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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill's Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops
When France fell to the Nazis in the winter of 1939, Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared that Britain would resist the advance of the German army--alone if necessary. To help defeat the seemingly unstoppable German war machine, Churchill called for the swift and secret development of a very special kind of military unit, the likes of which the world had never seen.
Churchill commanded the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to recruit a team of survivalists, free-thinkers, misfits, and outright criminals--men with a wide variety of skill sets that together would enable them to operate purely on their own initiative deep behind enemy lines. And because they would flout the rules of war, these men were to be the SOE's first "deniable" operatives, and the first to be truly "licensed to kill."
The very first of these "butcher-and-bolt" units--the innocuously named Maid Honour Force--was led by Gus March-Phillipps, a wild British eccentric of high birth, and an aristocratic, handsome, and bloodthirsty young Danish warrior, Anders Lassen. Amped up on amphetamines, these assorted renegades and sociopaths undertook the very first of Churchill's special operations--a top-secret, high-stakes mission to seize Nazi shipping in the far-distant port of Fernando Po, in West Africa.
Though few of these early desperadoes survived WWII, they took part in a series of fascinating, daring missions that changed the course of the war. It was the first stirrings of the modern special-ops team, and all of the men involved would be declared war heroes when it was all over.
Written by award-winning historian Damien Lewis, Churchill's Secret Warriors focuses on a dozen of these extraordinary men, weaving their stories of brotherhood, comradeship, and elite soldiering into a gripping narrative yarn, from the earliest missions to Anders Larssen's tragic death, just weeks before the end of the war.
Churchill commanded the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to recruit a team of survivalists, free-thinkers, misfits, and outright criminals--men with a wide variety of skill sets that together would enable them to operate purely on their own initiative deep behind enemy lines. And because they would flout the rules of war, these men were to be the SOE's first "deniable" operatives, and the first to be truly "licensed to kill."
The very first of these "butcher-and-bolt" units--the innocuously named Maid Honour Force--was led by Gus March-Phillipps, a wild British eccentric of high birth, and an aristocratic, handsome, and bloodthirsty young Danish warrior, Anders Lassen. Amped up on amphetamines, these assorted renegades and sociopaths undertook the very first of Churchill's special operations--a top-secret, high-stakes mission to seize Nazi shipping in the far-distant port of Fernando Po, in West Africa.
Though few of these early desperadoes survived WWII, they took part in a series of fascinating, daring missions that changed the course of the war. It was the first stirrings of the modern special-ops team, and all of the men involved would be declared war heroes when it was all over.
Written by award-winning historian Damien Lewis, Churchill's Secret Warriors focuses on a dozen of these extraordinary men, weaving their stories of brotherhood, comradeship, and elite soldiering into a gripping narrative yarn, from the earliest missions to Anders Larssen's tragic death, just weeks before the end of the war.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2015
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3261 people want to read
About the author
Damien Lewis
83 books449 followersDamien Lewis became an author largely by accident, when a British publisher asked him if he'd be willing to turn a TV documentary he was working on into a book. That film was shot in the Sudan war zone, and told the story of how Arab tribes seized black African slaves in horrific slave raids. Lewis had been to the Sudan war zone dozens of times over the past decade, reporting on that conflict for the BBC, Channel 4 and US and European broadcasters.
His slavery documentary told the story of a young girl from the Nuba tribe, seized in a raid and sold into slavery in Khartoum, Sudan's capital city, and of her epic escape. The publisher asked Lewis if the Nuba girl would be willing to write her life story as a book, with his help as co-author. The book that they co-wrote was called 'Slave', and it was published to great acclaim, becoming a number one bestseller and being translated into some 30 lanc guages worldwide. It won several awards and has been made into a feature film.
Over the preceding fifteen years Lewis had reported from many war, conflict and disaster zones – including Sudan, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Iraq, Syria, Burma, Afghanistan and the Balkans (see Author's Gallery). He (and his film crew) traveled into such areas with aid workers, the British or allied military, UN forces or local military groups, or very much under their own steam. He reported on the horror and human impact of war, as well as the drama of conflict itself. Often, he worked alone. Often, he filmed his own material over extended periods of time living in the war or conflict zone.
During a decade spent reporting from around the world Lewis lived in deserts, rainforests, jungles and chaotic third world cities. In his work and travels he met and interviewed people smugglers, diamond miners, Catholic priests 'gone native', desert nomads, un-contacted tribes, aid workers, bush pilots, arms dealers, genocidal leaders, peacekeepers, game wardens, slum kids, world presidents, heroin traffickers, rebel warlords, child prostitutes, Islamist terrorists, Hindu holy men, mercenaries, bush doctors, soldiers, commanders and spies. He was injured, and was hospitalised with bizarre tropical diseases – including flesh-eating bacteria, worms that burrow through the skin and septicemia – but survived all that and continued to report.
It was only natural that having seen so much of global conflict he would be drawn to stories of war, terrorism, espionage and the often dark causes behind such conflicts when he started writing books. Having written a number of true stories, in 2006 he was chosen as one of the 'nation's 20 favourite authors' and wrote his first fiction, Desert Claw, for the British Government's Quick Read initiative. Desert Claw tells of a group of ex-Special Forces soldiers sent into Iraq to retrieve a looted Van Gogh painting, with a savage twist to the tale. That fiction was followed up by Cobra Gold, an equally compelling tale of global drama and intrigue and shadowy betrayal.
Damien Lewis's work, books and films have won the Index on Censorship (UK), CECRA (Spain), Project Censored (US), Commonwealth Relations (UK), Discovery-NHK BANFF (Canada), Rory Peck (UK), BBC One World (UK), BBC-WWF Wildscreen (UK), International Peace Prize (US), Elle Magazine Grande Prix (US), Victor Gollanz (Germany), and BBC One World (UK) Awards. He is a Fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
His slavery documentary told the story of a young girl from the Nuba tribe, seized in a raid and sold into slavery in Khartoum, Sudan's capital city, and of her epic escape. The publisher asked Lewis if the Nuba girl would be willing to write her life story as a book, with his help as co-author. The book that they co-wrote was called 'Slave', and it was published to great acclaim, becoming a number one bestseller and being translated into some 30 lanc guages worldwide. It won several awards and has been made into a feature film.
Over the preceding fifteen years Lewis had reported from many war, conflict and disaster zones – including Sudan, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Iraq, Syria, Burma, Afghanistan and the Balkans (see Author's Gallery). He (and his film crew) traveled into such areas with aid workers, the British or allied military, UN forces or local military groups, or very much under their own steam. He reported on the horror and human impact of war, as well as the drama of conflict itself. Often, he worked alone. Often, he filmed his own material over extended periods of time living in the war or conflict zone.
