SAS, les Indomptables, 1941-1945

The Special Air Service is today one of the most prestigious special forces in the world. But did you know that its history began in Egypt in 1941? David Stirling, Jock Lewes and Paddy Mayne, three young and impetuous British officers, put together a small unit to carry out daring raids behind Axis lines. Small groups of highly trained and highly mobile men would infiltrate enemy airfields by night — on foot or by Jeep — to destroy the aircraft stationed there. The losses inflicted were so severe that Hitler ordered the execution of any who were captured.

The unit continually reinvented itself and became international in character, enabling it to take part in operations in Italy and in the liberation of Western Europe. During the summer of 1944, nearly 2,000 British, French and Belgian SAS troops were parachuted across France to harass and weaken German forces with the support of the Resistance. They criss-crossed the roads in their armed jeeps and engaged the enemy wherever he was to be found. The names of Saint-Marcel and Sennecey-le-Grand have become hallowed places in the memory of the Special Air Service.

In the vein of the hit series Rogue Heroes, this book recounts the epic story of these exceptional fighters who remained true to their motto whatever the cost: Who Dares Wins!