Kurdish Armour Against ISIS
YPG/SDF Tanks, Technicals
and
AFVs in the Syrian Civil War, 2014–19

NEW VANGUARD 299

This 48-page paperback book is the 299^th book in the New Vanguard series of books that are available from Osprey Publications.

The SDF Was Formed Of Kurdish Arab & Christian Forces

One of the most remarkable mechanized campaigns of recent years pitted the brutal and heavily armed jihadis of Islamic State against an improvised force belonging to the Kurdish YPG (later the SDF). While some Kurdish vehicles were originally from Syrian Army stocks or captured from ISIS, many others were extraordinary homemade AFVs based on truck or digger mechanicals, or duskas, the Kurds’ version of the technical. Before US air power was sent to Syria, these were the Kurds’ most powerful and mobile weapons.

Advance On Manbij May 2016

Co-written by a British volunteer who fought with the Kurds and an academic expert on armoured warfare, this study explains how the Kurds built and used their AFVs in the war against ‘Daesh’, and identifies as far as possible which vehicles took part in major battles, such as Kobane, Manbij and Raqqa. With detailed new artwork depicting the Kurds’ range of armour and many previously unpublished photos, this is an original and fascinating look at modern improvised mechanized warfare.

Toyota Land Cruiser With ZPU-2 Twin 14.5mm Anti-aircraft Gun Mounted

Contents

• Introduction
• The Role of Armored Forces in Syria
• Armed Groups in the Syrian Civil War
  • The YPGYPJ
  • The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
  • The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
• Improvised Armored Fighting Vehicles
  • Improvised Tanks
  • Improvised Armored Cars
  • Improvised Armored Support Vehicles
  • Improvised Armored Personnel Carriers
• AFV Sources: Syrian Army, ISIS and Coalition-Supplied
  • Soviet Armor
  • BRDM-2 Scout Vehicles
  • Armored Personnel Carriers
  • M1117 Armored Security Vehicle
  • The US Army Humvee
  • Other US-Supplied Wheeled Vehicles
• ‘Technicals’
  • 12.7mm Heavy Machine Guns
  • 14.5mm KPV
  • 23mm Cannon
  • 57mm Recoilless Rifles and Multiple Rocket Launchers
• Unit Structure and Tactics
• The YPG/SDF War Against ISIS
  • ISIS Attacks (2013 – 2014)
  • The Battle of Kobane (15 January – 26 January 2015)
  • The al-Hasakh Offensives (15 September 2014 – 17 March 2015 and 6 May 2015 – 31 May 2015)
  • The Tell Abyad Offensive (31 May – 10 July 2015)
  • The Battle of Sarrin (18 June – 27 July 2015)
  • The Battle of al-Hasakah (23 June – 1 August 2015)
  • The al-Hawl Offensive (31 October – 30 November 2015)
  • Tishrin Dam (23 – 30 December 2015)
  • The al-Shaddadi Offensive (16 – 24 February 2016)
  • The Manbij Offensive (31 May – 21 August 2016)
  • The Raqqa Campaign (6 November 2016 – 20 October 2017)
  • Setbacks and Victory Over ISIS (2017 – 2019)
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index

T54-55 Lost Its Turret And Works As AFV

Summary

The Historian, Modeler, Wargamer, and Figure Collector whose interests lie in modern battles of the Syrian civil war will gain knowledge from the firsthand experiences of the author. The color photographs, maps and drawings add clarity to the subject as the author paints a picture of the civil war and its effect on the Syrian people. You also gain an insight into the weapons used and the different battles that took place during the war. While this book is a short 48-pages, don’t let it fool you into thinking that its not full of detail.

The Historian will enjoy the book as an introduction to the Syrian Civil War and the Bibliography will guide the reader into further studies of this subject. The Modeler will enjoy looking at the photographs and reading the history of battles that took place and creating dioramas based on the photographs provided in the book. The Wargamer can use this book as a guide to setting up scenarios for their modern battle games. Finally, the Figure Painter can use this book to create vignettes based on the excellent color photographs that have been chosen for us to look at in the book. Overall, Kurdish Armor Against ISIS is a well written introduction to the Syrian civil war.

This 48-page paperback book New Vanguard 299, Kurdish Armour Against ISIS YPG/SDF Tanks, Technicals and AFVs in the Syrian Civil War, 2014–19 is available from Osprey Publications.

There is a SPECIAL “Bundle Offer” available from Osprey Publications. If you choose a print and eBook format above, you get 25% off both!

(The photographs used in this review are copied with the permission of Osprey Publications.)