Israel's Lightning Strike - The Raid on Entebbe 1976 [Paperback]

Simon Dunstan (Author), Peter Dennis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Raid | Publication Date: September 22, 2009

The Israeli Special Forces' operation at Entebbe goes down in history as one of the most audacious counter-terrorist assaults ever conducted. On June 27, 1976, four terrorists (two of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and two of the German Baader-Meinhof terrorist group) highjacked a passenger jet and forced a landing in Entebbe, Uganda. Here they were met by reinforcements, and transferred all the Jewish and Israeli prisoners to the terminal building, with the exception of a few hostage releases. As Idi Amin's assistance to the terrorists became increasingly clear, the Israeli government began preparations for a military assault. The element of surprise was crucial; never before had such a large-scale raid at such a long distance been successfully undertaken. This is the incredible story of how the Israeli Special Forces defied radar for over 2,000 miles, masqueraded as a tyrant in a Mercedes and captured uniforms, and defeated an army in brutal combat, culminating in a triumph of sheer audacity and nerve. A compelling book chronicling an incredible moment in history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...the raid section is smartly written, detailed and fast-paced. 'History book' and 'exciting' are not mutually exclusive terms...There are plenty of Osprey’s usual high-quality images, art and cartography...I especially enjoyed the airport graphics with a detailed timeline and legend of critical locations....This is my first exposure to the 'Raid' series and I am impressed." - livingdice.com (November 2009)

"It is infrequent that your reviewer runs across a book that can truly be called riveting. Yet this one kept me reading into the small hours of the morning. Author Simon Dunstan has provided an excellent edition to this series. His research is top notch and the small sideline notes really add quite a bit to the tale. There are superb photos of the men and equipment involved as well as Osprey's fine 3D maps that help to clarify how the operation proceeded. The result is a book that I can easily give my highest recommendation." -Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness/modelingmadness.com (December 2009)

"Dunstan ably puts the events of Entebbe into a wider perspective, explaining the airliner hijackings common at the time and detailing the various Palestinian terror groups that were striking at Israel. Indeed the author should be praised for the general readability of the book, which seems more like a novel at times... All in all, this book is a triumph from Osprey. It has started this new series with a veritable bang. I can only hope this series continues in the same vein." -Karl N. Hoy, Toy Soldier & Model Figure
 

About the Author

Simon Dunstan is a well-established author, film-maker and photographer in the field of military history, with several titles already published with Osprey. His books have covered topics such as helicopter and armored warfare in Vietnam, the Challenger main battle tank, the British Guards and armored warfare in Korea. He also presented the Great Raids series for the History Channel including a production detailing the Entebbe Raid. Simon lives and works in London. The author lives in London, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (September 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846033977
• ISBN-13: 978-1846033971
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #776,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > History > Africa > Uganda

More About the Author

A well-established author, filmmaker and photographer, Simon Dunstan has written more than 50 books on military history, particularly on World War II and Vietnam. He has also written and directed numerous military history documentaries for the History Channel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent, but Light on Military Detail, October 22, 2009

By 

R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Israel's Lightning Strike - The Raid on Entebbe 1976 (Paperback)

The second volume on Osprey's new Raid series, Israel's Lightning Strike by Simon Dunstan, covers the famous raid on Entebbe airport in 1976. This is a thrilling subject - one of the most famous commando-type missions since the Second World War - but this volume seems to plod through the various political machinations prior to the raid and then zip through the actual combat action. While this series is still gelling, this one seems not to cover its subject as well as it could have and left me with too many questions about the actual operation. Indeed, it seems less a military history than a crisis account. Nevertheless, readers interested in modern special forces and military operations would benefit from going through the lessons learned in these pages.

