Damien Lewis

The Worlds Smallest Dog with the Worlds Biggest HeartSmoky the Brave is the extraordinary, touching and true story of a heroic dog and her adoptive masters in the jungles of the Pacific War. In February 1944, as Japanese military advances threatened to engulf Australasia, a tiny, four-pound Yorkshire terrier was discovered hiding in a Japanese shell scrape amidst the thick jungles of Papua New Guinea. The GIs who discovered her presumed she had been some kind of Japanese army mascot, but it soon turned out that she understood neither commands rendered in Japanese nor English. A mystery, she was adopted by Corporal William Bill Wynne, an air-crewman with the US 5th Air Forces 26th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron.Living in Bill Wynnes tent, sleeping on a piece of green felt salvaged from a card table,and sharing his rations, Smoky became the de facto mascot of the regiment. She went on to fly numerous photo-recce and air-sea rescue missions, cocooned in a soldiers pack hanging next to the machine-guns used to repel marauding Japanese fighters. She was awarded eight battle stars, surviving dozens of Japanese combat raids on Papua New Guinea, and braving a typhoon that ravaged Okinawa. After saving Wynnes life by warning of a falling shell, as their landing craft approached an enemy-held beach - a shell that killed the eight men that Wynne was standing beside - he nicknamed her the angel from a foxhole. In one of her most famous exploits Smoky parachuted using a special rig designed to fit one of the worlds smallest but toughest dogs.In perhaps her most heroic exploit of all, Smoky ran a cable through a seventy-foot pipe no wider in places than four inches, to enable telephone lines to be run across the recently occupied airbase of Luzon. Her efforts saved hundreds of ground-crew from being exposed to enemy bombing, preventing injury and loss of life. Amongst her many other awards,she was given the PDSAs Certificate for Animal Bravery or Devotion in 2011, a relatively new class of PDSA award.

From bestselling true military author Damien Lewis: the incredible story of the radar wars, Britains most secret battle.Nail-biting action all the way - the explosive true story - Mark Billy BillinghamA true story that reads better than any thriller - Dan SnowOne of the most important special forces books written. It traces the daring, ingenuity and sheer courage that is the foundation of the modern service - Colonel Tim CollinsIn the winter of 1941 an alien-seeming object was captured in a death-defying dash by an RAF reconnaissance pilot flying a lone unarmed Spitfire across the French coast. Balanced upon the cliffs near Le Havre was what appeared to be a giant convex dish, directed across the Channel at the war-torn British coastline.With Britains cities being pounded by fearsome bombing raids, teams of experts studied the photograph worriedly. Might the dish constitute a highly secret form of radar - one that had the capacity to tip the balance of the war decisively in the enemys favour? If so, Nazi Germany would have leapfrogged British technology many-fold.A top-secret mission was devised to steal what had become known as the Wurzburg Dish after Enigma intercepted coded German messages. Appropriately christened Operation Biting, this was to be the first-ever Allied raid using airborne forces. Commanded by legendary Major John Johnny Frost, he demanded blind loyalty from his band of piratical raiders. A wild crew ... they looked horrible, he admitted. Each and every rehearsal had proved disastrous; it was a suicide mission in all but name.On the French coast agents of the Special Operations Executive - Churchills shadowy ministry for ungentlemanly warfare - risked all to map the targets defences. At the eleventh hour, two unwelcome additions joined Frostss crew. One was a shadowy German cloaked in mystery; the other a British radar specialist who could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands. Relying on files declassified for the purposes of writing this book, eyewitness testimony, and working with the families of key figures involved, Lewis reveals an untold epic of daring, ruthless rule-breaking and ferocity, coupled with bravery and ingenuity beyond measure. The results of Operation Biting would resonate throughout the war and beyond, changing the course of twentieth-century history.

