Operation Basalt
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Author | : Eric Lee |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 198 |
Release | : 2016-03-02 |
Genre | : History |
ISBN | : 0750968729 |
German soldiers assigned to guard the tiny Channel Island of Sark described it as a ‘little Paradise’ and, because it was never bombed by the RAF, the best air-raid shelter in all of Europe. But paradise for them came to a bloody end in October 1942 when a small group of British Commandos raided the island, capturing one German soldier and killing several others. Operation Basalt would have been a footnote in history but for the reaction of Hitler, who believed that British soldiers executed several Germans who had already surrendered and whose hands were bound. Days after the raid, he issued the infamous ‘Commando Order’, a death sentence for those Allied commandos who fell into German hands.Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with survivors of the period, Eric Lee has written the definitive account of the raid, putting it into the context of the German occupation of British lands during the war.
Author | : Stephen P. Reidel |
Publisher | : Geological Society of America |
Total Pages | : 403 |
Release | : 1989 |
Genre | : Science |
ISBN | : 081372239X |
Author | : Tom Keene |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 273 |
Release | : 2012-02-29 |
Genre | : History |
ISBN | : 0752483757 |
The Special Operations Executive (SOE), also known as 'Churchill's Secret Army' or the 'Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare', was born from Churchill's vision 'to set Europe ablaze'. It was formed to conduct espionage and sabotage in enemy-occupied territory as well as aid local resistance groups in their own irregular warfare. After D-Day, it played a crucial role in the liberation of Europe. However, Tom Keene's book reveals for the first time how close it came to never existing at all. Many saw SOE as a threat to the existence of MI5 and other intelligence agencies, and some in the armed forces refused to work with the new agency, fearing its broad remit and lack of experienced operatives... SOE, in turn, became ever more secretive, hiding detail's of their operations from anyone outside the agency. This backstabbing climate of rivalry, confusion and secrecy within the higher echelons of government not only nearly destroyed SOE, but also had tragic repercussions for the daring Commandos who took part in the legendary 'Cockleshell Raid'. Cloak of Enemies exposes the secret war in the shadows and backrooms of Whitehall during the Second World War and its far-reaching consequences.
Author | : Simon Hamon |
Publisher | : Frontline Books |
Total Pages | : 210 |
Release | : 2023-07-31 |
Genre | : History |
ISBN | : 1473893801 |
In 1940 British forces were withdrawn from the Channel Islands, allowing the Germans to occupy British territory. Hitler was determined to hold onto what he saw as a valuable prize, and the islands were heavily fortified. However, despite being extensively defended, the occupied Channel Islands remained vulnerable to commando-style raids. Indeed, a total of nine such operations were conducted between 1940 and 1943. Many others were planned but never executed. Each one was a bold and dangerous expedition, with small groups of men daring to trespass on Hitler’s cherished British stronghold. The first of these attacks, Operation Ambassador, took place on the night of 14/15 July 1940. The second ever raid undertaken by the Commandos, it was focused on the island of Guernsey. Though the mission failed to achieve any of its objectives, valuable lessons were learnt. In the weeks, months and years that followed, raids were also undertaken against Jersey, Sark, Herm, Burhou and the Casquets lighthouse off Alderney. The final attack, Hardtack 22, was one of the three carried out against the German garrison on Sark. After the second mission, Hardtack 7, had to be aborted, the Commandos returned to the island on the night of 26/27 December 1943, tasked with undertaking a reconnaissance and capturing prisoners. This too was a failure after the raiders entered a minefield; two men were killed and most of the others wounded. Compiled from official reports and first-hand accounts, each of the raids is packed with intrigue and drama – including the fear of reprisals being taken against the islanders. Each of the missions are explored on the ground today by the authors, with the routes taken and all key locations relating to each attack photographed and described. The planned but never executed raids are also explored. Never before have these stories been told in such detail, and never before in the words of those that took part in the raids and those who ultimately, were most affected.
Author | : |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 972 |
Release | : 1938 |
Genre | : Mineral industries |
ISBN | : |
Author | : Will Fowler |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 280 |
Release | : 2016-04-04 |
Genre | : History |
ISBN | : 0750968796 |
When Germany occupied the originally 'demilitarised' Channel Islands in 1940, Hitler ordered the area to be staunchly fortified with colossal permanent structures like Battery Moltke on Jersey. As it was the only piece of the British Isles in Nazi control, he was determined that the islands should remain German forever. Churchill was equally obsessed, urging numerous commando raids and harebrained schemes for the invasion and liberation of the islands. But when France was freed in 1944, the Channel Islands were completely bypassed. German troops were cut off from their supplies and the island population began to starve. Occupied for almost the entire war, these quintessentially English islands serve as a fascinating microcosm of what Britain might have been like under Nazi rule. With one German soldier to every three islanders, resistance had to remain at a low level: possession of a radio merited a prison sentence. The Last Raid is an atmospheric account of life under German occupation, as well as the political manoeuvring behind the scenes. With the first detailed account in English of the Granville Raid, a unique German commando operation, Will Fowler combines the social experience of war with the military to form a fascinating chronicle of the fight for the Channel Islands during the Second World War.
Author | : Tom Keene |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 308 |
Release | : 2014-03-01 |
Genre | : History |
ISBN | : 0750954949 |
They were Britain's Second World War 'Band of Brothers', a secret army of fifty handpicked, cross-Channel raiders who carried the fight to the enemy shore long before D-Day. Created after the fall of Dunkirk, they commandeered a Brixham fishing boat and planned clandestine attacks on German warships in the Channel. But not all their enemies wore German uniform. Thwarted by rivals working for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), the unit sailed to West Africa where, as part of Special Operations Executive (SOE), they carried out an audacious top-secret raid on neutral shipping. Returning to Britain in triumph and feted now by Churchill himself, they expanded into the Small Scale Raiding Force. In almost twenty daring missions for Combined Operations, whilst operating from a secret manor house in Dorset, they raided German outposts, kidnapped sentries, ambushed patrols and shot prisoners, all the while sowing fear and havoc along the rim of Hitler's Fortress Europe. Britain's Band of Brothers is their story of courage and comradeship, of patriotism, tragedy and dawn-cold courage, told here in full for the first time.
Author | : Thomas Harder |
Publisher | : Pen and Sword Military |
Total Pages | : 542 |
Release | : 2021-04-30 |
Genre | : Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | : 1526787520 |
Until the German occupation of his native Denmark in April 1940 Anders Lassen had no interest in the War. Yet over the next five years he became a highly decorated Special Forces legend and the only non-Commonwealth recipient of the Victoria Cross. After taking part in a mutiny on board a Danish ship, he made his way to Scotland. He first joined the Special Operations Executive before serving with the Small Scale Raiding Force, Special Air Service and Special Boat Service. He took part in the daring Operation Postmaster, off West Africa, and raided the Channel Islands and the Normandy coast. He saw most action in Eastern Mediterranean, fighting in Crete, the Dodecanese, Yugoslavia, mainland Greece and finally Italy. In April 1945, now a major aged 24, he was killed at Lake Comacchio, where his gallantry earned him his posthumous VC. This superb biography is not just a worthy tribute to an outstanding soldier, but a superb account of the numerous special force operations Anders was involved in.
Author | : |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 664 |
Release | : 1986 |
Genre | : Environmental impact analysis |
ISBN | : |
Author | : Liviu Moldovan |
Publisher | : Springer Nature |
Total Pages | : 605 |
Release | : |
Genre | : |
ISBN | : 3031546644 |