Into the Jaws of Death: The True Story of the Legendary Raid on Saint-Nazaire

by Robert Lyman

It is the night of March 28, 1942. Royal Navy and British commandos are poised to assault the German-held port of Saint-Nazaire in what will be one of the most audacious and daring raids of the Second World War. The plan is simple: to drive an old destroyer, packed with three tons of explosives, at full speed into the outer gate of the Normandie dock. The aim is to destroy the base from which the formidable battleship "Tirpitz "would be able to devastate the convoys supplying Britain from the United States. "Operation Chariot" was to be dramatically successful, but at a great cost. Fewer than half the men who went on the mission returned. In recognition of their valor, eighty-nine decorations were awarded, including five Victoria Crosses. "Into the Jaws of Death" is the true story of how the decisive courage of a small group of men changed the course of the war.

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

352 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2013

About the author

By birth a New Zealander, I was educated in Australia and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. After a 20-year career in the British Army I turned my hand to writing, my PhD being published in 2004 as 'Slim, Master of War, a military biography of arguably Britain's greatest field commander of WW2.

I am a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

I am a trustee of the Kohima Educational Trust, which seeks to provide educational opportunities for young learners in Nagaland.

Reviews

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The British raid on Saint-Nazaire during World War II is examined. The work discusses the establishment of the commandos and their training. The intelligence establishment and the resistance movement in the occupied territories is also covered. Despite the the author's choice of an academic vocabulary, Into the Jaws of Death is an educational history read.

[Jon Zug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and researched, this is an excellent account of Operation Chariot, the British Commando raid on the Nazi held port of St. Nazaire in 1942 to deny to the German navy the largest dry dock in Western Europe. Conceived as part of the Commando operations that could take the fight to Germany at a time when the western allies were just building their forces, the goal was to destroy the Normandie dock, the only dry dock that could repair and facilitate the Tirpitz, sister ship to the Bismarck that had been sunk the previous year after wreaking havoc on the British navy before they directed their entire fleet operations to her sinking. Robert Lyman does a very good job of giving a brief history of the formation and training of special operations forces, and a very detailed description of all the planning and training that went into the actual raid. If there is any complaint about the book it is that you are actually 2/3 of the way through the book before you get to his recounting of the raid itself. Given that casualty rates among the naval and commando personnel approached 70%, it is remarkable how much detail he was able to find in his research of primary sources and interviews with surviving veterans. A good read, I promise you that you will put down this book with incredible respect and admiration for the men who carried out this raid, one of the greatest feats of arms in modern military history.

[Bret Kinghorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent telling of the raid on Saint-Nazaire. I first heard about this from reading One Day in August about the Dieppe raid and when I found the chance to read this, I couldn't pass it up. starts off with the creation of the commandos and giving brief run downs of the raids prior to this one. It gave the details in way that was blunt, concise, but never boring. It spoke of the errors made and made no attempt to hide them behind some BS, which I always prefer. The wars were brutal, and errors were common and cost men their lives. By showing this raid, and its lead up, warts and all, we get a truer sense of the battle that was fought at the Lock and what they went through in the hours that the battle was fought.
Strongly suggest it to anyone who is a fan of the history of WWII.

[David Vernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very detailed examination of the Saint-Nazaire raid. It is meticulously researched and well written. There is considerable explanation of why the raid was necessary and how the policy of raiding was developed. This might be a little tedious for some who are just hoping to read the details of the raid itself, but it provides excellent context. I would have liked a little more analysis at the end regarding whether the effort and many deaths was worth it in the bigger picture. A few more diagrams to illustrate the attack would also be helpful

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief, readable and punchy account of the British Commando raid on Saint-Nazaire. Some good context setting the raid out to the background of combined ops Commando raids in Norway, France and elsewhere.

A fair bit of detail about logistics and organization, but not too much on the "shoot `em up" stage of the raid. This is fair enough if the author thinks a vivid description of the chaos of the raid is beyond him, but the book ends up a bit bloodless.

The challenges of the raid and the mythical bravey of the Commandoes who participated, are made very clear.

[Ties Blom · Rating 3 out of 5]

For sure a difficult read. 'Into the jaws of death' suffers from having too much detail crammed into its 300 pages. The story unfolds with almost academic precision to detail, but eventually it tries too much. Strong narritive style, excellently researched, but it would require many more additional maps to simply aid in visualizing the many , many actions depicted. Some restraint would have delivered a more readable book and an additional star in my rating.

[Gary Trembath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and riveting account!

An interesting and exciting account of the raid on Saint-Nazaire by the British Commandos and Navy. It gives a good account of the planning, execution of the plan, the personnel involved the failures experienced, and the ultimate success of the raid. A very good read!

[Luc Marin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating account of the historic British raid on St. Nazaire during WW2. Defines military heroism.