DDay was never just about the beaches.

For the landings to have any chance of success the allies knew they had to convince the German high command the action in Normandy was a diversionary attack, the main thrust to come elsewhere; across the Dover Strait into Calais, for example, the shortest distance from Britain to France.

Allied commanders reckoned they had only a few days, perhaps a week at best, before the Germans realised they’d been deceived and started to move military reinforcements against the fragile Normandy bridgehead.

To blunt the movements of any German reinforcements, a number of SAS operations were launched into areas well away from northern France to attack logistic lines and slow down the movement of reserves.

Tragically, one such mission, Operation Bulbasket, although militarily successful, resulted in the capture and murder of 33 SAS soldiers.

However, if the manner of the men’s deaths spoke of the darkest side of human nature, the outpouring of love and respect that followed from the locals offers hope for the future.

#dday80 #ddaynews #SAS

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