Z SPECIAL UNIT: The Elite Allied World War II Guerrilla Force

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Z Special Unit, one of the most intrepid but arguably the most unsung of WWII Allied Special Forces which waged a guerrilla war against Japan for two years in the south-west Pacific. On some of their 81 operations, Z Special Unit slipped into enemy harbors in canoes and silently mined ships before vanishing into the night; on others they parachuted into the dense Borneo jungle to fight with headhunters against the Japanese and on one occasion they landed on an Indonesian island and smuggled out the pro-Allied sultan from under Japanese noses.

Drawing on veteran interviews as well as operational reports and recently declassified SOE files, this explores the incredible history of this remarkable special forces unit and the band of commandoes that defied the odds.

The Japanese weren't the only adversary that Z Special Unit encountered in the brutal terrain of the Pacific. In the mango swamps of Borneo and the dense jungle of Papua New Guinea they were faced with venomous snakes, man-eating crocodiles, and deadly diseases. But it was the enemy soldiers who proved the most ruthless foe, beheading those Z Special Unit commandos who fell into their hands.