The first complete history of the daring OSS sabotage operation
launched to prevent German forces from reinforcing their defenses
during World War II. To prevent German occupying forces in Norway from
reinforcing their defenses during the final months of World War II,
the Office of Strategic Services launched Operation Rype, with the
mission of sabotaging the Nordland Railway in Mid-Norway. Rype was led
by Major William E. Colby, later director of the CIA. After several
delays, the Norwegian Special Operations Group (NORSO) dropped over
the Snåsa mountains on the night of March 24. Out of eight B-24s,
only three dropped on target. One dropped in Sweden, the remaining
four returned to Britain. Two of the B-24s crashed, killing all but
one of their crews. Reinforcement and resupply of the unit failed due
to extreme Arctic conditions. Relying heavily on help from the
Norwegian resistance, NORSO managed to sever the railway at two
points. On both occasions, they withdrew with Germans hot on their
tail. On May 2, a German patrol blundered into their camp, resulting
in the killing of all of the Germans and one wounded Norwegian
resistance fighter. Whether the Germans were killed in the ensuing
firefight, or were executed later, has been hotly debated ever since.
After the war ended, NORSO was allowed down from the mountains, but
were sent on bogus missions by the British commanders in Trondheim.
They eventually managed to get recognition for their contribution to
victory. This new history of the operation is based on German,
Norwegian, American and Swedish sources. It examines how the outcome
of the operation was affected by the limitations of equipment in
sub-Arctic conditions, and British-American rivalry and cooperation
throughout the operation.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781636241357
Publisert
2023
Utgiver
Vendor
Casemate
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter