Operation Houndsworth was the

codename A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...

for a British Special Air Service operation during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The operation carried out by 'A' Squadron, 1st Special Air Service between 6 June and 6 September 1944, was centred on

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

in the Burgundy region of France. Their objective was to disrupt German lines of communication, coordinate the activities of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

and prevent German reinforcements moving to the Normandy beachheads, especially the

2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich (german: 2. SS-Panzerdivision "Das Reich") or SS Division Das Reich was an elite division of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed from the regiments of the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (SS-V ...

Background

The men involved in Operation Houndsworth were part of the Special Air Service Brigade. The Special Air Service (SAS) was a unit of the

British Army during the Second World War At the start of 1939, the British Army was, as it traditionally always had been, a small volunteer professional army. At the beginning of the Second World War on 1 September 1939, the British Army was small in comparison with those of its enem ...

, formed in July 1941 by

David Stirling Sir Archibald David Stirling (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British army, a mountaineer, and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). He saw active service during the Second World War. ...

and originally called "L" Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade"L" being an attempt at deception implying the existence of numerous such units.Molinari, p.22Haskew, p.39 It was conceived as a

commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

type force to operate behind enemy lines in the North African Campaign. In 1944 the Special Air Service Brigade was formed and consisted of the British 1st and 2nd Special Air Service, the French 3rd and 4th Special Air Service and the Belgian 5th Special Air Service. They were to undertake parachute operations behind the German lines in France, and then carry out operations supporting the Allied advance through Belgium, the Netherlands, and eventually into Germany.Shortt & McBride, p.15 In May 1944 the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) had issued an order for the Special Air Service Brigade to carry out two operations in France. The two operations were Operation Houndsworth in the area of

given 'A' Squadron 1st Special Air Service and

Operation Bulbasket Operation Bulbasket was an operation by 'B' Squadron, 1st Special Air Service (SAS), behind the German lines in German occupied France, between June and August 1944. The operation was located to the east of Poitiers in the Vienne department of ...

in the area of Poitiers given to 'B' Squadron 1st Special Air Service. The focus of both operations would be the disruption of German reinforcements from the south of France to the Normandy beachheads. To carry out the operation they would destroy supply dumps, block the two railway lines between Paris–

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

s– Chalon-sur-Saône and Paris–

Le Creusot Le Creusot () is a commune and industrial town in the Saône-et-Loire department, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, eastern France. The inhabitants are known as Creusotins. Formerly a mining town, its economy is now dominated by metallurgic ...

–

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in central France. It was the principal city of the former province of Nivernais. It is sou ...

.Shott & Mcbride, p.14 One unit they especially wanted to delay was the

which was based in the area around

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

in the south of France. The intelligence experts at SHAEF responsible for planning the Normandy landings, had estimated it would take three days for the panzer division to reach

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

Mission

Operation Houndsworth consisted of 18 officers and 126 men of 'A' Squadron, 1st Special Air Service (SAS). The SAS reconnaissance party landed in the area on 6 June 1944. They were followed by the rest of the squadron under the command of Major Bill Fraser over the night of 10/11 June 1944. A number of

Jeeps Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...

armed with

Vickers K machine gun The Vickers K machine gun, known as the Vickers Gas Operated (Vickers G.O.) or Gun, Machine, Vickers G.O. .303-inch in British service, was a rapid-firing machine gun developed and manufactured for use in aircraft by Vickers-Armstrongs. The hi ...

s were also parachuted in.Buxton, section 5 The squadron was established in a patrol base in the mountainous wooded countryside southwest of

in the Monts du Morvan in the

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.Operation Wallace which took the pressure off Houndsworth. The Squadron then proceeded with operations during which the Lyon to Paris rail lines were blown up 22 times. After one occasion a member of the

French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

approached the workmen repairing the lines and asked how long the repairs would take. Becoming aware of his loyalties they suggested that if the line had been cut further up more damage could have been caused. They then proceeded to draw him a diagram suggesting exactly where to do it next time. The squadron also killed or wounded 220 Germans, captured 132 prisoners of war, and identified 30 targets for

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

interdiction Interdiction is a military term for the act of delaying, disrupting, or destroying enemy forces or supplies en route to the battle area. A distinction is often made between strategic and tactical interdiction. The former refers to operations whose ...

. The operation was not without loss to the SAS; during the operation, they lost eight men wounded and ten men killed. The success of the operation resulted in the Germans retaliating against local villages. The residents of

Dun-les-Places Dun-les-Places () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France. It is one of the martyred villages of the Liberation in 1944. Demographics On 1 January 2019, the estimated population was 353. History During World War II, British ...

Montsauche-les-Settons Montsauche-les-Settons () is a commune in the Nièvre department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in central France. Montsauche-les Settons is completely rural, the commune composed of a settlement, half of Lac des Settons (lake), and a ...

and Planchez all suffered and a number of residents were murdered during German reprisals. The Germans eventually became aware of the location of the SAS camp and started what they thought would be a surprise attack on 20 August 1944. Unknown to them, members of the French resistance knew about the attack, and Corporal David Danger of the SAS got through the cordon the Germans had put around the camp and was able to warn the squadron. Pre-warned, the SAS fought off the Germans. Operation Houndsworth ended in September 1944. Danger was awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

on 29 March 1945 for his part in foiling the attack on the camp, and his skill in maintaining radio communication from behind enemy lines for four months.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Houndsworth, Operation Conflicts in 1944 Code names Operation Overlord Military operations of World War II involving Germany World War II British Commando raids Special Air Service