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On 10th April, 1945,
in the heart of Nazi Germany
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eight British soldiers were caught
in a brutal ambush.
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BEN: They were pinned down
by a hail of machine-gun and sniper fire.
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00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,082
As the enemy closed in,
the end seemed inevitable.
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But then. out of nowhere,
a jeep stormed into view,.
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Two British soldiers were charging
headlong into the bullets.
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At the wheel was Paddy Mayne -
the most notorious leader of the SAS.
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The SAS was a radical new combat unit
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forged in the heat of
the North African desert.
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A handpicked group of rogue warriors
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who attacked the enemy
from behind their own lines.
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But in 1943,
the SAS had left the desert
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to enter a darker and
far more complex theatre of war.
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With unprecedented access
to the SAS files
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unseen archive footage
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and exclusive interviews
with its original members
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this is the remarkable story
of the SAS' fight for Europe.
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A new phase of the war that hurled them
into their bloodiest battles yet,.
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Well, I didn't hear it.
The one that hits you, you never hear.
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They would face the terror Of execution
and the trauma Of civilian casualties...
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We were there, quite literally,
to liberate an enslaved people.
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And they would be the first Allied soldiers
to witness the nightmare
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of Belsen concentration camp.
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TONKIN: There is no way of
describing the horror of that camp.
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The SAS was a unit of
battle-hardened desert Commandos
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who fought in small groups
behind enemy lines
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and wreaked untold damage.
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But the man who had created the SAS.
David Archibald Stirling
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was an aristocratic dreamer
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who had once held lofty ambitions
to be an artist
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or perhaps a famous mountaineer.
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Many at British HQ did not like
his unconventional tactics
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or the rogues and reprobates
he had handpicked to fight with him.
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Every man knew the risks.
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Through a combination of intuition.
Imagination and self-confidence
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he had made a success
of this radical new method of warfare.
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But in 1943. Stirling was captured
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and thrown into the Nazis'
most secure prison: Colditz.
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Now the SAS was under
a very different commander.
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The unpredictable and violent
former Irish Rugby International
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Major Paddy Mayne.
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Mayne had built his reputation
on the battlefield
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as a warrior of the first rank
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but unlike Stirling he had no interest
in charming High Command
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was often drunk and disorderly,
and prone to acts of savagery.
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The original men of the SAS
have long since passed away
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but in 1987 a handful of them
told their story on film.
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MAN:
57, take 1.
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They all remembered the unit's
most notorious fighter. Paddy Mayne.
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He had a marvellous battle nostril
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and what looked to be
absolutely foolhardy
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that was legitimate with Paddy
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because of this extraordinary skill.
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Paddy, who was a man
that if you walked behind
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you had no fear at all.
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If you were with Paddy Mayne,
there was no fear at all.
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But I think Paddy always needed
an eye on him.
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We wondered whether Paddy had got
the right connections
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00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:09,887
and he'd certainly ruffled
a lot of feathers.
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We wondered whether
he could weather the storm.
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For two years. Stirling had lead his men
across the desert.
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In July 1943,
Paddy Mayne led them out of it.
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For the first time. the SAS would be
taking the fight to mainland Europe
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The liberation would begin
with the invasion of Sicily.
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In July 1943,
160.000 soldiers on 3.000 ships
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prepared to set sail
across the Mediterranean.
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The SAS would be
leading them into battle,.
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Mayne was ordered to leave
Stirling 's original tactics in the desert.
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His men would not be fighting
behind the lines
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but at the spearhead of the invasion.
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The desert war was over.
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Paddy Mayne was now leading his troops
into a different sort of conflict.
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Their target was the coastal defence battery
at Capo Murro Di Porco.
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A veritable fortress,
defended by a range of heavy guns.
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If Mayne 's men failed
to knock out the battery
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the invasion fleet could be blasted to shreds
long before it reached the shore.
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As the unit approached the coast,
conditions turned against them.
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And the weather got very, very rough.
It got rougher and rougher.
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And I remember
Paddy saying to the captain
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"You've got to land us, you know."
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And "You must land us,
whatever you do.
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We've got to be landed."
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BEN: At 1am the men climbed down
into their landing craft
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bucking in a heavy sea.
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Many were sick
into cardboard buckets
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which immediately fell apart
in their hands.
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Through the gloom
as they approached the target
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shapes bobbed
on the surface of the sea.
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Allied paratroopers. blown off course
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were fighting for their lives in the water.
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Sergeant Pat Riley could hear the men
drowning and screaming for help.
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When we come to do the landing
on Murro di Porco
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the Americans, I think it was
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that flew the airborne in
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but unfortunately
they dropped them short
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and they fell in the sea.
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And as we went along
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there was a lot of
airborne boys in the water
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which we picked up
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but then it came to a thing
where we couldn't... couldn't.
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It was jeopardising the operation
so we had to push on.
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HE SOBS
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MAN: Why couldn't you stop
for the guys in the water?
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Well, we got an operation.
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Please, those people, the casualties...
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You can't.
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People might find it hard
to understand these days
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perhaps ordinary units understand
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but my idea that my first objective is
to get there.
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I've got gun batteries to destroy.
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00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:55,447
The guns were positioned atop towering cliffs
more than a hundred feet high,.
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Mayne ordered his men to scale them
and storm the gun batteries.
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00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:06,644
But each one was protected
by a ring of concrete pillboxes.
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00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,885
SAS veteran Reg Seekings
had worked out a plan of attack.
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What I'd done on board ship
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I'd got the designs and measurements
of the different pillboxes
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00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:22,966
and I'd worked out angles of fire
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00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,368
got a certain distance
where the fire crossed
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00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,324
you could get underneath there
in between the 2 guns
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00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,728
and all you had to do was
just stick a grenade through the slit...
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EXPLOSION
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...and it was finished
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and then run round
and any survivors you finished off.
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00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:46,604
Mayne's men had put the guns
out of action
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00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:49,803
allowing the invasion fleet
a safe landing.
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00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:56,806
But they were about to
come up against something
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that they had never experienced
in the desert.
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00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:12,281
As they began clearing the bunkers
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00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:17,042
Reg Seekings found terrified civilians
cowering in the darkness.
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00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:21,206
I heard voices, I called them,
and they came out
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00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:23,208
came filing out, these civvies.
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00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:24,366
They'd all taken cover
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when the thing started
on this gun battery.
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00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,761
And drawing up the rear
was a young girl.
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00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:33,448
The only difference between her
and my sister is
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she was dark, my sister was fair
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and a young girl about 14
or something like that
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come out so proudly
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and just as she got past me
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a grenade went off nearby
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and that just broke her
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And she grabbed what obviously was
her grandfather, I suppose
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sobbing her heart out.
