About this item
Operation Basalt was a raid carried out by British commandos on the island of Sark on the night of October 3-4, 1942. It was intended to reassure Channel Islanders that they had not been forgotten following their German occupation, to force the Germans to deploy resources, and to gain intelligence through German prisoners. Thought a tactical success, the raid remains mired in controversy, remembered because of Hitler's reaction. Three days after the raid, he issued this order: "In future, all terror and sabotage troops of the British and their accomplices, who do not act like soldiers but rather like bandits, will be treated as such . . . and will be ruthlessly eliminated in battle, wherever they appear." Using the National Archive in Kew and the Sark Society archives, Eric Lee tells the Basalt story for the first time.
About the Author
Eric Lee is a London-based author, journalist and political activist. His most recent books are Night of the Bayonets: The Texel Uprising and Hitler's Revenge, April-May 1945 and The Experiment: Georgia's Forgotten Revolution, 1918-21. Both concern the 20th century history of Georgia. He is also the author of two books of military history (Saigon to Jerusalem: Conversations with Israel's Vietnam Veterans and Operation Basalt: The British Raid on Sark and Hitler's Commando Order) and several books about the labour movement and the Internet. His next book is about the 'Eremin Letter' controversy. He is also the founding editor of LabourStart, the news and campaigning website of the international trade union movement.
