In the spring of 1942, Britain's far-flung empire was in the greatest
peril. North Africa was being overrun by the German Afrika Korps and in
Southeast Asia, the forces of Imperial Japan had captured Singapore and
were threatening India.
Only the most urgent reinforcement of both war fronts could prevent
disaster. But Britain's shipping routes to Egypt and India passed the
island of Madagascar. If the Japanese Navy, operating out of Madagascar,
could severe Britain's communications with Cairo and Delhi, then the
whole of North Africa and the Indian sub-continent would be at the mercy
of the Axis Powers.
In a desperate race against time, and under conditions of the utmost
secrecy, at Churchill's instigation Britain planned to seize Madagascar,
the fourth largest island in the world, before the Japanese could
strike. An overwhelming force was assembled and dispatched as part of
the largest convoy ever to have left Britain's shores. Yet the
expedition's commanders were faced with not just military but also
political obstacles, because the forces occupying the island were not
those her enemy's but those of her former ally - France.
The Secret Invasion is the first book to examine in detail this crucial
campaign, which was Britain's largest amphibious assault since the First
World War and the first large-scale combined air, sea, and land
operation Britain had attempted.
