SAS Band of Brothers: The Last Stand of the SAS and Their Hunt for the Nazi Killers

by Damien Lewis

The new SAS epic from bestselling military historian Damien Lewis

We share the triumphs and tragedies of a group of elite soldier trailblazers as they commit daring raids behind enemy lines in 1944, manage an against the odds escape to victory, and then seek post-war retribution for the terrible murder of their captured comrades.

SAS Band of Brothers is replete with action, peppered with great characters, and features two of the most daring escapes of WWII. It ends with the hunted becoming the hunters - a group of men intent on seeking out the Nazis responsible for their brethren's deaths, on an ultra-deniable SAS mission to avenge a war crime.

This is the new bestseller from Damien Lewis. It bears all his hallmarks - an epic, page-turning special forces narrative based on hitherto unavailable personal testimony and private family archives.

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

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 29, 2020

About the author

Damien 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.

Reviews

[TXGAL1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

An engaging and oft-times sobering account of the British SAS patrol SABU-70 and its insertion behind enemy lines before and after D-Day of World War II.

Lewis has poignantly told the stories of these men and their missions with respect and determination. Some descriptive moments are tough to read, but the “life” of the team and its camaraderie is ever-present.

The second part of the book, and just as important, addresses the SAS War Crimes Investigative group which worked doggedly and tirelessly to capture and bring to justice certain members of the German SS for their NACHT UND NEBEL (night and fog) directive for the handling of their captured prisoners.

Luckily, after the “Acknowledgments” section I discovered many black and white photos from the World War II period that was covered in the book. They were a very moving ending to the book.

[Dee Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chirp 11 hours 54 min. Narrated by Derek Perkins (A)
This is the fascinating story of 12 brave members of the British SAS who parachuted into France shortly after D Day only to find themselves surrounded by Nazi SS and five lost their lives that very night. The Epilogue brought home that these young men were real people whose lives might have ended in oblivion except for extraordinary efforts by two determined fellow agents and one great author.
More later...

[Rupert Wolfe-Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but rather plainly written. It's all set down nicely enough but there's a lack of depth and strategic insight. It reads like an article in a local paper where one of the priorities is to mention as many local names as possible, in the hope that the families of those mentioned will buy copies.

I almost gave up after the first part but am glad I persevered as it was worth finding out how lacklustre the Allies were at chasing up war criminals -- they didn't take the task seriously and many Nazis ended up in leadership positions in post-war Germany. Of course the Germans are mainly responsible for this but we aided and abetted them.

[Stu Radley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptionally well put together book with 3 sub plots all linked by a common thread. You feel like you really get to know the main characters and root for them to succeed. Some of the achievements here are so amazing you would think this was a work of fiction. Equally some of the outcomes are genuinely so very sad that I was quite emotional by the end. A must read.

[Book-Social · Rating 3 out of 5]

Band of Brothers just happens to be my most favourite TV series ever. So when I saw a non fiction book by Damien Lewis about a parachute squad referred to as Band of Brothers I had to buy the book. Turns out this Damien Lewis is not the actor who starred in the series but a military historian, one who specialises in world war two to boot. The soldiers Lewis writes about are also English not American and are captured, tortured and, in some cases, murdered.

The first half of the book involving the training, first mission and subsequent failed mission was a enthralling read. Tensions were high as the men dropped into the trap and were captured. It was all very visual and I had a Band of Brothers style series in my mind as I was reading. The latter half (and I say half loosely as it was probably closer to the last 100 pages) didn’t quite match up to the first. It felt rushed, less researched and more of an afterthought despite the books subtitle. Whilst I can imagine the frustration the men must have felt trying to hunt down the murderers of their friends and that Lewis himself must have felt when trying to research a subject so closed off still paperwork wise, it felt like more was needed to match the painstaking detail of the first half. That said I enjoyed the book and had not been aware of their exploits until now despite reading many a book on this subject.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

good telling of a bad story. the UK needs to shed more light on its handling and protection of Nazis after the war.

[Curtis Edmonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story at the heart of this book is so good that almost anyone who can tell a good story could tell it. It's about a group of British paratroopers, what we'd call special forces today, who made two jumps into France following the Normandy invasion. The first mission is a success; the second one... not so much.