During a decade spent reporting from around the world Lewis lived in deserts, rainforests, jungles and chaotic third world cities. In his work and travels he met and interviewed people smugglers, diamond miners, Catholic priests 'gone native', desert nomads, un-contacted tribes, aid workers, bush pilots, arms dealers, genocidal leaders, peacekeepers, game wardens, slum kids, world presidents, heroin traffickers, rebel warlords, child prostitutes, Islamist terrorists, Hindu holy men, mercenaries, bush doctors, soldiers, commanders and spies. He was injured, and was hospitalised with bizarre tropical diseases – including flesh-eating bacteria, worms that burrow through the skin and septicemia – but survived all that and continued to report.
It was only natural that having seen so much of global conflict he would be drawn to stories of war, terrorism, espionage and the often dark causes behind such conflicts when he started writing books. Having written a number of true stories, in 2006 he was chosen as one of the 'nation's 20 favourite authors' and wrote his first fiction, Desert Claw, for the British Government's Quick Read initiative. Desert Claw tells of a group of ex-Special Forces soldiers sent into Iraq to retrieve a looted Van Gogh painting, with a savage twist to the tale. That fiction was followed up by Cobra Gold, an equally compelling tale of global drama and intrigue and shadowy betrayal.
Damien Lewis's work, books and films have won the Index on Censorship (UK), CECRA (Spain), Project Censored (US), Commonwealth Relations (UK), Discovery-NHK BANFF (Canada), Rory Peck (UK), BBC One World (UK), BBC-WWF Wildscreen (UK), International Peace Prize (US), Elle Magazine Grande Prix (US), Victor Gollanz (Germany), and BBC One World (UK) Awards. He is a Fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
August 17, 2016
Problems include comic book action scenes (KABOOM, it actually says at one point) that in no way could the author have proven happened this way. An odd man-crush tone about Lassen (he had blue eyes. I heard you the first time). He says Gubbins was called "m" which Marks didn't ever do in his book, and you think he'd know as he was there, and I can't find a corroborating source in a quick Google of the claim, and he implies Ian Fleming based "M" on him, which a trip to Wikipedia will show you is not so. So I wonder what is true here. No footnotes, and a list of sources shorter than the books I have read on the topic.
The whole thing is something of a bait and switch, too. It seems to be, at most, about three operations early in SOE history. Cover copy suggests a wider scope.
The whole thing is something of a bait and switch, too. It seems to be, at most, about three operations early in SOE history. Cover copy suggests a wider scope.
October 6, 2015
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was a teeter-totter book for me. The teeter (I always thought the teeter was when you went up!) was riveting and fast-paced during the novelization portions of the story, when the author made these historical figures come to life. The totter (the drop!) was when it read more like a history textbook, with lots of military terminology that went right over my head.
That's the crux of it, really. When I got to be up close on the sidelines with Lassen, I had a ball of a time. It felt more like an action movie, with lots of snarky balls-out comments and choreographed fighting. The author has a gift for writing these parts. Now I have no idea how accurate these are; I am sure there is some leniency to add a little drama, and I doubt the author has play-by-play transcripts of every single conversation the men had. It just never felt like he was going too far out of bounds--if we can safely say that all of the actions are accurate, I'm okay with a little bit of dramatization with the dialogue.
It was pretty rough seeing them each slowly drop off, too. Man by man they dropped off until no one from the original ship was left. It was worse too, knowing that they were real people who really did have these major events in their lives. They seemed all the more awesome and brave and insane because of it.
That's the crux of it, really. When I got to be up close on the sidelines with Lassen, I had a ball of a time. It felt more like an action movie, with lots of snarky balls-out comments and choreographed fighting. The author has a gift for writing these parts. Now I have no idea how accurate these are; I am sure there is some leniency to add a little drama, and I doubt the author has play-by-play transcripts of every single conversation the men had. It just never felt like he was going too far out of bounds--if we can safely say that all of the actions are accurate, I'm okay with a little bit of dramatization with the dialogue.
It was pretty rough seeing them each slowly drop off, too. Man by man they dropped off until no one from the original ship was left. It was worse too, knowing that they were real people who really did have these major events in their lives. They seemed all the more awesome and brave and insane because of it.
November 18, 2018
"Fight for all you hold dear. Die as if it counts. Life is not so hard Nor is death." - inscription on Major Anders Lassen's gravestone
WHO IS MAJOR ANDERS LASSEN?
- Short video on Anders Lassen: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UZOAi2o...
- A longer, more descriptive video about Lassen and the missions depicted: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eCOMPej...
- At the Special Air Service (SAS) base, in Hereford, there are two statues of the unit’s founding heroes: one is of David Stirling, the other of Anders Lassen, the two men who pioneered what was to become modern Special Forces soldiering.
SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE (SOE)
- In the summer of 1940, Britain’s wartime leader had given the green light for the founding of the highly secretive Special Operations Executive (SOE).
- The SOE wasn’t part of the wider military. It was formed under the Ministry of Economic Warfare, and it was more akin to a separate branch of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS).
- the force’s inaugural mission...the Royal Navy had managed to get them banned from all European theatres of operations—but not from Africa.
- Perhaps inevitably, some twelve months after its formation, the existence of the SOE had become known to Hitler, as had its mission to send agents deep into enemy territory. In a chilling order issued in response to its earliest activities, Hitler decreed that SOE operatives and their resistance colleagues were to disappear into the Nacht und Nebel—into the night and fog.
SANTA ISABEL MISSION
- while Franco’s Spain paid lip service to her much-vaunted neutrality, Fernando Po’s Santa Isabel port was suspected of being a clandestine German U-boat refueling and rearming depot.
- the assault—code named “Operation Postmaster”—
- It would be claimed that the Italian and German crews had mutinied, severing their own anchor chains and sailing away of their own accord. Officially, Violet would seize the ships and their crew in international waters and escort them into British custody at Lagos Harbor.
- We hope that SOE will be permitted to demonstrate that what was possible in Fernando Po is possible elsewhere...POSTMASTER was the first special operation of any scale to be undertaken by S.O.E. in a neutral port, and was therefore something of a test case—
SUCCESSFUL PROOF OF CONCEPT BECOMES "SSRF"
- a new unit that was to rise out of the ashes of the Maid Honour Force. Maid Honour was sacrificed on the altar of deniability: it was the unit that never was. In its place rose phoenixlike the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF).
OPERATION DRYAD
- Churchill’s subsequent words of praise for the mission—and similar cross-Channel raids—were telling: “There comes out of the sea from time to time a hand of steel which plucks the German sentries from their posts with growing efficiency.”
OPERATION AQUATINT
- The SSRF’s mission was to somehow infiltrate those defenses, raid an enemy billet, and seize as many prisoners as possible. Spiriting enemy soldiers away in the night was seen as being the means to spread ultimate terror among the German ranks—even more so than taking lives.
OPERATION BASALT
- Yet the aftermath of Operation Basalt would also leave the German hierarchy thirsting for blood.
- In the aftermath of Sark, any raiders caught by the enemy could expect no mercy.
