| Operation Pistol | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Western Front | |||||||
  Maps showing the Alsace region left and Lorraine right | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom |
 Nazi Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
'A' group Lieutenant G.N.M. Darwall 'B' group Lieutenant R.J. Birnie 'C' group Captain M.W. Scott 'D' group Captain R.J. Holland |
Standartenführer Gustav Mertsch | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 'A' Squadron, 2nd Special Air Service | 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
'A' group A 12 men 'B' group 14 men 'C' group 13 men 'D' group 12 men | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
2 killed 3 executed while prisoners of war |
2 trains derailed telephone wires cut electricity pylons damaged | ||||||
Operation Pistol was the code name for a Special Air Service mission during the Second World War, with the objective to parachute four teams from 'A' Squadron 2nd Special Air Service behind the German lines around the Alsace–Lorraine region of France. Once on the ground they would attempt to disrupt the road and rail networks between Metz and Nancy and the approach to the Rhine plain. One team, because of weather conditions over the drop zone, returned to England, another team landed in the middle of a German unit and the other two teams achieved some success before returning to Allied lines in early October.