EXCLUSIVE QUALITY * COLLECTOR’S EDITION . Bringing eb a'eone PTB Coy a — PCa) / Epic attack flooded cies eta oa ED ENEMY SHIPS P Tes nil LU Tee LS ee es CET ae a Meer IMPOSSIBLE i | OPERATIONS THAT. =—_— EES Dust NANS -, Me ea) | Pan ail PyCONTENT: Bre et eke’ Pence men reren is en eas er ed eeerrrietinry men de ath to chan fortunes of wa Canoes sink Hitler's freighters Porerarrrter try Coma Coe ery ieisersrrrer a renee tart ur school books taught us that etd |World War II was fought as a series a enter tara of bloody battles and invasions on a Pee ee a massive scale. enema But the final outcome of the war was B jj teenie equally determined by small groups tee deinen te A of death-defying men, who performed / Soy eee dangerous secret missions deep behind Histirete ero udatiaccety enemy lines. Men who went the extra mile Nel LAO to turn the war and help secure victory. Cu ae sneak ata in Seapa Flo. In this special issue of Bringing History To Life, we put to one side the major tactical 7 Pe Se dea natal manoeuvres on the battlefield to take a Ae aa closer look at some of World War II’s fib fas most daring operations. 7 Hada Ne elgg a ‘You'll follow in the footsteps of a small Level London to the ground group of Norwegian saboteurs, who iicoreertenetns defied the icy cold of Norway's harsh ig eae i winters to destroy Hitler’s nuclear ee dream. You'll also find yourself in German gliders as Nazi commandos escende a spe elgia 4 ae Uae descended on an unsuspecting Belgian [7 eho fortress to open up Western Europe to the feared blitzkrieg. eet os In all, we've collated 18 of WWII's Cee most amazing stories to provide an insight into some of the war's biggest turning points. Career cant The day Hitler must die eestor Enjoy. Pia VMS Sey Minne nee etsMISSION: BOMB WATER PLANT if F \ 4 « “Norwegian saboteurs destroy Nazis’ nuclear dream: Suicide in sub-zerointer 1942-43. The Nazis want to build an atomic bomb and produce heavy water for their research in a factory in Norway. The Allies get wind of production and decide to launch a daring operation: under the cover of winter darkness, a group of Norwegian saboteurs will be dropped by parachute into the icy mountains, risking their lives to curb Hitler’s doomsday weapon. mission Koen oeliblcesSSE Operation teers cc the Gioeene are researching tuoleer fission in the hope of eventually building an atonio bot evearchers require envy water that's produced Sa Rorvay. EEE sor up toe Planthe faciiitiea to Unbotage the Geraane? inuoleat Pesesroh. inar Skinnarland was an engineer at the German heavy water plant in Vemork. The British had chosen him to spearhead an act of sabotage. The action would end the nightmare sconarlo of Germany's war machine gaining access to the world’s ultimate weapon the A-bomb, Skinnarland was selected because he had access to the factory, but he lacked the necessary skills. During a holiday, he secretly travelled to Britain where he received 10 days intensive training, Including a single trial jump by parachute. A few days later things got serious Skinnarland ‘was flown back to Telemark, but the plane was forced to circle for 20 minutes before he gained enough courage to parachute down into the snowy expanse. ‘MOLE SENT REPORTS After returning to the factory, Skinnarland resumed work while sending information to Britain via radio transmitter fon an almost-daily basis. His reports were accurate but short because the local German signal corps were tying to track the transmitters location. From early in the war both Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US President Franklin D Roosevelt were aware the Germans might be trying to develop @ superweapon, and that heavy water was playing a crucial role ints development. The Allies had also ~ under great secrecy ~ begun their own research But Allied leaders had agreed that the civilian population couldn't find out about a possible German superweapon that could destroy entire citiess Itwould only lead to panic. ‘As a result, everything was referred to In code. Heavy water was named ‘Lurgan’ and It quickly became clear that there was only one practical location where the Germans could produce ‘Lurgan’ in suicient quantities: at Vemork, a factory just outside Riukan in the county of Telemark in Occupied Norway. Here lay @ hydroelectric plant that was the world’s largest when it was built in 1911 ~ production had been sited here because it could generate the huge amounts of energy demanded in heavy water production. Drop by drop the German stocks of heavy water grew. One person at the factory was Norwegian Engineer Einar Skinnarland was the frst Brish contact and part of the heavy water team in Vernork He sent short messages dally n constant danger of being detected by German rao operators. 6 | msson no professor Leif Tronstad. He was ‘one of a select few who knew ‘what heavy water could be used for, and when the Germans announced they wished to speed up production in 1941, he did all he could to slow ‘down or sabotage the plan. He ‘even contaminated the heavy ‘water with fish oil, but after the Germans started ta suspect him, Tronstad fled to Britain, Here he became a vital asset to the Special Operations Executive (SOE), Britain’s secret army designed to ‘operate behind German lines, Many of its members came from occupied territories ~ ‘and among thelr number were several Norwegian units. It was cleat to the Allies that the heavy water stocks had to be destroyed. Both ‘Churchill and Roosevelt took ‘a personal interest in the case only to discover they faced a strategic nightmare, SOE had no people in Telemark, and the Norwegian resistance movement had yet to form. The factory was situated on a steep mountainside in a narrow ravine, access to which was incredibly difficult. There was only one way in. The road from the east ended at a single ferry berth, from which the ‘only route tothe valley was by boat over Lake Tinn, RAVINE T00 SMALL Parachuting into the valley ‘wasn’t an option ~ it was too narrow and deep. For the same reason, a precision-bombing raid was also not possible Besides, the Germans had strung three large steel chains across the valley, precisely for the purpose of preventing bombers from getting close, ‘The British considered bombing a large dam on ‘Mosvatn lake above Vermok, but It was vetoed by the Norwegian ‘governmentin-exile, becausesuch a huge flood would wash away al ife in the entre valley. ‘Another problem was that heavy water production constituted only a small part of the plant's production. The Vemork factory primarily produced artificial fertilisers, which were badly needed by Norwegian farmers due toa ban on imports. ‘SABOTEURS WERE ‘TRAINED IN SCOTLAND Eventually the decision settled on a sabotage operation, and Skinnarland was its first key member. Thanks to the intelligence Skinnarland provided to the SOE, a good picture of the German troops in Rjukan and the surrounding area emerged, including te fact that soldiers guarded the factory and that the Germans were planning to lay mines along the huge pipes that fed water into the hydroelectric power plant. Meanwhile, a group of five young Norwegians were being, tuained at a secret camp in Scotland, Three had grown up in Rjukan, and they'd ventured in the high mountains around the town all of thelr lives - walking in summer, sking in winter, The idea was to drop them into the snowy terrain by parachute, after which they'd prepare for a British operation, The training was hard, They navigated by maps and compass in the Highlands, learning to survive outdoors, deal with explosives, use codes and forge papers = but also to kill without the victim ‘making a sound, ‘The Norwegians were constantly ‘monitored by SOE personnel. They assessed whether the group were ‘mentally tough enough, but they also listened at night to check if any of the saboteurs had a habit oftalking in thersleep. Unfortunately, one of the group was injured during training, so only four Norwegians jumped out of a British bomber on the night of 18th October, 1942: Jens Anton Poulsson, Knut Haugland, Claus Helberg and Ame Kielstrup. Poulson was the group's leader. Six containers of equipment and supplies were also dropped over the deserted — and exposed ~ Hardangervidda (Hardanger Plateau), where the snow was currently restricted to the mountain tops. It was only on landing that Poulsson announced the mission: to pave the way for a British attack on the Vemork factory. But even Poulsson had no idea what heavy water could be used for; only that the Germans’ stock hhad tobe destroyed. SNowSTORM WHILE caRRYING 30 KG The following weeks were tough. The group had landed around 15 kilometres ‘west of their planned drop - ‘Aspecal group was selected from hardy Norwegians. In Scotland they were trained to use weapons and explosives under extreme conditions. Two HoRSA GLIDERS DRAWN BY HALIFAX BOMBERS WOULD LAND 34 BRITISH COMMANDOS ON A FROZEN LAKE. HOWEVER, THE OPERATION WAS A DISASTER. zone, and In addition to themselves and their heavy 30-kg backpacks, they were expected to transport 250 kg of equipment. After three days, winter arrived with the first snowstorm, “Because the snow was wet, the ground wasn't frozen, the streams and lakes were open fice free, it took us one hell of along, time with all that equipment” Poulson recalled in the book The Real Herves of Telemark. ‘At night they broke into deserted mountain huts scattered around the area, but were stating to run out of food. One day, however, the group discovered a stray sheep and two lambs that had fallen into a ravine. They were able to feast for days. With great difficulty they established radio contact with SOE back in London, and gradually moved ‘lose enough to Rjukan to be able to make contact with some of the Norwegians working, at the factory. They discovered the Germans had laid booby traps and tripwires, had placed searchlight on the plants roof and equipped German guards ‘with machine guns. They also learned the