Operation Cooney was the deployment of elements of the 4ème Bataillon d'Infanterie de l'Air - the 4th

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

Parachute Battalion (later renamed ''2ème Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes'') - also known as 4th

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-te ...

. On 7 June 1944, the 9 aircraft of 38 Group (including two from No. 297 Squadron RAF), dropped the parachutists. These men were to disrupt enemy communications between West Brittany and the remainder of France, and in all 58 Free French soldiers were dropped on no fewer than 18 undefended drop zones between

St. Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the All ...

and

Vannes Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic Era The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who live ...

. Their goal was to impair the German Army's response to the unfolding invasion of Normandy,

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

. Breaking into 18 three-man or five-man SAS teams, the commandos scattered throughout

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

destroying railroad targets. As a sign they had passed through they tied

railroad ties A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie (Canadian English) or railway sleeper (Australian English, Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the Track (rail transport), rails in railroad tracks. Generally la ...

around trees. Some raiders then joined the base established by the Dingson team in

Saint-Marcel, Morbihan Saint-Marcel (; br, Sant-Marc'hell) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Saint-Marcel houses the ''Museum of the Breton Resistance'' which commemorates the uprising of the Maquis of Saint-Marcel (3,000 fi ...

or the base established by the Samwest team in

Duault Duault (; br, Duaod) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population The inhabitants of Duault are known in French as ''duaultois''. See also *Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department The fol ...

, Côtes d'Armor.

Notes

* Henry Corta (1921–1998), a Free French SAS lieutenant veteran, ''les bérets rouges'' (red berets), Paris, 1952, amicale des anciens parachutistes SAS, * Henry Corta, ''Qui ose gagne'' (Who dares wins), Vincennes, 1997, service historique de l'armée de terre.

Dramatization

* '' The Longest Day'', a 1962 American film produced by Darryl F. Zanuck : ''3 Free French SAS paratroopers, 1 woman (Janine Boitard) and 1 Resistance fighter against 2 german soldiers on the railroad near the bridge before the explosion''. Special Air Service Operation Overlord 1944 in France World War II British Commando raids {{World-War-II-stub