144
00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:58,691
And this really cooled me down -
the thought of my kid sister.
145
00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,846
Now civilians were being dragged
into the conflict.
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00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,843
The clarity and gentlemanliness
of the desert war
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suddenly seemed very distant.
148
00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:35,331
As Mayne led his men
up through Sicily
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confidence in their new commander
was growing.
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00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:44,605
BEN: During the house-to-house combat,
Mayne was a ferocious whirlwind
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00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:48,725
but during breaks in the fighting,
he was a beacon of calm
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nonchalantly strolling the streets,
camera in hand.
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PIANO MUSIC
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The port of Augusta was next to fall.
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This unique footage shows Mayne's men
throwing a boisterous looting party
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instigated by their leader.
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00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:23,127
Paddy Mayne was seen
pushing a baby's pram up the street
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filled with bottles of booze.
159
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He then used a hand grenade
to blow open a safe in the bank
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and was disappointed to find
only a handful of silver spoons
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and an old brooch.
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ALMONDS: They'd have been Viking raiders,
without a doubt, I think, most of them.
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If ever there was a raider
he was one, wasn't he?
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He was the leader
of a raiding squadron, in fact.
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Drink and be merry boys, and so on,
was very typical of the attitude
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in which the Vikings sailed
across the North Sea
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to ravage the coasts
of Britain and Europe.
168
00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:09,840
The Allies had liberated Sicily
169
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and on September 8th 1943,
the Italian government surrendered,.
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Now, the battle for Italy would be fought
against crack German troops
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who had no intention
of giving up without a fight.
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So far. Mayne had fulfilled his orders
to attack head on
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and was succeeding.
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But Stirling 's unique idea
was being eroded.
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00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:34,562
The unit was losing the advantage
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00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:38,650
that came with fighting in small groups
behind the lines.
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00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:43,286
The full consequences of this
would become horribly apparent
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when they were ordered to storm
the fortified port of Termoli.
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Termoli was... it was terrible.
180
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It was one of the worst times
of the unit, actually.
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00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:08,844
The port of Termoli,
on the Adriatic coast of Italy
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was the lynchpin of the German fine
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00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:13,805
and the Allies were determined
to break it.
184
00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,811
After a morning of fighting,
the port was in Allied hands
185
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It felt like a pushover
but their confidence was misplaced.
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At dawn on October 5th
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the Germans launched
a counter-attack so fierce
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it looked like the town was
about to be recaptured by the enemy.
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Most of the regular troops retreated
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00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,565
leaving Mayne's men and the Commandos
to hold their positions
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until the rest of the force could regroup.
192
00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:45,724
Mayne ordered Reg Seekings and his troop
to move as quickly as possible
193
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to reinforce a point in the line
194
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where another counter-attack
was expected imminently.
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00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:55,131
Seeking 's 17 men boarded a truck
196
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unaware that they were firmly
in the Nazis' sights,.
197
00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:04,523
Hiding at the top of the town clock tower
was a German artillery 'spotter'
198
00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:06,608
watching their every move.
199
00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:08,404
Unknown to the British
200
00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:12,764
he was pinpointing targets for
the German Panzer gunners in the hills.
201
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:18,483
We loaded on to the trucks.
And, well, I didn't hear it.
202
00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:20,761
The one that hits you,
you never hear.
203
00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:33,369
Even Reg Seekings,
known as the hardest man in the unit
204
00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:35,607
was haunted by that attack.
205
00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:38,962
The memory would stay with him
for the rest of his life.
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00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:40,684
SEEKINGS:
It landed right in the middle of us.
207
00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,041
Just a foot or so behind me actually.
208
00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:45,728
It was a shambles - terrible,
209
00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:50,724
there was Sergeant McNinch.
210
00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,810
He was actually sick,
but he'd volunteered to drive the truck
211
00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,526
and he was sitting there, and I said
"For Christ's sake, Mac, come on."
212
00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:01,245
And he's there
with a big grin on his face.
213
00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:05,842
And I said "Don't sit there with a bloody grin,
you bloody idiot! Come on, out!"
214
00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:09,407
And I grabbed him, and fell forward,
and he was stone dead.
215
00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:11,488
A piece of shrapnel
had gone right through him
216
00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:14,171
and killed him instantly
with a grin on his face.
217
00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:19,767
And another one, Henderson,
Sergeant Henderson
218
00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:22,485
he was hanging upside down
on the truck
219
00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:24,921
and one arm had gone
220
00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:28,602
and you could see his heart, lungs,
all pumping away
221
00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,008
and he called to me, and said
222
00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,408
"Take this tommy gun off my chest,
it's hurting my chest."
223
00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:40,165
And so I took him, got him,
lowered him down
224
00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,283
And then a chap named Skinner,
who had just...
225
00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:46,722
the one that got the grenade on his leg
226
00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:50,446
he'd just returned from hospital to us,
recovered from that
227
00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:52,289
and he was on fire.
228
00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:55,210
I never realised body burnt so fast.
229
00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:57,722
And I don't know,
it was just one of those things.
230
00:16:57,760 --> 00:16:59,762
All the other carnage around you
231
00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:03,521
but the sight of
one of your friends burning
232
00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:06,811
I thought, hell,
the first thing that came to mind
233
00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:08,251
I've gotta put it out.
234
00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:09,611
And I went to look round
235
00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,884
and there was a woman
who used to do our washing
236
00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:15,809
her and her daughters
237
00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:18,411
they were laying there,
blown open
238
00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:21,842
all their stomach blown up
like a balloon
239
00:17:22,360 --> 00:17:27,685
and on, alongside the heap,
was her eldest son
240
00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:32,009
and as I stepped over the top of him
to get some water out of this building -
241
00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:33,883
they'd blown
the front of the building in -
242
00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:40,166
that he jumped up and ran around screaming
with this huge balloon of gut.
243
00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:43,962
So I caught him and I shot him -
that was the only thing you could do.
244
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:45,843
Couldn't have him
running around like that.
245
00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:47,484
You could do no good for him.
246
00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:53,645
Seekings turned back
to try to find other survivors.
247
00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:58,641
In the town square he was confronted
by another harrowing scene.
248
00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:03,889
A few minutes later, Seekings caught sight
of the boy's teenage sister.
249
00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:06,366
She was shell-shocked but uninjured.
250
00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:11,044
He would never forget her expression
of peculiar, dreadful calm.
251
00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:19,480
The destroyed truck was photographed
shortly after.