commander in chief ‘ofthe German troops in Norway, General von Falkenhorst, had visited the factory and warned of British attack. GLIDERS HAD TO LAND ON FROZEN LAKE, Back in Britain, 34 British ‘commandos from the Ist Mission impessiie | 7MISSION: BOMB WATER PLANT prea for Operton a ssaiietineswe Wemork’s hydropower cauesinsce: plant was the target was to land all 34 men in two sliders. These were towed across the North Sea and over southern Norway by two Halifax bombers. The plan turned out to be both risky and ultimately disastrous. On 19th November, 1942, the 34 commandos took their place in the two gliders. They were packed like sardines ina tin can, but succeeded in reaching Hardangervidda. Here the high plateau’s many lakes, confused the pilots of the two bombers, so they decided to abort and return home. At this point, everything went wrong: The hydroelectric plant i located ona steep mountainside in a narrow vay. The British can't one bomber crashed into a 2 drop paratroopers over R Instea, they land several kilometres away to trek tothe target, mountain and took its glider t with it. The second returned home, but without its glider, because the pull rope froze and snapped. Those who survived the crash were caught by the Germans, interrogated and shot. The operation’s total fallure \was compounded by the fact the Germans now knew the factory was a high-priority target. Coase a ete et en Cn bane IA their planned drop zone PPoulsson, leader Cae re ae aed eters es ISASTER HAD HUGE DiPACT The catastrophe made a deep impression, both on the British and the small group on the mountain, who were told to “preserve your safety”. In addition, the message to the saboteurs ended with a note of hope: "Keep up your hearts. We will do the job yer." At this point, the four Norwegians proposed they Would like to take part in an attack, which evolved into a new plan. Another group of young Norwegians were luained by SOE as the original four continued to hide out in the remote mountains. They > B | Mssonioossbe2nd Ueutenant JB | 2nd Lieutenant Ronnebert leader [ESS Knut Haukelid FOvseon eCeihiitocils Sere ees Missonimoosstie | 9MISSION: BOMB WATER PLANT found a cabin not marked on the ‘maps where there was a store of firewood. But food was once again scarce, andall four got both fever and stomach upsets. They kept up morale by recounting, tales from their childhood, and shortly before Christmas flocks of reindeer appeared in the area It would be their salvation: “We ate everything except the balls and the hooves.” They even devoured the half digested stomach content of the reindeers ~ the moss inside contained vital vitamins. Back In Britain, six Norwegians had been picked to sabotage the factory together with the four on the ‘mountain: Joachim Renneberg, Knut Haukelid, Hans Storhaug, Birger Stromsheim, Fredrik Kayser and Kasper Idland. Part of the training took place in a mockup of the heavy water plant, which had been built ith Norwegian help. EXTREME WINTER BIT HARD Iewasn’t until mid February that the extra Norwegians could land at Hardangervidda, where their countrymen had been forced to go into hiding to waitin the desolation and cold. The winter of 1942-43 was extremely hard, and on many days the temperature didn’t rise above ‘minus 30 degrees Celsius in the frozen terran, ‘The two groups spent several days searching for each other before they finally met up and established their base in a new cabin. This was located just five kllomettes from the factory, but safely up high in the mountains. The Norwegians knew the Germans regarded the plateau as an ice-cold, inhospitable wasteland, where they would find it hard to survive due to their lack of experience in such hostile terrain. The group blacked out thelr windows and spent the following days reconnoitring, 10 | sissoninoossbve They spent their evenings discussing the best way of centering the factory and how they could escape afterwards. Claus Helberg outlined a new option: just below the factory, the river ran through a deep canyon, but from his, reconnaissance he knew there was one place where you could easily climb up from the ravine. That possibility had not been considered by the Germans, he argued. It ended with a vote where five out of ten voted for the ravine. ‘On 27th February, 1943 at 20.00 the action ~ dubbed Operation Gunnerside ~ ‘commenced, The men checked their equipment and codes one last time and divided into two groups. They were in British ‘uniforms, so the Germans ‘would believe it was a British raid, If anyone got caught, they were ordered to commit suicide using poison. The ‘weather was cloudy and mild = so mild infact, the snow was wet and slippery. ‘The Norwegians glided through the gorge on skis towards the factory. The climb from the ravine was easier than they'd thought, but the ‘men were still dripping sweat as they crept towards the factory. A deep hum from the turbines fled the air. Close to the factory, the saboteurs sat, waiting the change of guard they knew would happen at ‘midnight. Among other things new guards would arrive on the suspension bridge, which ~ aside from a rallway track —was the only access to the premises. ‘When we were sitting there just waiting it was curious because It felt more or less like ‘we were on a short rest during. a training exercise in Scotland”, recalled Ronneberg, ‘While one team stood guard outside, the other now cut through the chain securing the factory gates. The men broke into a basement, and thanks to Intelligence from the factory's THE NORWEGIANS WERE ABLE TO TRICK THE GERMANS INTO BELIEVING IT WAS A BRITISH OPERATION BY DRESSING IN BRITISH UNIFORMS AND CARRYING BRITISH WEAPONS. employees, they found narrow cable shaft that led right Into the room where the heavy ‘water containers stood. They crawled on all fours through the tunnel. Here they disarmed the sole guard, who shook like a leaf. The Norwegians then placed their explosive charges ‘on each storage cylinder. EXPLOSION ALMOST WENT UNNOTICED The fuses were then lit, the guard ordered to run upstairs and then the saboteurs sprinted off. Just 20 metres away they heard the muffled sound of the explosions. The sound was almost lost in the general hum of the factory, Dut the explosives had done their job: 1,500 litres of heavy ‘water were draining away. It took a while hefore the alarm was raised, by which time all ten Norwegians were back in the ravine where no one dreamed of looking for them. The sirens howled over and over, and a stream of cars and lorries started to arrive at the plant. At a safe distance from the factory, the men crawled up from the gorge, after ‘which they laboriously climbed up the steep mountain slopes. At 05.00 they finally reached the top and after a short break, travelled back to the cabin. Luck was with them —just ater setting back a snowstorm blew up and drifting snow quickly covered their tracks. Over the following days, the Germans launched a manhunt. They were convinced that ‘British gangsters’ were behind the act of sabotage, and rumours spread there ‘were 2,000 Britons in the mountains around the town. ‘An entire division was put t0 the task, but they found no ‘one, although they did burn ‘many mountain cabins. The 10 saboteurs now divided. Five set course for neutral Sweden, 400 kilometres to the east. They tied to avoid inhabited areas as ‘much as possible and reached their goal after 15 days. But they were hard-pressed, having to sleepin the snow on several nights while the straps from their backpacks bit deeper and ‘deeper into their sore shoulders as they trekked on. US amecrarr BOMBED FACTORY Several months later, the Germans resumed production ‘of heavy water at the factory, employing @ new, more efficient technology. This time, the Allies decided to simply bomb the factory, and on 16th November, 1943 no fewer than 300 US-ied bombers were sent to Norway. 162 of them participated in the attack, but despite dropping over 900 ‘bombs, only 18 hit the factory. Only one container of heavy ‘water was destroyed this time, at the cost of 22 innocent Norwegian lives. The Norwegian governmentin-exile hadn't been consulted and were furious about the largely unsuccessful attack. Theraid, however, made such an impression on the Germans that in January 1944 they decided to dismantle the entire plant and move production to Germany. As before, the Allies were promptly informed of hese developments, because several of the factory's Norwegian employees were now connected to the resistance movement, which had grovin significantly. SHURCHILL GAVE TTER TOP PI aE ry In Britain there was no hesitation: the plan had to be foiled, even if it had serious consequences for the civilian population. Churchill got personally involved, and his message was unmistakable. Destroying the heavy water now took top priority! But time was running ou The Germans had already started to dismantle the plant when Knut Haukelid - who'd remained in the area ~ was ordered to organise an attack, Thanks to intelligence from the factory staff, it was clear the Germans intended to ransport the heavy water in 39 lange drums via rallway. Haukelid added Rolf Sorlie, assistant engineer atthe factory, to his group, which now tried to devise a plan, The railway only ranafew kilometres before ending at the ferry that sailed across Lake Tinn. It was clear he ferry trip was the weak point ~ this was where the transport could be sabotaged, The Norwegian responsible for the factory's transportation was involved in the sabotage, and he arranged transportation so the rail trucks would be on he ferry Hydro on Sunday, 20th February. He chose this for two reasons: one, there was just one ferry crossing that day, and two, there would be few passengers onboart. The next problem was how to construct a timed bomb. Haukelid knew a lot about explosives in general, but had never worked on so-called time-delay devices. It led to ‘many hectic hours fiddling in ‘a workshop before he was able to geta