Results by "Andrew Chatterton" in All categories

The remarkable story of how fresh SAS recruits helped lay the foundation for the liberation of France in the last chapter of the Second World War. On 16 June 1944, 58 men from 1 SAS parachuted into occupied France. Landing hundreds of miles behind German lines, their mission was to disrupt the...

The narrative surrounding Britain's anti-invasion forces has often centered on "Dad's Army"-like characters running around with pitchforks, on unpreparedness and sense of inevitability of invasion and defeat. The truth, however, is very different.

Alone, unprepared, and weak. These are generally the words used to describe Britain's position in 1940, part of a narrative that has been built up ever since the end of World War II. However, the reality is very different. On land, sea, and in the air, Britain was prepared. It had the most powerful navy in the world; the RAF was relatively strong, but more importantly, was operating as part of a plan and a joined-up group system that was in reality never in any real danger of being defeated; even the post-Dunkirk British Army was better armed than the post-war narrative tells us.