Sas Ghost Patrol

This is the explosive true story of the day in 1942 when the SAS donned Nazi uniforms to perpetrate the most audacious and daring mission of the war. Beyond top secret, deniable in the extreme (and of course enjoying Churchill's enthusiastic blessing), this is one of the most remarkable stories of wartime lawlessness, eccentricity and raw courage in the face of impossible odds - a thoroughly British undertaking. What unfolded - the longest mission ever undertaken by Allied special forces - was an epic of daring, courage, tragedy and survival that remains unrivalled to this day, and which rightly became a foundation stone of Special Forces legend

"SAS Ghost Patrol is the explosive true story of the day in 1942 when the SAS donned Nazi uniforms to perpetrate the most audacious and daring mission of the war. Beyond top secret, deniable in the extreme (and of course enjoying Churchill's enthusiastic blessing), this is one of the most remarkable stories of wartime lawlessness, eccentricity and raw courage in the face of impossible odds - a thoroughly British undertaking. What unfolded - the longest mission ever undertaken by Allied special forces - was an epic of daring, courage, tragedy and survival that remains unrivalled to this day, and which rightly became a foundation stone of Special Forces legend. Written with Lewis's signature authenticity and dramatic verve, SAS Ghost Patrol is peopled by a cast of the utterly maverick and the extraordinary. In its quirky eccentricities and outrageous rule-breaking, this is a story that only the British could have authored, and with such panache and aplomb. It may read like the stuff of impossible myth or folklore, but every single word is true" -- Publisher's description.

A Waterstones Best History Book of 2023 The incredible true story of the SAS' daring mission to liberate Europe In the summer of 1943, the largest invasion fleet ever assembled sailed for fortress Europe, aiming to bulldoze its way onto Nazi shores. At its vanguard went a few hundred elite forces soldiers, the Royal Navy warship carrying them bearing the iconic winged dagger emblem on its prow, plus the motto 'Who Dares Wins'. Led by the legendary SAS commander Blair 'Paddy' Mayne, these war-bitten, piratical raiders were tasked to do the impossible - to bludgeon their way through the most heavily defended enemy shoreline, so enabling the ensuing forces to follow on. If they succeeded, it would mark the turning point in the war. If they failed, the consequences were unthinkable. Against all odds, outnumbered some fifty-to-one, and facing a ferocious series of cliffside defences, they would have to dare all as never before. So begins the incredible true story of the SAS's mission to liberate Europe. Action-packed and filled with heroic endeavour, SAS Forged in Hell is breath-taking combat writing at its best, in true Damien Lewis style.

The origins of most of the WestÕs Special Forces can be traced back to the Long Range Desert Group, which operated across the limitless expanses of the Libyan Desert, an area the size of India, during the whole of the Desert War from 1940 to 1943. After the defeat of the Axis in North Africa they adapted to serve in the Mediterranean, the Greek islands, Albania, Yugoslavia and Greece. In the process they became the stuff of legend. The LRDG was the brainchild of Ralph Bagnold, a pre-war desert explorer (featured in fictional terms in The English Patient) who put all of his expertise into the creation of a new and, by the standards of the day, highly unorthodox unit. Conventional tactical thinking shunned the deep heart of the vast desert as it was thought to be a harsh, inhospitable wilderness where British forces could not possibly survive even less operate effectively. Instead, Bagnold and his colleagues created a whole new type of warfare. Using specially adapted vehicles and recruiting only men of the right temperament and high levels of fitness and endurance, the first patrols set out bristling with automatic weapons. The LRDG, in a dark hour, was the force which took the fight to the enemy, roving over the deep desertÑa raiderÕs paradiseÑattacking enemy convoys and outposts, destroying aircraft and supplies, forcing the Axis to expend more and more resources to protect their vulnerable lines. Their work was often dangerous, always taxing, exhausting and uncomfortable. They were a new breed of soldier, and the Axis never managed to field a similar unit. Once the desert war was won they transferred their skills to the Mediterranean sector, retraining as mountain guerrillas, serving in the ill-fated Dodecanese campaign, then in strife-torn Albania, Yugoslavia and Greece, fighting alongside the mercurial partisans. In addition, the LRDG worked alongside the fledgling SAS and established, beyond all doubt, the value of highly trained Special Forces, a legacy which resonates today.

