The Mammoth Book of Secrets of the SAS & Elite Forces

by Jon E. Lewis

  The manuals put a new word into the English language – the evader. A man, probably on his own, being hunted by enemy troops in unknown country. The chances against him are enormous, but if he keeps his head and remembers his training, he just might escape – against all the odds. Evaders are split into two types; short-term and long-term.

  SHORT-TERM EVASION

  You’re a short-term evader if you or your unit is temporarily cut off from the main body of your forces. This can happen quite frequently while you’re on patrol, for instance, and is actually the way of life of long range patrol units (known as LURPS in the US military).

  When you know you’re going to be separated from the main force, navigation and fieldcraft are your best friends. Knowing where you are and which direction you’re heading in is going to help save your life, and your own skill in moving cross country or through town will finish the job.

  LONG-TERM EVASION

  Very few people have to evade the enemy for long periods of time or cross long stretches of enemy held territory. The only people likely to have to undertake this most difficult and arduous task are aircrew who have been shot down, and escaped prisoners of war, though patrols are sometimes sent so far out that the same principle applies to them.

  Try to relax. Fear and tension will only force you into making mistakes. Time is on your side. It doesn’t matter how soon you get back to your own people, as long as you do get back. This may mean lying up for weeks or even months and applying all your survival skills.

  Under military law, a soldier must make every effort to return to his unit. If captured, it is his duty to try to escape – though few ever do so successfully. Getting “home” will be a lot easier before you’re captured. You must use all the tricks of camouflage and concealment to stay hidden from the enemy.

  Rely on your own resources. Don’t trust civilians unless you absolutely have to. Their whole way of life will be strange to you. A gesture that in your home town might mean “welcome” could mean the very reverse in enemy territory.

  It’s not a good idea – ever – to try to disguise yourself as a native. Even if your colour and clothes don’t give you away, and you happen to speak the language, the smallest gesture will be enough to show an experienced observer that you’re not what you’re pretending to be.

  If you have been lucky enough to make contact with a friendly local group, be guided by them – but remember that no conventions of war apply to them. Any civilian found helping you will probably die for it.

  Take every opportunity to distance yourself from your helpers. If you have to travel with a member of a local resistance group, for instance, don’t sit together. Arrange a system of simple signals so that you don’t have to speak.

  Be ready to go it alone at any moment, and don’t carry anything that could point a finger of suspicion at anyone who might have helped you. No names and addresses written down; no marked maps. Remember that you’re a representative of your country – perhaps the first one the natives have actually met. Even under the hardships that an evader must endure, it’s up to you to make a good impression. Remember, you’re fighting a war that requires their cooperation.

  COMMUNICATING

  If you do get the chance to talk to natives and feel secure enough to ask them for help, communicating is going to be a big problem. The chances are you won’t speak each other’s language, so you’ll be reduced to making signs and gestures. To make this easier, the US, for example, issues each soldier with what is known as a “Blood Chit”. A Blood Chit is an American Flag, printed onto cloth, with a message in English, and all the other languages you are likely to come across in the area in which fighting is taking place. The last, and most important feature of the Blood Chit is a unique number that identifies the person it was issued to.

  9 POINTS FOR SUCCESSFUL EVASION

  1 Large groups are easily detected. If there are a lot of you, split into four-man teams, which are a lot harder to detect.

  2 As long as you are wearing your uniform you can attack enemy military targets, but not civilians.

  3 Do not disguise yourself as a local unless you can do so convincingly. Amateur disguises and ignorance of local language and customs will quickly betray you.

  4 If you landed by parachute, you should assume that the enemy spotted your descent and get out of the immediate area as fast as you can.

  5 Observe the basic rules of camouflage, concealment and movement at all times.

  6 Take your time when travelling; hurrying makes you less alert and tires you out.

  7 Avoid populated areas and busy routes wherever possible. If approached by strangers pretend to be deaf, dumb or just half-witted; it often works.

  8 If you are being helped by the local population, do not make any marks on your map; if you are captured with it the enemy could work out who was assisting you.

  9 Observe enemy troop movements, military positions, weapons and equipment if you have the chance – but do not write anything down, or you risk being treated like a spy.

  The message asks for help and assistance. It promises that this will be rewarded. Don’t give up the Blood Chit itself. Anyone who helps you will get their reward just by quoting the number. Give them the number but don’t give them the chit itself.

  REJOINING YOUR UNIT

  If you’re out on patrol there will be an established method of rejoining your own forces – direction of approach, safe periods, recognition signals, password and all the other ways of making sure that you don’t come under fire from your unit. You won’t have the benefit of these safeguards, so you must follow basic rules when rejoining.

