Night Raid

by Taylor Downing

  1st Airborne Division: badge and emblem, 108; Bruneval as first raid, 207–8; creation of (October 1941), 105–7; four-unit plan for Bruneval, 171–2, 173; headquarters at Syrencote House, 107, 181–2, 195; initial planning for Bruneval, 147–8; new variations of clothing for, 107; Royal Engineers section, 171, 172, 173, 190–2; see also 1st Parachute Brigade; Browning, Major-General Frederick ‘Boy’; C Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion

  airborne forces: 16th Air Assault Brigade, 357; 2 Para’s post-war service (1946 to present day), 356–7; action in southern Italy (Operation Colossus, February 1941), 362, 93–8, 340; British army sceptical of concept, 51, 54, 56, 92; British establishment of (1940–1), 56–66; Bruneval as decisive moment for, 340, 341; Bruneval as first ‘battle honour’, 340; Churchill orders creation of (June 1940), 56–7, 59, 60; Churchill’s renewed order after Crete (May 1941), 99; D-Day and, 349; demolition parties, 53, 94, 95; initial British volunteers, 62–6; Market Garden and, 349–52; methods of jumping from plane, 63–5; in North Africa, 345; operation in Sicily, 347–9; parachute development and, 48; Soviet development of, 49–51; see also 1st Airborne Division; 1st Parachute Brigade; C Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion

  airborne forces, German: assault on Crete (May 1941), 98–9; assault on Fort Eben-Emael (10 May 1940), 54–5; Blitzkrieg concept and, 51–2; Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers), 52–4, 107, 214, 294; inter-war development of, 51–4; Luftwaffe parachute school, 52–3

  Anquetil, Bernard, 157–8

  Appleton, Edward Victor, 10

  Archaeology Department at Cambridge University, 129

  Arnhem, bridge at, 350–1, 356

  Assault Landing Craft (ALC), 181, 206, 259, 260, 283, 339

  astronomy, radio, 358–9

  Atlantic, Battle of, 140–1, 151

  Attenborough, Richard, 319

  Attlee, Clement, 119–20

  Auchinleck, Claude, 140

  Babington Smith, Constance, 129

  Baldwin, Stanley, 11

  barrage balloons, 17

  Battle of Britain, 58–9, 68, 71–6

  Bawdsey Manor, 23–6, 32–4, 43, 73–4, 112

  BBC: and government during war, 302–3; Oslo Report broadcast, 109–10; radio during war, 301–7; reporting of Bruneval raid, 303–6; reputation overseas, 306–7; television, 32, 301; transmitter at Daventry, 8, 19, 39

  Beaverbrook, Lord, 115, 116

  Belgium: Belgian Resistance, 134–5; German assault on Fort Eben-Emael (10 May 1940), 54–5; German invasion of, 54–5, 70

  RAF Benson, 132

  Berlin: Bomber Command attack on (August 1940), 75; Olympic Games (1936), 42

  Bernal, J.D., 143

  Biting, Operation see Bruneval Raid (Operation Biting)

  Blackett, Patrick, 14

  HMS Blencathra, 287

  Bletchley Park, 113, 130, 141, 358

  Blitz, London, 76, 117

  Blitzkrieg (lightning warfare) concept, 51–2, 55, 70

  Boer War, 85

  Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns, 71, 80

  Bomber Command, RAF, 46, 93, 99; 51 Squadron, 175–6, 181–2, 183, 205; attack on Berlin (August 1940), 75; centimetric blind bombing radar, 83; diversionary bombing raids for Bruneval, 205–6, 220–1, 228, 233; policy of night bombing, 120–1; techniques to combat Kammhuber Line, 333; Thousand Bomber Raids, 332–3, 334–6; transport for Bruneval raid, 2–3, 174–6, 181–2, 183, 205–6, 229–31, 235–7, 308

  Boot, Harry, 77–9

  Bowen, Edward ‘Taffy’, 20, 22, 24, 31–2, 33, 68–9, 76, 83; Tizard mission and, 80–1

  Bracken, Brendan, 311

  Breit, Gregory, 10

  A Bridge Too Far (film, 1977), 352, 356

  British army: Dunkirk evacuations, 55, 70; medals awarded for Bruneval, 339–40; Microwave radar technology and, 80; parachute training and, 63, 100; radar assisted anti-aircraft guns, 32, 80; rejection of airborne forces concept, 51, 54, 56; resistance to Combined Operations, 88–9, 92–3; Royal Engineers, 171, 172, 173, 190–2; volunteer paratroopers, 62–6; XXX Corps, 350

