By How Miller.

“The Jedburghs” by Bill Irwin is an illuminating portrayal of the direct predecessors of the U.S. Army Special Forces. Each of us can picture ourselves in the roles depicted, and hope that we would have been as resourceful and lucky to have overcome the obstacles before us.

The Jedburghs were the core of what an A-Team is today. After rigorous recruitment, selection, and training, a select few were chosen to be parachuted in as part of a Jedburgh team, sometimes referred to as a “Jed.” Typically a Jed would be a three man team including a radio operator and two officers. At least one of the team was to be indigenous to the area of operation, and a minimum of one had to be either a Brit from SOE or an American from OSS. Most were also multi-lingual.

The book, both extensively researched over twenty years, and told from multiple perspectives, shows the process of assisting and guiding the many active and potential resisters of Nazi occupation in France and beyond. The uncountable number of acts of bravery by those Maquis were made more effective by the equally brave, tenacious, and wise British SOE and the American OSS working side by side with them, providing arms, training, and coordination with the Allied Armed Forces. All the high-ranking generals expressed their deep appreciation of how much the resistance accomplished, both in direct actions and in intelligence provided. For example, it is quite possible the Normandy invasion may have failed without their help.

The breadth of the story gives the reader both an overall understanding of the process and the importance to the Allied Victory, as well as a very relatable recounting of the ground actions of several Jedburgh teams. Some very familiar names are shown in their earlier days, such as “Wild” Bill Donovan, Aaron Bank, and William Colby, along with the first official naming of Special Force HQ.

I was struck by the many parallels described by COL(Ret) Mark Rosengard at SFACON 2022 with Task Force DAGGER and beyond, including gaining trust and coalition building to achieve the prime objective. “By, with and through” is alive and well within the regiment.

The book, first released in 2005, is available in Kindle, audiobook, hardcover, paperback, and audio CD. It contains charts of participants and much more.

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This book review of The Jedburghs by How Miller was first published by Sentinel, a periodical of Chapter 78, Special Forces Association on July 2023. Reprinted with permission of the editor of Sentinel. The book author, Will Irwin, is a Resident Senior Fellow at the Joint Special Operations University. He is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer with experience as a defense analyst, researcher, historian, instructor, and writer.

By Christopher (Moon) Mullins.

Bret Werner’s book, The First Special Service force at the Winter Line, Italy 1943, details the history and one of the most famous battles of the First Special Service Force at Monte La Difensa in Italy during WWII. A legendary raid that cemented 1st Special Forces in legend and history. Formed in the early stages of WWII in a remote location of Montana in the US, this force was a mixture of Canadian and American soldiers trained in Special Operations.

Overall, the author does a great job of detailing the birth of this historic unit. The First Special Service Force became what we know today as Special Forces for the US and other countries. I have personally served in a Special Forces Support unit, and I can provide testimony that it is a special and unique assignment. You always feel a part of something bigger. You are treated special; you have special missions and the expectations are very high. Leaders expect you to perform your military job at a very high level and maintain that level of excellence throughout your mission.

The First Special Service Force was selected by Allied Leadership for special operations in the Italian Theater. Because the Western Front was not established yet, the Italian Theater of Operations saw some of the best the US had to offer from various units such as the 82^nd Airborne Division, The Ranger Battalions, and British Commandos. Often these units were used as straight-leg infantry shock troops sent into the front line right beside normal infantry soldiers.

The Raid on Monte La Difensa was a special mission because of the approach that the Commander selected. The Force Commander Colonel Fredrick decided to storm a German mountaintop defensive position from the reverse sloop. That part of the mountain was determined to be no-go terrain so severe that the Germans didn’t even defend it or assign troops to watch it. The Commander was determined to assault the reverse sloop by taking an entire regiment and used ropes to climb the mountain. The Regiment took the better part of the night, dusk to dawn, to send the 2^nd Regiment over the approach. Small battles took place that clearly was a surprise and shock to the Germans defenders. They never expected the enemy to approach from that direction, so they didn’t defend it. Therefore, they were initially slaughtered from behind.

The overall joint operation with other US Army infantry Divisions and our British allies resulted in a domino effect of the Allies taking hill after hill over the next few weeks. Later these same forces would go on to Assault Anzio and later Rome. These actions helped close out the Italian campaign. The Germans surrendered and conducted a scorched earth retrograde operation that destroyed the Italian cities and natural resources during their retreat. The First Special Service Force and their assault on Monte La Difensa would go down as one of the Great Stories of the Italian Campaign and WWII.

