SAS Secret War

The Dhofar War lasted ten years until 1976 and was probably the best conducted counter-insurgency campaign ever fought. It is still studied at the British Army Staff College as a model campaign, yet most people have never heard of it.

In 1970 the SAS were called in to support the Sultan of Oman’s armed forces in their fierce campaign against a Communist-backed insurrection.

This was a war about people, and the task was not to wipe the enemy out, but to persuade them to join the government's side, and at the same time to win the support of the civilians of the Jebel Dhofar.

This is the story of the part played in the conflict by squadrons of the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, the first full SAS squadron in the region. Their role was critical because they operated with the firqats, the bands of Dhofari ex-guerillas raised to fight for the Sultan and without whom the war could not have been won.

Written by the man who commanded that unit and who successfully raised the first bands of Dhofari irregulars to fight for the Sultan, SAS: Secret War provides a unique and personal insight into what was to become one of the most successful counter-insurgency campaigns of the twentieth century.

General Tony Jeapes joined the SAS in 1958, was awarded the Military Cross the following year and continued to serve with them for the next nineteen years. He later became an instructor specialising in counter-insurgency tactics, and from 1974 to 1977 he went on to command the 2nd SAS Regiment, during which time the regiment was involved in active service both in Oman and Northern Ireland.

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