Category: Combined Operations: The Early Years

KEMP, Ross. Raiders. x ,294p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Century, 2012. ISBN: 1780890559.

A popular account of six raids: The FAA attack on Taranto (JUDGEMENT); the raid on Vaagso (ARCHERY); the raid on radar sites at Bruneval  (BITING); the raid on the heavy water plant in Norway (GUNNERSIDE); the raid on St Nazaire (CHARIOT); the D-Day raid on Pegasus Bridge (DEADSTICK).

An American edition of the Ministry of Information pamphlet of the same name.

In September 1942, a dozen Commandos were landed by submarine to attack the Glomfjord power station. The attack succeeded, but seven of the raiders were captured and later shot.

Tormentor was the Combined Operations training base on the Hamble. This is really a series of reminiscences collected by the author into a coherent structure, but is still basically a collection of anecdotes.

This compendious work includes over 200 pages on WWII, with the information mainly gathered from newspapers and official communiquésés on the war.

Examines the major raids against Norwegian and French targets from the Lofotens to Dieppe and looks at Layforce in the Mediterranean. Reprinted in 1974 as part of the Pan/Ballantine Illustrated History of World War 2.

DOWNING, Taylor. Night Raid: The True Story of the First Victorious British Para Raid of WWII. vi, 405p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Little, Brown, 2013. ISBN: 9781408703724.

A good up to date account of the Bruneval raid on a radar site and on the naval evacuation.

BADEN-POWELL, Dorothy. Operation Jupiter: SOE's Secret War in Norway. 208p., bibliog., illus., index. London:  Hale, 1982. ISBN: 070919367X.

A member of the Scandinavian section of SOE recounts the many operations mounted in Norway, often with a naval component.

MAUND, L. E. H. Assault from the Sea. xvi, 311p., illus.,  index. London: Methuen, 1949.

One of the best accounts, despite its age. A mixture of personal reminiscence and a history of the development of Combined Operations with which the author was much involved, mainly in the Mediterranean and Far East.  Maund was also Captain of Ark Royal during the Bismarck operation and includes a first hand account of Ark Royal's involvement.

FORD, , Ken. Operation Archery: The Commandos and the Vaagso Raid 1941 (Raid 21). 80p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Osprey, 2011. ISBN: 9781849083720.

A compact but detailed account of the action. Well illustrated

A fascinating account of the formation of special forces by Winston Churchill to assist beleagured Britain during World War II, showing their development and successes as the war developed.

OLDFIELD, Paul. Bruneval (Battleground Europe). 198p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Battleground, 2013. ISBN: 978178159067          

A good basic account of the raid.

HASTINGS, Nicholas. Round the Next Corner. 190p., frontis. London: Davies, 1949.

An autobiography for the years 1939-48. The period is viewed in a series of snapshots, through which the author examines some of the memorable incidents in his career. Called up by the Navy in 1939, he quickly gravitated to Combined Operations where he witnessed several of their operations at first-hand.

LETT, Brian. Ian Fleming and SOE's Operation Postmaster: The Untold Top Secret Story. x, 255p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2012. ISBN: 9781781590003.

The story of a daring but controversial raid by the Small Scale Raiding Force which sailed a Q ship to West Africa in January 1942 and stole three enemy ships from a neutral Spanish port on the island of Fernando Po in the Gulf of Guinea.

MACE, Martin & GREHAN, John. The Battle for Norway 1940-1942.  xii, 174p., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2015. ISBN: 1783462329.

Reprints six despatches from the London Gazette with a brief introduction, namely 37584, Operations in Central Norway in 1940; 38005, First and Second Battles of Narvik; 38011, Operations in Northern Norway; 38300, Carrier-borne aircraft attack on Kirkenes and Petsamo; 38331, Raid on the Lofoten Islands; 38342, Raid on Vaagso Island.

MACE, Martin & GREHAN, John. The Battle for Norway 1940-1942.  xii, 174p., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2015. ISBN: 1783462329.

Reprints six despatches from the London Gazette with a brief introduction, namely 37584, Operations in Central Norway in 1940; 38005, First and Second Battles of Narvik; 38011, Operations in Northern Norway; 38300, Carrier-borne aircraft attack on Kirkenes and Petsamo; 38331, Raid on the Lofoten Islands; 38342, Raid on Vaagso Island.

KEMP, Ross. Warriors: British Fighting Heroes. viii, 328p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Century, 2010. ISBN: 9781846057991.