252
00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:22,044
In the battle for Termoli
253
00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:27,211
the unit had lost 21 men killed
and 24 wounded.
254
00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:35,481
It's shattering because these were
the first men I'd actually commanded.
255
00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:40,162
Men which I had trained, new men,
and moulded them together.
256
00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:44,442
They'd become more than just your men.
257
00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:46,881
They were your friends,
your pals, you know.
258
00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:49,844
And they were good chaps, you know.
Nice chaps.
259
00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:52,124
Apart from anything else.
260
00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:06,206
BEN: The fight for the town raged
for another 12 hours.
261
00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:09,200
But then suddenly
the counter-attack ceased
262
00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:11,368
and the Germans began to pull back.
263
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:16,088
Against incredible odds,
Mayne and his unit had held Termoli.
264
00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:22,485
The top brass at HQ were delighted
with the victory,.
265
00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:26,525
But Mayne was deeply affected
by the loss of his men.
266
00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:31,446
He had accepted a change of tactics
267
00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:35,166
and now felt a personal responsibility
for the outcome.
268
00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:41,969
When things got rough,
Paddy got more and more determined
269
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:46,927
and I think he became more clear out
in what he wanted
270
00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:48,769
and what he was going to do.
271
00:19:49,360 --> 00:19:51,601
He didn't go ranting and raving mad.
272
00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:54,530
He just became colder
and colder and colder.
273
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:17,929
Late one evening in October, 1943
274
00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:22,488
a young British prisoner of war sat down
to a delicious meal
275
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,168
with a Nazi General.
276
00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:35,962
Lieutenant John Tonkin of the SAS
had been captured
277
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:37,570
during the raid on Termoli
278
00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:39,762
and imprisoned in central Italy.
279
00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:44,246
After refusing to divulge anything
under interrogation
280
00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:46,643
he was surprised to be invited for dinner
281
00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:48,842
with a German divisional commander.
282
00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:54,364
At the end of an oddly pleasant evening
283
00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,528
the enemy general shook his hand
284
00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:58,244
and wished him good luck.
285
00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:01,406
Tonkin would soon find out why.
286
00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:11,125
TONKIN, RECORDING:
This is of interest to me
287
00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:14,926
and it might be to future generations
of our family.
288
00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:22,003
In 1987 John Tonkin recorded
his own very personal war memoir.
289
00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,006
TONKIN:
Our motto was 'Who dares wins'
290
00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:30,922
which we somewhat irreverently transferred
into 'Who cares who wins?'
291
00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,010
For the first time,
his family has given permission
292
00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:38,601
for this unique and poignant testament
to be broadcast.
293
00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:50,009
As Tonkin was being driven
back to his cell
294
00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,204
the guard told him he was about to be
handed over to the secret police.
295
00:21:54,520 --> 00:22:00,129
TONKIN: Almost his exact words,
very precise words, were
296
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,482
"I want you to listen very carefully
to what I have to say.
297
00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:08,809
We now have orders
which we can't disobey
298
00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:13,971
that we must hand you over
to the German special police
299
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:19,726
and they are people that I will tell you,
quite frankly, we do not like
300
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:24,484
and I must warn you
that from now on
301
00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:29,731
the German army, to its shame,
can no longer guarantee your life."
302
00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,880
infuriated by the success
of units like the SAS
303
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,527
Hitler had issued
the infamous Commando Order.
304
00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:43,089
All enemy soldiers caught
operating behind the lines
305
00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:45,487
were to be executed without trial.
306
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:50,050
His officers knew that the order
was inhumane and illegal.
307
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:54,449
But as the Nazi zealots of the SS
took control of the German army
308
00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:57,370
the SAS could expect no mercy.
309
00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:04,490
Tonkin realised he faced a stark choice:
escape or die.
310
00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:12,731
TONKIN: Every hour on that drive,
the truck stopped
311
00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:14,489
and the Germans used to get out
312
00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:16,249
and they'd all congregate out there
313
00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:18,487
and have a cigarette
for a 10 minute 'smoko'.
314
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:20,849
And I then got my idea
315
00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:25,442
and I started to work on the rope
that held the canvas down
316
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:31,209
and slowly, bit by bit,
I managed to get it off.
317
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,482
Way down this very rough mountainside
as hard as I could go
318
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,330
and in due course the truck started up
without any hullabaloo.
319
00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:46,001
They hadn't missed me.
And drove on its way.
320
00:23:47,120 --> 00:23:49,248
Tonkin trekked south for days
321
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:53,285
until he stumbled into an Allied patrol
and returned to safety.
322
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:58,807
Tonkin had narrowly escaped becoming
a victim of Hitler's Commando Order
323
00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:00,888
but others were not so lucky.
324
00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:05,330
A week earlier, four captured SAS men
were murdered in cold blood.
325
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:09,081
The fuhrer's revenge on the SAS
had begun in earnest.
326
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,689
JANE STOREY:
When my father was captured
327
00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,849
he was a big believer
that most people were good
328
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:20,601
so he actually had a great deal
of sympathy, in a way
329
00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:22,404
for the normal German soldiers
330
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:23,805
but not for the others.
331
00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,567
He said he couldn't understand
332
00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:30,251
how anybody could be
so cruel and horrible.
333
00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,684
I think he felt very patriotic.
334
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:38,080
He just wanted to do his bit
for the country.
335
00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:48,123
In the spring of 1944
336
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,482
the SAS was stationed in Britain
for the first time
337
00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:55,844
preparing for the last great push
of the war: D-Day.
338
00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:02,923
160.000 British. Canadian
and American troops
339
00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:06,362
were preparing to invade
Nazi-occupied France.
340
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:10,248
But the SAS would not be joining
the invasion force.
341
00:25:11,120 --> 00:25:14,567
Instead. they would be going back
behind the lines.
342
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,125
This secret battle map
reveals the plan
343
00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:22,846
to launch an unprecedented
40 SAS operations
344
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,531
all across occupied France.
345
00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:31,647
Each with a very British code name
that gave no clue to their true intent.
346
00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:37,525
Their task was to blow up supply lines,
blockade roads
347
00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:39,483
arm the local Resistance
348
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:42,000
and stop the northward advance
of the Panzers
349
00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:43,849
in any way they could.
350
00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:50,687
The SAS had grown into a mighty force
of some 2,500 men.
351
00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:56,364
This rare footage shows Paddy Mayne
parading his new troops
352
00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,244
on home soil
for General Montgomery.
353
00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:03,327
Mayne was fiercely proud of the SAS
354
00:26:03,360 --> 00:26:06,967
and their reputation as
hard-fighting rogues and reprobates
355
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,800
but he was about to enrol a man
with a different kind of zeal.
