Second volume of a highly illustrated history of 2 SAS's operations in
1944 in support of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France.
In the world of military history there is no brand as potent as that of
the SAS. They burst into global prominence in 1980 with their
spectacular storming of the Iranian Embassy, and there have been
hundreds of books, films, documentaries and even reality TV shows about
them. But what there hasn't been is a guide to the scenes of some of
their most famous Second World War operations. That is why Gavin
Mortimer's vivid two-volume account of their daring missions in
German-occupied France in 1944 is such compelling reading.
SAS actions in France delayed German reinforcements reaching the
battlefront in Normandy, later sewing confusion among the Germans as
they withdrew. The SAS trained the French Maquis and helped to turn them
from an undisciplined rabble into an effective fighting force. Their
exploits inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans, and they left a
trail of destruction and disorder in their wake.
This first volume focuses on 1 SAS and describes in graphic detail
operations Titanic, Houndsworth, Bulbasket, Gain, Haggard and Kipling,
all of which were carried out in northern and central France. Using
previously unpublished interviews with SAS veterans and members of the
Maquis as well as rare photographs, Gavin Mortimer blends the past and
present, so that readers can walk in the footsteps of SAS heroes and see
where they lived, fought and died.