From the author of D-Day: “an amazing tale of how the world’s very first special force was created specifically for North Africa during WWII” (Books Monthly). The origins of most of the West’s Special Forces can be traced back to the Long Range Desert Group, which operated across the limitless expanses of the Libyan Desert, an area the size of India, during the whole of the Desert War from 1940 to 1943. After the defeat of the Axis in North Africa, they adapted to serve in the Mediterranean, the Greek islands, Albania, Yugoslavia, and Greece. In the process, they became the stuff of legend. The brainchild of Ralph Bagnold, a prewar desert explorer featured in fictional terms in The English Patient, the LRDG used specially adapted vehicles and recruited only men of the right temperament and high levels of fitness and endurance. Their work was often dangerous, always taxing, exhausting, and uncomfortable. They were a new breed of soldier, and the Axis never managed to field a similar unit. Once the desert war was won, they transferred their skills to the Mediterranean sector, retraining as mountain guerrillas, serving in the ill-fated Dodecanese campaign, then in strife-torn Albania, Yugoslavia, and Greece, fighting alongside the mercurial partisans. In addition, the LRDG worked alongside the fledgling SAS and established, beyond all doubt, the value of highly trained Special Forces, a legacy which resonates today. “Genuinely gripping, a tale of eccentrics and their high adventures during very dangerous times.” —Classic Military Vehicle

The gripping “untold story” of the Secret Hunters, deep-cover British special forces who pursued Nazi fugitives from justice after World War II (Daily Mail). In the late summer of 1944, eighty British Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers undertook a covert commando raid, parachuting behind enemy lines into the Vosges Mountains in occupied France to sabotage Nazi-held roads, railways, and ammo dumps, and assassinate high-ranking German officers, undermining the final stand of Hitler’s Third Reich. Despite their successes, more than half the men were captured, tortured, and executed. Although the SAS was officially dissolved when the war ended, a top-secret black ops unit was formed, under Churchill’s personal command, to hunt down the SS commanders who had murdered their special forces comrades, as well as war criminals from concentration camps who had eluded the Nuremberg trials. Under the cover of full deniability, “The Secret Hunters” waged a covert war of justice and retribution—uncovering the full horror of Hitler’s regime as well as dark secrets of Stalin’s Russia and the growing threat of what would become the Cold War. Finally revealing the fascinating details of the secret postwar mission that became a central part of the SAS’s founding legend, Damien Lewis “delves into some of the darkest days of the regiment’s history to tell a story of tragedy, valor and revenge . . . [a] remarkable story” (War History Online).

The world's most respected special forces unit, the Special Air Service (SAS), was inspired by another irregular unit, the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) or simply Ghost Patrol. You may now accompany the authors in Ghost Patrol vehicles far, far behind Rommel's lines. While doing so you will acquire insights into some extreme raids and reconnaissance missions. You will become familiar with tactics and inventions of the Ghost Patrol that are still relevant today. This book is also the story of an LRDG research expedition to modern Egypt undertaken in original WWII Jeeps and described as a "2300-mile Sahara epic" by Classic & Sports Car magazine. Original LRDG training notes and other tips for extreme travellers are included.

A rogue band of SAS commandos rob a bank in war-torn Beirut—and return decades later to find the gold—in this military thriller based on a true story. Beirut, 1976. As war ravages the country, an unknown band of armed men blast their way into the Imperial Bank of Beirut. Over the next forty-eight hours, they load three trucks with gold bullion and then disappear without a trace. Two weeks earlier, a new SAS Major had tasked his men with planning such a Beirut bank robbery—strictly as an exercise. But when veteran Luke Kilbride has his heist plan rejected as “useless,” he decides to prove the Major wrong by pulling the job off for real. The heist goes perfectly . . . until it doesn’t. Kilbride and his men are forced to hide the loot and make their getaway. Thirty years later, Kilbride and his team are planning their return. The only problem is that a powerful enemy is hell-bent on finding the gold before they do. Kilbride dreams up an audacious mission, and the race is on to reach the gold before the ruthless Black Assassins can catch up with them.