Providence Their Guide: the Long Range Desert Group, 1940-45

Infantry Magazine, Summer, 2002 by Harold E. Raugh, Jr.

By David Lloyd Owen. Originally published in 1980. Reprint, Leo Cooper, 2000. 238 Pages. $30.00.

The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) was one of the first and most effective special forces units formed during World War II. The members were specialists in deep, strategic reconnaissance, as contrasted with the Special Air Service, or SAS, which conducted raids and other combat patrols. This well-written and interesting book succeeds admirably in recounting the LRDG's contributions to victory.

Italy declared war on Great Britain on 10 June 1940. Less than two weeks later, the British, whose troops were facing the Italians at the Libyan-Egyptian border in North Africa, authorized the formation of the LRDG (originally called the Long Range Patrols) under the command of eminent desert explorer Major Ralph Bagnold. The unit, initially composed of soldiers from Great Britain, New Zealand, and Rhodesia, was trained by Bagnold to peak proficiency. The numerous and difficult challenges facing the LRDG--in addition to possible enemy detection and capture--were daunting.

Each patrol (generally two officers, 30 soldiers, and 11 vehicles) had to be self-sufficient and mobile. Each vehicle had to be able to carry, in addition to its crew, food, water, ammunition, and fuel for three weeks--the latter alone amounting to 350 gallons. Moreover, each vehicle had to be capable, during each patrol, of traveling some 2,000 miles over unmapped, inhospitable terrain, and scorching, shifting sands. After intensive training and vehicle modifications, the LRDG was prepared by the end of August 1940 to begin patrolling behind enemy lines.

Author David Lloyd Owen joined the LRDG in 1941 and, as a 26-year-old officer, assumed command of the group in late 1943 (and subsequently retired as a decorated major general). He was a dynamic and innovative leader, and his unique knowledge and perspective of events, as a patrol leader on many missions in North Africa and as Group commander in Italy, the Aegean, and the Balkans, add credibility and insight to his narrative. Owen's descriptions of the colorful personalities of the LRDG and their operations (albeit frequently with unreferenced conversations) are vivid and shrewd. This is an enthralling saga of indefatigable men and modified machines on difficult wartime missions.

This book, republished from the original 1980 edition, contains the same meaningful Foreword by General Sir John Hackett, as well as a new Introduction by Sir John Keegan. A worthwhile visual dimension is provided by almost three dozen photographs and three superb maps. An excellent "Chronological Table of Events," short "Select Bibliography," and index augment and add value to the narrative.

Providence Their Guide is part memoir, part unit history, and a total record of professionalism, proficiency, courage, and sacrifice. This fast-paced action-filled book is also a primer on unorthodox small unit leadership and tactical operations as conducted by Great Britain's Long Range Desert Group during World War II. A superb tribute to the officers and men of the LRDG, this excellent book merits a wide readership by contemporary soldiers and military historians.