276°
Posted 20 hours ago

The Greatest Raid: St Nazaire, 1942: The Heroic Story of Operation Chariot

£12.45£24.90Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

Of the 612 men who undertook the raid, 228 returned to Britain, 169 were killed and 215 became prisoners of war. German casualties included over 360 dead, some of whom were killed after the raid when Campbeltown exploded. To recognise their bravery, 89 members of the raiding party were awarded decorations, including five Victoria Crosses. After the war, St Nazaire was one of 38 battle honours awarded to the commandos. The operation has been called "the greatest raid of all" in British military circles. Unearthing the untold human stories of Operation Chariot, Bridge of Spies author Giles Whittell reveals it to be a fundamentally misconceived raid whose impact and legacy was secured by astonishing bravery. Retired Marine Corps captain Dale Dye was the film's military advisor and trained the cast in a boot camp in northern Queensland, reprising a role and practice from Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan and Platoon. [1]

Lambert, John; Ross, Al (1990). Allied Coastal Forces of World War II: Fairmile Designs and US Submarine Chasers of Allied Coastal Forces of World War II. Vol.I. London: Conway. ISBN 0-85177-519-5. The extraordinary bravery of the participants shines out from the narrative. But with respect comes an overwhelming sense of waste. The commandos were the among the best trained and motivated in the British Armed Forces. Whittell rightly marvels at their remarkable “equanimity… in the face of death”. Throwing their lives away in what was little more than a stunt now looks both stupid and cruel. In reality, however, Hitler had no intention of moving Tirpitz from its semi-permanent home in the far north of Nazi-occupied Norway. Besides, the British had other, more pressing reasons to give Chariot the green light.

Rate And Review

In addition to the tired former prisoners and civilians, the majority of the Rangers had only slept for five to six hours over the past three days. The soldiers frequently had hallucinations or fell asleep as they marched. Benzedrine was distributed by the medics to keep the Rangers active during the long march. One Ranger commented on the effect of the drug: "It felt like your eyes were popped open. You couldn't have closed them if you wanted to. One pill was all I ever took—it was all I ever needed." [164] On the evening of January 27, the Rangers studied air reconnaissance photos and listened to guerrilla intelligence on the prison camp. [74] The twofive-man teams of Alamo Scouts, led by 1st Lts. William Nellist and Thomas Rounsaville, left Guimba at 19:00 and infiltrated behind enemy lines for the long trek to attempt a reconnaissance of the prison camp. [75] [76] [77] Each Scout was armed with a .45pistol, threehand grenades, a rifle or M1 carbine, a knife, and extra ammunition. [74] The next morning, the Scouts linked up with several Filipino guerrilla units at the village of Platero, 2 miles (3.2km) north of the camp.

Parkinson, James W.; Benson, Lee (2006). Soldier Slaves: Abandoned by the White House, Courts, and Congress. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-204-0. The Rangers were armed with assorted Thompson submachine guns, BARs, M1 Garand rifles, pistols, grenades, knives, and extra ammunition, as well as a few bazookas. [78] [79] Fourcombat photographers from a unit of the 832nd Signal Service Battalion volunteered to accompany the Scouts and Rangers to record the rescue after Mucci suggested the idea of documenting the raid. [80] Each photographer was armed with a pistol. [81] Surgeon Captain Jimmy Fisher and his medics each carried pistols and carbines. [78] [79] To maintain a link between the raiding group and Army Command, a radio outpost was established outside of Guimba. The force had tworadios, but their use was only approved in requesting air support if they ran into large Japanese forces or if there were last-minute changes to the raid (as well as calling off friendly fire by American aircraft). [70] [78] Behind enemy lines [ edit ] The Rangers, Scouts, and guerrillas trekked through diverse terrain and crossed several rivers on their way to the prison camp But it was far from mission accomplished. As historian Peter Stanley said, ‘everything else was secondary [to the destruction of Campbeltown] but everything else went wrong’. The small boats intended to take the unit home were largely destroyed, leaving many commandos stranded or forced to escape by other means.

7. Fighting On

According to Captain Robert Montgomery (Royal Engineers, attached to No. 2 Commando), Campbeltown was meant to have detonated at 04:30, the delay caused, he believes, by some of the acid in the pencil detonators being distilled away. As the morning progressed, more and more captured comrades joined him in the German HQ. Waterford, Van (1994). Prisoners of the Japanese in World War II. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-89950-893-6.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment