This article is about the World War II military operation. For the South African invasion of Angola, see Operation Savannah (Angola).
Operation Savanna (or Operation Savannah)[a] was the first insertion of SOE trained Free French paratroops into German-occupied France during World War II.
This SOE mission, requested by the Air Ministry, was to ambush and kill as many pilots as possible of the Kampfgruppe 100, a German Pathfinder formation stationed at Meucon airfield which spearheaded night raids on Britain.
Setting off from an RAF Whitley on the moonlit[2] night of 15 March 1941, five paratroops made a blind drop at midnight, landing some eight miles east of the town of Vannes (where the Pathfinder crew billeted), and five miles off target. The following day they discovered the pilots no longer commuted between Vannes and Meucon by bus, but had taken to travelling on an ad hoc basis by cars. Hence the grand ambush and assassination had to be aborted.
Seeking to gain something from the mission, Captain Georges Bergé instructed his men to disperse and go on general reconnaissance and meet at Sables d'Olonne at the end of the month for extraction by sea.
One of the men was already missing and another failed to make the rendezvous. After several nights watching from the sand dunes, on 4/5 April, Bergé saw Geoffrey Appleyard of the SOE's Small Scale Raiding Force paddling ashore after launching from the submarine HMS Tigris. The two other kayaks were damaged being launched so only Bergé and Forman could be extracted. Joël Le Tac remained behind and made his way to a safehouse in Paris and continued as an SOE operative.
The Free French paratroops went on to later form the French SAS and Bergé took part in some early raids in the near east, eventually rising to the rank of general.
Keene, Tom (2014). Britain's Band of Brothers. Spellmount. ASIN B00HXYDCN8.
"Moon Phases 1941". Calendar-12.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
May 03, 2024
operation, savanna, this, article, about, world, military, operation, south, african, invasion, angola, angola, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, ma. This article is about the World War II military operation For the South African invasion of Angola see Operation Savannah Angola This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Operation Savanna news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2007 Learn how and when to remove this message Operation Savanna or Operation Savannah a was the first insertion of SOE trained Free French paratroops into German occupied France during World War II Operation SavannaLocation47 43 05 N 2 45 46 W 47 7181 N 2 7628 W 47 7181 2 7628Planned bySpecial Operations ExecutiveObjectiveKilling German pathfinder pilots Date15 March 1941 5 April 1941Executed by United Kingdom Free FranceOutcomeMain Allied objective failed This SOE mission requested by the Air Ministry was to ambush and kill as many pilots as possible of the Kampfgruppe 100 a German Pathfinder formation stationed at Meucon airfield which spearheaded night raids on Britain Setting off from an RAF Whitley on the moonlit 2 night of 15 March 1941 five paratroops made a blind drop at midnight landing some eight miles east of the town of Vannes where the Pathfinder crew billeted and five miles off target The following day they discovered the pilots no longer commuted between Vannes and Meucon by bus but had taken to travelling on an ad hoc basis by cars Hence the grand ambush and assassination had to be aborted Seeking to gain something from the mission Captain Georges Berge instructed his men to disperse and go on general reconnaissance and meet at Sables d Olonne at the end of the month for extraction by sea One of the men was already missing and another failed to make the rendezvous After several nights watching from the sand dunes on 4 5 April Berge saw Geoffrey Appleyard of the SOE s Small Scale Raiding Force paddling ashore after launching from the submarine HMS Tigris The two other kayaks were damaged being launched so only Berge and Forman could be extracted Joel Le Tac remained behind and made his way to a safehouse in Paris and continued as an SOE operative The Free French paratroops went on to later form the French SAS and Berge took part in some early raids in the near east eventually rising to the rank of general See also editOperation Josephine BReferences editFootnotes Sources vary but MRD Foot and the National Archive have the spelling Savanna 1 Notes Foot 1966 pp 157 159 Moon Phases 1941 Bibliography Foot M R D 1984 The Special Operations Executive 1940 1946 BBC Books ISBN 0 563 20193 2 Foot M R D 1966 SOE in France HMSO Keene Tom 2014 Britain s Band of Brothers Spellmount ASIN B00HXYDCN8 Moon Phases 1941 Calendar 12 com Retrieved 17 May 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Operation Savanna amp oldid 1132735695, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