One of the most extraordinary stories of World War II a howitzer of a tale that more people should know about Daily Mail

The new bestseller from Damien Lewis the Regiment s de facto historian

The story of the mavericks who made the SAS

The new bestseller from Damien Lewis the Regiment s de facto historian

Summer 1944 the SAS were charged with the most crucial D Day missions taking on the might of the Nazi Reich deep behind enemy lines Facing Hitler s fearsome Panzer divisions with little more than raw courage and their nimble Willys jeeps it would take maverick thinking and unconventional warfare to survive and overcome Hunted at every turn Blair Paddy Mayne s SAS would face a bitter and bloody struggle to topple the enemy Drawing on never before seen archive material bestselling military historian Damien Lewis brings to life the incredible efforts of the SAS as they dared all to bring the war to its close Praise for Damien Lewis books A convincing insight into the terror and adrenaline rush of war Mail on Sunday Damien Lewis is both a meticulous historian and a born storyteller Lee Child One of the most remarkable stories in the history of Special Forces operations Daily Express A howitzer of a tale Daily Mail Absolutely gripping Times Radio Riveting Extraordinary Dan Snow An incredible story and so well told Bear Grylls Honesty integrity and real experience that puts you in the thick of the action Billy Billingham

I have always been fascinated by that charismatic hero of the Resistance, Josephine Baker, but it turns out I didn't know the half of it. Lewis' story-telling blew my mind. Again.' - Dan Snow'A story of incredible bravery in the face of tyrants who invaded a free and democratic nation, this will have powerful resonance today.' - Tim SpicerDuring WW2, Josephine Baker, the world's richest and most glamorous entertainer, was an Allied spy in Occupied France. This is the story of her heroic personal resistance to Nazi Germany.

THE REAL STORY OF BLAIR PADDY MAYNE ENDORSED BY THE MAYNE FAMILY Summer 1944 the SAS were charged with the most crucial D Day missions taking on the might of the Nazi Reich deep behind enemy lines Facing Hitler s fearsome Panzer divisions with little more than raw courage and their nimble Willys jeeps it would take maverick thinking and unconventional warfare to survive and overcome Hunted at every turn Blair Paddy Mayne s SAS would face a bitter and bloody struggle to topple the enemy Drawing on never before seen archive material bestselling military historian Damien Lewis brings to life the incredible efforts of the SAS as they dared all to bring the war to its close Praise for Damien Lewis books A convincing insight into the terror and adrenaline rush of war Mail on Sunday Damien Lewis is both a meticulous historian and a born storyteller Lee Child One of the most remarkable stories in the history of Special Forces operations Daily Express A howitzer of a tale Daily Mail Absolutely gripping Times Radio Riveting Extraordinary Dan Snow An incredible story and so well told Bear Grylls Honesty integrity and real experience that puts you in the thick of the action Billy Billingham

FOR FANS OF THE BBC SERIES SAS ROGUE HEROES, THIS IS THE REAL STORY OF BLAIR PADDY MAYNEAbsolutely gripping from the word go Alexis Conran, Times RadioA convincing insight into the terror and adrenaline rush of warMail on SundayDamien Lewiss new bestseller tells the action-packed, riveting story of the band of mavericks and visionaries who made the SAS. Using hitherto untold stories and new archival sources, Damien Lewis follows one close-knit band of warriors from the SAS foundation through to the Italian landings - chronicling the extraordinary part they played as the tide of the Second World War truly turned in the Allies favour.This is a narrative of wall-to-wall do-or-die action and daring, chronicling the exploits of some of the most highly-decorated soldiers of the twentieth-century.A new book by historian Damien Lewis ... who has read through the letters, diaries and reports kept by the Mayne family and conducted interviews with its surviving members over the past ten years Danielle Sheridan, Daily TelegraphRead more about the characters as seen in SAS Rogue Heroes in Damien Lewiss book SAS Brothers In Arms Ed Cullinane, SWNSDamien Lewis, bestselling author, describes the extraordinary bravery of Paddy Mayne and, it seems strange to say, the humanity of Mayne ... Brilliant Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Radio 5 LiveThe depth of research is astoundingBelfast Telegraph

Praise for Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author Damien Lewis SAS mission series:One of the great untold stories of WWII - Bear Grylls on SAS Ghost PatrolThe untold story - Daily Mail on SAS Nazi HuntersA tale of bravery against desperate odds - Sunday Times on Churchills Secret WarriorsTrue adventures laced with staggering bravery and sacrifice - Sun on Hunting the Nazi BombAn impossible mission in wartime Italy: the next explosive bestseller from Damien Lewis.In the hard-fought winter of 1944 the Allies advanced northwards through Italy, but stalled on the fearsome mountainous defences of the Gothic Line. Two men were parachuted in, in an effort to break the deadlock. Their mission: to penetrate deep into enemy territory and lay waste to the Germans impregnable headquarters.At the eleventh hour mission commanders radioed for David The Mad Piper Kilpatrick to be flown in, resplendent in his tartan kilt. They wanted this fearless war hero to lead the assault, piping Highland Laddie as he went - so leaving an indelible British signature to deter Nazi reprisals.As the column of raiders formed up, there was shocking news. High command radioed through an order to stand down, having assessed the chances of success at little more than zero. But in defiance of orders, and come hell or high-water, they were going in.Damien Lewiss new bestseller tells the incredible story.