timer working using a ‘combination of alarms clocks and electric detonators. The evening before the transport, three of the group drove to the ferry point in Mael. They went aboard quietly, as i they were regular crew. And luck was with them. The German guards ‘were sitting playing cards. One man kept the ship's Norwegian crew chatting while Haukelid and Sorlie sneaked into the bottom of the ferry. Here they placed 8.4 kg of explosives in a well-hidden spot. The alarm lock was set to 10.45, ‘Tue rerny ListeD AND SANK Haukelid was a nervous man fon Sunday morning. But his device worked ~ It detonated just as Hydro sailed over the deepest part of Lake Tina The ferry quickly tipped on its side, and three minutes later was heading to the ‘bottom ofthe lake, 300 metres down. It took 14 Norwegians, four Germans and almost all the German stocks of heavy ‘water to the depths with it. 19 other passengers were rescued by fishermen and farmers who ccame to thei rescue. The Germans dared not confess to Berlin that they'd been sabotaged, so concocted a story that the ferry had exploded due to an accident. The batle for heavy water had been won by the Allies. Production was never resumed, and Hitler never got his atomic bomb. Heavy water controls the splitting of atoms The Nazis worked frantically to develop an ree eee ke ee ote nee os [> Foam yad bectitiner tid eee ee er ee that it could release huge amounts of energy. They eran Seen When WAM broke out, physicists in Britain and Ce ea Peet eee on CO) ee ed Cee ne nee eet toa 3, $0 the Pernt ‘making it possible to experiment with the method rd Ce ra er rere which contains 146 molecules of DO for every milion Pepe ee nee rrr ee es Cee Poe ei a eure) Pe en ee) Sere ee ee ee prosperMISSION: US AIRMEN RESCUE Ota orhesst Yugoslavia, 1944 EE nies siroraft boab all fields An Fomania, whiob soupy t Shot down over “goslavian rountaine. EEE ind surviving pilots and evacuato then {roa tugoalavia votore German troops in the ares In 1944, the Allies launch one of the war's most dangerous rescue missions: a plan to retrieve more than 500 Americans from German-occupied Yugoslavia, where they're hiding in the mountains. There are Nazis everywhere, and the wrong move could be the difference between life and death.> US airmen hid in mountain vilages whore ‘poor peasants ‘Shared thelr food with them, ome days make no sense. And for American Clare Musgrove, 28th July, 1944 made no sense at all. A few hours ago, his plane had been dropping, bombs on major Romanian oil fields, and now he was hanging from a parachute ov a foreign country. The Germans had hit his plane, and on the way back to base in Italy, the pilot had called the order that everyone feared "We're going to have to get ready to abandon ship because we're just not going to make it Beneath him, Musgrove could see a ‘mountainous landscape with forests and oil fields — the Serbian part of Yugoslavia. The ‘country was totally unknown to the US airman whose role during the bombing was to fire the machine gun in the ball turvet to keep German fighters at bay. Today's flight had been his eighth, because towards the end of the war, it had become routine for the Allies to bomb the refineries and oilfields at the Romanian town of, Ploesti. The Germans collected one-third of the oll that kept their great war machine running from the fields in Ploesti, so the oil facilities had become a major target. But they were also ‘an extremely dangerous one as the Germans » erry roar ne rey Ce Pers ae Se dlscovered by the Nazis ees eres SetMISSION: US AIRMEN RESCUE Yugoslav resistance fighters were at home inthe mountains. Hore, they had support from the peasants and could carry out ambushes. 14 | son no had anti-aircraft guns firing everywhere and the capacity to send large numbers of fighters into the skies at a moment's notice. ‘The Allies lost many of thelr bombers. Other planes were so badly damaged that they could not make the trip back to their southem Italian bases. On the return fight, the planes had to rise above the high Yugoslavian mountains and could crash if one or more engines were damaged. Therefore, pllots often had to order Militia went from heroes to villains After World War I, Mihalovieh's Chetrik militia vas banned in Yugoslavia. Many of Its members were imprisoned, expelled or ‘executed. At the end of the 1980s — after Tio's death - the Chetnik mavement was resurrected by the Serbs, who used the militia as a nationalist rallying point in the fight against Croats and Muslims. Today, the Chetnik name in the West is. synonymous with the paramilitary groups who committed war crimes during the civil war in Yugosiavia in the 1990s. an evacuation before they crashed or flew into the side of a mountain, ‘There was a crew of 10 on Musgrove's plane. AAs the ball-turret gunner, he sat in a bubble of Plexiglas under the belly of the great B-24 bomber. It was a vulnerable position, both during combat and evacuation. Getting out of the bubble took time, and by the skin of his, teeth Musgrove managed to climb into the plane, find his parachute and attach himself to if, making him the last to leave the doomed plane and jump into the unknown, territory that the Germans had occupied since 1941. Underneath he could see a flock of sheep in a field. He hoped to land on the ground, but Instead dropped into a small cluster of trees. His hip hurt, and Musgrove struggled to get out of his heavy suit and free himself from the parachute’s many strings. He was alive ~ but completely lost. Musgrove had no idea where he was. He could not speak Serbo-Croatian, and had no food. Unexpected guest received with kindness Back at base, Musgrove was only given a short briefing about what he should do in a situation like the one he now faced. But he remembered fone of the things his officers had said: “If you go down near Yugoslavia, look for the Partisan fighters, the supporters of Tito. ‘They wear caps with a red star. Stay away from the Chetniks, the local peasants who support Mihailovich, They'll cut your ears off and hand you over to the Germans. (On the ground, two local women and their sons herding the sheep had tracked the parachute as it descended towards them. Musgrove cautiously revealed himself. He pointed to his uniform shirt and said “american”. The women were friendly, but because of the language barrier, they weren't, able to talk. The women and boys returned to their flock nearby, but as darkness fell they signalled that Musgrove should follow them. In the village, the American was met with curiosity. Children flocked to see the foreign. airman who was invited to take as much goat cheese and dry bread as he could eat. But the day's hardships were not over ~ a German officer appeared in the village. The Germans had followed the crew as they evacuated the bomber, and they had already captured the other crew members who were now on their way to a German prisoner of war camp. The villagers quickly hid Musgrove, and the German officer left empty-handed. ‘Soon, Musgrove discovered that he was in an area under the control of General Mihailovich and his Chetnik guerrillas ~ the ones he had been wamed against. But the warning made nosense as everywhere he went he was received with kindness. As an American he was considered a liberator, and over the following, days Musgrove was smuggled from village to village. Everywhere he went he was received with open arms, and although the area was deprived, the peasants shared their sparse food supplies with the American airman Very few spoke English, but eventually Musgrove found out that he was being taken to a place with other Americans. And, after a long walk accompanied by armed guerrillas, they reached the mountain village of Pranjani ‘Americans got restless A powerful-looking man on horseback welcomed him ~ in perfect English. He introduced himself as George Musulin, an American with Yugoslav roots. He'd been flown behind enemy lines by the OSS ~ Office of Strategic Services, precursor to the CIA ~ with a mission to organise rescue for the ever-increasing number of Americans who'd been shot down over the rugged mountains. Musgrove soon discovered that the village was teeming with American pilots, navigators and telegraph operators. The fact they'd avoided Nazi capture was purely down to help from the friendly peasants in the mountains. There was a German gatrison with 250 ‘men just eight kilometres from Pranjani with 2 further 4,500 Germans in another garrison 20 kilometres away. Even so, it was rare to see German soldiers in the area because as well as being the hase for the dropped US airmen ~ the town was also Minailovich’s headquarters Around 10,000 of his Chetnik guerrillas ‘guarded the area, so the mountains around Pranjani were not somewhere the Germans were keen to visit ‘Musgrove would soon join ranks with the other downed airmen. They numbered around 100, but their numbers grew ‘almost daily. Some had been in Pranjani along time, where they were bored sti. ‘They helped the local farmers on the land while at the same time becoming increasingly restless. And they were hungry, because even though the locals provided food, it was never enough for all the extra mouths. On the other hand, there was an abundance of plum brandy ~ the fruit ‘grew everywhere ~ and every self-respecting family produced the alcoholic drink. General Mihailovich visited regularly. He was aiven lists of the downed Americans, and using, a shortwave radio made sure the names were sent to the exiled Yugoslav government in Egypt. Mihailovich hoped that the government would notify the airmen’s families, many of ‘whom were uncertain of their son or husband's fate because they'd been reported missing over Yugoslavia. However, the majority of > The Allies bombed Nazi oil refineries Romanian oll refineries were priority targets for the Allies, but as the Nazis zealously rt pibar cunneeierenT Serr orien reetenes heptepareatoraienteionetia Pemecceeretr me nencittn ee