Publisher's Synopsis
This is the nail-biting true story of Britain's incredible Special Forces mission in 1943 to liberate Europe by way of the largest invasion fleet ever assembled, manned by a few hundred elite soldiers and led by a legendary SAS commander told in gripping prose by internationally bestselling author Damien Lewis.
July 1943: The largest invasion fleet ever assembled sailed for fortress Europe, aiming to bulldoze its way onto Nazi shores. At its vanguard went a few hundred elite forces soldiers. The Royal Navy warship carrying them-a former passenger ferry transformed for battle-bore the iconic winged dagger emblem carved on its prow, plus the motto 'Who Dares Wins,' painstakingly fashioned with the most rudimentary tools by Sergeant William 'Bill' Deakins, the foremost explosives expert on board and a Royal Engineer by trade.
Led by the SAS commander Blair 'Paddy' Mayne, these war-bitten, piratical raiders were tasked with the impossible-to be the first among the fleet-the very tip of the spear-to bludgeon their way through the most heavily defended enemy shoreline, enabling the ensuing forces to follow on. If they succeeded, it would mark the turning point in the war. If they failed, the consequences were unthinkable. Against all odds, outnumbered some fifty-to-one, and facing a ferocious series of cliffside defenses, they would have to dare all as never before. So begins the true story of the SAS's incredible mission, an endeavor replete with surprise, shock, action, heroism, and glory, not to mention treachery, dismay-and the longstanding personal aftershocks of brutal and bloody years spent at war.