Iraq: the present day. A country torn apart by war and anarchy. Thieves roam the streets. People are being killed in broad daylight. Security is non-existent. And now, terrorists have seized a Van Gogh painting worth 25 million from one of Saddams palaces. They are offering it to the highest bidder. The paintings original owner, a Kuwaiti prince, from whom it was seized during Iraqs occupation of Kuwait in the First Gulf War, has asked for HMGs help in retrieving it. The British Government owes him a favour for backing them during the Iraq War, so they agree to help. But rather than agreeing to pay the terrorists ransom -- which they fear will be pumped into funding terrorist operations across the world -- HMG decides to send in a team of hardened ex-Special Forces, led by ex-SAS hero Mick Kilbride and his sidekick East End Eddie. Sent undercover in a deniable operation called Desert Claw, their brief is simple: retrieve the painting, and eliminate the terrorists at the earliest possible opportunity. The mission sounds simple enough. But as Mick and his team are drawn into a dark and violent world, things are not always as they seem. And in the final climactic scene, a horrible and shocking truth awaits for the men.

Mende Nazers happy childhood was cruelly cut short at the age of twelve when the Mujahidin rode into her village in the remote Nuba mountains of Sudan. They hacked down terrified villagers, raped the women and abducted the children. Mende was them. She was taken and sold to an Arab woman in Khartoum. She was stripped of her name and her freedom. For seven long years she was kept as a domestic slave, an abid, without any pay or a single day off. Her food was the leftover scraps and her bed was the floor of the locked-up garden shed. She endured this harsh and lonely existence without knowing whether her family was alive or dead, for seven long years. Passed on by her master, like a parcel, to a relative in London, Mende eventually managed to escape to freedom. Slave is a shocking first-person insight into the modern day slave trade. It is also a fascinating memoir of an African childhood and a moving testimony to a young girls indomitable spirit in the face of adversity.

Damien Lewis is both a meticulous historian and a born storyteller Lee ChildNow thats a Great Escape! How 34 members of the SAS evaded 5,000 Nazi troops in blizzard conditions, after wreaking havoc in Italian mountain ambush ... The full gripping story of Operation Galia and the incredible escape that followed.Mail OnlineIts an incredible secret that has lain hidden behind the heroics of Normandy, but Allied forces had planned to invade the beaches of Brittany if the D-Day landings had failed ... Author and historian Damien Lewis uncovered the details, while researching the story of a remarkable SAS hero for his new book, SAS Great Escapes Three.Sunday ExpressFIVE OF THE MOST DARING ESCAPES CARRIED OUT BY THE SAS DURING WORLD WAR TWOSAS Great Escapes Three recounts how warriors of the worlds most famous fighting force, the SAS, carried out five of the most daring escapes of World War Two. Ranging from the very birth of the SAS, to the post D-Day battles for Nazi-occupied Europe, these gripping true stories cover some of the most iconic operations of the regiment, and its key characters, while also including untold tales of courage and endurance beyond compare.Told in classic Damien Lewis style, each account plunges the reader into the escapees experiences - sharing the most terrifying yet astounding moments of their lives. They include unimaginable accounts of survival in the face of staggering odds, episodes of nerve-wracking bluff and deception, plus knife-edge ambushes withenemy forces hell-bent on wreaking vengeance.In this new volume of incredible special forces feats, bestselling author Damien Lewis has worked closely with World War Two veterans and the families of those portrayed, accessing wartime diaries, letters, mission reports, interrogation transcripts and more, to relate how the men of the SAS were hunted by the enemy and forced to fight their way out of certain death or capture. Around every corner, upon every decision and every movement lurked the possibility of discovery. Yet with every step, breath and turn taken, these fugitives epitomized the do-or-die spirit of the SAS to overcome.