- Sark, then, had sparked a murderous reaction from the Nazi hierarchy, one entirely out of proportion to the impact of the raid. It had yielded just a single prisoner, had caused barely a handful of casualties, and had done no lasting damage. Yet Hitler’s reaction to Operation Basalt reflected how the ability of British forces to emerge from the night and strike at German positions seemingly at will had shaken the enemy, exactly as Churchill had envisaged.
NOW TO ATTACK EUROPE'S "UNDERBELLY"...
- The next stage of the Allied offensive would involve seaborne sorties striking into the soft underbelly of Europe—Italy, Greece, Crete, and the Aegean Islands, butting up close to Turkey’s western coastline. As the SAS had little amphibious experience, officers would have to be drafted in from other units to help train and lead them in their intended missions—most notably from the Small Scale Raiding Force.
- It was from Crete’s dusty airstrips that the Axis powers were able to dominate the skies over the eastern Mediterranean. En route to Sicily, the Husky invasion convoys would pass close to the Crete coast, making them doubly vulnerable to warplanes based on the island.
OPERATION ALBUMEN
- It was June 1943 when the raid on the Cretan airbases—code named “Operation Albumen”—got the final go-ahead.
- When Allied forces had been driven out of Crete in 1941, the British had chosen to leave behind a scattering of men to help organize the Cretan resistance.
- He threatened to shoot them unless the “foreign saboteurs”—their blond, German-speaking leader first and foremost—were handed over. One by one they began to execute the villagers, but still none of the Cretans would talk.
- the key role the raids played in safeguarding the Operation Husky convoys from air attack: “As enemy aircraft known to be in the Athens area could have been transferred to Cretan airfields . . . , the patrols, apart from the destruction they wrought, provided a good insurance against such a danger. No air attack was made on the slow HUSKY convoys.”
OPERATION ROAST (ITALY)
- Lake Comacchio—in truth a “lake” in name only. Comacchio was but the most evil-smelling, treacherous, mud-choked patch of shallow bog water among many such swamplands in the Lower Romagna.
- Anders Lassen died at the age of twenty-five, less than a month before the end of the war in Europe. Operation Roast was the last mission to be undertaken by the SBS in the Second World War.
- For his part in Operation Roast, Lassen’s final action, he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. He is the only member of Britain’s SAS ever to have won that award.
SAS
- Special Air Service (SAS) founder David Stirling
- The highly mobile jeep-borne raiding operations of David Stirling’s Special Air Service (SAS)...aided by their sister unit, the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG).
- By nature of their clandestine status, the Maid Honour Force and the SSRF had had no specific insignia, while the SAS possessed its own unmistakable cap badge, one designed by David Stirling himself.
- At some stage this maritime wing of the SAS had been given its own name, the Special Boat Squadron (SBS), though none of the men had paid much attention to the rebranding exercise they’d been subjected to.
- the “train hard—fight easy” mentality—something that would become a catchphrase of the SAS.
- The SAS was disbanded immediately after the Second World War...In truth, immediately after the war the then ex-prime minister, Winston Churchill, became the chairman of a secret association that kept the SAS/ SBS alive until it could be formally and officially refounded in 1953.
INFO OPS EMPLOYED
- An information campaign would be wrapped around the raids, one orchestrated by the Political Warfare Executive (PWE)...The aim of the PWE was to win the information war by getting positive stories of the raid seeded into the British media at the earliest opportunity.
- That signal would trigger the PWE’s media campaign, which was designed to steal a march on the German’s propaganda machine.
- each patrol was ordered to carry with them a decoy. “A specially prepared flag will be left in the target area to indicate that the raid has been carried out by British troops.”
- As would become a common refrain with such operations, they would prove largely impossible without the succor and aid of the locals—and winning their hearts and minds would become a number one priority.
- The German media countered by downplaying the raids
- Next, Lassen sent an ultimatum to the German commander in Salonika. It warned him that a brigade of elite British troops had the city largely surrounded, being an advance force for the thirty thousand men...Though his force outnumbered Lassen’s many times over, it seemed he had bought the bluff. The following morning, a long column of German military vehicles began to pull out of the city as he evacuated it to the last man.
***
FACTOIDS
- The Channel Islands were the only part of the United Kingdom to have been taken by the Germans.
- March-Phillipps—the man braced at the Maid Honour’s wheel urging his men to a spirited, if hopeless defiance—was also known as SOE agent W. 01. “W” stood for West Africa, the region to which he was deployed, and “01” denoted that he was the first SOE agent assigned to that territory. The “0” prefix also signified that March-Phillipps was a “zero”-rated agent, meaning that he was trained and licensed to use all means to liquidate the enemy.
- That German officer had been targeted by Lassen, for he commanded a Gestapo unit that terrorized Greek captives using a great black dog that ripped their throats out. Lassen made sure that the dog was hunted down and killed along with its Gestapo handlers.
***
BONUS
DRUGS TO GET THROUGH
- Benzedrine—more commonly known as “bennies”—is a powerful amphetamine....It was the Benzedrine that was keeping him and his men going.
- It was during such epic marches that the city slickers among them first introduced their fellow recruits to Benzedrine, an amphetamine then popular in London’s glitzier nightclubs and known colloquially as “bennies.” With its euphoric stimulant effect, Benzedrine could keep an operator alert and clear-headed for long periods without any need to sleep.
- The amphetamines would prove indispensible to those charged with such grueling behind-enemy-lines missions, but in time, Lassen for one would become virtually addicted to them.
FIGHTING TAKES A MENTAL TOLL
- Lassen confided most candidly his feelings upon first knifing to death a fellow human being: “The hardest and most difficult job I have ever done—used my knife for the first time.”
- Acute stress was a natural consequence of such relentless fighting, and over time even the most unlikely candidate might find himself in danger of what the raiders termed “crapping out”—not being able to take it anymore.
HAHA
- In his younger years Lippett had been something of a heavyweight boxing champion. Despite being weakened by malaria, he punched the living daylights out of the Spanish policeman and laid him out unconscious. As he neared the beach, he had to do the same to a second police officer before he was finally able to grab a dugout and push it into the foaming surf
- Lassen was likewise known to be quick to anger and quick with his fists. In time, he’d flatten his new commanding officer, Earl Jellicoe, throwing a punch utterly from out of the blue in a Tel Aviv bar.
- Pipo would become a constant feature of Lassen’s operations, the four-legged raider being carried on the most arduous treks and lifted up the worst cliffs and inclines. Pipo had a disgusting habit of peeing on the men’s clothing and even inside their sleeping bags.
- After each and every raid, the key commanders were supposed to file an operational report. These were useful documents that other raiders could potentially learn from. But Lassen, the man of action detested all such paperwork. His reports—famously—often consisted of no more than five words: “Landed. Killed Germans. Fucked off.”