356
00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:18,005
He would meet him at dawn
after an all-night drinking session
357
00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:20,520
with desert original. Johnny Cooper.
358
00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:23,721
COOPER: At that stage -
I was struggling to get the blackouts down -
359
00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:25,922
there was a bang at the front door.
360
00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:29,367
So he said "Go on, Johnny,
find out what it is."
361
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:30,970
Because none of the mess staff
were on duty.
362
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,002
I mean, everybody was still in bed.
363
00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:36,931
I opened the door
and there stood this Padre.
364
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:40,089
He said "Captain McLuskey
reporting for duty."
365
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:46,802
The Reverend James Fraser McLuskey
was a gentle. devout man of God
366
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:50,890
who firmly believed his calling was
to help the British war effort.
367
00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:55,446
He had been training for months
and had even learned to parachute
368
00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:57,528
but so far his new commanding officer
369
00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:01,246
had been chiefly interested in
spirits of the alcoholic kind,.
370
00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,804
MAN: Film roll 30.
34, take 1.
371
00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:12,485
The Padres memories of that first meeting
were also recorded in 1987.
372
00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:14,489
MAN:
What were your first impressions?
373
00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:16,529
Somewhat chaotic!
374
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:21,049
The commanding officer
and some of his best friends
375
00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:26,610
had been celebrating the night before
376
00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:29,325
and indeed into the morning
377
00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:33,843
so the appearance of the mess
was pleasantly confused.
378
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,683
So the shout from inside, from Paddy...
"Who's that John?"
379
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:39,563
I said "New Padre reporting for duty."
380
00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:42,080
"Bring him in,
pull him a pint of beer."
381
00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:44,328
So I went across
and pulled him a pint of beer.
382
00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:46,283
I said "Right, we're going for breakfast."
383
00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,802
And went in for breakfast
with the Padre with a pint of beer
384
00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:51,444
Paddy and myself with a pint of beer
385
00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:57,283
and that that was his initiation
into 1 SAS regiment!
386
00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:02,523
McLuskey, dubbed
'the parachute Padre'
387
00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:05,484
would join the men on their missions
behind the lines
388
00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:10,481
and bring a spiritual element
to this most ungodly bunch of warriors.
389
00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:14,521
While the Padre would be
going into action
390
00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,291
Paddy Mayne,
to his frustration, would not.
391
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:20,201
He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
392
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:21,765
but the order was clear:
393
00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:24,724
stay in Britain
and coordinate operations.
394
00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:29,445
Instead, the missions would be lead
by his most trusted men.
395
00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:32,529
One of the first would be
the former Nazi prisoner
396
00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:35,325
newly-promoted Captain John Tonkin.
397
00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:39,165
He was to lead Operation Bulbasket
398
00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:44,161
and parachute into the forest
near Poitiers in west central France.
399
00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:49,686
We got a sudden flap
and a sudden warning came into the camp
400
00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:51,529
and Paddy called me over
and he said
401
00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:57,203
"Well, you are due to leave tomorrow morning
and you'd better get on with things."
402
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:06,451
Just after midnight on June 6th,
a few hours before the D-Day invasion
403
00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,370
Tonkin set out, in secret, for France.
404
00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:17,324
TONKIN: The pilot was running straight in,
very, very beautifully indeed
405
00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:19,408
and then the green light came on
406
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:21,363
so I just pushed off
407
00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:23,801
and it was absolutely beautiful.
408
00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:28,286
Dangling in the air,
drifting gently down
409
00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:30,527
bright moonlight,
no problems at all.
410
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:36,045
Soon after dawn
411
00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,846
a young French secret agent
greeted Tonkin at the drop zone.
412
00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:43,009
A stilted exchange
of passwords took place:
413
00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:46,486
"Is there a house in the woods?"
414
00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:51,285
"Yes, but it's not very good"
said agent 'Samuel'
415
00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:53,641
whose fantastical real name
416
00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:58,925
was Major René Amédée Louis Pierre
Maingard de la Ville-és-Offrans.
417
00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:07,562
Major Maingard was Tonkin's link
to the local French Resistance.
418
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:12,402
The region contained
more than 7.000 'Maquis'
419
00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:16,650
the name given to the complex constellation
of local guerrilla fighters
420
00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:19,365
who were sworn to defeat
the Nazi invaders
421
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,927
and who would be vital
to Tonkin's sabotage mission.
422
00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:29,891
The Maquis were certainly brave
but they were woefully under-equipped
423
00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:34,403
largely untrained
and prone to violent infighting.
424
00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:39,330
And worst of all, they had been infiltrated
by Nazi informers.
425
00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,840
John Tonkin decided
to put his trust in the Maquis.
426
00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:48,044
It was a risky strategy
but it was the only one available.
427
00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:56,281
Tonkin's 40 men were parachuted in
428
00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:58,800
along with an airdrop of supplies
429
00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:01,883
including jeeps.
430
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:08,923
And suddenly the sky was absolutely full
of jeeps and men and containers.
431
00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:11,361
They all came roaring in together...
432
00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:16,604
One jeep, I remember, one of its
90-foot parachutes tore and collapsed
433
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,684
and that jeep came down
like a ton of bricks.
434
00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:23,526
And the jeep fairly thumped
into the ground and dug itself a hole.
435
00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:32,409
Tonkin was now ready to set up camp
in the woods and begin his mission.
436
00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:40,325
TONKIN: Our initial tasks were
to blow up -
437
00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:42,522
and encourage the Resistance
to blow up -
438
00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:44,324
four main railway lines.
439
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:49,602
And we started up the jeeps,
put the guns on them
440
00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:52,769
put the fuel in them and headed out.
441
00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:03,290
Across France. SAS units were parachuting in
to conduct their sabotage missions.
442
00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:06,809
Just as in the desert war
443
00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:10,162
they would use jeeps
to attack targets of opportunity.
444
00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:15,208
And they now had a new weapon -
air strikes.
445
00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:18,882
By spying on German movements
446
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:22,811
they could call in
a deadly barrage of fire from above.
447
00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:27,842
If we could tell the higher commands
448
00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:32,962
whether the German army
or their air force was being reinforced
449
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:36,402
withdrawn or just maintained
in any one area
450
00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:38,647
the aircraft would pick them up.
451
00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:52,522
The results of their missions in France
are recorded in a unique artefact
452
00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:54,210
the War Diary
453
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:58,086
held in secrecy by the SAS
for seventy years.