  1 Get in a position close to the front line

  2 Watch and wait for a friendly patrol

  3 Let them come to you

  4 Don’t give away your position – or that of the patrol – to enemy forces.

  5 Show a white cloth

  6 Shout out an unmistakeable greeting

  7 Don’t fool around. The patrol will believe you’re the enemy trying to trick them until you prove otherwise.

  If you get caught without map, compass or other navigating equipment, use your memory. Orient yourself by listening to the fighting. Use your time behind the enemy lines to gather intelligence. Take a prisoner if you think you have a reasonable chance of making it back to your own lines with him. You must think positively all the time. Fear is your worst enemy.

  If you lose your Blood Chit, report it straight away. It’s a very valuable document. If it falls into the hands of the enemy’s Intelligence Section, they could very easily use it to discover which members of the local population are likely to be friendly to you and this will probably get them shot. It will certainly make sure that no-one trusts the chit – or you.

  It may be possible for your own people to rescue you, most likely from the air. To stand a chance of this being successful you must know the standard ground to air distress signals.

  Don’t call down a rescue attempt unless you are absolutely sure that the area is safe. Remember that a helicopter is most vulnerable to attack when it’s taking off and landing. Make sure that any signals can be removed or covered up very quickly in case an enemy air patrol should appear.

  SAVE THE WOUNDED

  If there are casualties, make sure they get off first. If you do have seriously wounded men in your party, you must always consider whether their best chances of staying alive are to surrender (United States law allows that). Obviously, local conditions will be important – a man with a light wound surrendering to troops who are known to kill all prisoners, despite the Geneva Convention, is not helping himself!

  Intelligence of all sorts – and evidence of the blood-thirstiness of enemy troops is only one sort – is really vital. Use every means you can to learn about enemy troop movements and placement, and the attitude of local non-combatants.

  Try to keep abreast of the progress of the war as a whole, too. You may be hiding for nothing! Remember that some Japanese infantr
ymen were still living concealed in the jungle of the South Pacific islands 25 years after the end of World War II because they didn’t know it was all over.

  If the worst does happen and you face capture, your first decision will be whether to try to fight you way out. If you’re alone and unarmed, this is not likely to be an available option, but if you’re with your unit and your armament is up to strength, you may stand a very good chance of wining a fire-fight even against a larger enemy force, because surprise will definitely act in your favour – the last thing the enemy force will expect is an armed and trained group of soldiers behind its own lines.

  If you are captured, you are required to tell the enemy, only four things – your name, rank, serial number and date of birth. Say nothing else. Don’t refer to your unit by name, don’t talk about your superior officers, don’t identify the leaders of your group. The smallest piece of information may be useful to the enemy.

  SEARCHING AND HANDLING A PRISONER

  This is how you can expect to be treated by an enemy who plays by the rules.

  Standing position: arms stretched, body relaxed. They work from top to bottom and will check your clothing carefully

  Stress position: with your weight on your fingertips and toes, you cannot react quickly. Expect your groin and armpits to be checked as well.

  If you are caught in a group they may position you like this to prevent fast reaction against a search.

  EJECTING BEHIND ENEMY LINES

  You know what is likely to happen if you have to abandon your aircraft over the sea – but what would you do if you were forced to eject over land? Whether you crash or bang out, and whether you’re over friendly or enemy territory, the basic rules of survival are essentially the same. Obviously, your prospects are better if you land in a friendly country. Things become slightly more complicated should you be unlucky enough to get shot down by the very people you have just been trying to kill. The basic rules of survival remain the same but, with enemy troops now looking for you, you will need to use considerable guile and cunning.

  Again, if you are in a group, you will be placed close together and your captors will not move between you.

  A two-man arrest position: one fixes you with an armlock while the other applies pressure points.

  One way of using a baton to support an armlock: with the baton under your arm and behind the neck you are immobilized.

  Arresting method with a baton: by pushing this between your legs and grabbing you by the neck, the guard can move you easily by pushing your neck and raising his right arm.

  Escape and Evasion (E & E) is a subject all aircrew should be taught. The actual term can be misleading and should perhaps read Evasion and Escape. This is because you are escaping only when you reach a neutral country. Prior to this you are evading. Evasion begins from the moment you arrive on enemy soil. Imagine that your Harrier aircraft has been hit during a low-level interdiction raid. Luckily, there is just enough time for you to eject. You find yourself drifting down towards a vast open plain. Seconds later, you thud into the ground and quickly get out of your parachute harness, to stand, shaken but unhurt. Hastily, you gather up your parachute and sling the heavy bundle across your back. There is no time to bury it and, besides, it will be useful later on.

  THE “GO-PACK”

  Irrespective of whether you fly in a single seat jet or a multi-seat aircraft, you will always carry emergency survival equipment. The Personal Survival Pack (PSP) carried underneath your seat holds the bulkier, heavier kit. However the PSP may well get lost if you are forced to bang out in combat. In the event of coming down behind enemy lines you may have little or no time to retrieve it.