About the author. Bret Werner was raised in the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania. He is deeply involved with living history organizations with an emphasis on the soldier of the 20th century. The author is also an associate member of the First Special Service Force Association, and he attends the veteran reunions every year. Peter Dennis the illustrator of this book was inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn he studied illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles. Johnny Shumate, also serving as an illustrator for the book, works as a freelance illustrator living in Nashville, Tennessee. He began his career in 1987 after graduating from Austin Peay State University. This book is available on Amazon.com (US),  Amazon UK, and at Osprey Publishing.

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Christopher “Moon” Mullins is a former paratrooper with service in the 82nd Airborne Division. He also served with the 5th Special Forces in a communications support role on a “B-team”. Chris retired from the U.S. Army after 20 years service. This article by “Moon” Mullins was first published by ARGunners. Republished with permission from author and ARGunners.

A recent book by James Stejskal, No Moon as Witness, describes the training and the missions of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. The book is a compact and concise history of the intelligence and special operations conducted by these two secret organizations.

The UK Special Operations Executive was the action arm of British intelligence and was established in the early days of World War II. It’s foundations were laid in earlier organizations established in 1938 and later when forward thinking British leaders began thinking about how to conduct unconventional warfare in light of German militaristic aggression in Europe. In July 1940 the Special Operations Executive was formed with the merger of Secret Intelligence Service’s Section ‘D’ (D was for Destruction), Military Intelligence (Research) or MI(R), and the Department of Propaganda in Enemy Countries (also known as ‘Department EH’ for Electra House).

The U.S. Office of Strategic Services was formed up in 1941. The OSS would serve as an intelligence as well as an ‘action’ organization. As World War II came onto the scene the United States had little capability for gathering intelligence or conducting unconventional warfare. In July 1941 President Roosevelt established the Coordinator of Information (COI). In June 1942 the COI became the Office of Strategic Services. Some of the OSS’s first deployments took place in early 1942 where operatives collected intelligence and prepared the way for Operation Torch – the landings in North Africa in the later part of 1942.

Like many books about special operations during World War II – this book starts out with the origins of the SOE and OSS. The author then describes the assessment, selection, and training of operatives. There is a short chapter on some of the techniques and weapons used by the SOE and OSS. The final part of the book describes some of the key operations conducted by the two organizations. The chapter on operations included those activities of the SOE and OSS from the beginning to the end of the war – in the many theaters that the organizations were present. Some of the operations that are detailed will be familiar to the reader while others are less well known.

There are a lot of books published about the SOE and OSS – many of them very thorough and excellent reads. No Moon as Witness follows the pattern of previous books on this topic – but a shorter version. However, the book is well organized and also an excellent read. It examines the close history of the SOE and OSS – and how they worked together . . . or not. In addition, the “Tools of the Trade” chapter includes images and sketches that often do not appear in other books. The timeline, glossary, and index are added features that enhance the book. Some books that I read end up going to the ‘annual used book fair’; this one is a keeper and has found a home on my reference book shelf.

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The author of No Moon as Witness, James Stejskal, is a former US Army Special Forces Chief Warrant Officer 4. After completing his service with Special Forces he served as a case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency in Africa, Europe, and the Far East. He is now a book author.

No Moon as Witness, published by Casemate Publishers (Philadelphia & Oxford) in 2021 is available at Amazon.com.
https://www.amazon.com/No-Moon-Witness-Missions-World/dp/1612009522

When most people think about the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) they are most likely conjuring up images of men in vehicles traversing the deserts of North Africa during World War II. These forays against the Germans and Italians deep behind enemy lines required a special breed of men who navigated the vast desert regions on missions lasting several weeks and ranging in hundreds of miles. The LRDG conducted reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and raids during the Africa campaign. The LRDG also guided and transported units of the Free French as well as elements of the Special Air Service. Members from several allied nations made up the LRDG to include those from Britain, New Zealand, and Southern Rhodesia.

What is less known about the Long Range Desert Group is that after the successful conclusion of the Africa campaign the unit was deployed to the Aegean Sea to help defend a series of strategic islands located between Greece and Turkey against an invasion by the Germans. This employment phase of the LRDG was a less successful endeavor and resulted in a number of LRDG members killed, wounded, or captured.