454
00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:02,529
This extraordinary scrapbook
of combat reports
455
00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:04,324
and original photographs
456
00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:06,488
was put together by the men themselves
457
00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:10,366
and kept in a leather binder
liberated from Nazi Germany.
458
00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:17,091
It lists the impressive tally of munitions,
communications and rail links
459
00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:18,963
that the SAS destroyed.
460
00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:25,965
But there is another terrible list
that makes for chilling reading.
461
00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:28,762
For every SAS success
462
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:33,442
the Nazis exacted bloody reprisals
against innocent civilians.
463
00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:37,245
On 27th June, the diary records
464
00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:40,648
the village of Vermot
was burned to the ground.
465
00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,489
On the same day,
the village of Dun-les-Places
466
00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:47,046
was given over to rape and murder.
467
00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:51,611
21 civilians were shot
by firing squad.
468
00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:56,967
MAN:
Fire!
469
00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:58,240
GUNSHOTS
470
00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:02,369
In the face of such atrocities
471
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,404
the SAS needed someone
to keep up their spirits.
472
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:09,602
To supply this,
one man took a leap of faith.
473
00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:15,843
On June 22nd the Parachute Padre
crashed to earth through a tree
474
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:18,406
and was found lying unconscious.
475
00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:24,882
The next thing I knew,
the Padre had landed with us.
476
00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:26,570
And I thought "Oh, good God!"
477
00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:31,363
Fraser McLuskey had parachuted in
near Dijon
478
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:34,643
to minister to the men
of Operation Houndsworth
479
00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:36,921
another of the sabotage missions.
480
00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,566
With him. he carried everything required
481
00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:42,206
should the need arise
for an impromptu service.
482
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:53,440
MCLUSKEY: Padres,
by the Geneva Convention, are unarmed.
483
00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:55,960
And I never carried arms.
484
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:59,686
And I think the men were glad
to see the Padre
485
00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:04,450
as a kind of symbol of the will of God
486
00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:06,403
for peace for all men.
487
00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:10,967
In the type of work they were doing
488
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:15,164
it was possible for a Padre to be there
without being a nuisance to them.
489
00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:17,680
That is to say that
there were jobs to be done
490
00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:19,802
and when we had drops from the air
491
00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:21,729
another pair of hands were useful.
492
00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:24,411
I could help the doctor sometimes,
you know.
493
00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:28,327
He even came out, and he was my driver
on one or two things.
494
00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:30,010
The only thing he didn't realise
495
00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:32,611
that guns made such a big noise
as they did.
496
00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:33,641
HE LAUGHS
497
00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:38,083
I had no doubt that
the carriage of arms was necessary
498
00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:41,602
and I suppose you might have said
I wasn't altogether unprotected
499
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:44,211
because I had a large and burley batman
500
00:35:44,240 --> 00:35:47,562
who came with me in the jeep
or car or whatever I had
501
00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:50,888
and who was possibly armed to excess.
502
00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:52,001
HE LAUGHS
503
00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:59,484
McLuskey provided something
the SAS had never had before.
504
00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:03,208
Someone who was prepared,
without sentimentality
505
00:36:03,240 --> 00:36:06,847
to tend to their spirits,
even their hearts.
506
00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:14,809
I had no doubt
that the war was necessary.
507
00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:20,290
I was quite sure that we were there,
quite literally
508
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,290
to liberate an enslaved people.
509
00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:29,771
And to keep the torch of freedom burning
throughout the wildest fires we could.
510
00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:33,688
COOPER:
Everybody liked him.
511
00:36:33,720 --> 00:36:35,563
A lot of them loved him.
512
00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:40,369
Everywhere he went,
he smoothed the feathers of fear.
513
00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:45,081
He did a terrific amount of good
in just his presence.
514
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,721
While the Padre was calming nerves
in Operation Houndsworth
515
00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:57,486
200 miles away, near Poitiers
516
00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:01,969
Tonkin feared the net was closing
around Operation Bulbasket.
517
00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:06,249
Local intelligence indicated
that a full-scale hunt
518
00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:08,567
for the British saboteurs
was underway.
519
00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:14,322
Tonkin's wireless messages to HQ
reflected his mounting fears.
520
00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:17,645
"Troop movements in the area
day and night."
521
00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:21,488
"Situation serious.
400 Germans are looking for us."
522
00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:23,644
"Area unhealthy."
523
00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:27,450
Running low on supplies
and keen for adventure
524
00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:30,848
some of Tonkin's men were becoming
bored and careless.
525
00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:37,722
Two of my SAS troopers,
extremely stupidly
526
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:40,570
had gone into the village of Verrieres
from the camp
527
00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:42,967
to chat up the girls
and to have some wine
528
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:44,889
and then they'd stroll back again.
529
00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:50,003
Well, that was crazy!
530
00:37:56,040 --> 00:38:00,728
At first light, we were woken up
extremely rudely.
531
00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:09,204
Panic is an incredibly infectious thing.
532
00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:11,568
The Germans are coming,
the Germans are coming.
533
00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:12,886
Run, run, run!
534
00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:18,086
I was almost certain that they were
trying to drive us into a trap.
535
00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:23,010
Tonkin, and a handful of men,
ran deep into the woods and escaped.
536
00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:26,922
But most of the Bulbasket troop fled
in the opposite direction
537
00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:29,281
down the slope and into the valley
538
00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:31,766
and straight into the hands
of the enemy.
539
00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:34,406
GUNSHOT
540
00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:41,686
31 captured SAS men were now
at the mercy of the Commando Order.
541
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:50,926
On the morning of July 7th
542
00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:54,885
the prisoners were taken
deep into the forest of Saint-Sauvant.
543
00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,404
Burial pits had already been dug.
544
00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:05,849
The prisoners' hands were tied.
545
00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:09,123
Each man was escorted
by two German soldiers.
546
00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:13,601
There was no possibility of escape.
547
00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:20,210
Lieutenant Richard Crisp. the only officer
who could speak German
548
00:39:20,240 --> 00:39:24,131
was read the execution order
and relayed it to the men.
549
00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:32,886
This picture was taken
shortly before the ambush.
550
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:36,445
Only four of these men escaped
with Tonkin.
551
00:39:36,480 --> 00:39:38,528
The rest were executed.
552
00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:42,963
Their bodies dragged into the forest
and buried in the pits.
553
00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:55,840
Today a memorial marks the burial site
of the murdered SAS.
554
00:39:57,120 --> 00:40:02,763
The victims of the single greatest atrocity
carried out under Hitler's Commando Order.
555
00:40:03,840 --> 00:40:06,081
Even long after the conflict
556
00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:12,002
the battle-hardened SAS officer in Tonkin
could not allow any display of emotion.
