The SAS Began as a Lie but Became Britain’s Most Elite WW2 Commando Unit

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2023

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Created during the World War II, the SAS was a small band of men brought together in the North African desert. They were the toughest and brightest of their cohort, the most resilient, most capable in close combat and most careful in surveillance. Winning approval for this radical new form of warfare was no small feat, but eventually it was achieved. The SAS was born, their mission to take on small-scale but often devastating raids and risks behind enemy lines.

Today’s guest is Joshua Levine, author of “SAS: The Authorized Illustrated History of the SAS.” We discuss what it was like to fight and train in the SAS during the World War II by exploring individual stories and personal testimonies of the wartime experience.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This guy here with another episode of the History Unplugged Podcast.
0:08.1	The SAS, or the British Special Air Service, performed some of the most daring, raids
0:12.6	and covert reconnaissance operations in the Second World War.
0:15.5	What most people don't know is that it was formed by accident.
0:18.8	Before there was an SAS, in 1941, the British military was spreading disinformation in Egypt,
0:24.6	trying to deceive the Axis into thinking there was a paratrooper regiment operating in
0:28.4	the area.
0:29.4	To make this fiction fact, they dropped five officers and other enlisted men into North
0:33.7	Africa.
0:34.7	This operation was a total disaster, but it got military intelligence, sinking that perhaps
0:39.2	a long-term deep penetration commando unit could be of use.
0:43.0	The NASA SAS's second mission was a complete success, attacking three airfields in Libya
0:47.5	and destroying 60 aircraft without loss.
0:50.0	Throughout the rest of the war, this commando paratrooper unit demonstrated a radical new
0:53.8	form of warfare that took on small-scale but often devastating raids and risks behind
0:58.5	enemy lines that majorly gummed up Axis operations.
1:01.7	Today's guest is Joshua Levine, author of SAS, the authorized illustrated history of
1:06.5	the SAS.
1:07.5	We discuss what it was like to fight and train in this commando unit during World
1:10.8	War II, exploring individual stories and personal testimonies of the wartime experience.
1:15.6	Hope you enjoy this episode.
1:19.6	And one more thing before we get started with this episode, a quick break for a word from
	...

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