History Literature / TheDogsOfWar

* HoneyTrap: Shannon sleeps with Manson's not-so-innocent daughter to get information on her father re what he's after in Zangaroo.

* NotSoInvincibleAfterAll: [[spoiler:Shannon dies from lung cancer.]]

* AssassinOutclassin: Roux Hitman proves ineffectual against Langarotti

Made into a movie starring ChristopherWalken.

* GrenadeLauncher / RevolversAreJustBetter: TheMovie

* RivalTurnedEvil / DrivenByEnvy: Roux and Shannon.

* RedshirtArmy: Kimba's forces, mostly due to not having workable guns.

''The Dogs of War'' is a 1974 novel by Frederick Forsyth. It follows [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Sir James Manson]], who discovers a large amount of valuable platinum in Zangaro, a PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny, and endeavors to obtain it discreetly. For this end, he employs Cat Shannon, a mercenary, who is given a hundred days to gather his team and make the strike. The rest of the book follows Shannon as he gathers his old friends and prepares for it.

''The Dogs of War'' is a 1974 novel by Frederick Forsyth. It follows [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Sir James Manson]], who discovers a large amount of valuable platinum in Zangaro, a [=~People's Republic Of Tyranny~=], and endeavors to obtain it discreetly. For this end, he employs Cat Shannon, a mercenary, who is given a hundred days to gather his team and make the strike. The rest of the book follows Shannon as he gathers his old friends and prepares for it.

* WhatAnIdiot: Kimba. See RedshirtArmy.

* SecretlyDying: [[Mercenary leader "Cat" Shannon has been diagnosed with cancer, which motivates his betrayal of his employers as a final act of virtue]].

* TearJerker: Most of the epilogue.

* AffablyEvil- Sir James Manson.
* AnonymousRinger- Several: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Civil_War Biafra]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chukwuemeka_Odumegwu_Ojukwu 'General' Ojukwu]] and even [[AuthorAvatar Forsyth himself]] all play major roles in the plot without ever being explicitly named.
* ArmsDealer- Mostly of the legal variety, except for the one selling Schmeissers.
* {{Badass}} - Cat Shannon and his entire crew of mercenaries.
* BittersweetEnding - [[spoiler: Shannon gives the republic as a safe haven for immigrant workers and ends up reforming the government, but both Marc Vlaminck and Jan Dupree are dead, Semmler is killed later on in an accident with explosives, and Shannon commits suicide, though in his case he was killing himself because he had terminal cancer.]]
* TheBigGuy- Marc Vlaminck.
* TheCaligula- President Kimba.
* CrazyPrepared- The mercenaries, as one small error in smuggling arms would give them life in prison.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive- Sir James Manson and his underlings.

* IronicNickname- "Tiny" Marc Vlaminck.
* KnifeNut- Langarotti, who is always sharpening his blade.
* MagnificentBastard- Sir James Manson, and to an extent, Cat Shannon.
* ManlyTears-[[spoiler: Upon Jan Dupree's death, by his aide]].
* OutGambitted- [[spoiler:Manson and his cronies]].
* PrivateMilitaryContractors- Shannon and company.
* [=~People's Republic Of Tyranny~=]-Zangaro, though later changed.
* ProperlyParanoid- The mercenaries about smuggling arms, because one error will get them all life in prison.
* RivalTurnedEvil / DrivenByEnvy- Roux and Shannon.
* ShownTheirWork- The entire book.
* RedshirtArmy- Kimba's forces, mostly due to not having workable guns.
* TearJerker- Most of the epilogue.
* WhatAnIdiot-Kimba. See RedshirtArmy.

* BittersweetEnding - [[spoiler: Shannon gives the republic as a safe haven for immigrant workers and ends up reforming the government, but both Marc Vlaminck and Jan Dupree are dead, Semmler is killed later on in an accident with explosives, and Shannon commits suicide.]]

* OutGambitted- [[spoiler: Shannon]].

* CompleteMonster- President Kimba.

* RedshirtArmy- Kimba's forces, mostly due to not having [[strike:workable]] guns.

* RedshirtArmy- Kimba's forces, mostly due to not having [[strike: workable]] guns.

* WhatAnIdiot-Kimba. See RedshirtArmy.
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--> ''Knocking off a bank or an armoured truck is merely crude. Knocking off an entire republic has, I feel, a certain style.''
-->'''Sir James Manson'''

* RivalTurnedEvil / SalieriSyndrome- Roux and Shannon.

''The Dogs of War'' is a 1974 novel by Frederick Forsyth. It follows [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Sir James Manson]], who discovers a large amount of valuable platinum in Zangaro, a [=~People's Republic Of Tyranny~=], and endeavors to obtain it discreetly. For this end, he employs Cat Shannon, a mercenary, who is given a hundred days to gather his team and make the strike. The rest of the book follows Shannon as he gathers his old friends and prepares for