557
00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:15,886
TONKIN:
31 SAS were caught
558
00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:21,450
and that was the sad and horrible story
about that particular episode.
559
00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:26,644
JANE STOREY: I think one of the hardest
things for dad must have been
560
00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:30,446
that a farmer had been out looking for truffles,
I believe, with his dogs
561
00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:32,403
and they found the graves
562
00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:37,480
the shallow graves of the men that had been
murdered there in the forest.
563
00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:41,411
So he had to go back and identify them.
564
00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:48,570
There's supposed to be
a certain amount of decency in war
565
00:40:48,600 --> 00:40:50,648
and that just disappeared.
566
00:40:53,240 --> 00:40:56,926
Having escaped,
the irrepressible Tonkin fought on.
567
00:40:56,960 --> 00:40:59,122
With just eight men.
568
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:05,963
TONKIN: We, from then on, started
to get fairly rough with the Germans.
569
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,321
Wherever we could find them
and locate them
570
00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:10,567
we'd get the RAF to bomb them.
571
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:16,004
On July 14th he called in an airstrike
on the SS who had attacked his camp.
572
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:20,844
150 were reported killed.
573
00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:27,091
TONKIN:
In the operating period of 43 days
574
00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:32,001
we attempted 32 attacks
575
00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:34,486
and only two of them were unsuccessful.
576
00:41:38,360 --> 00:41:40,169
Over a three-month period
577
00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:44,285
Bulbasket and the other SAS operations
had provided vital support
578
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:46,971
in the successful invasion of France,.
579
00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:51,080
They had destroyed 60 railway targets
580
00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:54,044
killed or wounded 760 of the enemy
581
00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:58,929
and taken 3,000 prisoners.
Including a General.
582
00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:06,247
In a theatre of war much darker
and more brutal than the desert conflict
583
00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:11,571
the SAS had proved their behind-the-lines
tactics were as vital as ever.
584
00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:16,489
CHEERING
585
00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:24,888
On August 25th. 1944.
Paris was liberated.
586
00:42:26,200 --> 00:42:30,364
Amid the throng of celebrations
drove an SAS jeep.
587
00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:35,685
In the passenger seat was
the hulking figure of Paddy Mayne
588
00:42:35,720 --> 00:42:39,281
who had finally been allowed
to join his men in France.
589
00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:43,805
Three weeks earlier, Paddy Mayne
had been parachuted in behind the lines
590
00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:47,970
with orders "not to lead attacks
but to coordinate action".
591
00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:51,569
He therefore drove around
from one operation to another
592
00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:56,481
treating the whole thing as if it was
an enjoyable, if extremely dangerous, holiday.
593
00:43:01,840 --> 00:43:06,880
Driving Mayne on this Vacation'
was SAS navigator Mike Sadler
594
00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:11,084
who had come to understand
his commander's complex personality.
595
00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:13,566
SADLER:
He was physically terribly tough
596
00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:17,924
and a very nice and kind fellow
most of the time.
597
00:43:18,600 --> 00:43:22,764
Once he had gone beyond
a certain point, drinking
598
00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:25,406
he became somebody quite different.
599
00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:31,290
After a splendid lunch that we had
in a black market restaurant
600
00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:34,164
we were all sitting round
drinking our coffee and so on
601
00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:36,009
and he suddenly produced
a hand grenade
602
00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:38,281
and pulled the pin out and stood it
in the middle of the table.
603
00:43:53,440 --> 00:43:55,044
We didn't know quite what to do.
604
00:43:55,080 --> 00:43:57,890
We all sat wondering
whether to dive under the table.
605
00:43:57,920 --> 00:43:59,570
Some people did.
606
00:43:59,600 --> 00:44:04,049
Others thought, well, he can't be intending
to blow himself to pieces and us
607
00:44:04,080 --> 00:44:05,650
so we just sat there.
608
00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:13,728
And of course
he'd cut the detonator off
609
00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:16,127
so it was alright,
but it was a sort of, you know
610
00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:18,367
he liked to give somebody a fright.
611
00:44:19,080 --> 00:44:22,243
BEN: It was a typically macho
Mayne performance
612
00:44:22,280 --> 00:44:26,649
but it was also symbolic of the kind of war
the SAS was now fighting.
613
00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:31,766
Filled with daring bravado,
but with cruelty just beneath the surface.
614
00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:46,410
For four years. the SAS had fought
its unconventional war
615
00:44:46,440 --> 00:44:49,808
across baking deserts
and through deep forests
616
00:44:50,320 --> 00:44:54,928
battling against invaders who wished
to conquer and enslave the world.
617
00:44:57,360 --> 00:45:00,762
But as the war entered
its final. bloody chapter
618
00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:05,408
the SAS found itself fighting against
people defending their own land.
619
00:45:07,080 --> 00:45:12,371
In March 1945 the SAS crossed the Rhine
and entered Nazi Germany.
620
00:45:14,840 --> 00:45:18,083
As the Allies chased the Nazis
back into Germany
621
00:45:18,120 --> 00:45:20,521
the SAS were in the vanguard
622
00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:24,480
acting as a forward reconnaissance force
623
00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:29,003
weeding out pockets of resistance
and battling the fanatical SS.
624
00:45:30,240 --> 00:45:32,447
BEN:
The end of the war was in sight
625
00:45:33,240 --> 00:45:35,846
and Paddy Mayne plunged
into his final conflict
626
00:45:35,880 --> 00:45:40,329
with a fervour that was either
supremely brave, or suicidal
627
00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:42,442
and possibly both.
628
00:45:50,520 --> 00:45:53,251
With orders only
to coordinate the action
629
00:45:53,280 --> 00:45:57,968
Mayne hadn't tasted battle
since the massacre of his men at Termoli.
630
00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:00,128
He was itching for a fight.
631
00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:03,731
And he brought along
his own musical accompaniment.
632
00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:07,162
He parachuted in
with a gramophone strapped to his leg.
633
00:46:08,200 --> 00:46:13,081
Paddy Mayne would invade Germany
to the strains of his favourite Irish music
634
00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:15,487
the ballads of Percy French.
635
00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:22,167
PERCY FRENCH BALLAD PLAYS
636
00:46:33,080 --> 00:46:35,242
As they advanced
through Northern Germany
637
00:46:35,280 --> 00:46:40,002
the forward column of Mayne's jeeps
came under intense fire.
638
00:46:40,840 --> 00:46:43,684
The action was mapped in the War Diary.