eam Pere ee er cee Cet peer Per oe ney ee ey er est) Peed es eet] poner the localsMISSION: US AIRMEN RESCUE 16 eres Een coors tae The war’s workhorse ‘The aircraft that evacuated the downed Americans from Yugoslavia were known as the war's workhorses and were able to handle al tasks from difficult transport missions to risky evacuations, The plane measured almost 30 metres from wing tp to wing tip and was about 20 metres ong. Despite its size, the Allied C-47 was used ‘throughout Europe because it was manoeuvrable and could negotiate ‘even short airstrips. The C-47 could be easily adapted for any task — ‘or exampl, during the Yugoslavian campaign, planes wore emptied. ‘of everything they didn't need, so they could carry as many airmen as possible. Also, fuel tanks were only halffiled for an easier take-off, Missin ngossbie these longawalted messages never reached ‘home because without realising it, the downed. airmen had been dropped into a political game. ilovich had fallen out of favour with the Allies. From the beginning of the war, the Soviet Union had taken against the Chetnikx militia, and so the British had also doubted his, loyalty because Mihailovich had apparently sided with the Italian fascists in the fight against Tito’s partisans. The final straw came during the Tehran Conference between the Allies on Ist December, 1943. Here they decided they no longer trusted Mihailovich’s people who were now in obvious conflict with ‘Tito’s partisan troops. In future, all support for the Yugoslav liberation fight would go to Tito. Had the downed soldiers known of the game being played out, they'd have probably not been surprised if nobody was interested in their fate. They felt forgotten, to such an extent that In desperation they had sent an SOS via radio even though they knew that it may expose their presence if the Germans were able to track the radio transmitter. "SOS ... One hundred fifty members of ‘American crew have been waiting for rescue. ‘There are many sick and wounded”, sounded the message. ‘No one answered. They therefore assumed that the message had been considered jous because it might be a German trap. ‘They sent new messages ~ this time verifying their identity using a code that included specific details and slang that only Allies on the Italian bases would know. It worked. Personnel on the bases were surprised there were so many Americans clustered in the same place behind enemy lines. However, despite the fact the men were under Mihailovich’s protection and the Allies’ current attitude towards him, they managed to make a case for the men's rescue and received permission for the operation. After some initial disagreements, a group was set up to organise the rescue, dubbed Operation Halyard. Pilots built airstrip ‘The group was led by former steel worker George Musulin. His parents were Yugoslav immigrants to the United States, so he spoke Serbo-Croatian and looked like the locals. (On 19th July, the group made its first flight over Pranjani. In the middle of the night a British plane painted black flew them across Yugoslavia. But the crew could not find the drop zone. Later there were four further sorties, all of which were abandoned. Without any proof, ‘Musulin concluded that the British were out to sabotage the rescue, so he demanded a US plane for the job. ‘On 2nd August, 1944, it succeeded. The group landed close to Pranjani and was warmly welcomed by the Americans on landing. Months of inaction were now replaced by frantic activity. One of the first priorities was the setting up of a field hospital, because many of the US airmen were injured and in need of ‘medical attention. The plane had also dropped ‘medical supplies, so the camp's doctor ~ an Italian who had escaped from a German prison ‘camp ~ was extra busy; at long last he had the medications he needed. ‘The plan was that the downed airmen would be picked up by plane. This meant that the Americans in the mountains needed to find a flat piece of land to use as an airstrip. Musulin sent people in all directions to find a suitable spot, but the various places suggested were all so far away that it would take several hours to sneak there undetected and many of the wounded could barely manage such a trip. So eventually they chose a meadow at Pranjani. ‘The meadow was narrow and about 210 ‘metres long; it was definitely on the short side, even though the C-47 planes, which would rescue the Americans, were known to land almost anywhere. The airmen had to make the rugged ground as flat as possible. The men. decided to lengthen the airstrip by 22 metres. ‘They had no access to machinery for the task,so it couldn't be extended any further as they hhad to work with hoes, rakes and spades. The US airmen, now numbering around 250, had help from an equal number of villagers as well as Chetniks, All worked hard to extend the airstrip, remove every single stone and fil every pothole on the meadow. At both ends of the field, trees were felled to reduce any risk during landing and take-off. German planes regularly passed over and every time, the men ran into the dense forest surrounding the improvised airstrip. It was vital that from the air it looked as though nothing, vas happening, (On 8th August, after six days of hard work, Musulin sent a radio message to the base in Italy: the airstrip was ready. At the same time, he requested a further six planes, because there were always new arrivals. For safety reasons, Musulin only expected each plane to carry 12 airmen, so 72 would prepare to leave. The wounded would have priority, followed by those who had been in Yugoslavia the longest; the rest would leave by rank. ‘The field was guarded by Chetniks, and on the night of Oth August, the sound of machine gun fire was heard. The Americans were fearful that the Germans had worked out their plans and were now attacking, But the reason for the shots tumed out to be a cow. It had frightened ‘a guard so much that he had shot it. “Only cow. Naw dead cow”, he explained. Grazing cows saved Americans ‘9th August was a long day. As the airstrip was being checked one last time, three German aircraft suddenly appeared from behind the ‘mountains. They flew low and slow, seemingly heading directly towards the airstrip. The men rushed into the forest to hide and Musulin feared the worst: the airstrip had been discovered because it looked suspicious and now the Germans were going to bomb it to render it useless But just before the planes arrived, a herd of cows turned up to graze. They were tempted by the green grass, and now that the men were gone, from the sky the ground looked like a regular field with cows peacefully grazing Nothing happened. The three German planes just flew over without changing course. Small straw bales and barrels of oil were placed around the perimeter of the makeshift strip. They would be set alight by the villagers to make the airstrip visible to the pilots when the rescue aircraft arrived under cover of darkness. ‘The message from Italy stated that six C-47 planes had been dispatched and by 22.00 the ‘Americans could hear the planes — but they also discovered that there were only four. It turned ‘out that two had developed engine trouble and had returned to base. ‘The four planes headed towards Pranjani, where they sent a secret message in Morse to the ground. When they received the agreed response, they landed on the field whose perimeter was now lit by flares and bonfires. But as the first plane's landing gear almost touched down, the pilot applied power and pulled up. The plane disappeared. The airstrip appeared too dangerot to land on. On the ground, the «disappointment was palpable. Little by little hope grew again. The next plane was ready to land. The plane came down at too steep an angle and its wheels slammed into the ground before skimming across the grass field and braking, Then it rolled to the side to make room for the next plane. The men could no longer hide their excitement. They greeted the plane with a collective roar of cheers Three other planes followed. Two landed without issue; while the last cut through a haystack at such high speed that one wing lip was damaged. Luckily there was no other {damage and the plane was still alrworthy. Ce eee mar ero Into an airstrip. Chetniks protected the alrstrip_ ‘The locals greeted the planes’ crews with ‘overwhelming joy. They sang and hu everyone, gave flowers and shared plum brandy. The head of the operation, George Musulin, was of course both happy and relieved, but also worried: the four US planes Ded Pes ees fighters were Parr re eo opisDSO HUST uaa might have been spotted by Germans, and ifso, no one knew what they might do. Everything possible had been done to protect the rescue operation. The roads were lined ‘with thousands of Chetnik guerrillas who were ready to fight if necessary. Their job was to hold the Nazis back if they attacked. The Germans did not appear, and on the airstrip, the four planes began to get ready to leave. One of the pilots wanted to take more than the planned 12 passengers, but Musulin vetoed the idea —it ‘was too dangerous to Increase the plane's load. He had to tell 24 disappointed airmen that their evacuation had been postponed because their planes had not arrived. The proceedings were followed closely by the locals. They were happy for the Americans, but seemed sad to say goodbye. The Americans were too, and suddenly one of them had an Idea: He unlaced his big boots, pulled them off and threw them to one of the locals with whom he'd had the most contact. His example was infectious, and soon there were boots flying, everywhere. Some of the airmen who didn’t ‘want to give away their boots threw their shirts and jackets instead. The first Americans were flown away ‘The fist of the four planes readied for launch. Spectators lined the sides of the airstrip. Many prayed, because they knew that take-off was Hero fell out of favour critical. The plane bumped across the