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Operation Savanna
Operation Savanna (or Operation Savannah) was the first insertion of Special Operations Executive, SOE trained Free French paratroops into German-occupied France during World War II. This SOE mission, requested by the Air Ministry, was to ambush and kill as many pilots as possible of the Kampfgeschwader 100, a German Pathfinder formation stationed at Meucon airfield which spearheaded night raids on Britain. Setting off from an RAF Whitley on the moonlit night of 15 March 1941, five paratroops made a blind drop at midnight, landing some eight miles east of the town of Vannes (where the Pathfinder crew billeted), and five miles off target. The following day they discovered the pilots no longer commuted between Vannes and Meucon by bus, but had taken to travelling on an ''ad hoc'' basis by cars. Hence the grand ambush and assassination had to be aborted. Seeking to gain something from the mission, Captain Georges Bergé instructed his men to disperse and go on general reconnaissa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its purpose was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe (and later, also in occupied Southeast Asia) against the Axis powers, and to aid local resistance movements. Few people were aware of SOE's existence. Those who were part of it or liaised with it were sometimes referred to as the "Baker Street Irregulars", after the location of its London headquarters. It was also known as "Churchill's Secret Army" or the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Its various branches, and sometimes the organisation as a whole, were concealed for security purposes behind names such as the "Joint Technical Board" or the "Inter-Service Research Bureau", or fictitious branches of the Air Ministry, Admiralty or War Office. SOE operated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Tigris (N63)
HMS ''Tigris'' was a T-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down at Chatham Dockyard and launched in October 1939. Career ''Tigris'' had a relatively active career, serving in the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Home waters ''Tigris'' was active in the Bay of Biscay from July 1940, under the command of Commander Howard Bone. She sank the French fishing vessels ''Sancte Michael'', ''Cimcour'', ''Charles Edmond'' and ''Rene Camaleyre'', the French merchantmen ''Jacobsen'' and ''Guilvinec'', and the German tanker ''Thorn''. She unsuccessfully attacked a number of submarines, including the On 5 October 1940, ''Tigris'' made an unsuccessful attack on two Italian submarines off Bordeaux, and . On 5 July 1941 ''Tigris'' torpedoed and sank the Italian submarine 150 nm off the Gironde estuary as the Italian submarine was on passage to the Atlantic.Kemp 1990, p. 79. She was assigned to operate in the North Sea near the Scandinavian coast in mid-1941. Off the coast of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1941 In France
Events from the year 1941 in France. Incumbents *Chief of State: Philippe Pétain * Vice-President of the Council of Ministers: Pierre-Étienne Flandin (until 9 February), François Darlan (starting 9 February) Events *17 January – Battle of Ko Chang. Decisive victory by the French over the Thai Navy. *3 February – The Nazis forcibly restore Pierre Laval to office in occupied Vichy France. *5 May – Georges Bégué becomes (probably) the first Special Operations Executive agent to be parachuted into France. *9 May – French-Thai War ends. *8 June – Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon begins, the Syria–Lebanon campaign. *9 June – Battle of the Litani River. *13 June – Battle of Jezzine. *15 June – Battle of Kissoué begins. *17 June – Battle of Kissoué ends with Allied victory. *18 June – Battle of Damascus begins. *19 June – Battle of Merdjayoun starts. *21 June – Battle of Damascus ends, with the Allies taking Damascus. *24 J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Special Air Service
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action and covert reconnaissance. Much of the information about the SAS is highly classified, and the unit is not commented on by either the British government or the Ministry of Defence due to the secrecy and sensitivity of its operations. The corps currently consists of the 22 Special Air Service Regiment, the regular component, as well as the 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) and the 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve), which are reserve units, all under the operational command of United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF). Its sister unit is the Royal Navy's Special Boat Service which specialises in maritime counter-terrorism. Both units are under the operational control of the Directo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battles And Operations Of World War II
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force commitment. An engagement with only limited commitment between the forces and without decisive results is sometimes called a skirmish. The word "battle" can also be used infrequently to refer to an entire operational campaign, although this usage greatly diverges from its conventional or customary meaning. Generally, the word "battle" is used for such campaigns if referring to a protracted combat encounter in which either one or both of the combatants had the same methods, resources, and strategic objectives throughout the encounter. Some prominent examples of this would be the Battle of the Atlantic, Battle of Britain, and Battle of Stalingrad, all in World War II. Wars and military campaigns are guided by military strategy, wherea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