639
00:46:43,720 --> 00:46:48,044
A group of SAS men were pinned down
by the roadside
640
00:46:48,080 --> 00:46:50,526
and cut off from any support.
641
00:46:51,520 --> 00:46:54,524
Paddy Mayne realised
that the only way to save them
642
00:46:54,560 --> 00:46:56,767
was with a full-blooded charge.
643
00:46:57,520 --> 00:47:00,000
"Who wants to have a go?" he asked.
644
00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:04,203
MUSIC CONTINUES
645
00:47:04,600 --> 00:47:06,329
GUNFIRE
646
00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:09,201
With a volunteer gunner at his side
647
00:47:09,680 --> 00:47:14,561
Mayne hurtled into a storm of bullets,
laying down his own barrage.
648
00:47:16,680 --> 00:47:21,083
When he reached the end of the road,
Mayne calmly executed a U-turn
649
00:47:21,120 --> 00:47:24,442
and, under heavy fire,
ran the gauntlet again.
650
00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:28,246
MUSIC CONTINUES
651
00:47:31,200 --> 00:47:33,521
Mayne saved all of his men
652
00:47:33,560 --> 00:47:35,210
picked up the wounded and dead
653
00:47:35,240 --> 00:47:38,130
and, by some miracle,
emerged without a scratch.
654
00:47:39,400 --> 00:47:43,530
He said "People think
I'm a big mad Irishman but I'm not.
655
00:47:43,560 --> 00:47:46,166
I calculate the risks and have a go."
656
00:47:47,840 --> 00:47:53,006
This, his final battle of the war, was fought
in much the same way as the first.
657
00:47:53,840 --> 00:47:57,640
Saving his men with a complete disregard
for his own safety
658
00:47:57,680 --> 00:48:00,809
and killing in prodigious numbers.
659
00:48:00,840 --> 00:48:04,287
MUSIC CONTINUES
660
00:48:16,200 --> 00:48:19,966
BEN: Paddy Mayne was recommended
for the Victoria Cross
661
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:22,571
the highest British award for valour.
662
00:48:23,760 --> 00:48:27,242
The War Diary contains
the many citations he received.
663
00:48:27,840 --> 00:48:32,562
By a single act of supreme bravery,
he drove the enemy from their stronghold.
664
00:48:33,720 --> 00:48:36,405
Not only did he save the lives
of the wounded
665
00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:39,922
but also completely defeated
and destroyed the enemy.
666
00:48:39,960 --> 00:48:45,091
This officer is worthy of the highest award
for gallantry and leadership,.
667
00:48:46,080 --> 00:48:49,971
And yet, Mayne was not awarded
the Victoria Cross.
668
00:48:50,600 --> 00:48:54,810
Here, on his commendation,
the word VC is crossed out.
669
00:48:56,200 --> 00:48:59,204
Quite why Mayne was denied
the Victoria Cross
670
00:48:59,240 --> 00:49:02,881
was, and remains,
a source of deep controversy.
671
00:49:06,520 --> 00:49:11,128
Perhaps some at HQ didn't want the SAS
to be given the distinction.
672
00:49:11,640 --> 00:49:15,167
Perhaps Mayne's drinking and brawling
had counted against him.
673
00:49:17,440 --> 00:49:19,886
But the real explanation may be simpler.
674
00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:22,443
BEN:
To merit the Victoria Cross
675
00:49:22,480 --> 00:49:26,565
heroic actions need to be verified
by independent witnesses.
676
00:49:27,000 --> 00:49:32,166
In SAS operations -
covert, fast moving, self-regulating -
677
00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:35,568
such criteria are often
impossible to meet.
678
00:49:36,200 --> 00:49:39,409
Paddy Mayne may have been denied
this ancient honour
679
00:49:39,440 --> 00:49:42,444
because he was fighting
a new sort of war.
680
00:49:44,680 --> 00:49:46,205
For many in the SAS
681
00:49:46,240 --> 00:49:48,971
the failure to award Paddy Mayne the VC
682
00:49:49,000 --> 00:49:52,322
was proof that the regiment
had never been fully accepted
683
00:49:52,360 --> 00:49:54,362
by the military establishment.
684
00:49:59,760 --> 00:50:05,210
Mayne had led the SAS on their fast charge
against the Nazi diehards.
685
00:50:06,920 --> 00:50:09,400
But as they advanced
into the heart of Germany
686
00:50:09,440 --> 00:50:12,046
it was John Tonkin
who uncovered the full horror
687
00:50:12,080 --> 00:50:15,687
of what Hitler's SS could do
to ordinary civilians.
688
00:50:16,840 --> 00:50:19,446
BEN:
The SAS were heading for Berlin
689
00:50:19,480 --> 00:50:22,962
when John Tonkin, in the lead jeep,
caught the first whiff.
690
00:50:23,800 --> 00:50:27,441
A cloying stench
of fleshly rot and excrement
691
00:50:27,480 --> 00:50:30,450
that seemed to hang in the air
like a plague miasma.
692
00:50:31,040 --> 00:50:32,883
The reek of pure evil.
693
00:50:32,920 --> 00:50:36,686
The appalling smell grew steadily stronger
as they advanced.
694
00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:46,450
TONKIN: That is the main entrance gate
to the administration block
695
00:50:47,520 --> 00:50:52,560
of the totally infamous and unbelievable
Belsen Concentration Camp.
696
00:51:05,000 --> 00:51:10,928
There is no way of describing
the horror of that camp.
697
00:51:12,320 --> 00:51:19,010
You can only describe it as meeting
some 30,000 walking skeletons.
698
00:51:25,080 --> 00:51:30,928
When a prisoner got to the stage
where they couldn't walk any longer
699
00:51:30,960 --> 00:51:34,806
they just dragged them out
and threw them into the pit
700
00:51:34,840 --> 00:51:38,367
and there were living skeletons
still in those pits.
701
00:51:39,600 --> 00:51:42,126
A very, very grim story altogether.
702
00:51:44,680 --> 00:51:47,286
While we were there,
they were, just for fun
703
00:51:47,320 --> 00:51:49,049
taking pot shots at the prisoners
704
00:51:49,080 --> 00:51:51,082
and nobody was paying any attention
705
00:51:51,360 --> 00:51:56,924
and I have never been
so angry in my life.
706
00:52:02,720 --> 00:52:06,520
So I went round and I got hold of
all these... all their officers.
707
00:52:07,080 --> 00:52:11,369
I took my men with me,
and we lined them up
708
00:52:12,440 --> 00:52:14,841
and I said
709
00:52:14,880 --> 00:52:17,360
"Unless that shooting stops
immediately
710
00:52:17,400 --> 00:52:20,768
you are all going to die very horribly"
711
00:52:21,360 --> 00:52:24,250
and I said "Now, get out and stop it"
712
00:52:24,280 --> 00:52:27,250
and they went out immediately
and the shooting stopped.