strip, Increased its speed and took off, but with the smallest possible margin: the plane's wheels were very close to clipping the treetops. The same applied to the three other planes, but teach one took off successfully and then circled a couple of times to gain enough height for the Journey over the mountains. ‘The first part of Operation Halyard had been a success, but Musulin was still concemed Several more flights would be needed if everyone was to leave Yugoslavia, and a minor accident could jeopardise everything, Ifa single aircraft failed during landing or take-off, the airstrip Would be useless. And with each flight, the risk of a German air strike increased. The next morning, it seemed that Musulin ‘was right to be concemed. The skies were full of planes. A whole swarm was approaching, Dut it was a total surprise, as they approached it appeared that the swarm consisted of nothing, but US planes: more specifically 30 fighters and six C-47s, The fighters spread out looking for German targets nearby, while the six C-475, circled down and one by one landed on the grassy strip. A few of the pllots had difficulty braking quickly, but they made a Uum at the tend of the airstrip and came to a stop. After only 30 minutes on the ground, the planes were filled with downed Americans, and the rites of the previous evening were repeated: they also threw boots and clothes to During World War It, General Miailovich received many honours from the West, but after the war he lost in a power struggle with Tito and was executed for treason. eee a acre Bc eirce tomer on Cee cad et ees Dereon ees ot Se een eee’ ney ee rr) Cees oo Pn oat Pera eet) eee ty Cre eet inaccessible mountains. From there they built ee Crit ‘appointed war minister in the exlled Yugoslav ree Soa ees ich was born in 1893 and became Seer cnet 18 | sisson'moossbe perenne feet eee rca aC ea ce nee) Sen Cee ee on er eee! ene Seer t eee Tas Ce ie Seah cL ee eres ear ornare as ithe locals who'd helped them. The six planes took to the wing again and once airborne they flew in formation with the other fighters. The fighters tipped their wings in respect to those still on the ground. Just half an hour later, the scene repeated itself. Another swarm of fighters and C-47s tured up, after which six new C-47s landed to gather up more Americans —among them Clare Musgrove, whose involuntary stay behind enemy lines was much shorter than that of ‘many of his colleagues. As things progressed one of the big planes got stuck in the mud, but with the aid of around 100 Serbs it was pulled free and only one of the remaining US airman could not be crossed off the list. He had disappeared, but reappeared at the last second. It tumed out that he had drunk a lot of plum brandy the previous evening and hhad fallen asleep in the woods. During the first day, 272 airmen were evacuated from Yugoslavia. The vast majority were Americans, but among those evacuated were also some British, French, Italians and Russians. And the tactics of sending a swarm of aircraft across the area seemed to have worked: the Germans were so preoccupied by the attacking fighters that they were never alerted to the C-47s' landings. Justa few hours after the last fight took off, five new Americans appeared in Pranjani, and in the weeks that followed more airmen arrived. The original plan was that Operation Halyard would be over in a matter of weeks, bbut it continued until December 1944, ‘Time and time again, large planes landed on the small field in Yugosiavia picking up downed airmen and taking them out of the country. In total, 512 men were rescued making it the war's largest rescue operation. Despite the many flights under extremely difficult conditions, nota single life was lost. ‘The airmen were told to keep quiet When the rescued airmen returned to their bases in Italy, they were expressly told not say anything about their time in Yugoslavia of Operation Halyard. The official reason was ‘that war was still raging and if any information vas leaked it could harm the Americans left in Yugoslavia. But the real reason was political: the Americans wanted to place a smokescreen over the whole operation because It could be interpreted as support for General Minailovich, who had fallen out of favour. Only Tito was supposed to be officially supported. ‘The story of the unique rescue operation was therefore hidden. And to the great frustration of the many rescued American airmen, General Mihailovich and his guerrillas were constantly eee per e Peer oa) figures, Mibailovich had ere nha perenne belittled. They were accused of cooperating with the Germans — an accusation that the evacuated airmen rejected. They had spent months with Mihailovich’s men and had never ‘witnessed any cooperation with the enemy. ‘When the war ended, Josip Tito took power in Yugoslavia, He initiated a hunt for Mihallovich, ‘who was captured in March 1946 and put on trial ~ accused of working with the enemy. This was too much for many of the evacuated ‘American veterans, They demonstrated in front of the Yugoslav consulate in New York. To their dismay, Mihallovich was sentenced and executed, after which Tito retained power in Yugoslavia until his death in 1980. In all these years, the story of the rescue operation was suppressed — the United States did not want to provoke Tito with the story of his rivals great efforts to save the downed pilots, but some years later, American journalist Gregory A Freeman decided to piece together the threads and interview those veterans who ‘were still alive. It resulted in the book The Forgotten 500, published in September 2007. ‘Three years earlier, four American war veterans visited Pranjani to place a memorial plaque at the secret airfield - among them enn ered pier coer’ eas Clare Musgrove, who had been dangling from his parachute over the mountains more than 60 years earlier.PSS RSLs. U ay Canoes sank Hitler’s freighters | In December 1942, 10 British Royal Marines exit a submarine off the west coast of France. In canoes, they will enter Bordeaux harbour to mine German freighters under cover of darkness. Ahead lies 110 km of paddling and a 1,300-km flight to safety through enemy territory. CSc Po ea France, 1942 sniping tnd nerobant yeosel= (etiver av naterials Gros all over the world to te port of Bardonux. Ts tn portant fooa) point sn supply Lines. al intoFour days in canoe monitored ships and aircraft hide at dawn, After four ding nights, several enemy ships in Bordeaur's har A Hising place a ea aia | ee Reet eRe Re at oe 4 Specially designed canoe had been re ee ee ey ae a Ena Ce eae ‘Marines. They now sat close together in the submarine HMS Tuna waiting for their commander, the experienced DO nea Sirareem en Cunard SC Re et aoe RC en Em See eka Season oe See Re Rae pete ea ca Se a Prien cere me erecta Deke eeu ee ‘without having said goodbye to loved ones. See ee ec ee Reuven Hasler detailed the plan. The men were leet eet ce tee ‘asmany German freight ships as possible. ‘The major drew a map of the mouth of the Gironde River in the Atlantic Ocean and informed the men that the sub eeu ace ae Pee Tmt Core Rn Renee neg Deer eee eke ees Greer ken Eee ER og eon eed Ree Rene een Peet ts Senate c aes Se re a oer neste Seen aus ea eee ay Cen Seen ST reece ay Cee er eed Seo ee eset Cee ns Rens minesweepers, two armed trawlers and Seu ee Rd eee U a te een er ad the Gironde. On land gun batteries and rece eee nae et ce threats. The British also risked being peace Cea eee nee tary CO mn? around. Sergeant Samuel Wallace then said what everyone was thinking, “How pres as eo nat Peet rar se mrt Germans would search both river banks and the sea once the mines in Bordeaux had detonated. They would have to escape er ee eet corel from there back to Britain. Hasler explained that each man would be given a ge ee ee ee called Ruffec where the French Resistance Pets ctr ru Cera een ee ear the French coast ater a voyage of seven days. Most of Hasler’s men were struck by ec ene es eee etc erty Ooe cite eer ens Seon ree Se en eee nd ea aC Se eee eae En a ee esse ect eee ene gave the green light. The men collected their canoes and dressed in the clothes they would wear during the mission, Sea eee ee cs eae oa) et een entre anes eee a orn eae nan es ereISSR a} face. He leaned over the conversation tube that linked to the control room and softly gave the order: “Up canoes” Fe eRe ee mentees ReneS Some ne ets small boat caught on its jagged edge and Sean “Pm afraid you can’t go. You must Ce Ce ee Rr aetna ce ere cere pair who should have taken the canoe. Porat nena ened ered ae eer et et Ronee nn aes ee ree Pe Cn CRS eee oe tens eet rs Pee ecco ery Ce oe Curt Se eames paddling soon warmed the men up, Se eens rant trans eos Ceo een eee ts Dt As the group came closer to land they See ea oa Cech ee sy ee eee ences Sree estes es Pete er aed a ook ons eens es ec ne es Pecan aces eee uaa aan SR Seas ee tern Sree ey Soe ec ese mene ss gave orders to proceed. A new series of See acess eee te capsized, exposing Corporal Sheard and ne oats ‘The other canoes were too fragile to The mission cost eight lives Eight of the ten marines didn’t survive Operation Frankton. Some drowned at sea while others were captured and executed by the Germans. the original 10 soldiers, only Herbert Hasler and Bill Sparks survived tI Frankton, Both were recogni dangerous Operation Poy the men became advisors on the hleshell Heroes’, which was about their bold mission feature film 'C ene eed nee kad Cee Ste eas eee ee ees PeSceseein ect me tt cart ea ona een Ree Cr See ae Ber nro mun meecry Sr oe a ate een nS a oa ern ropes. Operation Frankton had been reduced to half its complement already. ee cy SOR ener mney schedule, and at the same time the eee et rn harbour at Le Verdon and four German eee ene a et ata sneaked unseen through the danger zone Info the mouth of the river, pausing to Soom a eg But the final canoe didn’t appear. as Se eer) Re em ee ee eeu Ene ere mney eC on ears} ‘wooden