Operation Chariot - The Raid on St. Nazaire.pdf

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First published in Great Britain in 2005 by
Pen & Sword Military an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
Copyright © Jon Cooksey, 2005
Design, maps and illustrations by Jon Wilkinson
9781783409440
The right of Jon Cooksey to be identified as Author of this Work has
been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the
publisher in writing.
Printed and bound in Singapore by
Kyodo Printing Co (Singapore) Pte Ltd
For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact
PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED
47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England
E-mail: enquiries@pen-and-sword.co.uk
Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
‘THERE’S CERTAINLY A VC IN THIS’ ON RAIDING
A PLAN OF ELEGANT SIMPLICITY
THE VOYAGE
THE GERMANS
THE ATTACK RUN
THE WEAPONS
THE LANDINGS
THE BRIDGE OF MEMORIES
THE FINAL BATTLE – ML 306
THE LEGACY
FURTHER READING
INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I owe a great debt of gratitude to the contributors who have all given the project
their wholehearted support. I have been very fortunate indeed to enlist both Rob
Neillands and Jim Dorrian to the cause. As an ex-Royal Marine and respected
military historian and author, Rob Neillands’ credentials are impeccable and his
contribution on the development of the concept of ‘raiding’ opens the book in fine
style. His piece is followed almost seamlessly by Jim Dorrian’s contribution on the
planning process behind Operation Chariot. There can be few people who can
match Jim’s depth of knowledge on the raid or the personalities who took part. He
has been a welcome source of encouragement and has checked several sections for
errors. If any remain, then they are entirely due to oversights on my part.
Thanks are also due to Dr. David Paton who, as a Captain in the RAMC and a
member of No. 2 Commando sailed into St. Nazaire aboard ML 307. He kindly
made available his unpublished account of his experiences of the raid, extracts of
which appear in the book. Other extracts from the oral testimonies of Sir Ronald
Swayne, Mr. Ralph Batteson and Mr. Harold Roberts, all of whom took part in the
raid, are from the Sound Archive of the Imperial War Museum and are reproduced
with the kind permission of the Trustees. I am indebted to John Stopford-Pickering,
Peter Hart and Richard Hughes of the Sound Archive for their unfailing courtesy,
good humour and patience during my visits or when responding to my
communications.
Once again Jon Wilkinson’s eye for detail in just the right place has brought the
text to life. His patience in responding to and then actually realising some of my
more ‘extreme’ ideas is a source of constant amazement. Thank you Jon.
Finally, my wife Heather and daughter Georgia have, once again, been a constant
source of support and encouragement. I couldn’t do it without them.
Jon Cooksey
Reading 2004

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