The author begins with a 4-page introduction that outlines the history of aerial hijacking and the rise of Black September, followed by a nice sidebar on the various Palestinian militant groups. The author then moves into a rather long-winded, 15-page discussion of the hijacking of Air France Flight 139 by the PLFP-SOG and their diversion to Entebbe airport in Uganda, where Idi Amin gave them support. This section has useful items, such as Israeli efforts to gather intelligence on Entebbe, but it eventually bogs down into a day-by-day, blow-by-blow account of the Israeli deliberations about what to do about their hostages. There are also sidebars on Yonatan Netanyahu and Ehud Barak. This section is followed by a 9-page section on Israeli plans for the raid, which is frankly pretty thin on military details. The author seems to assume that all readers are intimately familiar with the Israeli special operations community, so he makes no effort to discuss the organization or tactics of Sayeret Matkal (this is where a sidebar would have been great). Unlike other volumes in the Raid series, he does not provide any kind of organization chart or breakdown of the raiding force and consequently, various individuals just "appear" at various points in the narrative. I was particularly confused by the vague discussion of the refueling operation required to get the raiding force out of Entebbe - how did that occur?

The raid itself is covered in a 23-page section, which includes four maps (two of them 3-D style) and a battle scene, which reduces the text to about 15 pages. Since there is no discussion of the Ugandan forces at Entebbe, it is difficult to see what the raiding force was up against. It is also odd to see that the Israelis went to all this effort to insert an elite raiding force to rescue the hostages but then sacrificed surprise because they failed to quietly take out the first two Ugandan guards they encountered. The author never questions the Israeli tactics, but they don't seem particularly brilliant in the end-game. The Israeli failure to wear body armor in the assault force is never addressed, but this probably would have reduced their casualties considerably. Indeed, a sober analysis would likely reveal that the Israeli tactics were rather crude and brute force, rather than smart. They worked, but against a dumb and rather sleepy opponent, albeit at the cost of 1 killed and 5 wounded in the raiding force. Nor does the author attempt to incorporate anything from Palestinian or Ugandan sources - this account is entirely from the Israeli perspective. Overall, this volume does not have a high level of military detail and does not attempt any real analysis of the raid.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Isreal's Lighting Strike - The Raid on Entebbe 1976, March 7, 2010

By 

Michael L. Snowden - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Israel's Lightning Strike - The Raid on Entebbe 1976 (Paperback)

An excellent understanding of the prep and excecution of one of the Best Raids for rescue in the history of Special Ops. Especially true due to the history of the Isreali Defense Forces dificulty in intergrating the known factions that still existed.
Readable for anyone interested in an Op where Murphy had limited access.
Michael L. Snowden
U.S. Army Retired
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1846033977/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

5.0 out of 5 stars The Raid on Entebbe, April 28, 2010

By 

cpt matt (tanktown, DE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Israel's Lightning Strike - The Raid on Entebbe 1976 (Paperback)

Author Simon Dunstan does an excellent job in his book Israel's Lightning Strike. In his introduction, he traces the history of hijacking planes, something that was all too common in the 1970's. The Israel's have a tough "we don't negotiate with terrorists" policy and that theme runs heavily in what happened in July 1976.

Members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization seized a French plane and headed off to Libya first, then Uganda which at the time was under the rule of Idi "Dadda" Amin. Now the Israeli government had to decide what to do. That was no easy task, Uganda was 2,000 miles from Israel. Just getting there was going to be difficult, let alone surprise the hijackkers and free the hostages. The airport was in the middle of a jungle and these were times before GPS.

Dunstan takes us through the decisions, plans made, discarded, the political pressure on those who had to make the tough choices. In doing so, he quotes those who were there, giving the book a human touch and a better glimpse of the struggles everyone faced.

There are ample photos of the people involved, maps, and of particular value, 3-D renderings to show what was taking place during the raid. That the Isrealis were able to rescue the hostages with minimal casualties speaks very highly of the skill of those involved. I thought the book was very informative, technical enough to appreciate the logistical and military difficulties in pulling off this raid, yet acknowledging the human element. I recommend this book for anyone interested in Special Forces, Hijacking, raids, Commandos, military buffs.