From 13 June 1944, London was enduring deadly V-2 missile attacks, and there was an urgent need for as much intelligence on these new and terrifying weapons as possible. England had already experienced sustained terror bombing by the earlier V-1 rockets. Approximately 10,000 of these were fired towards the country, of which 2,419 reached London, killing over 6,000 people and injuring nearly 18,000. The British developed countermeasures to the V-1, utilising antiaircraft guns, barrage balloons and fighter plane interceptors. But the V-2 was different: it couldn’t be intercepted or shot down because it arrived at its designated target so fast that no warning could be given.
Meanwhile, the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) had managed to recover an unexploded V-2 rocket, and sent it to Warsaw for analysis. There, it was decided that the rocket and vital information should be delivered to the Allies in London. An ambitious and daring plan was quickly developed, but it would run into a number of unexpected difficulties. Operation Most III (British cryptonym, Wildhorn III) was the most famous of a series of missions organised by the VI (Special) Department of the Polish Commander-inChief’s Staff in co-operation with the Special Operations Executive (SOE). These involved flights to and from occupied Poland, bringing intelligence, agents, equipment and Home Army field commanders to London for meetings with the Polish Government in Exile.
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Bu hikaye History of War dergisinin Issue 121 sayısından alınmıştır.
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THE OTHER OPERATION OVERLORD D-DAY'S GHOST ARMY
Historian Taylor Downing discusses the cunning use of intrigue and deception during Operation Fortitude
D-DAY LANDING CRAFT
Over 4,000 Allied landing craft took part in the Normandy Landings with a huge range of designs created for specific roles and capabilities
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Spearheading the invasion of occupied France in 1944 were a small number of Special Forces soldiers dropped deep into enemy territory. Among them was a young Londoner, fresh from training here he reveals how he survived guerrilla warfare in France and beyond as part of the fledgling Special Air Service
JIMMIE MONTEITH
In the crucible of battle at Omaha Beach on D-Day, this officer of the famed 1st Infantry Division earned his nation’s highest honour at the cost of his life
KLEINKAMPFVERBÄNDE - GERMANY'S COUNTER-ATTACKS
As Allied forces crossed the Channel and stormed into Normandy, Hitler's navy fought back using a deadly new breed of maritime weaponry
STORMING GOLD BEACH
War veteran Ron Peet helped assault Gold Beach on D-Day Here he shares his experiences
UNDERGROUND WREN
Deep in the bowels of Fort Southwick, radio operator Marie Scott was one of the first to hear reports as Operation Overlord got underway, passing critical communications between the men on the beaches and high command
MINESWEEPER OFF NORMANDY
After helping clear the path to France, Royal Navy veteran Claude Sealey and his crewmates experienced a deadly encounter with their own countrymen
THE RECCE RIDER OF RANVILLE
After fencing behind enemy lines in Normandy, William Bill’ Gladden conducted us reconnaissance on his motorcycle
SWORD BEACH
The easternmost sector of the 6 June Normandy Landings was a mostly British affair, and Saw some of the biggest territorial gains of the first day of the Allied invasion