I wanted very badly to swat author Damien Lewis, who spends the first few chapters setting up the mission but keeps spoiling it with constant flashbacks. You get sort of the impression that here was someone who had done a lot of research, and none of it went to waste. But the research is good, and if a competent screenwriter ever could get hold of it, it would be sort of like the upright, wholesome British version of THE DIRTY DOZEN.

Once you get out of the weeds of the flashbacks, and into the meat of the second mission, everything sails along smoothly. The denouement of the tale--the postwar quest for justice for the paratroopers who didn't make it--drags on a little, but that's a minor quibble.

[Varun Bhakay · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 38%

The narrative structure is not the kind I enjoy in works of non-fiction, and the painful insertion of a sense of style is far from effective. I'm not a sucker for Special Forces' stories (personal preference) but this felt, at many points, quite interesting before the structure of it got tiring. It didn't help that Damien Lewis felt the need to repeat himself every now and then.

A good primer for someone interested in reading history in a popular format narrative. Hence, not for me.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating SAS and SOE action during WWII to limit Nazi responses to the Normandy landings.

An incredible account if the effectiveness of these highly trained men and the unusual efforts of the Nazi SS to capture men and equipment through subterfuge, cruelty, and murder. Orders came from the very top in Berlin and were carried out with grim consequences. An incredible tale of superhuman effort and subsequent action to bring German perpetrators to justice. Well worth the time.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few months back, I read D-Day Girls, a history of SOE operatives who prepared the way for Operation Overlord by arming resistance cells, passing information along to the Allies, and helping to wreak havoc on the ground in France. Churchill’s Band of Brothers tells another part of that story – how airborne commandos, the Special Air Services men, were dropped deep into occupied France in connection with the invasion to destroy infrastructure, with the object being to slow down the Wehrmacht’s response to the invasion as much as possible. Having previously been frustrated by commando raids, however, Hitler had issued orders for any potential readers to be executed as spies – uniform or no — with tragic results for the men involved here. Churchill’s Band of Brothers is an exciting look into Britain’s use of airborne units, and their determination to see justice done on behalf of their fallen comrades.

Band of Brothers follows one unit of SAS agents across two missions: the first is a success, and its retelling is made complete with an escape right out of Hollywood, the men dashing to make their pickup on a Nazi airfield, klaxons wailing. As mentioned in D-Day Girls, however, the ancillary SOE operation in France was badly compromised by Nazi counterintelligence, and the second drop here goes catastrophically wrong. The men land in an ambush, and several are killed outright while a few others attempt to escape. Although the entire party wasn’t killed or captured, most of them were, and the second half of the book largely addresses their treatment as prisoners of war, and all that followed, including a late war crime. The narrative isn’t completely straightforward: Lewis revisits the operatives’ training to demonstrate how unusual and autonomous agents were. While most soldiers are treated as members of a military machine — fully equipped by it, and expected to act in obedience with its orders — SAS operatives needed to be able to act on the fly, reading the situation on the ground and making the best of opportunities that presented themselves, without any communication with authorities in England at all. Accordingly, in their training they had to scavenge or steal materials to create their own training camp, and their final challenge was to tour the whole of Britain, signing visitor’s books at a series of checkpoints and evading police the entire way, without a pound to their names. Many a Briton’s vehicle or chickens went missing during such exercises!

Churchill’s Band of Brothers offers a spotlight into an important but sometimes overlooked area of Britain’s fight against the Nazi menace. By its nature it can’t help but be exciting, especially in its coverage of the first mission and the initial aftermath of the second, and Lewis’ inclusion of the men’s dogged attempts to bring the men who abused them and murdered their brothers-in-arms made the book more than just a real-life adventure.