Brendan O’Carroll, the author of The Long Range Desert Group in the Aegean, traces the movement of the LRDG from Africa to a training base in Lebanon and on to their destination on Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean Sea. The book provides a lot of detail on the use of the LRDG in the Aegean and how the combat operations unfolded. O’Carroll, residing in New Zealand, has had a long interest in military history. New Zealand provided a significant number of volunteers that served with the LRDG in both Africa and the Aegean. O’Carroll has wrote about the LRDG in previous books as well. In this book he provides information found in official British and German sources as well as individual accounts by members of the LRDG.

Prior to deploying to the Aegean the unit underwent an extensive retraining period in Lebanon. The unit members were trained in mountain operations and movement on foot – which was quite a change from their use of vehicles in the desert. While in Lebanon the unit trained up on demolitions, long-range communications, skiing, use of mules, and parachuting. The physical conditioning was extensive as it was believed they would be required to carry heavy packs on foot in future missions.

In late 1943 the Italians left the alliance with the Germans. This established a void on many of the islands in the Aegean that were occupied by Italian forces. Winston Churchill decided that the Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean Sea should be occupied by allied forces. Churchill believed occupying these islands would distract German attention from the Italian campaign and provide a base for air and sea operations against the Germans in the ‘soft underbelly of Europe’.

In September 1943 the LRDG received the task to head to the Aegean Sea region to conduct island coast watch operations and intelligence gathering. The plan envisioned that Italian troops garrisoned on the islands would join the Allies in opposing the Germans. In addition, there was hope that perhaps Turkey would enter the war on the side of the Allies as well. Despite American reluctance in supporting this plan – their attention was focused on Sicily and Italy – Churchill proceeded with Operation Accolade. The British landed 3,000 troops of 234 Brigade on the island of Leros as well as other nearby islands. About 200 men belonging to the LRDG – as well as men from the Special Boat Service (SBS) and No. 30 Commando – joined the occupation of these several islands.

The Germans wasted little time – deploying experienced troops with significant air power – to take the islands from the British and Italian forces. Many men of the LRDG were casualties or became prisoners of war. However, some of the LRDG were able to escape from the islands. Operation Accolade proved to be a failure and an embarrassment to the United Kingdom. The Long Range Desert Group conducted themselves well under adverse conditions . . . but the use of the unit in this campaign was ill-advised. The LRDG lost more men in three months in the Aegean than it had in three years in North Africa.

The book was published in November 2020 by Pen & Sword Books. It is available in hard cover as well as an ebook. O’Carroll provides an interesting and informative read about a little known action by a World War II era special operations unit and an important part of SOF history.

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Map of Dodecanes Islands By Pitichinaccio – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3260045

The United States Army Special Operations Command has received the Congressional Medal awarded to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The special operations forces and intelligence community organizations that trace their roots to the OSS are receiving an honorary replica.

The award will be on display in the USASOC headquarters building at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In 2016 Congress made the award to the OSS in recognition of their superior service and significant contributions during the second World War. [1]

The medal acknowledges the contributions made by OSS members to the war effort during World War II. One of the lasting effects of the OSS was the establishment of intelligence and special operations forces during the post-WWII period and the beginning of the Cold War. In particular, the OSS was the precursor to the U.S. Army Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency. In June 2017 the 75th OSS anniversary was celebrated.

LTG Francis Beaudette received the coveted Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of USASOC. LTG (Ret) Charles Cleveland, former USASOC commander and a member of the OSS Society, presented the medal to USASOC.

The OSS was established in June 1941. William Dovovan was appointed as director of the OSS. The purpose of the organization was to perform a variety of intelligence and special operations missions around the world – to include Europe, Asia, and other locations. At the end of World War II the Office of Strategic Services was disestablished; however, some OSS members remained in the military – later joining U.S. Army Special Forces (established in 1952). Others found themselves as early members of the Central Intelligence Agency.

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References:

[1] See Public Law 114-269 published on December 14, 2016.

[2] Some content for this article came from USASOC receives Congressional Medal, U.S. Army, August 21, 2019.
https://www.army.mil/article/226073/usasoc_receives_congressional_medal

Photo: USASOC Commanding General, LTG Francis Beaudette poses for a photo with retired LTC Charles Cleveland at a ceremony August 16, 2019, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Between them is a painting of Maj. Gen. William Donovan, who led the Office of Strategic Services.
(Photo by: U.S. Army Sgt. Brandon Allums, U.S. Army)