This gripping new history tells the little-known story of one of the most courageous men to have served with the newly formed Commandos and SOE during the Second World War. It is a story of extreme courage and a revealing portrait of a man who ultimately gave his life to the liberation of France. Ogden-Smith was amongst the first to volunteer for the newly formed Commandos: he took part in the daring raid on Bardia on the North African Coast and fought in the heroic rearguard action during the British evacuation of Crete. In 1942 he transferred to the SOE and joined the elite Small Scale Raiding Force to carry out raids across the Channel. He then volunteered for a new, clandestine group known as the Jedbughs whose mission was to parachute into enemy-occupied France in the aftermath of D-Day to link up with the French Resistance. In July 1944, under the cover of his codename Dorset, Major Colin Ogden-Smith parachuted deep behind enemy lines as the leader of Team Francis. Three weeks later he was dead, killed in action fighting alongside his French comrades so that others could make their escape. Seventy years on, the French community still remember the gallant major Anglais. As featured on BBC Radio Lincolnshire and the Lincolnshire Echo.

German soldiers assigned to guard the tiny Channel Island of Sark described it as a ‘little Paradise’ and, because it was never bombed by the RAF, the best air-raid shelter in all of Europe. But paradise for them came to a bloody end in October 1942 when a small group of British Commandos raided the island, capturing one German soldier and killing several others. Operation Basalt would have been a footnote in history but for the reaction of Hitler, who believed that British soldiers executed several Germans who had already surrendered and whose hands were bound. Days after the raid, he issued the infamous ‘Commando Order’, a death sentence for those Allied commandos who fell into German hands.Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with survivors of the period, Eric Lee has written the definitive account of the raid, putting it into the context of the German occupation of British lands during the war.

This book will interest anyone keen to know more about Dorset’s remarkable local military history through time.

In 1940 British forces were withdrawn from the Channel Islands, allowing the Germans to occupy British territory. Hitler was determined to hold onto what he saw as a valuable prize, and the islands were heavily fortified. However, despite being extensively defended, the occupied Channel Islands remained vulnerable to commando-style raids. Indeed, a total of nine such operations were conducted between 1940 and 1943. Many others were planned but never executed. Each one was a bold and dangerous expedition, with small groups of men daring to trespass on Hitler’s cherished British stronghold. The first of these attacks, Operation Ambassador, took place on the night of 14/15 July 1940. The second ever raid undertaken by the Commandos, it was focused on the island of Guernsey. Though the mission failed to achieve any of its objectives, valuable lessons were learnt. In the weeks, months and years that followed, raids were also undertaken against Jersey, Sark, Herm, Burhou and the Casquets lighthouse off Alderney. The final attack, Hardtack 22, was one of the three carried out against the German garrison on Sark. After the second mission, Hardtack 7, had to be aborted, the Commandos returned to the island on the night of 26/27 December 1943, tasked with undertaking a reconnaissance and capturing prisoners. This too was a failure after the raiders entered a minefield; two men were killed and most of the others wounded. Compiled from official reports and first-hand accounts, each of the raids is packed with intrigue and drama – including the fear of reprisals being taken against the islanders. Each of the missions are explored on the ground today by the authors, with the routes taken and all key locations relating to each attack photographed and described. The planned but never executed raids are also explored. Never before have these stories been told in such detail, and never before in the words of those that took part in the raids and those who ultimately, were most affected.

Special edition of the Federal register, containing a codification of documents of general applicability and future effect as of April 1 ... with ancillaries.