- Lassen was loath to lose a second jeep, so he took to parking it in the only secure place he could think of: he drove it up the steps of the hotel, into the capacious elevator, and had it transported up to the floor his room was on. All was fine until one night the elevator got stuck. Lassen sent for some of his Irish Patrol, and together—via a combination of brute force, beer, and ignorance—they managed to free the elevator and get the jeep parked properly once again.
- “Now, if you’ve finished with my men, I’ll take them with me. We’ve got better things to do than dig fucking holes.” With that, he turned on his heels and strode away.
- Naturally, the war-bitten but handsome and supremely confident major proved the uncontested favorite with the ladies in Salonika. One night, as his men caroused in the hotel grounds, Lassen emerged naked apart from his boots, shouting: “Chaps, can’t you let your CO screw in peace?”
GREECE
- Dodecanese Islands (Greece): https://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/eur...
- Ouzo (alcoholic beverage in Greece): https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/intro-...
- Caique (type of boat in Greece): https://www.tripsavvy.com/what-is-a-c...
GERMAN WEAPONRY
- Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber: https://militaryhistorynow.com/2015/0...
- (Stuka had sirens for psychological impact): https://m.warhistoryonline.com/instan...
- Ju-88 Schnellbomber: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schne...
- Kübelwagen (Jeep-like vehicle): http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2...
- Walter G43: https://www.militaryfactory.com/small...
- MG42: https://medium.com/war-is-boring/the-...
ITALIAN WEAPONRY
- Breda Model 35: http://youtu.be/P4qBhQIwcEU
- Beretta MAB 38: https://www.forgottenweapons.com/subm...
BRITISH WEAPONRY
- Bren gun: https://medium.com/war-is-boring/the-...
- (The Bren Gun Girl): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-E0KvWv...
- PIAT (anti-tank weapon): https://www.driveatank.com/featured/p...
- Lewes bomb: http://youtu.be/xNYHKegYK4M
- Q-ships: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-ship
- Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife: https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/s...
- SAS badge: http://www.intriguing-history.com/cap...
- David Stirling (founder of SAS) in 1980s: http://youtu.be/nLOwX8qe0os
- Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle aircraft: https://www.tangmere-museum.org.uk/ai...
- Bristol Beaufighter: http://www.aviation-history.com/brist...
- Folbot (collapsible kayak): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foldi... (scroll to 'Second World War' section)
WHO IS MAJOR ANDERS LASSEN?
- Short video on Anders Lassen: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UZOAi2o...
- A longer, more descriptive video about Lassen and the missions depicted: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eCOMPej...
- At the Special Air Service (SAS) base, in Hereford, there are two statues of the unit’s founding heroes: one is of David Stirling, the other of Anders Lassen, the two men who pioneered what was to become modern Special Forces soldiering.
SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE (SOE)
- In the summer of 1940, Britain’s wartime leader had given the green light for the founding of the highly secretive Special Operations Executive (SOE).
- The SOE wasn’t part of the wider military. It was formed under the Ministry of Economic Warfare, and it was more akin to a separate branch of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS).
- the force’s inaugural mission...the Royal Navy had managed to get them banned from all European theatres of operations—but not from Africa.
- Perhaps inevitably, some twelve months after its formation, the existence of the SOE had become known to Hitler, as had its mission to send agents deep into enemy territory. In a chilling order issued in response to its earliest activities, Hitler decreed that SOE operatives and their resistance colleagues were to disappear into the Nacht und Nebel—into the night and fog.
SANTA ISABEL MISSION
- while Franco’s Spain paid lip service to her much-vaunted neutrality, Fernando Po’s Santa Isabel port was suspected of being a clandestine German U-boat refueling and rearming depot.
- the assault—code named “Operation Postmaster”—
- It would be claimed that the Italian and German crews had mutinied, severing their own anchor chains and sailing away of their own accord. Officially, Violet would seize the ships and their crew in international waters and escort them into British custody at Lagos Harbor.
- We hope that SOE will be permitted to demonstrate that what was possible in Fernando Po is possible elsewhere...POSTMASTER was the first special operation of any scale to be undertaken by S.O.E. in a neutral port, and was therefore something of a test case—
SUCCESSFUL PROOF OF CONCEPT BECOMES "SSRF"
- a new unit that was to rise out of the ashes of the Maid Honour Force. Maid Honour was sacrificed on the altar of deniability: it was the unit that never was. In its place rose phoenixlike the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF).
OPERATION DRYAD
- Churchill’s subsequent words of praise for the mission—and similar cross-Channel raids—were telling: “There comes out of the sea from time to time a hand of steel which plucks the German sentries from their posts with growing efficiency.”
OPERATION AQUATINT
- The SSRF’s mission was to somehow infiltrate those defenses, raid an enemy billet, and seize as many prisoners as possible. Spiriting enemy soldiers away in the night was seen as being the means to spread ultimate terror among the German ranks—even more so than taking lives.
OPERATION BASALT
- Yet the aftermath of Operation Basalt would also leave the German hierarchy thirsting for blood.
- In the aftermath of Sark, any raiders caught by the enemy could expect no mercy.
- Sark, then, had sparked a murderous reaction from the Nazi hierarchy, one entirely out of proportion to the impact of the raid. It had yielded just a single prisoner, had caused barely a handful of casualties, and had done no lasting damage. Yet Hitler’s reaction to Operation Basalt reflected how the ability of British forces to emerge from the night and strike at German positions seemingly at will had shaken the enemy, exactly as Churchill had envisaged.
NOW TO ATTACK EUROPE'S "UNDERBELLY"...
- The next stage of the Allied offensive would involve seaborne sorties striking into the soft underbelly of Europe—Italy, Greece, Crete, and the Aegean Islands, butting up close to Turkey’s western coastline. As the SAS had little amphibious experience, officers would have to be drafted in from other units to help train and lead them in their intended missions—most notably from the Small Scale Raiding Force.
- It was from Crete’s dusty airstrips that the Axis powers were able to dominate the skies over the eastern Mediterranean. En route to Sicily, the Husky invasion convoys would pass close to the Crete coast, making them doubly vulnerable to warplanes based on the island.
OPERATION ALBUMEN
- It was June 1943 when the raid on the Cretan airbases—code named “Operation Albumen”—got the final go-ahead.
- When Allied forces had been driven out of Crete in 1941, the British had chosen to leave behind a scattering of men to help organize the Cretan resistance.
- He threatened to shoot them unless the “foreign saboteurs”—their blond, German-speaking leader first and foremost—were handed over. One by one they began to execute the villagers, but still none of the Cretans would talk.
- the key role the raids played in safeguarding the Operation Husky convoys from air attack: “As enemy aircraft known to be in the Athens area could have been transferred to Cretan airfields . . . , the patrols, apart from the destruction they wrought, provided a good insurance against such a danger. No air attack was made on the slow HUSKY convoys.”
OPERATION ROAST (ITALY)
- Lake Comacchio—in truth a “lake” in name only. Comacchio was but the most evil-smelling, treacherous, mud-choked patch of shallow bog water among many such swamplands in the Lower Romagna.
