Night Raid: The True Story of the First Victorious British Para Raid of WWII

by Taylor Downing

The loss of British bombers over Occupied Europe began to reach alarming levels in 1941. Could it be that the Germans were using a sophisticated form of radar to direct their night fighters and anti-aircraft guns at the British bombers? British aerial reconnaissance discovered what seemed to be a rotating radar tower on a clifftop at Bruneval, near Le Havre. The truth must be revealed.

The decision was taken to launch a daring raid on the Bruneval site to try and capture the technology for further examination. The planned airborne assault would be extremely risky. The parachute regiment had only been formed a year before on Churchill's insistence. This night raid would test the men to the extreme limits of their abilities.

Night Raid tells the gripping tale of this mission from the planning stages, to the failed rehearsals when the odds seemed stacked against them, to the night of the raid itself, and the scientific secrets that were discovered thanks to the paras' precious cargo - the German radar. Its capture was of immense importance in the next stages of the war and the mission itself marked the birth of the legend of the 'Red Devils'.

Genres: History, World War II, Military History, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, War

416 pages, Hardcover

First published May 9, 2013

Reviews

[Jesper Davelaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book and I think it's well written. Interesting part of WW2, and until I read this book I didn't hear of this particular raid (and I do know quite a lot about this topic).

I would recommend though, for those who will start reading about WW2 to first start with this book. Or at least, before you start reading (or watching) about the Battle of Arnhem start with Night Raid. If you watch for A Bridge Too Far, there might be a bit of spoiler for this book.

But great book, and I enjoyed watching reading

[Alistair · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a wonderful recount of the Bruneval raid and the actions taken by the British military to pull it off. But where this book truly excels is in the way it puts the raid in context.

The first half of the book shows the development of radar by the British, the challenges they faced and the key people involved - both technically and politically. this continues throughout the book and identifies how the idea for the raid was formed, how it was agreed to, and why C company of the Para's got the job.

The book also provides social context for the importance of the raid and how impressive its success was. After a string of embarrassments and/or defeats, the fact the raid was successful made it even more important for the public and also senior military staff.

The book closes by putting the Bruneval raid in context against other similar raids, including the St Nazaire raid. The Bruneval raid stands out not only because it was the first successful operation of its type, but also because of the low numbers of troops killed or taken prisoner. The book wraps up very nicely by providing a short history of the key people involved taking the reader from the Bruneval raid through to their post-war life.

Highly recommend as an eay read about a wonderfully interesting subject.

[Tzu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Night Raid discusses the first successful mission done by the British paratroopers during WW2. I mainly picked up the book to read more about the first paratroopers, it took me quite some time to get to that point however. The author discusses a lot of minute details about anything and everything going before and dealing with the mission; intelligence and radar technology specifically since the raid was at a Nazi radar station in France. This could be bonus points, but it slowed down the whole story for me. Downing's way of storytelling is nonetheless pretty engaging and kept me reading every chapter, though there were times I just felt like skipping to the chapters where he would tell about the raid.

[dean VetUk · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good read if you skip the padding. some chapters were excellent like the conception and development of radar and the raid itself. but the rest i found tedious.

[Mark Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, and moving account of a little known event in WW2

[Nadir · Rating 4 out of 5]

By looking at its cover, one might assume Night Raid only tells the story of the British paratroopers who captured German radar components from the coast of France in WW2. That is indeed *part* of the book, but the reader is treated to a much broader story of: the air-war between German and Britain, the development and uses of radar (invented just prior to WW2 and heavily developed during the war), the establishment and work of Combined Operations (akin to today's Special Operations Command), the establishment, training, and actions of the British Army's Parachute Brigade (precursor to their first Airborne Division), and finally, the budding role of the media in what we would term and "embedded" role followed by the use of those reports and films in communicating with the British public and her allies.

In all respects a very interesting (and easy) read. Recommended.

[Alexander Peck · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read accounts of WWII regularly you may find this book a bit redundant. It is more about radar than the cover of the book would lead you to believe and it does lack a bit of the common touch that the great war stories have.

On the other hand, it is delightfully holistic in its description of the raid of Brunevall. Good pictures, a map on page 1 that I wish I remembered was there when I got to the battle that is about 2/3s of the way through the book. Speaks from most angles without over laboring any one point. Made a clear narrative of the chaos of the battle.

A fine book for someone getting into reading about WWII especially if they have not encountered a British telling.

[Davina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes a great effort to put the Bruneval raid in full context, so spends a great deal of time discussing the development of Radar and the Airborne Forces. The battle itself is only a small part of the book. That said, it still does a good job of telling the story of the battle. The book does require a minimal understanding of the War, but, again, is good at delivering the overall context quite well, and does so without becoming tedious.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book about the raid that sent British paratroopers to the forefront of elite soldiers. Well documented on both the British and German side along with the involvement of the French Resistance. Excellent reading, easy to follow and hard to put down. If you enjoy WWII books I believe you should put this one on your list.

[Ove Kronborg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book about the Operation Biting at Bruneval 1942

[E. G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

--Night Raid

Acknowledgements
Notes
Bibliography
Index