 'handovers', and the punitive measures directed at many Gurkhas who disputed their resettlement, remain a painful memory for those subjected to the change.   The editors - who traveled 5,000 miles to rescue material from surviving soldiers - provide a thorough introduction to Gurkha culture, a historical overview of each campaign fought, and record some of the peculiarities of their encounters with these most resilient of soldiers.

Gurkhas at War: In Their Own Words

A Face Like a Chicken's Backside: An Unconventional Soldier in South East Asia, 1948-1971

Greenhill Pr

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