- Anders Lassen died at the age of twenty-five, less than a month before the end of the war in Europe. Operation Roast was the last mission to be undertaken by the SBS in the Second World War.
- For his part in Operation Roast, Lassen’s final action, he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. He is the only member of Britain’s SAS ever to have won that award.
SAS
- Special Air Service (SAS) founder David Stirling
- The highly mobile jeep-borne raiding operations of David Stirling’s Special Air Service (SAS)...aided by their sister unit, the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG).
- By nature of their clandestine status, the Maid Honour Force and the SSRF had had no specific insignia, while the SAS possessed its own unmistakable cap badge, one designed by David Stirling himself.
- At some stage this maritime wing of the SAS had been given its own name, the Special Boat Squadron (SBS), though none of the men had paid much attention to the rebranding exercise they’d been subjected to.
- the “train hard—fight easy” mentality—something that would become a catchphrase of the SAS.
- The SAS was disbanded immediately after the Second World War...In truth, immediately after the war the then ex-prime minister, Winston Churchill, became the chairman of a secret association that kept the SAS/ SBS alive until it could be formally and officially refounded in 1953.
INFO OPS EMPLOYED
- An information campaign would be wrapped around the raids, one orchestrated by the Political Warfare Executive (PWE)...The aim of the PWE was to win the information war by getting positive stories of the raid seeded into the British media at the earliest opportunity.
- That signal would trigger the PWE’s media campaign, which was designed to steal a march on the German’s propaganda machine.
- each patrol was ordered to carry with them a decoy. “A specially prepared flag will be left in the target area to indicate that the raid has been carried out by British troops.”
- As would become a common refrain with such operations, they would prove largely impossible without the succor and aid of the locals—and winning their hearts and minds would become a number one priority.
- The German media countered by downplaying the raids
- Next, Lassen sent an ultimatum to the German commander in Salonika. It warned him that a brigade of elite British troops had the city largely surrounded, being an advance force for the thirty thousand men...Though his force outnumbered Lassen’s many times over, it seemed he had bought the bluff. The following morning, a long column of German military vehicles began to pull out of the city as he evacuated it to the last man.
***
FACTOIDS
- The Channel Islands were the only part of the United Kingdom to have been taken by the Germans.
- March-Phillipps—the man braced at the Maid Honour’s wheel urging his men to a spirited, if hopeless defiance—was also known as SOE agent W. 01. “W” stood for West Africa, the region to which he was deployed, and “01” denoted that he was the first SOE agent assigned to that territory. The “0” prefix also signified that March-Phillipps was a “zero”-rated agent, meaning that he was trained and licensed to use all means to liquidate the enemy.
- That German officer had been targeted by Lassen, for he commanded a Gestapo unit that terrorized Greek captives using a great black dog that ripped their throats out. Lassen made sure that the dog was hunted down and killed along with its Gestapo handlers.
***
BONUS
DRUGS TO GET THROUGH
- Benzedrine—more commonly known as “bennies”—is a powerful amphetamine....It was the Benzedrine that was keeping him and his men going.
- It was during such epic marches that the city slickers among them first introduced their fellow recruits to Benzedrine, an amphetamine then popular in London’s glitzier nightclubs and known colloquially as “bennies.” With its euphoric stimulant effect, Benzedrine could keep an operator alert and clear-headed for long periods without any need to sleep.
- The amphetamines would prove indispensible to those charged with such grueling behind-enemy-lines missions, but in time, Lassen for one would become virtually addicted to them.
FIGHTING TAKES A MENTAL TOLL
- Lassen confided most candidly his feelings upon first knifing to death a fellow human being: “The hardest and most difficult job I have ever done—used my knife for the first time.”
- Acute stress was a natural consequence of such relentless fighting, and over time even the most unlikely candidate might find himself in danger of what the raiders termed “crapping out”—not being able to take it anymore.
HAHA
- In his younger years Lippett had been something of a heavyweight boxing champion. Despite being weakened by malaria, he punched the living daylights out of the Spanish policeman and laid him out unconscious. As he neared the beach, he had to do the same to a second police officer before he was finally able to grab a dugout and push it into the foaming surf
- Lassen was likewise known to be quick to anger and quick with his fists. In time, he’d flatten his new commanding officer, Earl Jellicoe, throwing a punch utterly from out of the blue in a Tel Aviv bar.
- Pipo would become a constant feature of Lassen’s operations, the four-legged raider being carried on the most arduous treks and lifted up the worst cliffs and inclines. Pipo had a disgusting habit of peeing on the men’s clothing and even inside their sleeping bags.
- After each and every raid, the key commanders were supposed to file an operational report. These were useful documents that other raiders could potentially learn from. But Lassen, the man of action detested all such paperwork. His reports—famously—often consisted of no more than five words: “Landed. Killed Germans. Fucked off.”
- Lassen was loath to lose a second jeep, so he took to parking it in the only secure place he could think of: he drove it up the steps of the hotel, into the capacious elevator, and had it transported up to the floor his room was on. All was fine until one night the elevator got stuck. Lassen sent for some of his Irish Patrol, and together—via a combination of brute force, beer, and ignorance—they managed to free the elevator and get the jeep parked properly once again.
- “Now, if you’ve finished with my men, I’ll take them with me. We’ve got better things to do than dig fucking holes.” With that, he turned on his heels and strode away.
- Naturally, the war-bitten but handsome and supremely confident major proved the uncontested favorite with the ladies in Salonika. One night, as his men caroused in the hotel grounds, Lassen emerged naked apart from his boots, shouting: “Chaps, can’t you let your CO screw in peace?”
GREECE
- Dodecanese Islands (Greece): https://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/eur...
- Ouzo (alcoholic beverage in Greece): https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/intro-...
- Caique (type of boat in Greece): https://www.tripsavvy.com/what-is-a-c...
GERMAN WEAPONRY
- Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber: https://militaryhistorynow.com/2015/0...
- (Stuka had sirens for psychological impact): https://m.warhistoryonline.com/instan...
- Ju-88 Schnellbomber: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schne...
- Kübelwagen (Jeep-like vehicle): http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2...
- Walter G43: https://www.militaryfactory.com/small...
- MG42: https://medium.com/war-is-boring/the-...
ITALIAN WEAPONRY
- Breda Model 35: http://youtu.be/P4qBhQIwcEU
- Beretta MAB 38: https://www.forgottenweapons.com/subm...
BRITISH WEAPONRY
- Bren gun: https://medium.com/war-is-boring/the-...
- (The Bren Gun Girl): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-E0KvWv...
- PIAT (anti-tank weapon): https://www.driveatank.com/featured/p...
- Lewes bomb: http://youtu.be/xNYHKegYK4M
- Q-ships: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-ship
- Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife: https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/s...
- SAS badge: http://www.intriguing-history.com/cap...