713
00:52:31,840 --> 00:52:35,322
Tonkin gave orders to arrest
the commandant of the camp
714
00:52:35,360 --> 00:52:37,761
along with the rest of the guards.
715
00:52:40,800 --> 00:52:43,724
Instead of exacting revenge on the SS
716
00:52:43,760 --> 00:52:47,606
Tonkin demonstrated
the meaning of civilisation.
717
00:52:50,240 --> 00:52:55,280
My father had huge self-control
when he was there in Belsen
718
00:52:55,920 --> 00:53:00,289
not to have wanted to
get rid of all of the officers.
719
00:53:04,480 --> 00:53:07,689
Dad always said to us
that we must never, ever forget
720
00:53:07,720 --> 00:53:09,802
what happened there
721
00:53:09,840 --> 00:53:12,002
so that it never happens again.
722
00:53:12,920 --> 00:53:19,166
TONKIN: What a creed like Nazism can do
to people is unbelievable
723
00:53:20,520 --> 00:53:23,091
and this is a bit of a grim story
724
00:53:23,120 --> 00:53:27,523
but the truth should be known
because it's glossed over.
725
00:53:40,840 --> 00:53:43,241
CHEERING
726
00:53:48,440 --> 00:53:52,240
On May 8th. the war in Europe
was officially over.
727
00:53:53,080 --> 00:53:57,210
Millions took to the streets
to rejoice on VE day.
728
00:53:58,400 --> 00:54:02,689
The Prime Minister Churchill
made the speech that it was all over?
729
00:54:02,720 --> 00:54:06,486
And so you can imagine
the army chiefs of the SAS
730
00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:09,844
driving right up the steps into bars.
731
00:54:10,880 --> 00:54:13,770
And the men had
another reason to celebrate.
732
00:54:14,720 --> 00:54:18,850
David Stirling. the maverick visionary
who created the SAS
733
00:54:18,880 --> 00:54:20,962
had been freed from Colditz
734
00:54:21,000 --> 00:54:23,287
and was on his way back to London.
735
00:54:27,200 --> 00:54:29,851
But Stirling was not quite free yet.
736
00:54:29,880 --> 00:54:34,204
On his return. he was held
in a psychiatric evaluation camp.
737
00:54:35,560 --> 00:54:38,564
They assumed anybody
who came out of Colditz
738
00:54:38,600 --> 00:54:42,127
required treatment
before they were safe
739
00:54:42,160 --> 00:54:45,642
to be allowed back
into normal circulation.
740
00:54:45,680 --> 00:54:49,730
So we were put inside a camp
which had a wide parameter
741
00:54:49,760 --> 00:54:51,000
and so on
742
00:54:51,560 --> 00:54:55,326
and they had all the official nannies there.
743
00:54:55,360 --> 00:54:59,081
We were told we had to be there
for two days.
744
00:55:00,120 --> 00:55:05,524
For over two years. Stirling had been trying
and failing to escape from captivity,.
745
00:55:05,560 --> 00:55:09,087
He was determined not to fail
this one last time.
746
00:55:10,480 --> 00:55:14,769
I don't think there was anybody left
in the camp at all by 11 o'clock.
747
00:55:14,800 --> 00:55:17,326
We were all in London or gone home.
748
00:55:18,360 --> 00:55:22,684
By 12 o'clock that evening
I was in a nightclub.
749
00:55:22,720 --> 00:55:26,406
By 2 o'clock I was having
my first Roger for years.
750
00:55:31,800 --> 00:55:35,202
Stirling was too late
to rejoin his regiment.
751
00:55:35,240 --> 00:55:40,610
It was assumed that a specialised unit
like the SAS had no future in peacetime.
752
00:55:44,400 --> 00:55:47,210
On October 4th 1945
753
00:55:47,240 --> 00:55:51,768
the SAS received a crisp. unemotional
memo from the War Office
754
00:55:51,800 --> 00:55:54,485
with the directive they knew was coming.
755
00:55:55,920 --> 00:56:00,323
"It has been decided
to disband The Special Air Service."
756
00:56:04,520 --> 00:56:07,364
Everyone was going to be
sent back to their regiments.
757
00:56:07,400 --> 00:56:10,609
Well, you can imagine people being
away from their regiments for years
758
00:56:10,640 --> 00:56:14,645
and all this comradeship in SAS.
759
00:56:15,200 --> 00:56:16,964
It was frightening.
760
00:56:17,000 --> 00:56:18,365
I asked for a favour
761
00:56:18,400 --> 00:56:20,687
and I was told "Your day is over.
762
00:56:22,200 --> 00:56:25,807
You're not a blue-eyed boy now."
763
00:56:25,840 --> 00:56:28,047
And I said "Well, I'll stand on
my own two feet
764
00:56:28,080 --> 00:56:30,287
and I'll survive where you won't,
you so and so."
765
00:56:30,320 --> 00:56:32,561
That was an officer too.
766
00:56:36,120 --> 00:56:38,248
ALMONDS: I'm inclined to think,
at my present age
767
00:56:38,320 --> 00:56:39,731
that I must have been a bit of a fool
768
00:56:39,760 --> 00:56:41,922
but I still wouldn't have missed it.
769
00:56:42,920 --> 00:56:45,048
We certainly unsettled people.
770
00:56:45,760 --> 00:56:48,730
I think that the Germans knew
who the regiment were
771
00:56:48,760 --> 00:56:50,762
by the time the war came to an end
772
00:56:50,800 --> 00:56:53,406
and I think we probably helped
to speed it up.
773
00:56:53,440 --> 00:56:56,011
We helped speed up
the collapse in Europe.
774
00:56:56,520 --> 00:56:58,522
I think as you get older
775
00:56:59,240 --> 00:57:03,211
you appreciate it more
in different ways.
776
00:57:03,920 --> 00:57:09,450
It's not that you're so proud or so...
777
00:57:10,360 --> 00:57:12,567
What's the word I can think of?
778
00:57:12,600 --> 00:57:15,126
It's the family, it's the people,
the friends
779
00:57:15,160 --> 00:57:20,291
that you will never, ever -
until you're dead - forget!
780
00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,000
Ripped & Corrected By mstoll
February 2017
781
00:57:22,000 --> 00:57:26,000
Ripped & Corrected By mstoll
March 2017 - Released on www.Addic7ed.com
69756
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