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Operation Basalt: The British Raid on Sark and Hitler's Commando Order
Operation Basalt was a raid carried out by British commandos on the island of Sark on the night of October 3-4, 1942. It was intended to reassure Channel Islanders that they had not been forgotten following their German occupation, to force the Germans to deploy resources, and to gain intelligence through German prisoners. Thought a tactical success, the raid remains mired in controversy, remembered because of Hitler’s reaction. Three days after the raid, he issued this order: "In future, all terror and sabotage troops of the British and their accomplices, who do not act like soldiers but rather like bandits, will be treated as such . . . and will be ruthlessly eliminated in battle, wherever they appear." Using the National Archive in Kew and the Sark Society archives, Eric Lee tells the Basalt story for the first time. Did the commandos kill bound and unarmed German soldiers?
192 pages, Hardcover
First published March 7, 2016
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About the author
Eric Lee
10 books38 followersEric Lee is a London-based author, historian and political activist. He has written three books on the 20th century history of Georgia plus others on World War II, the Vietnam War, and the labour movement and the Internet. He is the founding editor of LabourStart - the news and campaigning website of the international trade union movement, which he founded in 1998. He's a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (UK) and a member of the Historical Writers Association and the Society of Authors.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 8, 2018
This slim history focuses on one event during world war II - the British raid on Sark (one of the channel islands occupied by Germany). The author also covers the reasons and results for both sides, including Hitler's infamous Commando Order. Unfortunately, the book is a bit muddled.
The table of contents provides a nice outline for the story, and the chapters are fairly short. Many wander a bit from their target, introducing items from later in the story or repeating items from earlier. It feels as if the chapters were written individually, perhaps out of order. This lends the book a muddled feel. I didn't read it in one sitting, and often I felt like the bookmark had been moved. Likely a good editor would help this quite a bit.
The author has done quite a bit of research, and states at the beginning that while other books covered all of the channel islands, none covered Sark or this particular raid very well. He then connects this raid to the Commando Order which was issued just two weeks afterwards, and this case is compelling. There is a small photo section towards the back of the book which is also nice - but the one thing this book needs most is a good map!
The book was released shortly before the 75th anniversary of the raid (October 2017) and was perhaps rushed. An accompanying website has a bit more information, but still no map. 2½ stars.
The table of contents provides a nice outline for the story, and the chapters are fairly short. Many wander a bit from their target, introducing items from later in the story or repeating items from earlier. It feels as if the chapters were written individually, perhaps out of order. This lends the book a muddled feel. I didn't read it in one sitting, and often I felt like the bookmark had been moved. Likely a good editor would help this quite a bit.
The author has done quite a bit of research, and states at the beginning that while other books covered all of the channel islands, none covered Sark or this particular raid very well. He then connects this raid to the Commando Order which was issued just two weeks afterwards, and this case is compelling. There is a small photo section towards the back of the book which is also nice - but the one thing this book needs most is a good map!
The book was released shortly before the 75th anniversary of the raid (October 2017) and was perhaps rushed. An accompanying website has a bit more information, but still no map. 2½ stars.
April 4, 2020
An interesting and detailed account of one of the very first Commando raids by British forces in the Second World War. The island of Sark is the third largest in the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands, the only British soil to be occupied by Nazi Germany. This tells the story of the bravery and blunders, the vision and violence, the conquests and consequences for the people of Sark, and the information gained by the UK through this early attempt to hit back at the Axis.
The book also gives an interesting insight into the role played by the legendary Dame of Sark, the feudal leader of the tiny island community. A great read.
The book also gives an interesting insight into the role played by the legendary Dame of Sark, the feudal leader of the tiny island community. A great read.
June 18, 2019
Extremely informative
Before I read this book, most of my knowledge of the WWII occupation of the Channel Islands came from a TV programme called The Eagle has Landed, broadcast in the 1970s. The book uses the raid as a starting point for an extensive examination of the German occupation and life on the islands during that time. Immensely informative.