  Bromley-Martin, Peter, 170–1, 195, 196, 315

  Brooke, General Sir Alan, 105, 149, 150

  Brooker, John, 179

  Browning, Major-General Frederick ‘Boy’, 106–8, 225, 299, 341, 349, 352; final pep talk at Tilshead, 226; initial planning for Bruneval, 147–8; inspects C Company at Tilshead, 170; observes parachute jump at Syrencote House, 182

  Bruneval Raid (Operation Biting), xivmap; accuracy of intelligence, 299, 340; arrival in Portsmouth after, 287–8, 303–4, 309, 312, 314, 315; BBC news reporting of, 303–6; Beach Fort pillboxes, 203, 216–17, 255, 257, 270; British casualties, 250, 262, 265, 266, 271, 284, 290–1, 292, 298, 315–16, 340–1; British prisoners, 291, 292–4, 296–7, 298; capture of Würzburg equipment, 243–6; Chiefs of Staff discuss plan, 148–50; cinema newsreel relating to, 312, 313–16, 317; conditions on board Whitley bombers, 230; covert French support for marooned Paras, 290–1, 294–6; as decisive contribution to the scientific war, 337–8, 357; descent to beach, 273–5; dismantling of Würzburg, 205, 207, 246, 247–8, 250–1, 252–4, 261–2, 297, 321, 340; diversionary bombing raids for, 205–6, 220–1, 228, 233; Drake raiding party, 204, 241, 250, 251; emplaning and take-off, 229–30; evacuation from beach, 278–82, 283; final exercise on Solent, 183–4, 209; final preparations for, 209–10, 226–9; firefight on beach road, 257–9, 261; flight to drop zone, 229–33, 234–6; folding trolleys used on, 183, 210, 246, 247, 261–2, 273; French naval escort for returning flotilla, 287; Freya station at Cap d’Antifer, 131, 204, 213, 220, 233, 248, 290, 297; German army troops and, 161–2, 215–21, 233, 234, 236, 240, 248, 263–4, 293; German coastal defences, 212–21, 233, 327; German investigation into, 290, 297–8; German losses, 284, 297–8; Hardy raiding party, 203, 205, 241, 280; Hotel Beau-Minet, 160–2, 216, 240–1, 256, 263–4, 291, 293–4; human intelligence (HUMINT) and, 153–4, 158–66; intelligence report, 217–20; interrogation of Heller after, 323–6; Jellicoe raiding party, 203–4, 241, 258, 280; Jones proposes, 136–7, 185, 340; La Poterie village, 217, 240, 250, 251–2, 289, 294; landings, 1, 2–3, 238–9, 241–2, 246, 249; Le Presbytère, 161, 204, 214, 233, 236, 240, 248, 253, 258, 272, 278, 280, 297; location of Würzburg radar station, 131–4, 136, 201; Luftwaffe personnel and, 161, 213–15, 218, 245, 248, 273, 292–3; medals earned during, 339–40; men left behind, 283–4, 286, 289, 290–6; military consequences of, 340–1; monument at site, 364–365; need for German speaker on, 196–9; Nelson raiding party, 202–3, 220, 239, 255–6, 257, 258, 261, 263, 270, 276, 291; Noah landing party, 207, 259; order to proceed with mission, 225–6; parachute drop, 1–2, 236–7, 238, 241, 246, 249, 275–6; photo reconnaissance of site, 3–4, 131–5, 136, 337; photographing of Würzburg during, 192, 205, 248, 250, 251, 253, 297; planned dates for, 183, 201–2, 222; planning for, 146–50, 153, 167, 170–8, 185–6, 187–8, 192–9, 200–11; postponements (24–6 February 1942), 222–4; press reporting of, 307–10, 311–12, 317, 318; prisoners taken, 244–5, 269, 270, 274, 275, 277, 285–6, 298, 323–6; problem of locating beach, 206; as publicity success, 301, 303–6, 309–10, 316, 317–18; RAF transport for, 2–3, 174–6, 181–2, 183, 205–6, 229–31, 235–7, 249, 308; Rectangle famhouse, 204, 214, 248, 250, 251, 272, 273; Redoubt pillbox, 216, 262–3, 272; rehearsals and run-throughs, 4, 180–4, 206, 211; return across channel, 282–3, 284–8; Rodney raiding party, 204–5, 249–50, 265–6, 275–6, 277, 281, 309; role of infantry, 179, 259, 313–14; Royal Navy and, 176–8, 179–81, 182, 184, 206, 207, 259–61, 266–7, 275, 276–83, 284–8; scientific examination of Würzburg material, 299, 321–3, 330–1, 338; snow on ground, 3, 228, 241, 246, 247, 248; specialist radar participants, 184, 185–90, 191–6, 245–6, 259; Spitfire escort for returning flotilla, 207, 286–7; Stella Maris villa, 161, 162–3, 215–16, 234, 241, 255, 256–7, 258–9, 267–70, 297; terrain models for, 3–4, 210; training for, 167, 170–1, 173–4, 176, 178–84, 190, 312, 313–14; transport of captured Würzburg equipment, 272, 278, 279–80, 282–3, 285; Vi
lla Gosset, 4–5, 161, 203, 213, 242–3, 248, 272–3, 326–7; weather forecasts, 225, 227–8; Würzburg equipment (codename Henry), 4, 131–7, 146, 201, 202, 204, 205, 207, 213, 233–4, 236