A personal tribute which provides eleven brief biographies of men of courage and their sacrifices. It covers all of the armed services. This includes “Blondie” Haslar from the Royal Marines who led the Cockleshell Heroes, Captain Edward Fegen of the completely outgunned Jervis Bay who saved his convoy when it was attacked by the Admiral Scheer, and Malcolm Wanklyn, the submariner captain of Upholder who was lost in action in the Mediterranean.

HASTINGS, Max. Operation Biting: The 1942 Parachute Assault To Capture Hitler’s Radar. 384p., bibliog., illus., index. London: William Collins, 2024. ISBN: 9780008642167.

An excellent nail-biting retelling of the story of the Bruneval Raid.

EVANS, Glyn L. Operation Title: Sink the Tirpitz. 224p., bibliog., illus., index Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2024. ISBN: 9781399050197.

An account of the unsuccessful attempt to attack the Tirpitz with chariot torpedoes in October 1942. Both chariots were lost to bad weather and the attack had to be abandoned. A full account of the background, the planning and the actual launching of the attack.

HUGHES-HALLETT, John ‘Jock’. From Dieppe to D-Day: The Memoirs of Vice-Admiral John ‘Jock’ Hughes-Hallett, CB, DSO. 256p., illus. Barnsley, Frontline, 2023. ISBN: 9781399045575.

Hughes-Hallett was Deputy Director of the Local Defence Division at the Admiralty in 1940 and 1941, before becoming Naval Adviser at Combined Operations HQ. Along with the head of Combined Operations, Lord Louis Mountbatten, he orchestrated Commando raids from Norway to Normandy. He became Commodore commanding the Channel Assault Force (known as ‘J’ Force) and Naval Chief of Staff (X) from 1942 to 1943 but is perhaps best known for being the Naval Commander of the Dieppe Raid. The concept of Mulberry Harbours was his. It was in the planning for D-Day that his experience came to the fore. Hughes-Hallett retired from the Royal Navy with the rank of Vice Admiral, taking up a new career as MP for Croydon East and then Croydon North East. A long overdue record published for the first time.

How two members of the Army Dental Corps determined to see action and made a private raid on France in 1942. A full account of a madcap scheme. Reprinted in paperback in 1982 as Against All Odds.

A series of 51 essays reprinted from various journals and ranging from Marathon to the Falklands. It has relevant material on Sealion, the German invasion of Norway, Dieppe, and D-Day.

Covers all the amphibious operations in Northern Europe before the Normandy Invasion.

Describes the setting up of Special Forces then their training and gives accounts of some of the less well known operations. Almost half of the book consists of appendices, mostly reprinting contemporary operational reports and plans.

A Reserve Marine Corps Colonel makes a comparative study of policy and decision making in the inter-war years.

The naval component of the Commando raid to gather intelligence on German radar capability.

A re-examination of a number of amphibious operations drawn from the last 400 years, concerned with questions of command and the relationships of the various forces involved. The major assaults in Western Europe, from Narvik to Normandy, are considered.

A description of the Christmas 1941 raid. Apart from the lessons learned about combined operations, the book claims that this was the start of Hitler’s Norwegian fixation, which affected German strategy.

The war memoirs of an officer who spent his war in Combined Operations and in midget submarines.

A general but very interesting account and a standard work.

Keyes returned to the Navy in 1940 and after liaison work in Belgium created the new Combined Operations Directorate. He was relieved of this command in 1941 as a result of political disagreements and resumed his seat in Parliament. He later received a peerage before his death in 1945. A rather uncritical account of a major figure.

An accurate and truthful account within the limits of wartime security. It describes all of the best-known operations and gives some account of the formation and training of the Commandos.

Describes a small 1942 raid on a signal station in Brittany.

Tales of an adventurer. After fighting for the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War, he joined British irregular forces for WWII and served in the UK, Albania, Poland, and the Far East. There is a full account of some of the early small-scale raids on the French Coast.

A review of several combined operations, with the last quarter of the book devoted to WWII. Admiral Keyes was the first Director of the Combined Operations Directorate and responsible for the early wartime raids which are described. A second edition was published in the same year with maps and an additional note on operations in Sicily.

Basic source material and fullest on his period as Director

A French admiral's account of the Vaagso, Bruneval, St. Nazaire, and Dieppe Raids, which draws some historical parallels.

A good general account, which gives a view of American as well as British raiding operations. US title: Commando Hit and Run Combat in World War II.

The story of this Combined Operations raid. Also gives much detail on the development of radar.