Operation Samwest

Operation Samwest
Part of Normandy Landings

Côtes-d'Armor, 9 June 2012
Date5 to 12 June 1944
Location
Result German victory
Belligerents
 Free French Forces 4th Special Air Service Regiment  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Free France Lieutenant Charles Deschamps
Free France Lieutenant André Botella[1]
unknown
Strength
18 paratroops Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

During World War II, Operation Samwest (5–12 June 1944) was a large raid conducted by 116 Free French paratroops of the 4th Special Air Service Regiment.[2][3] Their objective was to hinder movement of German troops from west Brittany to the Normandy beaches via ambush and sabotage attempts.

The first phase of the mission was to establish a secure base on the Breton Peninsula, near St. Brieuc in Duault in the Bretagne Region. Their base was heavily attacked by German troops on 12 June and they were forced to disperse.[4]

  1. ^ "Operation Samwest – French resistance during the Battle of Normandy". www.dday-overlord.com. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  2. ^ Chant, Christopher (15 January 2021). "Samwest | Operations & Codenames of WWII". codenames.info. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  3. ^ Andrew L. Hargreaves (2013). Special Operations in World War II: British and American Irregular Warfare. Vol. 39. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0806151250 – via Google Books. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help) 9780806151250
  4. ^ "Operation Samwest (1944)". ShadowSpear Special Operations. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.