  Buckingham, John, 111

  Bureau de Contre-Espionage, de Renseignement et d’Action (BCRA), 154, 158

  Burma, 149

  C Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion: arrival in Portsmouth after raid, 287–8, 303–4, 309, 312, 314, 315; cinema newsreel of, 312, 313–16; film and photographs of arrival in Portsmouth, 309, 312, 314; final preparations for mission, 209–10, 226–9; flight to Bruneval, 229–33, 234–6; postponements of mission (24–6 February 1942), 222–4; selected for Bruneval mission, 148; at Tilshead, 167, 169–74, 182, 190, 196–7, 209–10, 225–6; training for Bruneval mission, 167, 170–1, 173–4, 176, 178–84, 190, 312, 313–14; see also Bruneval Raid (Operation Biting)

  C-47 Dakota aircraft, 345

  Campbell, Corporal, 275, 276, 283

  HMS Campbeltown, 343, 344

  Canada, 80–1, 119, 317

  Canu, Charles, 294–5

  Cap d’Antifer lighthouse, 236, 259–60, 263

  Casa Maury, Marquis de, 143, 299

  cathode ray tube, 10, 15, 17, 21, 32, 33, 40, 76; in Freya, 44, 124; television and, 32, 45, 301; Weedon experiment and, 8, 18–19, 34; in Würzburg, 233, 251

  Central Interpretation Unit, 126–31, 132

  Chain Home system: Battle of Britain and, 72, 73–4; Bawdsey Manor and, 32; Chain Low system, 71; construction of (1938–9), 26–8; extension of system in south-west, 71; lack of cover for attack from France, 70–1; Luftwaffe bombing of radar stations, 74, 79; night attacks and, 31, 73, 76; at outbreak of war, 67–8

  Charteris, Lieutenant Euan, 202, 241, 255, 263–6, 274, 281, 285; awarded the Military Cross, 339; capture of Stella Maris villa, 267–70; death of at Oudna, 346; dropped in wrong valley at Bruneval, 238–40, 252, 263; flight to Bruneval and, 232, 235; sends Campbell to find Lumb, 275–6, 283, 292

  Chauveau, Charles (Charlemagne), 159–65, 202, 212, 213, 295, 307

  Chennault, Lee, 130

  Cherbourg, Basse-Normandie, 70, 118, 328, 349

  Churchill, Winston: American entry into war and, 138; approves use of ‘Window’, 334; Atlantic sea lanes and, 342; ‘Battle of the Atlantic’ and, 140; Cabinet Room meeting (21 June 1940), 115–17; Chiefs of Staff meetings and, 149; Combined Operations and, 88, 90–1, 141–2; commando units and, 85, 86, 89; Dardanelles campaign (1915–6), 86–7; expansion of Combined Operations and, 141–2; on fall of Singapore, 151; February 1942 as lowest point, 151–2; friendship with Lindemann, 11–12; Lindemann’s Downing Street unit, 114, 115; new military and intelligence units, 84–5; on Observer Corps, 68; orders creation of paratrooper force (June 1940), 56–7, 59, 60; promotes Mountbatten, 341; receives report on Bruneval raid, 298–300; renewed order for airborne forces after Crete, 99; on Special Operations Executive, 84–5; Tizard mission and, 80, 81; visit to Ringway (26 April 1941), 98