- David Stirling (founder of SAS) in 1980s: http://youtu.be/nLOwX8qe0os
- Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle aircraft: https://www.tangmere-museum.org.uk/ai...
- Bristol Beaufighter: http://www.aviation-history.com/brist...
- Folbot (collapsible kayak): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foldi... (scroll to 'Second World War' section)
February 25, 2018
SOE's weird and wonderful history
In this slightly uneven book, the author describes how as WW2 became a reality, new innovative and dirty ways of waging war were developed. The unit responsible for this new method of waging war was The Special Operations Executive (SOE). Its purpose was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe (and later, also in occupied Southeast Asia) against the Axis powers. Its secondary objective was to help local resistance movements.
The SOE was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. One of the organisations from which SOE was created was also involved in the formation of the Auxiliary Units. This was a top secret "stay-behind" resistance organisation which would have been activated in the event of a German invasion of Britain.
Few people were aware of SOE's existence. Those who were part of it or liaised with it sometimes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars", after the location of its London headquarters. It was also known as "Churchill's Secret Army" or the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Its various branches, and sometimes the organisation as a whole, were concealed for security purposes behind names such as the "Joint Technical Board" or the "Inter-Service Research Bureau". Or fictitious branches of the Air Ministry, Admiralty or War Office.
SOE operated in all countries or former countries occupied by or attacked by the Axis forces. The exception was where demarcation lines were agreed with Britain's principal Allies (the Soviet Union and the United States). It also made use of neutral territory on occasion, or made plans and preparations in case neutral countries were attacked by the Axis.
All of this and more is described in this book. It makes it very clear that contrary to the beliefs of the old-school leadership of the armed forces at that time, you cannot win a major conflict by fighting strictly under Marquis of Queensberry rules. The assorted characters of the people involved in the development of the sabotage work are brilliantly portrayed. Their hopes and frustrations are a particular strength of the book. Their often irregular habits were thorns in the side of those who valued conventional standards in military life. The SOE used new weapons such as: the castrator, a lavatory explosive and the magnetic limpet mine. England poisoned, gassed, knifed, used shrapnel bombs, used bio-weapons and killed, maimed and generally blew up civilians and civilian targets with abandon. Some of the ideas behind these were culled from guerrilla tactics including those used by T.E. Lawrence, and Al Capone.
What the book lacks is a strong narrative thread. While most of the content of the book is factual, its is strung together with the author's words, so there is an element of selection. Sure, we get thrilling examples of the exploits of the brave men involved. And we also get continuity of some of the characters involved. But for me it needed to progress in a liner way through the war and connect events to bigger, more recognizable milestones from WW2 itself. That way the exploits could be set into context. And the reader could understand how the successes of the unit contributed to the war efforts? The chapters, I am sure, must be laid out in some logic, but I was left wondering why we’d started where we started. And then suddenly found myself in a stream in flood, fascinated by my surroundings but convinced all the while that I was being shown just one thread and was missing what must surely have been a wider picture. The various departments and people herein simply can’t have operated in such an apparent vacuum, surrounded on all sides by two-dimensional caricatures if surrounded by anything at all.
That said, this is an interesting, and unusual history of these unconventional soldiers and the missions they undertook. At one of the darkest times in British history. These brave soldiers proved their worth time and time again, in the face of conventional senior military commanders who believed them to be little better than ruffians. They fought with different rules than the rest of the army.
I highly recommend this book for anyone captivated by military history. Especially if you enjoy reading about unconventional warfare and marveling at the oddballs who dreamt them up.
In this slightly uneven book, the author describes how as WW2 became a reality, new innovative and dirty ways of waging war were developed. The unit responsible for this new method of waging war was The Special Operations Executive (SOE). Its purpose was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe (and later, also in occupied Southeast Asia) against the Axis powers. Its secondary objective was to help local resistance movements.
The SOE was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. One of the organisations from which SOE was created was also involved in the formation of the Auxiliary Units. This was a top secret "stay-behind" resistance organisation which would have been activated in the event of a German invasion of Britain.
Few people were aware of SOE's existence. Those who were part of it or liaised with it sometimes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars", after the location of its London headquarters. It was also known as "Churchill's Secret Army" or the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Its various branches, and sometimes the organisation as a whole, were concealed for security purposes behind names such as the "Joint Technical Board" or the "Inter-Service Research Bureau". Or fictitious branches of the Air Ministry, Admiralty or War Office.
SOE operated in all countries or former countries occupied by or attacked by the Axis forces. The exception was where demarcation lines were agreed with Britain's principal Allies (the Soviet Union and the United States). It also made use of neutral territory on occasion, or made plans and preparations in case neutral countries were attacked by the Axis.
All of this and more is described in this book. It makes it very clear that contrary to the beliefs of the old-school leadership of the armed forces at that time, you cannot win a major conflict by fighting strictly under Marquis of Queensberry rules. The assorted characters of the people involved in the development of the sabotage work are brilliantly portrayed. Their hopes and frustrations are a particular strength of the book. Their often irregular habits were thorns in the side of those who valued conventional standards in military life. The SOE used new weapons such as: the castrator, a lavatory explosive and the magnetic limpet mine. England poisoned, gassed, knifed, used shrapnel bombs, used bio-weapons and killed, maimed and generally blew up civilians and civilian targets with abandon. Some of the ideas behind these were culled from guerrilla tactics including those used by T.E. Lawrence, and Al Capone.
What the book lacks is a strong narrative thread. While most of the content of the book is factual, its is strung together with the author's words, so there is an element of selection. Sure, we get thrilling examples of the exploits of the brave men involved. And we also get continuity of some of the characters involved. But for me it needed to progress in a liner way through the war and connect events to bigger, more recognizable milestones from WW2 itself. That way the exploits could be set into context. And the reader could understand how the successes of the unit contributed to the war efforts? The chapters, I am sure, must be laid out in some logic, but I was left wondering why we’d started where we started. And then suddenly found myself in a stream in flood, fascinated by my surroundings but convinced all the while that I was being shown just one thread and was missing what must surely have been a wider picture. The various departments and people herein simply can’t have operated in such an apparent vacuum, surrounded on all sides by two-dimensional caricatures if surrounded by anything at all.
That said, this is an interesting, and unusual history of these unconventional soldiers and the missions they undertook. At one of the darkest times in British history. These brave soldiers proved their worth time and time again, in the face of conventional senior military commanders who believed them to be little better than ruffians. They fought with different rules than the rest of the army.
I highly recommend this book for anyone captivated by military history. Especially if you enjoy reading about unconventional warfare and marveling at the oddballs who dreamt them up.
