Special forces in the invasion of France

During the year 1944, nearly 170 Allied Special Forces teams were parachuted into occupied France, to assist the Resistance movements and their maquis groups, to transmit orders from the Allied command and to participate in the battle against the occupying forces. Up until now, their story was only known by bits and fragments. The prestigious British Special Air Service fascinates historians and novelists, but the American Operational Groups, the Jedburghs, and the interallied missions are generally ignored by works dealing with the Intelligence Services or the Resistance.

For the first time, the extraordinary - and sometimes unbelievable - adventures of the members of the Allied Special Forces are now told, based on mission reports carefully resituated in the context of the times. The reader, while discovering the special atmosphere present inside and outside France at that moment, will be able to appreciate the courage, enthousiasm and spirit of sacrifice that inspired these men - Britons, Canadians, New-Zealanders, Americans, Belgians and Frenchmen - parachuted to help liberate France.

After forty years of service in the Armed Forces, including airborne troops, Army light aviation and intelligence collecting, the author, Paul Gaujac, is now pursuing a second career as a military historian, specializing particularly in the period between 1943-45 in Western Europe.