  For this reason, all aircrew should carry a “Go-Pack”. The official RAF version contains: a 7ft × 3ft polythene sleeping bag, firelighting kit, 4 grips, a compass, 4 rubber bands, an instruction sheet, 6 plastic ties, 15ft × 150 lb nylon cord and three 6 in × 10 in polythene bags. However most aircrew prefer to make up their own Go-Pack – the contents of which are often carried in a container such as an Emergency Flying Ration tin. For those who can afford a little extra room, a container measuring approximately 18 cms × 10 cms × 4 cms can accommodate: a 7ft × 3ft sleeping bag, a candle, a melinex sheet (space blanket), fishing kit, firelighting kit, fire blocks, a compass, needles, a scalpel, water purification tablets, cotton wool, nylon cord, brass wire, wire saw, water carriers (ie unlubricated condoms), instruction sheet and a couple of Tampax (ideal for firelighting).

  Get moving

  Dusk is rapidly falling yet in the east it looks as though dawn is just breaking. However, the red glow on the horizon is not of nature’s doing, but the results of countless fires caused by your own bombs. To the west, the setting sun is partly obscured by a pillar of dark, oily smoke rising from the twisted wreckage of your crashed aircraft.

  It is essential that you now put as much distance between yourself and the place where you have landed before the enemy come searching. You decide to head south, away from the burning target area and the Harrier crash site. Besides, your map shows a huge forest beyond a range of low hills just visible in that direction. You can hole up there for a couple of days.

  The excitement of the moment results in an excess of adrenalin – so you can maintain an energetic pace despite the weight of your parachute. After a while, however the reality of the situation begins to tell, and your pace slows to a walk. It is late at night by the time you reach the first hill. You do not arrive at your destination until early in the morning.

  Stay in hiding

  By travelling just five miles you increase the enemy’s area of search to some 75 to 80 square miles, and you estimate that you have covered a good 10 to 12 miles. Excellent! The next priority is to remain hidden for at least 48 hours, thus rendering obsolete any tactical information you might have. Also the longer you can stay free, the greater your chances of remaining free. A search party’s eagerness will naturally diminish as time passes.

  The effort of lugging your parachute pack all through the night now begins to pay off, as you can use the material to make a shelter. During survival training you will have been taught how to build a variety of shelters. However not all are suited to an evader in enemy territory. A well-constructed parachute tent will certainly shield you from the elements but not from the eyes of hostile civilians and enemy soldiers.

  EMERGENCY FLYING RATIONS

  Mark 9 27.P/38 Instructions

  These are the RAF’s instructions on what to do with your rations.

  1 All food components in this pack may be eaten ONLY when about three pints of drinking water per man per day are available.

  2 Used efficiently the ration will provide sustenance for a number of days, even when doing hard work, provided that fresh water is available.

  3 The circumstances in which you find yourself must decide the amount to eat each day. Plan this carefully, endeavouring to eat a portion of each food each day. As a general rule, it is not necessary to eat very much on the first day of the survival period.

  4 It is not essential for most men to drink water during the first day of the survival period. Obvious exceptions are those who are injured or losing body water at an excessive rate by sweating, vomiting or diarrhoea. If possible each man, after the first day, should drink at least one pint, (half a litre) of fresh water per day. Under some circumstances this may be impossible. However even three quarters of a pint per man per day can sustain life for quite long periods, depending upon the climatic conditions and other circumstances.

  5 At all times conserve body water, for man can survive longer without food than he can without water. During survival at sea, and in very hot climates, utilize shade and breeze where possible and avoid unnecessary exertion. If marching move by night if possible.

  6 NO MATTER HOW THIRSTY YOU ARE DO NOT DRINK SEA WATER AND DO NOT ADD SEA WATER TO FRESH WATER RATIONS. However if a few drops of sea water get into your fresh water rations by mistake this is not serious.

>   7 Fresh water should be purified before it is consumed. This can be achieved by boiling or using the water purifying tablets provided. Sea water cannot be purified by either of these methods.

  DRINKS

  Beef Stock “Cubes” – half a “cube” to a lidful of water (Note sterilization of water)

  Coffee or Tea – if the water has not been sterilized with Puritabs, or previously boiled, then it must be boiled during the making of coffee or tea.

  Milk Powder – add to drinks as required

  Sugar – use as preferred

  Remove carefully from the laminate pouch so that these can be used again to store water or food.

  Eat the food portions only when hungry

  Not more than eight portions a day

  Eat one tablet at a time. Chew slowly and well.

  Salt – when doing hard work, and sweating vigorously AND WHEN PLENTY OF DRINKING WATER IS AVAILABLE salt should be taken. Do not take salt if water is in short supply. If you take extra salt you need extra water. The salt will also help to remove leeches when applied to their point of attachment.

  Spatula – all purpose mixing utensil. This can also be used as a drinking straw for the water pouch.

  Use the box and lid as cooking pots. Use the empty food bags for storing water and food components. The four lengths of wire make “loop” handles for the box. The ends of a length of wire should be place in the holes at one end of the box and bent in the form of a hook.