The Jedburghs

The Secret History of the Allied Special Forces, France 1944

By: Will Irwin

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

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, told by a former U.S. Special Forces colonel with unique access to surviving veterans.

The story of the Special Forces in World War II has never fully been told before. Information about them began to be declassified only 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 in 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. Always, they operated against extraordinary odds. They 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 tell their story and offer a new perspective on D-Day itself. Will Irwin has selected seven of the Jedburgh teams and told their stories as gripping personal narratives. He has gathered archival documents, diaries and correspondence, and interviewed Jed veterans and family members in order to present this portrait of their crucial role, a role recognized by Churchill 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.

©2005 Will Irwin (P)2005 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"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." (Publishers Weekly)

A solid history of the Jeds, but a little one-eyed

Col. Irwin does a great job detailing the history and actions of the Jed teams in Europe with reference to the activities of a select group of teams, with one caveat. With few exceptions, the teams described were all American or French led, even 'though Brits were slightly more in numbers. I suspect that the author's base for information was largely located in the US, hence an unintentional bias. Nevertheless the book does an effective job in describing the adversity and hurdles that these small, extremely brave SF members had to overcome. Brave men, all!

Great story

The story & history are amazing and should be required reading for all Americans. The recording quality is poor, but still an amazing story.

Great Subject, A Bit Disjointed, So-so Narration

A great book on a similar WWII espionage subject is The Phantom Major. Try that one first.
This could have been a GREAT read. The subject is one that really interests me. It almost lives up to its potential. The story covers too many unconnected people and moves from place to place too often. The narrator is OK, but not my favorite.

Well-written lesser known story

Gripping story that has completely changed my perspective on WWII. The author does repeat facts over and over again, as if each chapter was a separate article and didn't expect you to read the earlier ones. However, it is well worth the read.

The stories of the Jedburghs, and the SOF units that stem from them, also include lots of books that are more accessible after reading this one.

Great Story But Poor Recording

The story was great and I enjoyed learning a lot about the role of Special Forces in World War II but the recording was terrible. The volume levels change dramatically throughout the recording, especially in the beginning, and make listening unpleasant at times. Nonetheless I loved hearing about the unconventional warfare mission during the Second World War and how it worked in support of conventional objectives.