Battleground 381. Battleground: Special Forces — The Listener Mailbag
Mar 18, 2026
A mailbag-style deep dive into 20th-century special operations. Topics include Norwegian sabotage and parachute raids, daring manned-torpedo attacks on Alexandria, and the audacious Singapore Harbour limpet-mine raid. Discussions also cover resistance politics, stay-behind guerrilla units, German commando raids, and controversial Cold War covert actions.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Telemark Raid Succeeded Without Casualties
- Operation Gunnerside was a six-man Norwegian SOE raid that successfully destroyed the heavy-water plant in Telemark without casualties.
- The team climbed a 500-foot ravine, bypassed heavily guarded positions, blew the plant, and many escaped to Sweden afterwards.
Little Known Norwegian Operation Waxwing
- Operation Waxwing was an SOE sabotage by the Norwegian Parachute Company on 15 April 1945 aimed at delaying German withdrawals.
- They destroyed switches and crossings on railways and hindered German movements near war's end.
Allies Backed Effectiveness Over Ideology
- Allied support shifted from Mihailović's Chetniks to Tito's Partisans because Tito inflicted more damage on German forces and was more effective.
- Churchill prioritized who was killing the most Germans over long-term political outcomes.