The Sunday Times No.1 bestseller.They were branded as cowards and accused of being the British Special Forces Squadron that ran away from the Iraqis. But nothing could be further from the truth. Ten years on, the story of these sixty men can finally be told. In March 2003 M Squadron - an SBS unit with SAS embeds - was sent 1,000 kilometres behind enemy lines on a true mission impossible, to take the surrender of the 100,000-strong Iraqi Army 5th Corps. From the very start their tasking earned the nickname Operation No Return. Caught in a ferocious ambush by thousands of die-hard fanatics from Saddam Husseins Fedayeen, plus the awesome firepower of the 5th Corps heavy armour, and with eight of their vehicles bogged in Iraqi swamps, M Squadron launched a desperate bid to escape, inflicting massive damage on their enemies. Running low on fuel and ammunition, outnumbered, outmanoeuvred and outgunned, the elite operators destroyed sensitive kit and prepared for death or capture as the Iraqis closed their deadly trap. Zero Six Bravo recounts in vivid and compelling detail the most desperate battle fought by British and allied Special Forces trapped behind enemy lines since World War Two. It is a classic account of elite soldiering that ranks with Bravo Two Zero and the very greatest Special Forces missions of our time.

THE SECOND INSTALMENT IN THE BESTSELLING ESCAPES SERIES, FROM MILITARY HISTORIAN DAMIEN LEWISSAS Great Escapes Two recounts the hitherto untold stories of six of the most dramatic and daring escapes executed by the worlds most famous fighting force during WWII. From the very earliest SAS missions to the push into Nazi-occupied Europe, they cover some of the key figures in the Regiment, including its founder, David Stirling, plus other lesser-known heroes.With each story comes an edge-of-the-seat, rollercoaster ride in classic Damien Lewis fashion, as readers are plunged into the escapees experiences - sharing their most terrifying yet inspiring moments. These stunning accounts of survival beggar belief, revealing nerve-racking bluff and deception, knife-edge encounters with enemy hunter forces hellbent on wreaking vengeance and murder, but also incredible acts of mercy and kindness from those who risk all to help the escapees on their way. Each tale of breath-taking derring-do reveals how necessity really is the mother of all invention, as with every step and at every juncture these fugitives defied fate, snatching survival and freedom from the jaws of the enemy, and all the horrors that would have followed capture.Damien Lewis has worked closely with the families of those portrayed, accessing wartime diaries, letters, mission reports, interrogation transcripts and more, to relate how the men of the SAS crossed blazing deserts, evaded enemy hunter forces and escaped through hostile lands, battling against seemingly insurmountable odds. But most of all, these uplifting tales of endurance beyond measure showcase the triumph of the human spirit and the will to survive.Damien Lewis is both a meticulous historian and a born storyteller Lee ChildDamien Lewis paints a uniquely vivid picture of the wartime SAS. Packed with detail, this fresh and dynamic book brings us as close to its remarkable members as we are ever likely to get. Joshua Levine, author of DunkirkIn these days when we are told to be scared of everything it is a relief to read of steely nerves and cold courage. Damien Lewis has collected examples of exactly these qualities from World War II and they are all thrillers, to be read with pleasure - and a bit of nostalgia! Frederick ForsythThe fund of SAS escapes turns out to be too big for one book, and in Damien Lewis there is a writer of rare narrative gifts able to bring alive these epic stories for us today Mark UrbanAn astonishing book: a collection of truly riveting stories of bravery, all brilliantly told. In terms of sheer drama and audacity, SAS: Great Escapes Two goes where no fiction writer would dare venture Alex Gerlis, author of Agent in the Shadows

Riveting. Extraordinary. A real-life thriller - Dan SnowTruly revelatory - Billy Billingham June 1944: the SAS parachute deep into occupied France. In a country crawling with the enemy, their mission is to prevent Hitler from rushing his Panzer divisions to the D-Day beaches and driving the Allies back into the sea.Captain Patrick Garstin MCs patrol executed one of the most daring escapes of the war, only to fall victim to shocking betrayal. Captured, imprisoned and tortured terribly by the Gestapo, miraculously, two would escape, triggering one of the most-extraordinary Nazi-hunting operations ever.Summer 1945: with WWII officially over, the race was on to bring to justice the Nazi war criminals who had murdered their brothers in arms. In a deniable, deep-cover operation backed by Winston Churchill himself, the the Secret Hunters would expose Nazi Germanys darkest crimes, doggedly tracking down those they most sought.Drawing on real life testimony and family archive material:I was one year old when my father, Captain Patrick Garstin MC, was executed, so sadly never knew him. This amazing book has filled in so many gaps, and it commemorates all those consigned by Hitler to the Nacht und Nebel; the night and fog. Sean GarstinThis spellbinding account brings to life the exploits of a brave band of warriors, one of whom was my uncle, Colonel Blair Paddy Mayne DSO. He led his men on numerous behind-the-lines missions, and this compelling read does their memories full justice. Fiona Ferguson, nee MayneSo much more than just a war story . . . While it involves death and suffering and terrible acts of cruelty, it also highlights the enduring qualities of courage and loyalty, of kindness and humanity, resourcefulness and resilience. Amy Crossland, daughter of Major Eric Bill Barkworth, Chief of the SAS War Crimes Investigation Team

