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267:, using the commando knife he carried. This annex comprised a corridor and six rooms wherein were five sleeping Germans, none found to be officers. The men were roused and taken outside whereafter the Commandos decided to go on to the hotel and capture more of the enemy. To minimise the guard left with the captives, the Commandos tied the prisoners' hands with the six-foot
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prisoners made a break, one was instantly shot dead with a .38 revolver, another prisoner, wounded, managed to escape. Whether or not some had freed their hands during the firefight is not established nor if all three broke at the same time. Two were believed shot and one stabbed by Ogden-Brown. The sole remaining prisoner,
330:, this was the first evidence the British had seen of potential German war crimes in the occupied Channel Islands. The Germans justified the action as being identical to the Allied removal of German civilians from Persia, current day Iran, to Australia that had taken place in 1941. No prosecution took place.
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in July 1940 when 140 men from No. 3 Commando and No. 11 Independent
Company landed on Little Sark by mistake, thinking they had landed on Guernsey as part of a larger force. They found no Germans and eventually returned to their boat, but there are no reports of them meeting with locals or drinking
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The raid resulted in increased security measures being taken in Sark, mainly through an increase in the number of mines, to 13,000, being laid and the deportation to
Germany of 201 Channel Island civilians with 48 Sark civilians, including Mrs Pittard, who had just completed a three-month jail term
501:
Page 197 of Eric Lee's book does not have a complete list of the men involved. Lee states in
Appendix 3 that "After more than seven decades I have reached the conclusion that we might never know with absolute certainty who were the twelve men in the SSRF and No. 12 Commando who landed on Sark that
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Alone of all the possible participants in this raid, Redborn's name appears in no official records. The first reference to him appears in
Suzanne Lassen's book about her son Anders, published just after the war. Redborn may therefore be a cover name for a commando who was seeking to protect his
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Climbing the cliff at the Hog's Back, between
Dixcart Bay and Derrible Bay, the Commandos were not spotted by German sentries nor did they encounter any guards. Several of the raiders broke into the house of a local. The occupant of the house, Mrs Frances Noel Pittard, proved very informative and
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While this was being undertaken, one prisoner, the naked man, escaped and ran off shouting, a general struggle started with the other prisoners. The prisoners were shouting and, fearing the arrival of enemy troops, the raiders elected to return to the beach with the remaining prisoners. Three
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and tearing open the fly was quite a common technique the
Commandos used to make it as difficult as possible for captives to run away. Most of the prisoners when captured were dressed for sleeping, one was naked and was not allowed to dress.
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that the commandos who landed on Sark were taken to the local pub by the locals for a drink. However, Niven also erroneously stated that there were no German troops on Sark at the time. Niven's account is almost certainly a reference to
450:. It was a complete failure as two of the four men were killed by German mines as they attempted to cross the Hog's Back, following the same route as the commandos had done in 1942—a known route which was now heavily mined.
260:
advised there were about 20 Germans in the annex to the nearby
Dixcart Hotel. She also declined an offer to take her to England. Mrs Pittard provided the commandos with documents, including local newspapers from Guernsey.
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encountered strong currents on the approach, resulting in an arrival time of 0300. The requirement to depart by 0330 in order to be clear of the German occupied islands before dawn resulted in the operation being aborted.
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on 18 October 1942 instructing all captured
Commandos or Commando-type personnel be executed as a matter of procedure. This order resulted in a number of war crimes being committed.
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A few days later, the
Germans issued a communiqué implying at least one prisoner had escaped and two were shot while resisting having their hands tied. This came shortly after the
312:'s attention, he ordered the shackling of Canadian prisoners, which led to a reciprocating order by British and Canadian authorities for German prisoners being held in Canada.
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The original plan was for the raid to take place on the night of 18–19 September 1942, and was postponed by a day, due to bad weather. Leaving
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Germans on the island were alerted, however the
Commandos managed to climb down the cliff, then using their small boat, returned to
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684:"75TH Anniversary of Commando Raid on Sark 3rd October 2017 Operation Basalt – Commando Raid on Sark – 3/4 October 1942 (Letter)"
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More than a year later, in December 1943, there was a follow-up raid on Sark by a team of British and French commandos known as
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In front of the hotel was a long hut-type building. There was one guard, who was silently killed by Danish commando
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On the 80th anniversary of the raid, in 2022, a memorial was unveiled to the raid, on the cliff top in Sark.
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A Private Redborn claimed to be on the raid, however no official records of anyone under this name exists.
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remarked on the raid as it "seemed a heavy price to pay for the capture of one prisoner and a copy of the
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where an Allied document reportedly instructed prisoners' hands to be tied. When this was brought to
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each carried, and required them to hold up their trousers. The practice of removing belts and/or
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at 1900 and landed on Sark with the object of offensive reconnaissance and capturing prisoners.
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Hermann Weinreich, was conveyed safely to England and provided useful information.
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The objective of the raid was of offensive reconnaissance and capturing prisoners.
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Sergeant Horace 'Brummie' Stokes (later of 2nd SAS – see also Operation Speedwell)
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Names of the soldiers who are known to have participated in the raid:
697:(see the photo of Operation Basalt memorial stone on Sark in article)
599:
Operation Basalt the British Raid on Sark and Hitler's Commando Order
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431:, who participated in Channel raids, states in his autobiography
623:"Men in Manacles: The Shackling of Prisoners of War, 1942–1943."
