The Jedburghs: The Secret History of the Allied Special Forces, France 1944 [Hardcover]

Will Irwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2005

The first full history of the pioneering Special Forces units of World War II, dropped behind German lines into France to assist with the D-Day landings The story of the Special Forces in World War II has never fully been told before, and information about them only began to be declassified in the 1980s. Known as the Jedburghs, these Special Forces were selected from members of the British, American and Free French armies to be dropped into teams of three, deep behind German lines. There, in preparation for D-Day, they carried out what we now know as unconventional warfare: supporting the French Resistance in guerrilla attacks, supply-route disruption, and the harassment and obstruction of German reinforcements. They always operated against extraordinary odds and had to be prepared to survive pitched battles with German troops and Gestapo manhunts for weeks and months while awaiting the arrival of Allied ground forces. They were, in short, heroes. The Jedburghs finally tells their story and offers a new perspective on D-Day itself. Will Irwin has selected seven of the Jedburgh teams and told their stories as sgripping personal narratives. He has gathered archival documents, diaries and correspondence, and interviewd Jed veterans and family members in order to present this portrait of their crucial role - a role recognized by CHruchill and Eisenhower - in the struggle to liberate Europe in 1944-45. This is narrative history at its most compelling; a vivid drama of the battle for France from deep behind enemy lines.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Filling a significant gap in World War II scholarship, Irwin, a former U.S. Special Forces colonel, tells the story of the pioneering special forces units known as the Jedburghs-three-man teams comprised of American, British and French soldiers dropped deep into enemy-controlled territory, where they armed and trained local resistance fighters in support of the Allied invasion of Normandy and the subsequent liberation of France. Holed up in rural France, the resistance often consisted of loose factions of teenagers with no military training that were especially vulnerable to spies and infiltrators. Despite the risks associated with Jedburgh operations, many Jed teams thrived under these extraordinary circumstances. "By the end of June," writes Irwin, "the resistance, aided by the Jedburghs had made nearly five hundred more railway cuts, ambushed untold numbers of German convoys, and rendered the enemy's telecommunications almost completely ineffective." Furthermore, the author notes, "The most important task assigned to the resistance was that of disrupting the movement of German reinforcements to the Normandy beachhead...And this they did remarkably well, delaying many divisions and completely stopping others." The narrative occasionally veers off course in an attempt to fit in extraneous details-the inevitable product of a tireless research effort-but Irwin's detailed retelling of these early covert operations and his ability to place these relatively small operations in the context of the Allied campaign will please military history readers.
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Review

"Books on Special Forces units continue to be popular and The Jedburghs is a particularly good one...exciting narrative...highly recommended." -- Military Illustrated, January 2007 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 323 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; 1 edition (September 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586483072
• ISBN-13: 978-1586483074
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #321,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A rarity: the "untold story of WWII" that was actually untold before..., October 16, 2005

By 

Addison Phillips (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Jedburghs: The Secret History of the Allied Special Forces, France 1944 (Hardcover)

I picked up Jedburghs in an airport bookshop recently, figuring it would be yet another book trying to exploit "Band of Brothers" recent popularity. In some ways, I guess that *is* what this book represents to its publisher, but inside is something original and quit interesting.

Jedburghs is the story of the operations of special forces during World War II: hard trained small units parachuted in behind enemy lines. In particular, this program consisted of people who spoke French and were parachuted into France to assist the Resistance (the maquis) by organizing air drops of weapons and supplies, training, and so forth.

Irwin is not a particularly gifted writer. His prose is direct and workmanlike, but he's done excellent research and knows well enough to stay out of the way of a very good story. In recreating the events and culling interesting stories from the available material, he's assembled a fascinating book, so much so that I was sad to see it end.

If you're buff of this kind of military history, you'll like this book a lot.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Behind The Lines In France With The Resistance, May 27, 2006

By 

Kay's Husband (Virginia, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Jedburghs: The Secret History of the Allied Special Forces, France 1944 (Hardcover)

All of a sudden we have several books on the Jedburghs, at least two others come to mind. One thing this author doesn't answer for me is 'why' they were named Jedburghs. He gives us enough info to realize that several explanations have been put forth, however, he is not able to settle on just one.

These 3-men teams were trained and retrained up to the very date of the D-Day landings, with some of the men taken directly from the training field to behind the lines action. The teams consisted of 3 individuals, generally 2 officers, and 1 radioman. The 3-men teams were supposed to contain two officers, either British, French, or American, and 1 radioman at Sergeant level. All were required to be experienced in the French language, and the radioman was preferred to have at least 2 year's college. The radiomen had a special radio made exclusively for the rough combat conditions expected, with all members of the 3 men team trained all areas of survival.

They were expected to stay alive on their own until the D-Day armies reached the behind the line areas into which the Jeds had been dropped. The Jeds were also expected to arm, clothe, and train all French resistance personel in their areas. One of the attributes looked for in these men was that of having an attitude, or men who looked for a scrap. And during their training this was an ongoing psychological requirement. At certain points as many as 40% of applicants were washed out. After reading this book you realize any of these men who made it, were indeed very special men.

The author is very knowledgable about these teams and offers a very readable book. Until these recent books and declassified records, not much public awareness existed concerning these 3 men teams. I enjoyed this subject so much I have another book by another author on order concerning this same subject. One serious flaw of this book: no maps. For those of us without great knowledge of France, general maps and some of the specific area dropzones would have been beneficial.

If you enjoy out of the mainstream material on WWII subjects, these books on the Jedburghs, a force of no more than 300 men, may be for you. As an ex-military man, these resilient, courageous men have my fullest admiration!

Semper Fi.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing- No story is ever finished, September 5, 2007

By 

J. Graham (Farmington, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Jedburghs: The Secret History of the Allied Special Forces, France 1944 (Paperback)

I took a risk buying this book. I was intrigued by these secret warriors and was further intrigued reading Wild Bill Donovan's biography. Irvin seems to have done his homework and the set up was well written. My problem was every story was written from a 10,000ft and never seemed to finish. I was lost trying to keep track. Stories would start never having ended another.

Scattered thoughts on written page.