Author(s): Tony Jeapes

Other Wars

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From 1971-76 the SAS fought and won a guerrilla war in the barren hills and deserts of southern Oman. They were doubly successful, defeating the communist rebels and keeping the entire operation so secret that the Labour party had no idea what was happening until they won the 1974 election.

After heavy editing by the MoD and Foreign Office, the story of this secret war was revealed by SAS Operation Oman, written by the SAS commander, Colonel Tony Jeapes.

Still used as a text book at the Army Staff College, Camberley, it reveals how small teams of elite soldiers took on a dedicated guerrilla army and destroyed it. While the US Army was losing its very public war in Vietnam, the SAS fought in complete secrecy, saving the Omani regime and preventing Soviet-backed guerrillas seizing control of the Persian Gulf.

MoD restrictions are now lifted, enabling Tony Jeapes to reveal key details he was forced to omit in 1980.