  cinema, 310–11, 318–20; newsreels, 312–16, 317

  Clarendon Laboratory in Oxford, 11–12, 112–13

  Clarke, Lieutenant-Colonel Dudley, 85

  Cleasby-Thompson, Captain, 62–3

  Clements, Percy ‘Clem’, 94

  Cockburn, Robert, 330, 331

  Cold War, 358

  Colossus, Operation (Tragino aqueduct attack), 362, 93–8, 340

  Combined Operations, 88–93, 98, 137, 138; 9 Commando raid on Houlgate (November 1941), 144; Bruneval as publicity success, 301, 303–6, 309–10, 316, 317–18; Bruneval as triumph for, 341; expansion/reorganisation under Mountbatten, 141–3; intelligence section, 215, 217–20; Mountbatten appointed commander, 91–2; Mountbatten’s media promotion of, 311–12; Mountbatten’s promotions after Bruneval, 341–2; planning for Bruneval, 146–9; recruitment drive, 143; scientific advisers to, 143–4; Sir Roger Keyes as commander, 86–9, 90; Special Operations Executive and, 142–3; St Nazaire raid (28 March 1942), 342–4; training in Scotland, 142; Vaagsö raid (December 1941), 144–6; see also airborne forces; Commando Units, British

  Commando Units, British: 9 Commando raid on Houlgate (November 1941), 144; communications between land and sea, 144; first raids (June-July 1940), 86; formation of first units (June 1940), 85–6, 92; Lofoten Islands raid (March 1941), 89–90, 312; Spitzbergen raid (August 1941), 90; St Nazaire raid (28 March 1942), 342–4; training on Loch Fyne, 89; Vaagsö raid (December 1941), 144–6

  Cook, Commander Frederick Norton, 177–8, 183, 206, 305, 315; Bruneval mission, 260, 276–7, 284, 285–6, 339; meeting with James on HMS Victory, 224–5

  Cornell, George, 292, 294–6, 298

  Council for the Protection of Rural England, 27

  Coventry raid (14 November 1940), 117

  Coward, Noel, 310–11, 318

  Cox, Charles, 186–8, 209, 326; attached to Hardy raiding party, 205; awarded the Military Medal, 340; descent to beach, 273, 274–5; dismantling of Würzburg, 246, 247–8, 250–1, 252–4, 261–2, 321, 340; evacuation from beach, 279–80; parachute drop at Bruneval, 246–7; photographing of Würzburg and, 192, 205; post-war life, 355; at Redoubt pillbox, 263, 272; return across channel, 282–3, 285; at Tilshead, 190–2; training jumps, 188–90; visit to Air Ministry, 192–4

  Crete, German airborne assault on (May 1941), 98–9

  HMS Curlew, 177

  Daily Mail, 150

  Dakota aircraft, 59

  Dalton, Hugh, 143

  Daly, Captain Gerrard, 94, 95, 96–7

  Danesfield House (Thames valley), 126–7

  D-Day, 349

  death ray gun research, 15–16

  Dee, Philip, 79

  Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, 13

  desert war in North Africa, 93, 140, 148, 149, 151, 345–7

  Dewarin, Major André, 154

  Dobinson, Colin, 68

  Domburg (Scheldt Estuary), 135

  Douglas Corporation in California, 59

  Dowding, Air Marshal Sir Hugh, 18, 19, 25, 33, 39, 67–8, 74, 115

  Down, Lieutenant Colonel, 148

  du Maurier, Daphne, 106

  Duflo, Monsieur and Madame, 294–5

  Dumont, Roger (Pol), 157, 159–65, 202, 213, 307

  Dundee, Scotland, 34, 68–9

  Dunkirk evacuations, 55, 70

  Eben-Emael, Fort, assault on (10 May 1940), 54–5

  Edgerton, David, 32

  Edmonds, Eddie, 312, 313–16, 317

  Egerton, Lord, 58

  Eisenhart-Rothe, Colonel von, 215, 289–90

  El Alamein battle, 345

  Ellington, Sir Edward, 25–6

  Embury, Frank, 291–2, 294–6, 298

  EMI group, 10

  Enigma machine, German, 113, 130, 141

  Étretat, Haute-Normandie, 214, 217, 234, 294, 295

  Evans, Driver, 65

  Everitt, William, 276–7, 278

  Ewing, Piper (Company C piper), 228

  Falklands War (1982), 356–7

  Farnborough, Royal Aircraft Establishment, 15, 110, 330–1

  Fécamp, Haute-Normandie, 214, 231

  Felkin, Squadron Leader Denys, 114–15, 323, 324–5

  HMS Fernie, 287

  Fighter Command, RAF, 30–1, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73–4, 75, 119; attitude to jamming, 333, 334

