SAS: Rogue Heroes: Ben MacIntyre: 9780241186862: Amazon.com: Books

I’m usually leery of new history books about WW II because, after roughly 80 years, most of those who fought then have since died and, for the few that are still with us, their memories are most likely faded. But it turns out the British kept the war records of the SAS sealed until 2015 (70 years after the end of WW II). These records provided new released material about the SAS, the secretive British force that operated behind enemy lines during WW II.The book briefly discusses the conception of the SAS and then goes on to cover the SAS operations in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany. Each geographic area required its own way of fighting.In North Africa, the SAS would come out from the desert to strike at the enemy’s air bases (which were initially lightly defended, as they were usually located between 60 to 200 miles behind the front lines).In France, the SAS troops typically encamped within the forests, and would conduct sabotage operations against roads bridges and communication facilities to disrupt the movement of German forces. The SAS troops would work with the many French partisans, though there was always the risk that a compromised partisan would report the location of an SAS encampment to the Germans.In Italy, some SAS operations aided the invasions of Sicily and the toe of Italy. But with the fighting now in Italy, not all British commanders were happy letting seasoned fighters fight behind enemy lines when they felt they needed such troops as front-line fighters to help push up Italy’s boot.Once the Allied forces reached Germany, German troops were now defending their homeland. The book didn’t have much discussion of behind-the-lines operations within Germany itself. But the SAS were some of the first troops to liberate the concentration camps; and the book described the appalling conditions of those camps and the wretched condition of the prisoners in those camps.The book doesn’t just talk about the operations of the SAS. It also talks about some of the individuals within the SAS, so you get an idea about the type of individual that would volunteer for such dangerous, behind-the-lines operations.Oddly, the book seemed a bit overly focused on the idea that some of the SAS troops were homosexual. I assume the author covered this aspect because it was probably a part of the SAS records. And I assume they were in the records because, in 1940’s England, being homosexual was a crime. But now, in 2023, such writing struck a discordant note with this reader.Bottom Line: A specific aspect of WW II that I’d not read about before. Interesting, but not gripping.

What is it about the British that produces odd personalities full of peccadillos and audacity? They make for unendingly interesting characters in stories involving British feats in World War II.Ben Macintyre has made a great career as a writer chronicling some of these types in war and spy stories. He has another fascinating and absorbing work here telling the story of the SAS - the first military special forces unit and model for countries the world over (including Delta Force in the US).Wartime need allowed the brainchild of David Stirling to gain a life in the North African British Army suffering at the hands of the Afrika Corps. Stirling's idea: create a small force which could operate independently well behind enemy lines, sustain itself and harry the airfields and supply lines stretched precariously thin along the long desert roads to the front.After a few bungled operations, SAS (Special Air Service, a name meant to give nothing away of its purpose) developed a knack for small team sabotage particularly focusing on blowing up Luftwaffe planes sitting on remote airfields.Their success proved to be sustaining for the outfit as did Winston Churchill's knowledge of their existence brought to him by his son, attached for a time with the SAS and prodded by Stirling to make sure the PM knew of their success and feats of derring-do.Macintyre tells the remarkable story of the birth, development and honing of this most successful and colorful unit. Its role and size changed, and the small forays in the African desert were replaced by frontal assaults as well as behind the lines operations in Sicily, Italy and France.Their successes were many and on the whole they killed and tied up many more Germans than their numbers. And, wrecked airplanes, trains, tracks, fuel manufactures and other logistics need by the Nazi's. SAS operations put many monkey wrenches into German planning and response and were a great aid to the Allied cause. Failure and loss also make up the SAS story and Macintyre gives coverage to operations that failed or proved costly - but did not dissuade SAS leaders or men from gearing up for the next assignment or foray from far behind enemy lines hiding places.Macintyre spends a lot of time weaving the colorful characters who would play leading roles in SAS into the story. Cold blooded killers, romantics, alcoholics, men impervious to hardship and accepting of huge risks and all dedicated and fearsome to a man. SAS operations recounted here are incredible stories of derring-do and usually success. Reading this book has the effect of making Ian Flemming’s 007 seem less fantastic.This book will be something new to even the most well-read WWII buff as the SAS official war diaries were not made available until 2011. Most of the operations and personnel were not widely known or reported prior to this date and the material gives the author something new to explore in Second World War literature.I've read five or so Macintyre books and he is an excellent author of non-fiction history in the World War II or espionage genres. He again writes a riveting book that captures the reader and sweeps one along on a fascinating journey through the recent past.