WW2 1st Edition Book: The Greatest Raid Of All By C.E. Lucas Phillips

For sale is a WW2 1st Edition Book: The Greatest Raid Of All By C.E. Lucas Phillips The book was first published in 1958, and this is the first edition.

  The foreword states:   “By Admiral of the Fleet the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG Of all the operations with which I was concerned in the late war, raid on the battleship dock at St. Nazaire is perhaps the one I am most proud to have been associated with. It was one which can only be attempted precisely because it of those actions to be absolutely impossible to undertake: must appear, to the enemy, alone it required courage and determination of a and for this reason quite unusual order to carry out. What is more, this complicated greatest detail; and once the forces operation had been planned in were committed each individual small ship and each little group of soldiers had to fight it out, guided by orders received at home, but entirely in the light of their own initiative Iknow of no other case in naval or military annals of such effective amage being inflicted so swiftly with such economy of force. For in ees than half an hour from the moment the Campbeltown rammed. all the commando's chief demolition objectives were successfully achieved. This brilliant attack was carried out at night. under a vicious enemy fire, by a mere handful of men, who achieved. with certainty and precision, what the heaviest bombing raid or naval bombardment might well have failed to do. The great Normandie Dock was put out of action and was made useless to every kind of chinand. indeed, was to remain unusable for the next ten vears or so The Germans were prevented from being able to use the only dock on the Atlantic seaboard to which their great battleship Tirpitz could go, to repair damage sustained in raiding the Atlantic; in fact. this effectively prevented them from operating her against our convoy routes altogether. Thus the main object of the raid was brilliantly achieved. No fewer than five vCs were won at St. Nazaire, out of a total awarded for a single operation; and this is the measure of the force of 611-surely by far the highest proportion of VCS ever heroism of all who took part in that magnificent enterprise MOUNTBATTEN OF BURMA”.   This is in good condition but missing is dust cover. This makes an excellent and interesting read.   This will be sent via Royal Mail 1st class signed for and dispatched within two working days.