The raid on St Nazaire has gone down in history as one of the most
daring commando raids of all time. Given the code name of Operation
Chariot, it took place in the early hours of Saturday, 28 March 1942,
and was a joint undertaking by the Royal Navy and British Commando
units.
The port at St Nazaire, which sits on the Loire estuary and the Atlantic
Ocean, has a dry dock that was capable of accommodating some of
Germany's biggest naval vessels, such as the Bismarck, or the
Tirpitz. By putting the port out of action, any repairs or maintenance
work that needed to be carried out would instead have to be undertaken
back home at the German port of Bremerhaven. To do this, the German
vessels would either have to navigate the waters of the English Channel
or the North Sea, with both journeys potentially bringing them to the
attention of the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy.
A raiding force of 612 officers and men were assembled and dispatched
from Falmouth to carry out the raid, sailing on board the obsolete
British destroyer HMS Campbeltown, along with 18 Motor Launches. The
idea was to ram the destroyer in to the outer gates of the dry dock at
St Nazaire and put it out of action for as long as possible. The raid
was a success, but came at a price: of those who set out, 169 were
killed while a further 215 were captured. Only 3 Motor Launches and 228
men escaped and made the return journey back to the UK.
Many brave men gave it their all during the action at St Nazaire, to
such an extent that 89 of those who took part in the raid were awarded
decorations for bravery, including 5 who were awarded the Victoria
Cross.