posts near the river bank were RUC aE aera De ou iets men dragged their canoes onto the oe eee neo hours and travelled 41 kilometres on a Sieg eater teen rd eee ea See ase anes See een ete Cee ee eee nearby town of Saint-Vivien. Hasler had ee cee et Red already aware of their presence, so he ‘SAMUEL WALLACE ROBERT EWART Wallace and Ewart disappeared on th ptr lowing day. The men right ana were t Germans the were interrogated but revealed nathing re later executed,decided to step forward and introduce ee ee eer ean nats eee ar cs about the British. ORR ae eee Pens ees ‘There was nothing for it but to take Se Rectan aa Se eR nor Rese res Preece ey At midnight on 10th December, the Cree eat Log Sree eee aC all night and through the following day. Pere Ree eet eck r tert sty Dee Re eens Senet asc eers were ready for the last part of the trip Rect ete eas 21.15, the vessels slid into the water where they split up. Se eae) See ee heen horizon, the commander could see more Bree ee ee eS dissipated. They pulled on their balaclavas Pete teresa ee ‘The commandos rowed past a number of vessels looking fora perfect target. Fist See ee Peete cece ee ae ee ee eae pole he placed the explosive charge on the eget are Cee etd and noticed the increasing flow of tide. eo ee another two mines on the ship. The men. ee eg moored side by side. Hasler could not cee a aS AN? GJSHEARD DAVID MOFFAT ‘Sheard and Moffat capsized and were left onthe first evening. They drowned inthe Gironde. Moffat's body was. found 14th December, 1943; Sheart’s body was never discovered. ees Pern iog iat) ft Hasler and Bill § netre fight th in. In the depths of inter, the two Brits walked on sed as peasants, {At the town of Rutfee, they met up ith th Three 1e0ks later, the British made ork ith the Marie Clare network, which 4 stranded Allied soldiers out Sra ee ee perfect target for the marines. ease Coc) ee oe Sen ee eae Tt RE eee eg! Ree ae st he eon ship's deck. A flashlight swept across the Soe cere set ars CR rer! apparently suspected something. Hasler ‘and Sparks paddled carefully to the side of ee es estae Sere a een eae JACK MACKINNON JAMES CONWAY Mackinnon and Conway were far from the other canoe team on the Gironde ‘estuary. After four days on the run, they were arrested, Bath were executed in Paris in March 1943, il sparks France. Behind the netw er R toorat. After th he'd fled to England, k stood ary Lindell, ‘French she was recruited by the intelligence nd sent back to France: and Sparks int Spain and then on to Gibraltar. T two war heroes finally returned to Britain in April 1943, Soe ee ed Steere ee ete ec cee cary Os cat enone See Ceo RC ome Pert een messed POs eed “ ALBERTFLAVER WILLIAM MILLS. Laver and Mills sank two ships but were captured two days after the ‘explosions. The date oftheir execution for their successful acts of sabotage remains unknown, 23600 men 6 at suicide mission ~Cea tise France, 1942 EE riticn es Ree eee oe pes ees ae ecenas ERE 011 into the ee iScewian perso are I en. sritish Prime Minister Winston Churchill will do anything to prevent the German battleship Tirpitz securing a base on the Atlantic coast. A destroyer is disguised as a German «vessel and sneaks close to the giant dry dock in Saint-Nazaire. The destroyer steams at full speed into the outer lock gates, which initially resist. But the British have a trump card up their sleeve. ver 600 British soldiers had gathered at Falmouth on the south Cornish coast. The men faced a tense, uncertain wait. For two weeks in the spring of 1942 they'd trained hard and received little sleep. Only now were the soldiers told what mission they'd been assigned. The target was the port city of SaintNazaire in the west of German: ‘occupied France, where the Third Reich had built the world’s largest dry dock ~ the only one on the Atlantic coast that could accommodate the battleship Tirpitz. ‘Tirpitz posed a daunting threat to the merchant ships that Britain was dependent on. Ifthe shipping routes to the US broke down, the British could not prevent Hitler from invading the country. Prime Minister Winston Churchill had made destroying Tirpitz the highest priority. “The destruction o even crippling of this ship is the greatest event at sea at the present time", he stated. At every opportunity he would stress the outcome of the war might depend on their ability to take Tirpitz out of action, and one of the main objectives in delivering that goal was to destroy the only ‘Atlanticbased dry dock large enough to house the ship when it required maintenance or major repairs. Churchill believed for a long time that it was best to let the French Resistance destroy the dry dock. That plan was dropped, however, when it was realised the saboteurs would be unable to transport sufficient explosives. A massive aerial bombing campaign was also dismissed because Churchill feared it wouldn't be accurate and would take the lives of ‘many civilians. An attack from the sea was the only option. The seriousness of the situation was rapidly made clear to the 600 soldiers in Falmouth. They were told it was a highly risky operation and that many would die. If they chose to opt out, then there would be no consequences for their careers in the armed forces. Not a single man backed out. The date was 25th March, 1942, and the operation was christened Chariot. It would be a swift surprise attack. SPRING TIDE WAS HIGH The weeks leading up to the mission had seen the soldiers train in local ports. One group had practised in Cardiff, another in Southampton. Both had practised mock assaults ‘on cranes, ships and pumps that ~ according to intelligence were similar to the equipment in Saint-Nazaire’s port. ‘They learned the dry dock’s weak points and had exercised so intensely they could almost perform blindfolded. » Missonimoosstie | 25,MISSION: DESTROY HITLE! YARD ‘Two days later, on 26th March, the serious business began ‘when a swarm of naval vessels departed Falmouth. Departure hhad been pushed forward by a day to allow the commandos to take advantage of the calm weather. Robert Ryder was appointed commander of the fleet while Augustus C Newman was to lead the commando force tasked with landing and sabotaging the plant's installations using explosives. The end of March had been chosen with care. An unusually high spring tide was due, which meant the mouth ofthe Loire river where Saint Nazaire was situated was deep enough to allow the fleet to head directly into the harbour rather than following a winding ~ and heavily defended ~ dredge channel. If the Germans discovered the flotilla of ships, they'd likely believe it was heading to the large naval ase at Gibraltar. ‘The fleet consisted of 19 vessels, 13 of which were small and light motor launches, each with a mahogany veneer hull so thin it could be holed by a rifle shot. On the deck stood tanks with extra fuel, so each boat could return to Britain under her own power. These tanks made the launches @ highly flammable target, although they were fast. ‘A gunboat and four larger torpedo boats would remain at sea away from the estuary to gather up the troops as they ~ hopefully ~ returned from the mission. DEADLY CARGO CONTAINED HIDDEN BOMBS ‘The armada's flagship was HMS Campbeltown — an obsolete destroyer that had been built in the US in 1919. The vessel had been stripped of all superfluous equipment to make her sit lightly in the water, although the bow was reinforced with extia heavy steel plates to withstand bombardment. The ship's most Important cargo was below decks: 24 depth charges containing a total of just over four tonnes of explosives. The bombs were camouflaged by laying them in steel tanks and then embedding the tanks in concrete, ‘The plan was for Campbeltown to sall up close to the heavy sliding door that protected the dry dock. After colliding with It, commandos would run ashore to sabotage the dock’s Installations. By 08.00 the following morning, the huge explosive charge would detonate and destroy the door - if the timer worked. The concrete camouflage was designed so that if German troops boarded the ship, they wouldn't recognise the bombs and frustrate the operation. ‘Campbeltown had been radically refitted to closely resemble a German Méwe-class destroyer. To add credibility to her disguise, Campbeltown would sail under the swastika flag. U-BOAT LURKED BENEATH THE SURFACE ‘The weather was perfect as the fleet sailed south on the morning of 27th March. In fact, Commander Ryder felt Visibility was too good. He was proved right when at 07.00 the armada was spotted by the German submarine U:593. ‘The fleet’s two destroyers spent a couple of hours pursuing the U-boat, dropping depth charges without success. On the other hand, they forced the sub to remain submerged, preventing the crew from making radio contact. It wasn’t until 14.20 that the U-boat commander resurfaced and reported on the British convoy. He estimated that they were minelayers bound for Gibraltar. By this time, the fleet had changed course and was heading east towards the French coast. ‘At 18:30 one of the launches developed engine problems and had to return home. Another challenge arose when the British encountered a whole fleet of French fishing boats. ‘They feared German observers were among them, but with so many boats they had to settle for inspecting only a few. When the fishermen swore that there were no Germans or radios onboard, Ryder risked believing them and continued approaching the coast. Early in the evening, the fleet approached German-occupied France. Darkness fell, and to Ryder’s satisfaction, it turned cloudy. At 22.15, they passed the British submarine Sturgeon. ‘The vessel had sailed ahead and remained in a fixed position a short distance from the entrance to SaintNazaire. Her role The British copy their own attack 16s were so devastating that the British were ready to erie thoi own ships by sinking them and blocking the submarine basen Belgurn, 26 | sesson ino SOE ees ey Pe rs