A Brilliant Little Operation: The Cockleshell Heroes and the Most Courageous Raid of World War 2 [Hardcover]

Lord Ashdown has produced the most readable, well-researched and objective account of Operation Frankton. This is the definitive reconstruction of events, based on first-hand research. In "Cockleshell Heroes - The Final Witness", Quentin Rees provided much new information, but he wrote in a less accessible style (his book is, nevertheless, certainly worth reading). This is likely to be the "closing chapter" on an incredibly brave attempt by a small group of Royal Marines to influence the course of the war.

Paddy Ashdown's background as a Royal Marines officer and service in the SBS adds credibility to his analysis of the tactics and short-comings of the operation. In 2010, having kayaked the Frankton route, I met Lord Ashdown briefly outside the hotel in Ruffec where, in December 1942, Hasler and Sparks sought to contact the French Resistance. He mentioned that he was undertaking research for a book. It has been well worth the wait.

This is the story of Operation Frankton in 1942, a daring raid on Bordeaux harbour by a small number of men from Combined Operations also known as the Cockleshell raid led by Blondie Haslar. The hazards faced on the operation were immense from the start. Dropped by submarine in the open sea, strong tides that threatened their small canoes, laying mines and escape across the Pyrenees.
It was another mission during that phase of the war between Dunkirk and D-Day when Britain's only means of striking in the West was missions such as these organised by the likes of Combined Operations, led by Mountbatten. These ranged from the large raids such as Dieppe and the Loftgrun Islands to ones such as this which saw only 12 men from the Royal Marines attempt to canoe 6 Cocklshell canoes into a harbour and sink ships.
The odds against them were high, they were dropped from HMS Tuna on the 7th December off the coast and made their way up river before eventually reaching Bordeaux on the night of 11th/12th December after 4 days of lying up camouflaged, paddling by night. By this stage only 2 canoes were left, however these hour men laid enough mines to damage 9 ships. This relatively high loss of men was still less than one bomber crew for what could be argued to much greater effect.
The Germans had thought of harbours such as Bordeaux impregnable. Raids such as this led to a much heavier defence on the Western Wall and tied down a large number of troops who could have been put to greater use elsewhere.
After the raid, the escape plan had hoped for a link up with the Marie-Claire escape line, it is remarkable given how much thought and planning went into getting the Marines into Bordeaux, how littlw went into their escape. Only Haslar spoke French for example. This was after Hitler's Comando Order so they faced death if captured so could they have gone in civilian clothing which could aided escape and evasion but this was rejected as defeatist. They were to carry out the raid in uniform and then beg, borrow or steal civilian clothing.
This was a raid where the odds on survival are long and this is reflected in the fact that only two men made it back after a long journey overland to Spain on 1st March 1943 and flying back into Cornwall on 2nd April. Major Haslar was awarded the DSO and his fellow survivor Marine Sparks a DSM. 13 men were on HMS Tuna, 6 crews of 2 and a reserve, one canoe was damaged during disembarkation and the reserve was not needed, so 10 set off. 2 died of hypothermia, 6 were captured and shot and 2 made it home.
The author is Paddy Ashdown, former officer in the SBS and former leader of the Liberal Democrats. His writing style is easy to read, even after 400 odd pages! The book is nicely illustrated with both photos, illustrations and maps to compliment the text. It follows the mission from concept, to planning, through the execution and escape before finishing with the aftermath. This is obviously been a labour of love for Mr Ashdown as he quite freely admits to having been fascinated by this operation from his youth.
I enjoyed this book, knowing a little about the raid beforehand but this book is thoroughly researched and very well presented. I would recommend it for any reader with any interest in military history and especially those with an interest in special forces type operations. There is now even a walk in France, the Frankton Trail to commemorate the 100 miles that Haslar and Sparkes covered on foot from Blaye where the left their canoes to Ruffic where they contacted the Resistance. (being covered by some Royal Marines to fund-raise for the RBL Poppy Appeal this year, trying to cover the ground in the same times as the original escapers. [...] )

This book is much better than I thought it would be. It is very well written, thoroughly researched, and it reads like a thriller. Moreover, the elements of the story have been skilfully assembled.

The account is a mix of rigourous training, an operation that was relentlessly hazardous, an appalling lack of coordination between Combined Operations and SOE, raw courage, and an escape-and-evasion exercise that must have been particularly harrowing. The passages dealing with the teams' insertion by submarine, the terrifying conditions the canoeists had to endure, setting the mines, and how the fugitives moved through occupied territory are gripping. The final chapters are deeply poignant.

Let us salute Blondie Hasler and his men. And congratulate Paddy Ashdown, a former SBS officer.

As an aside, I have a very small personal interest; my father was in the (Army) Commandos (No 12/France and Norway, and No 5/Far East and Burma). His fighting-knife (these were made by Wilkinson Sword and designed by two Hong-Kong and Shanghai policemen called Fairburn and Sykes) lies just in front of me. He didn't know Blondie Hasler but certainly knew of him.

Given the context of the times and the circumstances, Frankton arguably remains the most impressive special forces operation of all-time.

A very good, and authoritative, book.