Killing the Enemy

Adam Leong completed his PhD in Special Operations and Military History at the University of Reading. He is currently Senior Lecturer at the National Defence University of Malaysia.

INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Definitions
What are Special Operations?
What is Leadership Decapitation?
Strategic Effectiveness
Tactical Effectiveness
Why World War II?
Review of Relevant Literature
Research Methodology, Questions and Hypotheses, and Sources
Research Questions and Hypotheses
Sources
Conclusion

STRATEGIES OF LEADERSHIP DECAPITATION, STRATEGIC LOGIC, AND NEXUS WITH MORALE
Introduction
Strategies of Decapitation and Leader Decapitation
Sun Tzu: Attacking the enemy’s ‘strategy’
The Assassins
Hunting down the leaders
Strategic paralysis
Soviet Spetsnaz Doctrine
The Logic of Leadership Decapitation
The Importance of Morale
Conclusion

HITLER’S ‘HANGMAN’ BUTCHERED - CASE STUDY OF OPERATION ANTHROPOID
Introduction
An outline of the history of Czechoslovakia
The Fourth Arm
Who was Reinhard Heydrich?
Why Heydrich needed to be killed?
Operation Anthropoid
The outcome
The findings
Conclusion

CASE STUDY OF THE KIDNAP OF MAJOR GENERAL KREIPE IN CRETE
Introduction
Crete during World War II: A brief outline
Cretan resistance activities
SOE in Crete
Early Commando raids in Crete
To capture the ‘Butcher of Crete’ (Why?)
The operation itself
The outcome
The findings
Conclusion

CASE STUDY OF THE “YAMAMOTO MISSION”
Introduction
Yamamoto’s background
Yamamoto’s death warrant
The “Yamamoto Mission”
The outcome
The findings
Conclusion

CASE STUDY OF OPERATION FLIPPER
Introduction
Background of the Western Desert Campaign (September 1940- December 1941)
Enter the Commandos
The Plan to “Get Rommel”
How the operation actually proceeded
The outcome
The findings
Get Rommel, again! (Operation Gaff)
Conclusion

CONCLUSION: ANALYSIS, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH, AND CONCLUSION
Introduction
Analysis
Strategically Effective
Tactically Effective


MAPS

BIBLIOGRAPHY