eh ee ket oe Per phen a eset bers niaotioviomreiil Cre areataQuick torpedo boats would take the British to safety after the attack. The engine's 1,250 hp engine allowed them to reach 40 knots. had been to continuously transmit radio signals to guide navigation, providing a direct line that would lead straight to the target FLEET ALMOST RAN AGROUND Immediately after rendezvousing with the Sturgeon, 16 of the fleet's 18 vessels assumed battle formation, and from here they sailed directly into the Loire's mouth and headed upriver. ‘The Motor Gun Boat MGB 314 sailed at the front of the formation with radar and sonar onboard. It was follawed by two Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs), then HMS Campbeltown, and finally the numerous motor launches. ‘MGB 314’s sonar proved vital, for although it was high tide, there wasn't much water in the estuary. Campbeltown extended almost four metres below the surface, and twice her hhull noisily scraped over one of the river's many sandbars. All aboard held their breath, but each time Campbeltown ‘managed to free herself ‘The convoy's speed was around 12 knots, or 22 km/h. Itwas completely dark and for now everything proceeded smoothly. At midnight, an explosives expert aboard Campbeltown primed the timer, set to detonate the four tonnes of explosives eight hours later. The mechanism triggering the explosion vas primitive — acid slowly eating through a layer of copper. When the copper was eaten through, the current would be terminated to set off the explosion. The flotilla passed a German radar station without being, detected, and at 00.30 they sailed past one of the dreaded coastal batteries without being fired upon. GERMAN COMMANDERS GREW SUSPICIOUS It was also quiet inside Saint-Nazaire. The harbour was an important submarine base for the German Kriegsmarine, and the whole city was heavily guarded. Around 5,000 German ‘uoops were stationed in the city, which had been transformed Into one huge fortress. Coastal batteries, long-range guns and host of searchlights covered the entire estuary, which meant the fleet could find itself under heavy fire from artillery of all sizes. The city was also considered an obvious bombing target and so was packed with anti-aircraft guns. ‘The previous day a German admiral had visited the city and asked its commander, Lieutenant Commander Herbert Sohler, what he would do if the Brits attempted to attack the port from the sea. “It would be out of the question for the English to enter the harbour", was Sohler's dismissive reply. To distract the Germans’ attention from the river, the RAF had planned a raid on the port the same night, but cloudy conditions allied with fewer planes being deployed than agreed meant the attack was a hal-hearted one. ‘Some of the British planes continued to circle the city, every now and then dropping a single bomb. But the lack of any major bombardment made German commander Karl Conrad Mecke suspicious. “Some devilry is afoot", he told one of his officers, and at midnight he ordered that everyone should be on high alert. Mecke guessed the British planned to parachute in and ordered all lights in the harbour switched off, making it harder to find. Ironically, his orders had the opposite effect, helping the British flotilla as it neared its objective. The crews were surprised to reach the estuary mouth without being met by dazzling searchlights or any resistance. “This is almost too good to be true”, was the murmur on board the ships. Itwas. At 01.20, the alarm was raised to all German troops: “Beware landing.” ‘A moment later, spotlights located the British boats on the dark water, but after a brief round of light artillery fre, there ‘was a break in the shelling. The bluff of making Campbeltown resemble a German destroyer appeared to be working, and the swastika flag confused the Germans for a few precious seconds. German defenders then flashed light signals to the ship, but the British were prepared. Campbeltown responded with its own signals: Wait! Ungent: two craft damaged by enemy action, request permission to proceed to harbour without delay”, the message flashed in German. For a brief period, the Germans halted their shelling ~ a second flurry of gunfire was temporarily halted when Campbeltown signalled “You are fring on friendly ships”, but the game was soon up. The bluff had been called and all hell broke loose. Guns fired from both banks of the estuary and the British crews began to return fire as best they could. ‘The Germans concentrated their fire on Campbeltown, bombarding her with shels. Several fires had started, but although her captain Lieutenant Commander Stephen Beattie - was blinded by the spotlights, he resolutely ordered full speed ahead. Campbeltown sped up to 20 knots, but then her helmsman was hit and died on the spot. The ‘quartermaster took his place, but was also quickly shot, leaving demolition specialist Lieutenant Nigel Tibbits at the helm, The course was set directly towards the massive southern gate and just before Campbeltown roared into it, Beattie yelled a warning to all the commandos on board: “Stand by to Ram! ‘The destroyer tore through the gate’s anti-torpedo > Mn) Py Perea Ra eee) Peas Orr Pe a PUR Pee ROLL) POT m Missonimoosstie | 27MISSION: DESTROY HITLER'S SHIPYARD net that had been laid to protect it and at 01.34, the old destroyer sped into the entrance to the dock with such force that the bow of the ship lifted over the gate and her forward compartments crushed reducing her length by 10 metres. ‘As planned, this meant the huge explosive charge in the ship’s forward compartments were embedded next to the sliding gate, while the acid was now slowly but surely eating its way through the copper layer. The moment it reached the explosive core it would set off a lethal blast that would hopefully destroy the gate and flood the dry dock. If the explosive failed, it was imperative that the destroyer couldn’t easily be removed ~ Beattle immediately ordered some of his ‘men to blow holes in the ship's hull. COMMANDOS WENT ASHORE ‘The raid wasn't purely concerned with taking out the dry dock. The British commandos were also tasked with destroying as many facilities as possible within the strategically vital port. Immediately after Campbeltown ploughed into the sliding gate, the first commandos disembarked and began the mission they'd trained so diligently in the ports back home. ‘Many of the soldiers were heavily laden with explosives, 30 only able to defend themselves with guns. Others were more heavily armed to serve as a vital support group. ‘One important target was to blow up the pumps and machinery used to drain the docks of water. Fortunately, the intelligence about the pump house in Saint-Nazaire proved correct, the building closely resembling the facsimiles the solders had trained in. Despite the fact many soldiers were wounded as Campbeltown ploughed into the gate, It was a quick job to place the explosives in the correct locations, including the pumps themselves 12 metres below the surface. The ‘man lighting the fuse — Lieutenant Stuart Chant — was among, the injured, but despite having taken gunfire to the leg, he was able to limp up the stairs towards the pump house's entrance, step-by-step. He had 90 seconds to make his escape and he succeeded. ‘The explosion from the pump house was enormous, and the men couldn't resist running back to watch. The destruction ‘was total. Not only were the pumps blown to pieces, but large ‘cracks had developed along the thick concrete floor. ‘The commandos could now embark on their secondary objectives, including the two winding sheds that contained the machinery to open and close the gates to the dock. ‘Another target on the list was the plant's fuel depots. The two winding sheds were destroyed, but the northern sliding gate proved to be inaccessible and too well covered by German machine gunners. The mission’s ultimate success ‘would now rest on the explosives in the Campbeltown’s hold up against the southern gate ~ making the dock unusable. MOTOR LAUNCHES ABLAZE ‘While everything went to plan for the surviving commandos ‘on Campbeltown, It was much harder for the soldiers in the small motor launches. The plan was for them to land on the “Old Mole’ pier, but the flimsy boats were under heavy fire from the 20-mm machine guns installed on the quay. Several motor launches were set alight after the Germans hit the fuel tanks on deck, and now they were failing to land at the pier, ‘which was far more closely guarded than expected, ‘The motor launch ML 192 was hit by a large shell, killing ‘many on board and leaving the boat so incapacitated that her ‘captain could no longer contro! her. He immediately issued an ‘order for all survivors to immediately abandon ship. Another launch ~ ML 457 — did manage to succeed in landing 20 commandos, whereas five sister ships had to retreat. ML 192's assault group commander ~ Captain Michael Burn ~ also managed to swim ashore in full combat ‘ear. The plan had been to land 70 soldiers. Meanwhile, chaos reigned on the Loire. Burning boats and debris bobbed around, some soldiers jumped into the Nine metres of concrete protected submarines The Third Reich's submarines that devastated Allied ships in the Atlantic could seek refuge Meee nes eae et ey a eee Pei eet) ie EE eee a eer) Cree Roberton ee ed ready-made torpedoes and could deliver spare parts to damaged subs. Four kitchens, aclinie and a Peer eee Pee ees enn ets Reece ret pce htt Cee es 28 | session ino The entrance tothe submarine refuge was protected | bysoveral metres of reinforced conerete. The base‘The medieval ity of Saint Nazaire consisted of a cirouar network of narrow alleyways where the Germans were left bewildering hunting ‘surviving British commandos who waited for them around every comer. Triger-nappy Germans even ended up firing on thelr own troops. water, while others cried in pain. The German shelling continued, relentlessly. ‘The 20 soldiers