September 10, 2024
British people are so funny because they describe someone like “he’s the quintessential British gentleman” and the whole time it’s an absolute psychopath
November 10, 2025
was pleasantly surprised that this is an andy lassen biography in disguise.
the history of this unit is really interesting and i appreciate the scope of lewis' research and bibliography. i'm inclined to recommend reading this either in tandem with, or after reading macintyre's SAS: Rogue Heroes. i wasn't aware that this unit was sort of absorbed by the sas towards the end of the war when their missions shifted from the north african campaign to focus on mainland europe.
the history of how the greeks were treated by the n.azis is nausea-inducing and i'm definitely interested in learning more about that theatre of war now.
this is a hard read bc no one lives. it makes me appreciate the film adaptation of operation postmaster even more.
the history of this unit is really interesting and i appreciate the scope of lewis' research and bibliography. i'm inclined to recommend reading this either in tandem with, or after reading macintyre's SAS: Rogue Heroes. i wasn't aware that this unit was sort of absorbed by the sas towards the end of the war when their missions shifted from the north african campaign to focus on mainland europe.
the history of how the greeks were treated by the n.azis is nausea-inducing and i'm definitely interested in learning more about that theatre of war now.
this is a hard read bc no one lives. it makes me appreciate the film adaptation of operation postmaster even more.
September 3, 2025
I read this AFTER watching the movie, having no idea that the movie was based on actual people doing actual crazy and incredible stuff in WWII! After the movie, I wanted to read the source! It also explains the origins of Ian Fleming’s 007 (Even the 0-0-# destinations! (Page 48.)).
Straight-forward and easy read. Easy to follow and track the many, many people that come and go in this book. I thought Damien Lewis did a good job with his writing. If you are interested in WWII and interested in James Bond, this is almost a “gotta read”.
My one complaint is that I wish the maps had been just slightly more detailed. When they start talking about islands in the Italian and Greek archipelagos, not all of them are labeled on the map and it made it harder to understand where the action was occurring.
Now my quandary …. In most cases I would say read the book before seeing the movie. In this case I think watching the movie first will enhance your reading of the book. The book has more info and a bit of a different ending that the movie. I suspect you’ll enjoy the movie more if you don’t as much as the book yet. Anyhow, my two cents. Happy Reading!
Straight-forward and easy read. Easy to follow and track the many, many people that come and go in this book. I thought Damien Lewis did a good job with his writing. If you are interested in WWII and interested in James Bond, this is almost a “gotta read”.
My one complaint is that I wish the maps had been just slightly more detailed. When they start talking about islands in the Italian and Greek archipelagos, not all of them are labeled on the map and it made it harder to understand where the action was occurring.
Now my quandary …. In most cases I would say read the book before seeing the movie. In this case I think watching the movie first will enhance your reading of the book. The book has more info and a bit of a different ending that the movie. I suspect you’ll enjoy the movie more if you don’t as much as the book yet. Anyhow, my two cents. Happy Reading!
February 21, 2025
Fascinating story which overwhelms the book, perhaps. Such an adventures- this is portrayed as a story of the dash and daring. Anders Lassen was a super man figure whose foolish bravery won hearts and minds. This book follows him and his comrades as they raided and pillaged German outlets to terrorize.They came like cats and left like ghosts. FYI newer information has recently been released about these super secret dalliances. Fascinating but not well referenced.
June 17, 2024
Picked up the book after watching the movie that has recently come out and expected for it to just follow that. When I found that the movie was only the first one hundred pages or so I grew much more interested. The men of this unit were incredible and the amount of sacrifice that they made for the allies cannot be understated. Of course I imagine parts of the story were filled in by the author because who really knows what happened in these places. After action reports can only give you so much. But I feel the author did a great job at making the story flow and keeping it mostly interesting. It started to drag a little for me once the story swapped over only to Lansson but that is what happens when the rest of your unit is killed and you are the only one who is still going. 4/5 stars for me.
September 23, 2024
To be honest I didn't read this all the way to the end but I did read enough to feel I can take credit for it. This should have been an interesting story but it was told in a dry dull way. The author tried to make the people involved come alive by simply listing all their qualities. It all fell flat. There was no narrative flow and no sense of excitement through most of the book. Probably the best part was the forward about an attack on a German airbase. Unfortunately the author chose to leave that episode incomplete. When he finally got around to telling it how it all came out it wasn't even clear that it was the same episode until he began repeating things that had already been written in the forward. There are a lot of excellent books about bravery in war time. Don't waste your time on this one.
January 1, 2025
Fascinating history of Churchill’s secret band of resistance fighters, and the damage they caused to German forces during WWII. Their mission was to confuse and wreak havoc at important German outposts, particularly on islands across the war arena. The book does a great job with the stories of tense and exciting warfare. It does good with getting into the psyche of the men involved, and the status of the broader war going on around them. Plenty of Nazi pain and retribution caused, which is frequently satisfying. Sad stories of whole missing Jewish communities, war atrocities on townspeople etc, are prevalent. Churchill certainly had a vision for this group, and how it would help achieve success for the Allies. Interesting story!
December 8, 2025
CAWPILE 7.00
4 STARS
Read as my Non-Fiction pick for December 2025.
This is my second Damien Lewis book, both military history. I picked this one up because I really enjoy the way that Damien Lewis' writes non fiction in such a compelling fashion that it reads as quick and as enticing as a thriller. The pages flew by- the author has a natural talent in writing but it's also obvious that he's incredibly well researched and he does his homework when it comes to the personalities, politics and military knowledge that is needed to help set the scenes.
I will certainly read from this author again as he makes history anything but dusty and dry.
4 STARS
Read as my Non-Fiction pick for December 2025.
This is my second Damien Lewis book, both military history. I picked this one up because I really enjoy the way that Damien Lewis' writes non fiction in such a compelling fashion that it reads as quick and as enticing as a thriller. The pages flew by- the author has a natural talent in writing but it's also obvious that he's incredibly well researched and he does his homework when it comes to the personalities, politics and military knowledge that is needed to help set the scenes.
I will certainly read from this author again as he makes history anything but dusty and dry.
May 10, 2025
The forward to this book has one of its few statements that I have no trouble believing: “Where necessary, I have recreated small sections of dialogue to aid the story’s flow.”
Which is unfortunate. I’m sure these gents legitimately did many great things for their country. But the line between historical fact and comic-book level embellishment is beyond muddled in this book.
Which is unfortunate. I’m sure these gents legitimately did many great things for their country. But the line between historical fact and comic-book level embellishment is beyond muddled in this book.
October 13, 2023
Loved the book but good lord do I hate the cringe accents that audiobook narrators feel are necessary to add to all dialogue / quotations
May 1, 2024
We just saw the great movie based on this book. Now I want to read it. What an awesome true story about WW II.
July 12, 2024
Reads more like a novel than a history book. This true story really is like a movie, yet all of it is real.
Read
June 15, 2025Tom Cruise could never
August 16, 2025
Bit too “rah rah the Brit boys really did it innit” energy for my tastes, but overall an informative and enjoyable read
July 7, 2024
Unbelievable tales of a real life special forces group that pulled off many major operations throughout WWII and inspired fear in the enemy that helped turn the tide of the war.