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Three German soldiers had died: the sentry and two prisoners.
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identify, as all the men had signed the Official Secrets Act.
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Military history of the Channel Islands during World War II
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338:, the husband of the Dame of Sark, in February 1943. Dame
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Sark during the German occupation of the Channel Islands
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Sark during the German occupation of the Channel Islands
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The newspapers recovered from Sark gave details of the
723:"Operation Basalt: Sark WW2 commando raid remembered"
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Captain Philip Pinckney (later of 2nd SAS – see also
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On the night of 3–4 October 1942 twelve men from the
248:(also known as the "Small Scale Raiding Force") and
315:It is also believed that this raid contributed to
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535:Allies at Dieppe: 4 Commando and the US Rangers
764:British Commando raids of the Second World War
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216:at 2200 it took longer than planned to reach
1500:Operations involving British special forces
1464:List of Commando raids on the Atlantic Wall
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193:was a small British raid conducted during
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293:and made their escape with no injuries.
628:Vol. 59, No. 3, July 1995, pp. 483–504.
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16:British raid on channel islands in WW2
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232:returned safely to Portland at 0530.
1490:World War II British Commando raids
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328:deportation of civilians to Germany
87:Sark Occupation and Heritage Museum
23:, also code-named Operation Basalt.
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626:The Journal of Military History,
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1515:October 1942 events in Europe
682:Guille, RJ (3 October 2017).
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21:2018 Southern Syria offensive
242:Special Operations Executive
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352:Participants on 2nd attempt
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707:: CS1 maint: postscript (
642:. Burbridge. p. 154.
184:three killed, one captured
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638:Stoney, Barbara (1984).
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19:Not to be confused with
413:Bombardier Eric Forster
28:Basalt (disambiguation)
345:Guernsey Evening Press
601:. The History Press.
537:. Osprey Publishing.
533:Fowler, Will (2012).
176:Casualties and losses
448:Operation Hardtack 7
440:Operation Ambassador
434:The Moon's a Balloon
26:For other uses, see
640:Sybil, Dame of Sark
621:Vance, Jonathan F.
368:Operation Speedwell
252:, left Portland on
47: /
597:Lee, Eric (2016).
362:Geoffrey Appleyard
1485:Conflicts in 1942
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1459:British Commandos
725:. 3 October 2022.
398:Bruce Ogden Smith
395:Colin Ogden Smith
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75:World War II
32:
1426:Thistledown
1204:Houndsworth
846:Abercrombie
443:with them.
429:David Niven
404:James Edgar
385:— see also
306:Dieppe Raid
236:2nd attempt
208:1st attempt
54: /
1479:Categories
1372:Roundabout
1337:Postmaster
1176:Gunnerside
1127:Fahrenheit
790:Ambassador
776:Abstention
693:10 October
520:References
244:commanded
39:49°25′48″N
1412:Speedwell
1386:Saxifrage
1344:Partridge
1295:Narcissus
1281:Musketoon
1218:Infatuate
1211:Huckaback
1057:Driftwood
1043:Checkmate
966:Candytuft
930:Barricade
916:Bulbasket
853:Acid Drop
783:Agreement
42:2°21′54″W
1419:Tarbrush
1288:Myrmidon
1253:Keystone
1197:Hawthorn
1183:Hardtack
1162:Gauntlet
1120:Freshman
1113:Frankton
1099:Exporter
1085:Deep Cut
1029:Crackers
1001:Colossus
980:Claymore
973:Chestnut
954:Branford
941:Hill 170
867:Astrakan
811:Aquatint
703:cite web
462:See also
454:Memorial
214:Portland
163:Strength
104:Location
73:Part of
1445:Wallace
1433:Tombola
1405:Sunstar
1393:Savanna
1379:Rumford
1330:Opossum
1274:Manacle
1232:Jubilee
1225:Jaywick
1148:Foxrock
1141:Farrier
1106:Flipper
1078:Dunhill
1050:Chopper
1015:Chariot
1008:Cartoon
947:Bristle
909:Begonia
860:Albumen
839:Archway
832:Amherst
804:Archery
502:night."
373:Lieut.
291:MTB 344
254:MTB 344
230:MTB 344
157:Germany
122:victory
120:British
1351:Pistol
1316:Nicety
1309:Newton
1302:Nelson
1260:Loyton
1246:Kitbag
1169:Grouse
1134:Forfar
1022:Canuck
994:Collar
936:Bardia
923:Brandy
902:Batman
895:Bigamy
888:Biting
881:Basalt
874:Baobab
818:Aflame
797:Anklet
646:
605:
541:
360:Major
317:Hitler
273:braces
142:
116:Result
1365:Roast
1358:Rimau
1267:Maple
1190:Hardy
1092:Devon
1071:Defoe
1064:Dryad
1036:Chess
825:Anglo
489:Notes
1495:Sark
1323:Noah
1155:Gaff
709:link
695:2021
644:ISBN
603:ISBN
539:ISBN
334:and
220:and
218:Sark
181:None
109:Sark
96:Date
1239:J V
348:".
225:344
223:MTB
197:on
1481::
705:}}
701:{{
686:.
658:^
553:^
383:MC
381:,
379:VC
201:.
171:20
168:12
756:e
749:t
742:v
711:)
652:.
611:.
547:.
389:)
370:)
30:.
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