who made it ashore soon found themselves in the middle of a nightmare. They were forced to run the gauntlet of enemy fire on the Old Mole, and those who made It through were then forced to cross an open space where they were easy prey to German guns. Quickly, it dawned on them there were no reinforcements coming, but nevertheless they managed to blow up two French tug boats. On the other hhand, it was impossible to destroy their main designated target: a bridge crossing the southern entrance to the port. ‘At the same time many commandos who were put ashore after Campbeltown's brutal collision with the sliding door were also running In trouble. The original plan was that they'd have to make their way back towards Campbeltown where they'd be picked up by one of the other ships. In the meantime, the Germans had taken Campbeltown, so the soldiers would have to head to the old pler where they hoped the motor launches would be able to take them onboard. But that plan had to be abandoned too, The Old Mole never came under British control, so now a back-up plan came into force. The commandos were to fight their way through the town and into open country, and from there head south through Spain to Gibraltar. The instructions were clear, but no one was optimistic: the road to Gibraltar was 1,700 ‘llometres through occupied France and fascist Spain, ‘The commandos divided into smaller groups and started ‘making their way through the port area in search of the old town of SaintNazaire, It was still pitch black, with Germans teeming everywhere. Several British soldiers were killed making their way through an open space, and more lost their lives traversing the bridge linking the port to the city. Here the Germans stood ready with machine guns, and only when 40-50 commandos stormed the bridge were they able to displace the German guards. Most British soldiers escaped alive across the bridge, but the old town was a labyrinthine tangle of narrow streets, and soon they started to separate, ‘THE TOWN WAS SURROUNDED ‘The Germans hadn't been idle ~ they'd called for reinforcements, and soon the first motorcycles arrived from the nearby 679th Infantry Regiment. They paired up with local troops to surround the town and begin a house-to- house search, capturing the British one by one ~ many of them wounded. 15 found refuge in a basement where they managed to evade capture all night, but the game was up when they were discovered the following morning, The situation on the river was equally desperate. Many of the motor launches were incapacitated, and those few that could still navigate were limping back out to sea = some at half power. The water was full of corpses, and although their orders read that the commanders should not stop to collect the wounded, Lieutenant Wynn on MTB 74 couldn't bear to sail past @ rubber raft with two British soldiers, He gave the order for a full stop, and shortly after MTB 74 came alongside the raft Unfortunately, this placed the boat directly in the firing eri ReGen ore Ty Cees Ee Onc mG See EUR goed BUCA now set on the massive port. 29PTS ae eT a) The harbour was covered withthe debris of bombed out bullings and metal shrapnel rom broken pipes and machinery. I took days to put out the fires and fierighters were surprised how many boas of soldier and civllans they uncovered whod stood watching HMS Campbeltown. line of one of the German guns on the coast. Two large shells set the torpedo boat on fire, and Wynne was forced to order his crew into the water. SEA RESCUE HAD VANISHED ‘The British were easy prey during the retreat. Despite this, several of the small boats managed to get out to sea in the direction of Tynedale and Atherstone, the two destroyers that were lying in wait around 40 kilometres off the coast. Here the crews waited to receive the many wounded, but the ships weren't at the agreed position. They'd ended up in a fierce firefight with German torpedo boats and had been forced off-course. A few badly damaged British boats managed to find their rescuers at around 04.30 that morning, but three of the motor launches escaping the port at Saint Nazaire were ~ with little power and badly wounded crews ~ forced to limp back to safe harbour in Britain. ‘Some didn't even have that option, Motor launch ML 306 met five German motor torpedo boats as she made her way across the open sea At first, the captain switched off the engine and hoped for the best while he and the crew waited silently in the darkness. Four of the German. vessels passed the British boat within 100 metres ‘without spotting her, but when the Germans aboard the fifth boat switched on a searchlight they immediately eu y Cem POSER} PEE TC Ron rey RC cried out in pain, SURE) Rea eee 80 | sssonimoossbe detected ML 306 and raised the alarm. Immediately all five boats circled ML 306 like predators closing in on prey. The Germans expected the British commander to surrender immediately, but it was only after a protonged firefight that the men aboard ML 306 capitulated when the German captain of Jaguar, one of the five torpedo boats, repeatedly called in broken English to give up the fight, assuring those on board they'd not suffer further damage. By that time, 20 of the 28 crew members had either been killed or injured. PEOPLE THOUGHT FRANCE WAS LIBERATED Next morning Saint-Nazaire's residents woke up to a sight of extreme destruction. Heavy smoke hung over the town, and the bodies of German and British soldiers littered the ground. Many shelled buildings were still raging fires and the surviving defenders were on full alert. They assumed enemy forces stil hid in many of the city’s old houses, narrow courtyards and deep cellars. The Germans were so nervous during their search that they repeatedly opened fire, and in several cases shot at each other. ‘The tense situation wasn't helped by the fact several of the city’s French residents mistakenly believed the attack was the beginning of the liberation of their occupied nation. They began to attack the already confused Germans with handguns. ‘Along the banks of the Loire, bodies also floated around while individual survivors were pulled from life rafts ~ and immediately captured by the Germans. THE RAID APPEARED TO HAVE FAILED By 08.00, it was six and a half hours after Campbeltown had slammed into the dry docks gates and the raid on the port's installations had begun. The destroyer still rested with her bow on top of the gate. The 24 depth charges embedded in concrete in the ship's cargo containers should ~ at this precise moment ~ crush the bow of Campbeltown and destroy the gate to the dry dock. But nothing happened. The explosivehadn't fired and the surviving Britons assumed their sacrifice hhad been in vain, ‘The Germans investigated Campbeltown thoroughly, but no cone twigged what the concrete was doing near the bow. They assumed it was designed merely to increase the force ofthe collision, and the mood around the boat was almost cheery. “If this is all you could do, was your raid really worth it?” was atypical sneer to the prisoners. ‘There were swarms of German and local French sightseers on the boat. The weather was beautiful, and officers arzved in large numbers, several with their French friends. Gradually, hundreds of people gathered around the stricken ship. ‘At 10.35, two and a half hours later than planned, there was an explosion that made the entire town tremble. Campbeltown exploded into two pieces, raining down red hhot metal pats, debris and broken glass over Saint‘Nazaie. In a short time, the dry dock was filled with water — the mission was complete. Body parts from the bystanders draped over cranes and ‘masts. The explosion was so powerful that two large tankers were thrown against a neighbouring quay with such violence that they sank. The explosion set off total panic in town. The Germans couldn't comprehend what had happened, and thought they were being subject to another raid. They saw enemies everywhere and shot freely at anything and everyone Casualties mounted, and Campbevtown’s destruction brought with it the loss of 250 people. Most importantly, however, the dry dock was destroyed so effectively it would only be repaired after the war's end. Therefore Tirpitz, the feared German battleship, remained in the northem part of the Atlantic Ocean where she could no longer threaten trade convoys between the United States and the United Kingdom. Churchill's spirits were lifted and his optimism returned. Now there was hope that supplies from the US could reach the country safely and a real possibility that Hitler's Germany could actually be defeated. It wasn’t until ‘Once the dock emptied of water, t was useless. Campbeltown remained. The dry dock wasn't back in commission until 1947, 1947, two years after the end of the war, that the dry dock ‘was back in commission, ONLY FIVE SOLDIERS ESCAPED THE CITY Five Britons managed to escape from Saint-Nazaire. With help from the local Resistance and other French people, four of them successfully went through France and Spain to Gibraltar. One was arrested and imprisoned in Bordeaux, but after eight months in captivity he escaped and move on to Spain. Like his four compatriots, he returned to Britain where all five signed up once again for active service. mF {sa Ziob ty ones Gorman he Gates Ra ofa or S000 1) CL i The giant Tirpitz could crush everything in her path In 1941, the battleship Bismarck was sunk. Pen ee her sister ship Tirpitz. Then the heavy battleship Trptz made het jon voyage in Fobruary 1943 Hitler was proud and the country celebrated. Weighing 30,000 tonnes and with 380-mm (15-inch) guns Ure een on ar However, the ship never operated inthe area of the Atlantic Ocean where she could do the most Ce er een Cee ee one ar Siete ect ia) the Norwegian fords. in November 1944, Allied bombers sank the fearsome battleship, while she oe Ree et With eight 280.mm guns, each wit a range of 36.5 km, Tpit Was a terrifying prospect Misonimposste | 3.