Before I read this book, most of my knowledge of the WWII occupation of the Channel Islands came from a TV programme called The Eagle has Landed, broadcast in the 1970s. The book uses the raid as a starting point for an extensive examination of the German occupation and life on the islands during that time. Immensely informative.
May 27, 2016
A well-written and gripping account of a little-known incident in WW2, this book also raises interesting questions about the nature of historical memory and the purpose of writing history.
In October 1942 with the Axis powers still in the ascendant the British launched a small-scale raid on the German-occupied island of Sark, one of the smallest of the Channel Islands. It was a tiny pinprick against the Nazis, yet it had significant consequences, not only of the people whose lives it touched but also for others far away – civilian and military prisoners who were caught up in the cycle of repression and counter-repression that it triggered, and all those Allied soldiers engaged in commando and partisan warfare, who were henceforth to be summarily executed if captured.
Eric Lee conveys the military and political context of the raid with a deft touch, setting out the background without labouring it. He also describes the raid itself with all the skills of a thriller writer, and it’s easy to imagine oneself there with the commandos, stumbling about in the dark and finding that things aren’t the way they look on maps or aerial photographs. I couldn’t help thinking how we have become used to our present surfeit of information – I can look up any of the unfamiliar terms in the book in a second (even when I’m on a train, as I did yesterday), or check out a Google map or street view of the places mentions. Then, the commandos and their leaders back in Britain had little idea what was going on in the islands – almost impossible to contemplate now.
On the other hand, the extent to which the raid unleashed a round of information warfare seems very modern. It’s hard to believe that the Nazis claimed to be the injured party in breaches of the ‘rules of war’, but they did.
One other thought struck me. This event was relatively recent, and well-defined. It took place within the context of military bureaucracies that tried to keep accurate and detailed records, and several of the participants left eye-witness accounts.
Yet it’s already impossible to dis-entangle some of the details – how many prisoners did the commandos take, and how many casualties were there? What happened to one of the civilians who played a key role? It’s to the author’s credit that he manages to solve some mysteries, shed some light on others, and admit where he is unable to do either.
This is a great and enjoyable book, and I look forward to reading more history by this author.
In October 1942 with the Axis powers still in the ascendant the British launched a small-scale raid on the German-occupied island of Sark, one of the smallest of the Channel Islands. It was a tiny pinprick against the Nazis, yet it had significant consequences, not only of the people whose lives it touched but also for others far away – civilian and military prisoners who were caught up in the cycle of repression and counter-repression that it triggered, and all those Allied soldiers engaged in commando and partisan warfare, who were henceforth to be summarily executed if captured.
Eric Lee conveys the military and political context of the raid with a deft touch, setting out the background without labouring it. He also describes the raid itself with all the skills of a thriller writer, and it’s easy to imagine oneself there with the commandos, stumbling about in the dark and finding that things aren’t the way they look on maps or aerial photographs. I couldn’t help thinking how we have become used to our present surfeit of information – I can look up any of the unfamiliar terms in the book in a second (even when I’m on a train, as I did yesterday), or check out a Google map or street view of the places mentions. Then, the commandos and their leaders back in Britain had little idea what was going on in the islands – almost impossible to contemplate now.
On the other hand, the extent to which the raid unleashed a round of information warfare seems very modern. It’s hard to believe that the Nazis claimed to be the injured party in breaches of the ‘rules of war’, but they did.
One other thought struck me. This event was relatively recent, and well-defined. It took place within the context of military bureaucracies that tried to keep accurate and detailed records, and several of the participants left eye-witness accounts.
Yet it’s already impossible to dis-entangle some of the details – how many prisoners did the commandos take, and how many casualties were there? What happened to one of the civilians who played a key role? It’s to the author’s credit that he manages to solve some mysteries, shed some light on others, and admit where he is unable to do either.
This is a great and enjoyable book, and I look forward to reading more history by this author.
April 2, 2016
A great read, and an important look at a little-known part of WWII history that had wide-ranging implecations. Check it out!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews