WW2 SAS Records to be Published in Book Form

SAS forces in France during the second World War.

Secret records from the earliest days of the Special Air Service (SAS) carrying out daring attacks behind Nazi lines in north Africa and France have been published in a new book marking the regiment's 70th anniversary.

The tome includes first-hand reports from the special forces unit's disastrous first operation in November 1941, from which only 22 of the 65 soldiers who took part returned.

It also features the succinct orders for an ambitious but unsuccessful mission to "kill, or kidnap and remove to England" German commander Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in France in 1944.

The 600-page book, entitled The SAS War Diary 1941-45, collects rare and previously undisclosed documents detailing how the regiment was born out of fighting against Italian and German forces in the deserts of north Africa during the Second World War.

It goes on to describe the elite unit's role in the invasions of Sicily and Italy, as well as in the D-Day landings in France.

Read the full article: The Press Association: Historical SAS records published