Take That Hill!

On a spring day in 1982, the Commanding Officer of 42 Commando revived a Royal Marine tradition when he gave his now-famous order: To the South Atlantic-Quick March. It proved to be the start of a series of dramatic episodes for the members of Four-Two', who played a major role in the war between Great Britain and Argentina for possession of the Falkland Islands. But what was that war actually like for the troops on the ground?

This book is about such men, and their adventures among the bleak mountains of the Falklands. It is the first-hand account of a Royal Marine Commando at war, written by the man who led them. Here are the authentic details of danger, frustration and fatigue, but also of courage, endurance, and that sardonic humour unique amongst British servicemen. Here too are positive observations on the Argentines, an enemy about whom, even now, so little has been written.

It was 'M' Company 42 Commando that took part in the recapture of South Georgia and, later, Southern Thule. It was 'Four-Two' that held the Mount Challenger ridge, in frightful conditions and without relief, until the final British attacks around Port Stanley. And it was 'Four-Two' that took Mount Harriet by a daring, brilliantly successful night attack. These actions are vividly described, as is survival in the mountains, and patrolling across a remote wilderness where windchill and trenchfoot predominated. Nick Vaux's account reveals the triumphs and mistakes- as well as the luck-that make up the fortunes of war. The book is also peopled with an array of remarkable characters from the Brigade Commander to the young marine, the volunteer crew of Canberra, the journalists who accompanied 'Four- Two', pilots, Gunners, members of the Special Forces, Army and Navy colleagues, prisoners, and a formidable lady confronted during a tense moment at Government House

Take That Hill! is a book about a Commando today, not a dry military history. It is a simple and honest narrative of one unit in the Falklands War, a story that has never been told in full before. It is that rarest of all military accounts, the testimony of a serving officer. Above all, it is an intimate look at marines in and out of action; earthy, humorous, and sometimes tragic.