Rogue Heroes

This is a fairly thrilling account of the founding and actions of Britain's special forces during World War II. It is, by the very nature of its source material, gripping and exciting stuff. Macintyre is thorough (perhaps a bit too much), but the book seems determined to make sure that all who fought and died are remembered as much as possible; so while the account might drag on a bit at times, it certainly feels complete and, to an extent, definitive. I wouldn't be able to give you an accurate accounting of everything that happened (because of the wide range of activities described over a good third of the earth's surface), but I bet I could keep you enthralled a while.

The Special Air Service (SAS) Archives is a library of notes, recordings, maps and an incredible amount of first hand accounts. This is the first time an author has gained access to it. And Macintyre does an excellent job at extracting an engaging narrative from them. This is one of the best written books to explore the origins of the SAS. It makes for compelling and unforgettable reading.

The narrative starts with the founding of the SAS. It was a unit of the British Army during the Second World War which David Stirling formed in July 1941. Its original name was “L” Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade. The “L” designation and Air Service name being a tie-in to a British disinformation campaign. This was an attempt to deceive the Axis into thinking there was a paratrooper regiment with many units operating in the area.

The book runs through the “gentlemanly” operations conducted in the North African deserts against Rommel's troops. The action then shifts to missions in Italy and France. It then ends with the ever more atrocious encounters in Germany during the final stage of the war

Macintyre explains that Stirling conceived the SAS as a commando force. Its primary goal to operate behind enemy lines in the North African Campaign. It consisted of five officers and 60 other ranks. Its first mission, in November 1941, was a parachute drop in support of the Operation Crusader offensive. Due to German resistance and adverse weather conditions, the mission was a disaster; 22 men, a third of the unit, were killed or captured. Its second mission was a major success. Transported by the Long Range Desert Group, it attacked three airfields in Libya, destroying 60 aircraft with the loss of 2 men and 3 jeeps. In September 1942, it was renamed 1st SAS, consisting at that time of four British squadrons, one Free French, one Greek, and the Folboat Section.

In January 1943, Stirling was captured in Tunisia and Paddy Mayne replaced him as commander. In April 1943, the 1st SAS was reorganised into the Special Raiding Squadron. It was placed under Mayne's command and the Special Boat Squadron was placed under the command of George Jellicoe.

The Special Raiding Squadron fought in Sicily and Italy along with the 2nd SAS. This was formed in North Africa in 1943 in part by the renaming of the Small Scale Raiding Force. The Special Boat Squadron fought in the Aegean Islands and Dodecanese until the end of the war. In 1944 the SAS Brigade was formed from the British 1st and 2nd SAS, the French 3rd and 4th SAS and the Belgian 5th SAS. It was tasked with parachute operations behind the German lines in France. It carried out operations such as:
- supporting the Allied advance through France, (Operations Houndsworth, Bullbasket, Loyton and Wallace-Hardy)
- Belgium, the Netherlands (Operation Pegasus), and
- Germany (Operation Archway).

The accounts of battles and raids left me wondering what makes these men do the things they do knowing the consequences if they were caught. Tragically many were and paid the ultimate price. As a result of Hitler's issuing of the Commando Order in 1942, the members of the unit knew Germans would execute them if they were ever captured. In July 1944, following Operation Bulbasket, Germans executed 34 captured SAS commandos. In October 1944, in the aftermath of Operation Loyton Germans executed another 31 captured SAS commandos.

Macintyre is candid about failure as well as the hard-earned successes. He manages to portray the increasing strain and its effect on a cross section of the soldiers. Most of these men had quirks and troubles, sometimes of a violent and explosive kind. He describes these, reminding you that you're reading about real people in real situations.

The anecdotes range from funny stories about bagpipes on the battlefield to traumatizing experiences. These include murdered children and the liberation of a concentration camp. It offers a good balance between the personal perspective of some of the soldiers and the broader context in which they operated on the other. This results in an easy-to-follow narrative.

An unflinching account of the heroic exploits of the SAS