Special Operations.Com

Mercenary and Military Advisory Firms

Webmaster's Note: This page has been included as a research and reference tool due to a large number of requests from visitors to Special Operations.Com. Please do not contact the webmaster for information on how to become a mercenary as this information will not be provided.

Hot Links

Center for Defense Information (CDI)

Mercenary/Corporate Military Firms

Sandline International

MPRI

Articles

Fortune of Soldiers - Modern mercenaries offer to wage war for profit

Mercenaries and Lyndon Johnson's "More Flags": The Hiring of Korean, Filipino, and Thai Soldiers in the Vietnam War

"Who are you going to call when you can't afford your own military to fight a war for you?" - Center for Defense Information

New Guinea

Military crisis ends in Papua New Guinea Defense chief fired after peaceful revolt - March 18, 1997

Bibliography: A Guide for Research and Reference

(Note: The following list is derived from the U.S. Army's Center For Military History and does not inply an endorsement of any of the works listed below)

GENERAL/MISCELLANEOUS

Dodenhoff, George H. "A Historical Perspective of Mercenaries." Naval War College Rev 21 (Apr 1969): pp. 91-109. Per.

Mallin, Jay, & Brown, Robert K. Merc: American Soldiers of Fortune. NY: Macmillan, 1979. 218 p. U52M34.

Mockler, Anthony. The Mercenaries. NY: Macmillan, 1969. 303 p. D25.5M56. Hist survey, emphasizing 20th cent.

Seagrave, Sterling. Soldiers of Fortune. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life, 1981. 176 p. UH23S42. Aerial adventurers only.

Thompson, Leroy. Uniforms of the Soldiers of Fortune. NY: Sterling, 1985. 159 p. UC840.T484.

Turney-High, Harry H. The Military: The Theory of Land Warfare as Behavioral Science. West Hanover, MA: Christopher, 1981. 336 p. U27T87. Unique and personal view, largely historical. See Chap 12.

U.S. Dept of Army. Office of Military History. "Brief Summary of the Experience of Various Nations [in the use of mercenary troops]." Typescript, n.d. 3 p. UA15U25. Sketchy survey and commentary.

PRE-20TH CENTURY

Bayley, C.C. Mercenaries for the Crimea: The German, Swiss, and Italian Legions in British Service, 1854-56. Montreal, Canada: McGill-Queens U, 1977. 197 p. DK215B38.

Bidwell, Shelford. Swords for Hire: European Mercenaries in Eighteenth-Century India. London: Murray, 1971. 258 p. DS469.B5.

Boatner, Mark M., III. "The Decline and Fall: Rome's Hired Legion." Army 21 (Aug 1971): pp. 24-29. Per.

Carr, Caleb. The Devil Soldier: The Story of Frederick Townsend Ward. NY: Random, 1992. 366 p. DS759.35.W37 C37.

Davis, Richard H. Real Soldiers of Fortune. NY: Scribner's, 1912. 228 p. CT105D35. Six biog of Brit & Amer notables.

Elting, John R. Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armee. NY: Macmillan, 1988. 769 p. DC202.1E48. See Chap 18.

Garibaldi, Giuseppe. A Toast to Rebellion. Garden City, NY: City, 1937. 327 p. D413.G3 A35.

Glubb, John. Soldiers of Fortune: The Story of the Mamlukes. NY: Stein & Day, 1973. 480 p. DT96G57.

Grant, James. The Cavaliers of Fortune. London: Routledge, 1858? 404 p. D25.9.G79.

Griffith, G.T. The Mercenaries of the Hellenistic World. London: Cambridge U, 1935. 340 p. U33G74.

Hasbrouck, Alfred. Foreign Legionaries in the Liberation of Spanish South America. NY: Columbia, 1928. 470 p. H31.C7.

Lonn, Ella. Foreigners in the Confederacy. Chapel Hill, NC: U of NC, 1940. Chap VI. E487L64.

Foreigners in the Union Army and Navy. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State U, 1951. Chap II. E540F6L6.

Loring, W.W. A Confederate Soldier in Egypt. NY: Dodd, Mead, 1884. 450 p. DT54L87. Account of his service, 1869-79. See also biog of Loring (U53L67W48).

Mallett, Michael. Mercenaries and Their Masters: Warfare in Renaissance Italy. Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Littlefield, 1974. 284 p. DG483.5M3.

McLynn, Pauline. "Gustave-Paul Cluseret: A Socialist Soldier of Fortune in the Age of Capital." Army Qtly Jrnl 114 (Oct 1984): pp. 443-53. Per.

Millar, Gilbert John. "The Landsknecht: His Recruitment and Organization, With Some Reference to the Reign of Henry VIII." Mil Affairs 35 (Oct 1971): pp. 95-99. Per.

"Mercenaries and Auxiliaries: Foreign Soldiers in the Armies of Henry VII and Henry VIII, with Special Reference to Their Origins, Recruitment, and Employment in the French War of 1544-46." PhD dss, Louisiana State U, 1974. 2 vol. 501 p. DA66M5.

Schlight, John. Monarchs and Mercenaries: A Reappraisal of the Importance of Knight Service in Normand and Early Angevin England. Bridgeport, CT: Conference on British Studies, 1968. 103 p. DA176S35.

Shand, Alexander. Soldiers of Fortune in Camp and Court. NY: Dutton, 1907. 305 p. D110.S5.

Trease, Geoffrey. The Condottieri: Soldiers of Fortune. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971. 367 p. DG533T7.

Valliere, P. de. Honneur et fidelite: Histoire des Suisses au Service Etranger. Neuchatel: Zahn, 1913? 731 p. D25.5.V34.

Zabecki, David T. "Kosciuszko, the Neglected 'Mercenary."' Army 31 (Nov 1981): p. 7. Per.

20th CENTURY - PRE-WWII

Crabites, Pierre. Americans in the Egyptian Army. London: Routledge, 1938. 277 p. DT106C67.

Marple, Allan D. "American Mercenaries: A Historical Precedence in East Asia." Student paper, AWC, Apr 1992. 65 p. Arch. Examines USA employment of Phil Scouts (1899-) & KATUSA (1950-).

May, Robert E. "Young American Males and Filibustering in the Age of Manifest Destiny: The United States Army as a Cultural Mirror." Jrnl of Amer Hist (Dec 1991): pp. 857-86. Per. Examines the relationship.

U.S. Army War College. Hist Sec. "Mercenary Troops." Photostat of typescript, n.d. 6 p. UB321U55.

SINCE 1945

Booth, Waller B. "Allies or Hirelings?" Army 22 (May 1972): pp. 43-47. Per. Meos troops, Laos.

Burchett, Wilfred, & Roebuck, Derek. The Whores of War: Mercenaries Today. NY: Penguin, 1977. 244 p. D25.5B8.

Dodenhoff, George H. "The Congo: A Case Study of Mercenary Employment." Naval War College Rev 21 (Apr 1969): pp. 44-70. Per. 1963-64 situation.

Hennessy, Maurice. The Wild Geese: The Irish Soldier in Exile. Old Greenwich, CT: Devin-Adair, 1973. 227 p. DA927H46.

Marple, Allan D. "American Mercenaries: A Historical Precedence in East Asia." Student paper, AWC, Apr 1992. 65 p. Arch. Examines USA employment of Phil Scouts (1899-) & KATUSA (1950-).

McGrew, Palmer W. "A United States Foreign Legion." Student paper, AWC, 1953. 31 p. Arch.

Mockler, Anthony. The New Mercenaries. NY: Paragon, 1987. 374 p. D25.5.M562.

Steiner, Rolf. The Last Adventurer. Boston: Little, 1978. 275 p. DT515.9.E3 S7713.

Thomas, Gerry S. Mercenary Troops in Modern Africa. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1984. 157 p. UA855.T56.

GURKHAS

Adshead, Robin. Gurkha: The Legendary Soldier. Singapore: Asia Pacific, 1970. 189 p. UA853N35A65. Pictorial essay of modern Gurkha Brigade.

Farwell, Byron. The Gurkhas. NY: Norton, 1984. 317 p. UA853N35B96.

"Then the Gurkhas Came Ashore." Army 32 (Sep 1982): pp. 24-26. Per. Capsule history through Falklands.

"A Reputation for Intimidation." MHQ 1 (Spg 1989): pp. 82-89. Per.

Ferrea, A.J. "Soldiers from the Hills: The Gurkhas." Student Paper, AWC, Mar 1988. 59 p. Miscfiles(Merc).

Great Britain. Ministry of Defense. Nepal and the Gurkhas. London: H.M.S.O., 1965. 158 p. DS493.9G8 G7.

"The Gurkha Soldier." Mimeo brochure [possibly prepared by British Brigade of Gurkhas], 1958 or after. 29 p. MiscFiles(Merc).

Gyi, M., & Kufus, Marty. "'Gorkhali Ayo!' Gurkha Soldiers in the Battle for Imphal, 1944." Cmd Mag (MayJun 1992): pp. 52-62. Per. Firsthand account.

Huxford, Harold J. History of the 8th Gurkha Rifles, 1824-1949. Aldershot: Gale, 1952. 335 p. UA843 I6 H86.

India. Army. 5th Royal Gurkha. History of the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force). 1928? Aldershot: Gale & Polden. UA843I6 I55.

James, Harold D. The Gurkhas. Harrisburg: Stackpole, 1966. 291 p. UA853N35 J3.

Kiddoo, Tom. "Gurkhas!" Soldiers (Jul 1988): pp. 13-19. Per.

Macdonell, Ranald. A History of the 4th Prince of Wale's Own Gurkha Rifles. Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1940-52. 3 v. UAB43I6M33.

Masters, John. Bugles and a Tiger: A Volume of Autobiography. NY: Viking, 1956. 312 p. PS3525A8314Z5. Covers his service in India, 1935-39, with 2 Bn/4th Gurkha Rifles. Rich detail on unit life and customs.

Nicholson, J.B. The Gurkha Rifles. NY: Hippocrene, 1974. 40 p. UA853N35 N5.

Ryan, Denis G. Historical Record of the 6th Gurkha Rifles. Aldershot: Gale, 1956. UA843I6R93.

Shakespear, Leslie W. History of the 2nd King Edward's Own Goorkha Rifles (the Sirmoor Rifles). Aldershot: Gale, 1950-. UA843.I6 S52.

Sheil-Small, Denis. Green Shadows: A Gurkha Story. London: Kimber, 1982. 198 p. D767.6.S57.

Walmer, Max. An Illustrated Guide to Modern Elite Forces. NY: Arco, 1984. 160 p. UA15.5.W34.

Woodyatt, Nigel G. The Regimental History of the 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles. Simla: Ray, 1951-. UA843 I6W62.

Back to U.S. Special Operations Home Page