[Richard Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damien Lewis writes history in the same way that others write novels. Believable, well researched characters and believable, well researched plots. This book is no exception. The characters, both British, French, and German are all described in such a way that you understand how they are feeling and how they got into the positions they are in. Some writers would do this in a way which detracts from the action and makes their writing boring, but Lewis does so in a way in which you understand everyone's point of view, both good and bad, and you are alongside them for every exciting moment of the events being described. I am in the habit of reading for an hour before going to sleep, but this book kept me reading for an hour... and then more. So exciting, I couldn't put it down.
To give you an idea of how well written this factual history was. The next book I read after this, was a novel about the Second World War. I stopped reading it after a couple of chapters because the characters were stilted and unrealistic. It could not compete with the Damien Lewis descriptions of real characters, real events, and real hero's and villains. The Damien Lewis real history was far better than the fictitious novel. Exciting, gripping, well-rounded characters, and excellently written.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Churchill's "band of brothers" was the Special Air Services. This book follows one unit of the SAS, known as the SABU-70 and led by Captain Patrick Garstin, on two missions into occupied France after D-Day, to sabotage German troops as they retreated. On the second mission, most of the men were captured, and five of them were ultimately murdered. They should have been treated as POWs, but Hitler had issued an order that anyone caught aiding the resistance or sabotaging German troops should be shot. The last part of the book tracks the efforts of the SAS to bring the murderers to justice. (Unfortunately, the top man, Horst Kopkow, escaped justice by offering his services to the British at the start of the Cold War. Mr. Lewis has some harsh things to say about this.)
The book reads like a thriller. The remarkable thing is that any of the soldiers survived to tell the story. The author relied on their diaries and notes as well as remembrances of their families to flesh out the story and preserve their memories, courage, and heroism.

[Mark Luongo · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intense narrative about a mission betrayed and the hunt for the perpetrators who were responsible for murder.
Author Lewis is thorough in his research, as evidenced by his extensive bibliography, and isn't afraid to call into question the extent in which the Allies allowed Nazi war criminals to fade into the woodwork in order gain a leg up in the subsequent Cold War. Particularly in regard to a player in this story. Literally, "getting away with murder."
The book will also add to your knowledge of the SAS and their operations "behind the lines" in the days preceding D-Day and afterwards. Hard to believe that similar to what befell the OSS, the SAS was "disbanded" immediately after the war and not resurrected until a later date. In the OSS' case that organization became the CIA.
Good read.

[Studebhawk · Rating 5 out of 5]

With Distinction, Courage, and Honor

I guess that this story would only have been possible with the release of so many of the secret files from WWII. This story is a powerful retelling of the commando units that went into wartime France under such horrific conditions. The author’s research through the records and his follow-up interviews with the survivors and their families clearly enrich the stories of these brave men.
Duty, honor, and devotion to each other come through on every page. The author’s research and his masterful storytelling are there on every page of this book. We are enriched by this story, and, we can only hope that in the future when we send our soldiers into harm’s way we can find, yet, again, such men.

[Todd_Family · Rating 5 out of 5]

A True Story to Tear at Your Heart

Churchill's Band of Brothers is the true story of a brave band of British commandos dropping into Nazi-occupied France in 1944. It is a story of courage, terror, and Nazi atrocities. The experiences of these men both during and after the war testify to both the hardiness and the frailty of the human body and spirit. This well researched book reads at times like a novel. A daring escape has echoes in the film Where Eagles Dare. It more than once brought tears to my eyes. I am thankful for Damien Lewis both preserving and passing on their story. Highly recommended. 5 stars.

[Crystal Toller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book details the story of the SAS in France before and after D-Day. The story centers around 12 parachutists being captured in August 1944. The first part details the story of the prisoners and the second half of the book details how members of SAS located the Nazis responsible for killings and the trial of those Nazis. This was a very interesting book and I was really surprised to learn about this group of British soldiers. The story would not have been able to have been told if it wasn't for the declassification of many of the documents from World War II. A really enjoyable book that I can recommend.

[Linda Millar-Vanpoucke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never To Be Forgotten

It is impossible to fathom the depths of courage and ingenuity the human being is capable of. I am filled with the greatest compassion, admiration and love for men and women who have gone to such lengths to put themselves in mortal danger to fight for human dignity against incorrigible, evil humans who delight in the suffering of their fellow mankind.
This contemptible behavior is still rampant in the world right now. Innocent people are being terrorized by their repressive governments and they must be recognized.

