Free Republic

In one of World War II’s most spectacular raids, the Royal Navy and British Commandos virtually ensured that the battleship Tirpitz would never venture into the Atlantic. As the spring of 1942 approached, the British Admiralty had its hands full with the Battle of the Atlantic, which had been raging for two and a half years. U-boat wolf packs, surface raiders, and warplanes had sent about eight million tons of Allied shipping to the bottom, and the situation was getting worse. Slipping out from their havens in the western French ports of Brest, Lorient, La Pallice, Bordeaux, and Saint-Nazaire, the...

THE GREATEST RAID OF ALL "What a story it is, straight out of a Commando comic book." the guardian Jeremy Clarkson tells the story of one of the most daring operations of World War II -- the Commando raid on the German occupied dry dock at St. Nazaire in France on 28th March 1942.

The Free-Fall of Sergeant Magee January 3rd, 1943 Over Saint-Nazaire, France The war-torn skies over Europe were the scene of numerous acts of heroism, bravery, and courage. On a daily basis, men on both sides fought hard, wagering life and limb, in pursuit of the glory of their respective nations. In late 1942, the United States Army Air Forces had begun a campaign of daylight precision bombing raids over central Europe, determined to destroying the production and manufacturing infrastructure of the Third Reich. In September of 1942, ground elements of the 303rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrived and set up base...