August 18, 2024
The Ministry of Ungentlemany Warfare chronicles some of the most audacious, dangerous, and dramatic moments in the European Theater of World War II. Unfortunately, it was written with little more drama than a 10th grade world history textbook.
February 8, 2025
Absolutely phenomenal, especially for non-fiction. I actually read this book for a "Movies vs. Books" book club at my local library. I had never heard of either the boom or the movie, but as a WWII history buff, I was definitely intrigued! The book reads more like a fictional tale, and the things that the SAS/SBS actually manage to pull off are insane! These individuals definitely deserve a place in history.
May 22, 2024
Very interesting read. Not something one usually thinks of with World War II, especially with how much of it happened outside the European theater. Incredible what the men did to help turn the tide of the war. Highly recommend for those interested in WWII.
July 19, 2024
Bonkers. Everything about all of this is so wild. Just a cinematic—who knows how much has been narratively indulged here—rip and romp through World War II. Everything from rampages and ruses to sneaks and disguises is here, and it's all motivated by such a tremendous loathing of Nazis. Each new mission radiates like its own magnum opus, and altogether this thing reads like a glowing history book—beyond comprehension.
May 29, 2024
I am mixed on my opinion of this book. It is an informative and interesting story, but it is rather dry. It’s also really dense, I felt that some parts could have been taken out or edited to be more concise instead of repetitive.
May 21, 2025
The first part of the book tells the story of Operation Postmaster which is the inspiration for the recent film. If you are in any way interested in finding out what really happened then this is the book to read and the real story is so much more audacious.
The rest is a story of boats, butcher and bolt raiders and a dog or two.
The rest is a story of boats, butcher and bolt raiders and a dog or two.
March 22, 2018
I truly enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and fascinating as it follows the career of Major Anders Lassen of the SOE /SAS/ SBS. In 1940, Churchill had broken the deadlock and bureaucratic inertia of both the armed forces and the intelligence community to get men into action against Nazi Germany and her allies. I've read another book called Secret War by Max Hastings on the intelligence community, spies, and revolutionaries during World War 2. It was a great book but Hastings' book was dry and documented the actions of dozens of spies and spy catchers. In Hasting's book you were reading about people and what they did. But with Lewis's accounts of Lassen in action, it felt you were IN the action with Lassen and his team. You could feel the bullets whizzing by, the smell of German cigarettes, and one larger than life action figure.
I bring up Hasting's books because Hastings mentioned over and over how the intelligence community - MI5 and MI6 - were run; the directors chose the "right" people, that means they went to Eton, Cambridge, Oxford, and came from the upper crust. They disregarded things like competency and even "treason" all so that the "right" people were staff. This would bite them in 5 well publicized and embarrassing discovery of Burgess, McLean, Philby, Cairncross and even one with a knighthood - Sir Anthony Blunt. And regardless, the directors protected fiercely their turf and prerogatives as Britain's leading intelligence agency. For Churchill to create the SOE and its action groups, it meant going against and around the establishment.
The British Army and Navy were likewise opposed to the special forces Churchill envisioned. The men that the SOE/SAS/SBS were eventually staffed with came from those in the military with the right skill set and the "wrong" attitude. They were more like Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin's Dirty Dozen in real life than the Coldstream Guards. With the US Global War on Terror in its 17th year, all the militaries in the world know the value of special forces but it was a new thing in World War 2 and thus different and ungentlemanly compared to the spit and polish of the military establishment in Britain.
That was perhaps Lassen and his commanding officers' biggest achievement; it was not on the battlefield but in Whitehall and the CIGS. And as the blurb suggests rightly, Lassen paved the way for a new way of warfare. Lassen is one of the heroes of the war; no doubt about it.
I bring up Hasting's books because Hastings mentioned over and over how the intelligence community - MI5 and MI6 - were run; the directors chose the "right" people, that means they went to Eton, Cambridge, Oxford, and came from the upper crust. They disregarded things like competency and even "treason" all so that the "right" people were staff. This would bite them in 5 well publicized and embarrassing discovery of Burgess, McLean, Philby, Cairncross and even one with a knighthood - Sir Anthony Blunt. And regardless, the directors protected fiercely their turf and prerogatives as Britain's leading intelligence agency. For Churchill to create the SOE and its action groups, it meant going against and around the establishment.
The British Army and Navy were likewise opposed to the special forces Churchill envisioned. The men that the SOE/SAS/SBS were eventually staffed with came from those in the military with the right skill set and the "wrong" attitude. They were more like Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin's Dirty Dozen in real life than the Coldstream Guards. With the US Global War on Terror in its 17th year, all the militaries in the world know the value of special forces but it was a new thing in World War 2 and thus different and ungentlemanly compared to the spit and polish of the military establishment in Britain.
That was perhaps Lassen and his commanding officers' biggest achievement; it was not on the battlefield but in Whitehall and the CIGS. And as the blurb suggests rightly, Lassen paved the way for a new way of warfare. Lassen is one of the heroes of the war; no doubt about it.
June 17, 2024
During World War II, Churchill authorized an unusual small special operations force to terrorize Nazi and Italian forces by raiding, kidnapping, and killing small numbers along the Aegean Sea. This is the story of one small force led by a tall blonde Dane, Andy Lassen, following his exploits from raid to raid, culminating in ousting the enemy from Thessaloniki against great odds.
Some mighty fine writing makes this book read like a hard to put down novel. On reflection, it’s difficult not to admire these men who risked torture and death to further the aims of war; it’s also hard to contemplate the suffering endured by all sides when the rules of combat are suspended and anything goes. What must this do to the souls of the perpetrators? German reprisals for the actions of British troops were hard on local populations whose homes were destroyed and relatives shot in vengeance.
Some mighty fine writing makes this book read like a hard to put down novel. On reflection, it’s difficult not to admire these men who risked torture and death to further the aims of war; it’s also hard to contemplate the suffering endured by all sides when the rules of combat are suspended and anything goes. What must this do to the souls of the perpetrators? German reprisals for the actions of British troops were hard on local populations whose homes were destroyed and relatives shot in vengeance.
February 13, 2016
This book chronicles the beginnings of Special Operations forces in the British army during World War 2. They were backed by Winston Churchill and were set up so the government could disavow their actions if they were caught. These men fought with different rules than the rest of the army. One man stood out in this book -- a Dane named Anders Larson who joined the British forces and is featured in most of the action. This book would be of great interest to anyone captivated by military history.
September 24, 2017
Great read, Ian at Forgotten Weapons has done an excellent review of this book https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukdAF...
August 8, 2019
A decent read overall, but it spent far more time talking about Anders Lassen than was maybe fully appropriate. While he does come across as a larger-than-life personality, he wasn't the only hero in the SBS, and Lewis could have given more time to the successes of the other soldiers who fought in the conflict alongside him. I'd have liked to hear more about the events of Comacchio and what other contributions the unit made before the end of the war.
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