[Mike Thiac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good look at a relatively uncovered part of the European part of World War II, commando action in France in coordination with the D-Day invastion. This small group was sent in to cause havoc in the NAZI rear area. It covers the actions they took, and the actions taken after they were captured. And a few things after the war ended.

At a high school level, can be killed in a weekend, about the only issue I will give is I wish it went into a bit more depth on the actions after the war.

[Jeff Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book, well put together. This band of SAS brothers group was dropped far behind enemy lines to cause as much destruction as possible to the German mashine in order to save many axis lives as we moved inland. Hitler ordered a decree in that such fighters were terrorist and were to be shot at will; furthermore the SS were more than happy to do so. What followed was a certain group of men to fined the truth to such deaths (murder) and find those responsible and bring to justice!

[Christopher Storey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second half of this book is much better than the first half, where there are accounts of supposed conversations between participants who were killed shortly afterwards and so were in no position to give verbatim accounts of what was said. In other words, it is that most despised of genres, the dramadoc . However, I persevered, and the account of the hunt for the Nazi killers of those characters which took place in the 1945-1947 period is much more interesting and can be recommended

[Jayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually thought this book was about a different subject, which was at first disappointing, but damn am I glad of the mistake! A fascinating and remarkable read, full of tragedy and heroism. Had I not picked up this book accidentally, I'd have never heard about SABU-70 and their story, which I find very sad. Very well-written, this book had me gripped right til the end. I'd now like to read other books by this author.

[Maurice Tougas · Rating 2 out of 5]

The daring exploits of Britain's Special Air Service initially makes for exciting reading. In June, 1944, a 12-man SAS crew parachuted into Nazi-occupied France to cause general mayhem. Initially, it's all very exciting and remarkable, but Lewis' gung-ho writing style (all the Brits are just jolly good lads) wears thin. By the last 100 pages, my interest flagged badly. But fans of deep dives into military history will probably like this a lot more than I did.

[Derek McWilliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping account of SAS activities in occupied France.

This book takes the reader through SAS activities in German occupied France in a way that makes it difficult to put down. For those interested in military history, it is a record of the capture of one SAS unit and the search for justice at war's end. The book is exciting at times, extremely sad in part but overall a rewarding read.

[Julie Goode · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable courage and brotherhood. A story of patriots of the West.

Amazing read. Pulls you in and never lets you go. I loved learning and then honoring these men. In a time when young men think honor is screaming pro-Hamas bullshit, they are mere turds in comparison with these men who fought evil (similar evil , Jew hating Nazis) with their very lives on the line to secure freedom as only the West has ever truly known.

[Egita Dzalbe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this book at a Secondhand shop with no expectations. At the beginning I had to reread passages several times to understand how the names are connected. And I started to think that it will be a dry story about war... but I am glad that I kept reading. 2nd part of the book was truly a thriller. I felt sorry for all the people who were hurt and I hope this book will help people remember the horrors of Nazi regime.

[Jon Ivar Steinkjer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about the SAS, their missions and impact during WW2. It is intense to read about their missions and everything they endured as captives of the nazi/SS that actually tortured them and executed many of the SAS soldiers.
We also hear about how they fought to find war criminals after the war.
Absolutely a great book to read!

[Neville Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding!

An account of the exploits of Britain’s Special Air Services regiment behind the lines in occupied France in 1944, that introduces the reader to a group of remarkable characters. Their incandescent courage and daring against all odds and against a hellishly ruthless enemy is the stuff of which legends are made.

[Shell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although very sad, this was an excellent and often exciting account. As you can imagine, we get to know all the men and not many of them are left at the end of the book. Some scenes which I doubt I'll ever forget. It did read like a novel once the initial overview of the historical facts had been discussed. It was very moving.

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a riveting account of the secret ops missions during WWII that were classified until recently. Lewis does a wonderful job of relating the courage, resourcefulness, and determination of these soldiers as they engaged in some of the most dangerous missions of the war. While this reads like a novel, the reality of what these heroes went through is incredible.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another remarkable story of heroism during WWll that I knew nothing about. My goodness, the bravery of these amazing and honorable men! I only wish the photos had been inserted earlier in the book rather than after I had read the whole book.