  First World War, 10, 12, 14, 15, 37, 106, 191; Dardanelles campaign (1915–6), 86–7, 88; parachutes and, 49; Zeebrugge raid (1918), 87

  Forsyth, Macleod, 104–5, 173, 235, 281, 285, 309–10

  France: airborne forces, 53; Bureau de Contre-Espionage, de Renseignement et d’Action (BCRA), 154, 158; collapse of (May-June 1940), 55–6, 70; Free French forces, 154, 155; French naval escort for returning flotilla, 287; French Resistance, 153–66, 200, 213, 295, 307; German coastal defences, 118–19, 121, 122–4, 130–5, 136–7, 212–21, 233, 327; German invasion of, 55, 70

  Frank, Charles, 131, 132, 134

  Freeman, Lance-Corporal, 271

  Freya early warning system: desig
n and operation of, 44, 45, 119, 121, 123–4, 134, 329; jamming and ‘spoofing’ of, 333–4; R.V. Jones and, 119, 121, 123–5, 131; photographic reconnaissance of, 121, 122–3, 124, 130–1, 213, 327; station at Cap d’Antifer, 131, 204, 213, 220, 233, 248, 290, 297; wavelength of, 44, 45, 123, 333; Wilhelmshaven raid (December 1939) and, 46–7

  Frost, Major John: awarded the Military Cross, 339; on Bruneval intelligence, 219–20; capture of Villa Gosset, 4–5, 242–3; commands 2 Para, 345; completes training jumps, 168–9; as consultant on A Bridge Too Far, 352; descent to beach, 273; estimate of German losses, 284, 297; evacuation from beach, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283; failure to contact Navy from beach, 276, 277–8; final preparations for mission, 226–8, 229; firefight on beach road and, 258; flight to Bruneval, 232; knee injury, 103, 148, 167; landing at Bruneval, 1, 2–4, 241–2; Market Garden and, 349–52; meeting with Churchill after raid, 298–9; men left behind on beach and, 284, 286; mission postponements and, 223; named in BBC news reports, 305; in North Africa, 345; operation in Sicily, 347, 348; opposes four-unit plan, 171–2; orders withdrawal to beach, 254, 261–2; Oudna raid, 345–7; parachute drop at Bruneval, 1–2, 241–2, 246; planning for Bruneval mission and, 172–3, 203, 207; post-war career, 356; as PoW, 352; ‘Private Newman’ and, 196–7, 199; quoted in newspapers, 308; radio communications and, 181, 182, 209, 252, 266–7; receives order to proceed with mission, 225–6; at Redoubt pillbox, 262–3, 266; rehearsals for Bruneval and, 4, 184; retakes Villa Gosset, 272–3; return across channel, 286; on Sten gun, 200; at Tilshead, 169–74, 190, 196–7; training at Ringway, 102–3, 148, 168–9; training for Bruneval mission, 173–4, 176, 181, 182, 184; volunteers as paratrooper, 100–1; wounded and captured at Arnhem, 351; at Würzburg site, 244–6, 247, 250, 252, 253, 261

  Fyne, Loch (Scotland), 89, 178–81, 313, 316

  Gale, Brigadier Richard, 100, 148

  Garrard, Derek, 118, 185

  de Gaulle, General Charles, 154, 155

  GEC, 78–9

  Gema (Kühnhold’s company), 39, 44

  Geneva disarmament conference (1934), 11

  German army see Wehrmacht (German army)

  Germany, Nazi see Nazi state, German

  Gibbon, Sergeant, 264

  glider troops, 49, 51–2, 53, 55, 58, 59, 105, 190; British glider production, 99; D-Day and, 349; design of gliders, 61; German assault on Crete (May 1941), 98–9; operation in Sicily, 348; at Tilshead, 169–70, 226