The incredible true story of the SASs mission to liberate Europe, featuring never-before-seen archive materialFROM BESTSELLING MILITARY HISTORIAN DAMIEN LEWISSummer, 1943: the largest invasion fleet ever assembled sailed for Europe, aiming to bulldoze its way onto Nazi shores. At its vanguard went a few hundred elite soldiers, their Royal Navy warship bearing the iconic motto Who Dares Wins. The aim: Led by the legendary SAS commander Blair Paddy Mayne, these war-bitten, piratical raiders were tasked to do the impossible - to bulldoze their way onto the most heavily defended Nazi shores - against all odds, outnumbered fifty-to-one. If they succeeded, it would mark the turning point in the war. If they failed, the consequences were unthinkable.Action-packed and filled with heroic endeavour, SAS Forged in Hell is breath-taking combat writing at its best, in true Damien Lewis style.

One of the most remarkable stories in the history of Special Forces operations - Daily ExpressIn the bleak moments after defeat on mainland Europe in winter 1939, wartime leader Winston Churchill knew that Britain had to strike back hard. He recruited a band of eccentric free-thinking warriors to become the first deniable secret operatives behind enemy lines, offering these volunteers nothing but the potential for glory and all-but-certain death.The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare tells of the daring victories for this small force of freelance pirates in their many missions against the Nazis, often dressed in enemy uniforms and breaking all previously held rules of warfare. Master storyteller and military historian Damien Lewis brings the true adventures of the secret unit to life, from their earliest missions to the death of the groups leader just weeks before the end of World War Two.

The Night Manager meets Narcos Saul DavidTo catch this criminal took incredible courage and skill. This is James Bond meets Jason Bourne Bear GryllsThis is the book that warned us years before the Ukraine invasion about the power and reach of Moscows Merchants of Death... Should be on the bookshelf of every Western anti-narcotics officer and not a few spies. No cliche this time - this is truth which really does trump fiction Euan Grant, UK former intelligence analyst for ex-Soviet states.Russian billionaire Viktor Bout was the worlds foremost arms dealer. Known as the Merchant of Death he was both "Public Enemy No. 1" to the global intelligence agencies who hunted him and a ruthless criminal worth a fortune. He was also a former KGB officer and a tool of the Kremlin.For decades Bout had eluded capture, building up a labyrinthine network of airlines rushing weapons to dictators, rebels, despots and terror groups worldwide. An enemy of the free nations of the world and a top global sanctions buster, Bout was hunted by MI6, INTERPOL, the CIA, the NSA and more. Holed up in Moscow - from where he masterminded the sale of anything from AK47s to state-of-the-art helicopter gunships and anti-aircraft missiles - he was shielded by a Russian state that was a partner in his dark dealings. In short, Bout appeared utterly invulnerable and beyond hope of capture.Step forward former SAS man Mike Snow, AKA The Bear. After serving in the worlds most famous special forces unit, Snow had worked as a bush pilot in war-torn Africa, where hed got to know Bout well. Via a secretive, shadow network, Snow was approached by the US Drugs Enforcement Agency. The DEA agents had one question for him: was Snow able to get Bout - the Lord of War?This is the incredible tale of OPERATION RELENTLESS, the top-secret mission masterminded by Snow and a handful of DEA operatives - a manhunt that ranges from the steamy jungles of Colombia to the ice-bound streets of Moscow, and from horrific bloodshed and tyranny in Afghanistan to a snatch operation like no other. Based upon the first hand testimonies of those who were there, award-winning author Damien Lewis reveals a story that reads like an impossible thriller, but every word is true