This Brave Warrior Druce is an absolute Legend! I had never heard the name before and now I'm going on my own search to find out more about this incredible man. Thank you for posting this video!
You have made a fantastic film and told the human side of a SAS officer. But you should also tell the story about Major Anders Lassen VC who was in the SBS
He's an interesting chap. Lassen''s the only foreigner awarded a VC. Members of what is now the Commonwealth were awarded VC's yes but they were seen as part of the British colonies/commonwealth. Lassen as a Dane, although he did join the SBS after being with the SAS was not.
I visited the graves of several of the SAS men that were murdered around Moussey. They are buried in the church yard there. And are still remembered by the towns people.
The National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire, UK, has a monument to the SAS men and the local Resistance. It is next to the big Polar Bear. (My Regiments division)
If you're looking for crazy survival stories in the face of overwhelming odds, please have a look at Wendell Fertig, a man who had to survive the Japanese invasion of Mindanao, but managed to unite various tribes around him to organize resistance and join the American forces by radio while they thought he was dead and there was no resistance in Mindanao. An amazing man, forgotten by all except by the people of Mindanao
The crazy thing is. They'd have been aware of the commando order. But they went anyway. Knowing the risks associated. They were top draw men . Absolute legends.Same as the brave men and women of the occupied territories that helped them knowing it would bring terrible reprisals to them and their families. They all deserve our respect and gratitude. 👍💛👊
Thanks for this. The only contact I've had with a (Scottish) SAS soldier was when he contacted me to play bagpipes at his funeral, having been given only a few months to live following a terminal illness. Despite being trained and skilled in killing the enemy in silent, covert operations, it turned out he never felt at ease taking lives one-on-one at close range, with a knife or with his hands. On leaving the army after a long career he eventually became homeless, sleeping in doorways until a church minister discovered him and helped rebuild his life. I was proud to have made the tiny contribution I did in honour of this brave soldier's life.
A hit and run attack is one of the main tactics made the Regiment famous, so much so in 1982 a whole Squadron was almost employed to make an attack on an Argentine Airfield on Tierra del Fuego, as the air raids on the Naval task force increased, with a forward party in place to support them, until the operation was called off as the war ended
as part of that f"$C£ed up mission and being detained in Chile before being sent to Uruguay after a dash over the Andes i returned to Argentina and have wife and family there.. beautiful people and country politics are the enemy not the people, war is exciting when you are young until it gets real.. when you are young you have the strength and ability but not the knowledge, when you are old you have the knowledge but not the strength and ability 🤣😂😂
The helicopter with the recce team crash landed and they hot tailed it to Chile on foot. From there they were repatriated to the U.K. The main assault was called off. Well that’s the public version.
I read the story about these SAS units in the Vosges region, the troopers and civilians and SOE operatives (men and women) suffered badly, I believe one or more female SOE agents were thrown into the crematoria alive, RIP the Brave 🙏🏻
@@pashakdescilly7517 Noor was shot along with Yolande Beekman, Madeleine Damerment and Eliane Plewman at Dachau on 13/09/1944. The operative that was thought to have been cremated alive was Andrée Borrel at Natzweiler-Struthof who was murdered along with Vera Leigh, Sonia Olschanezky and Diana Rowden on 13/05/1944.
@@ericadams3428 Are you saying that Noor was shot dead before her body was burned, and that burning alive was the fate of another captured agent? BTW are you using American dates or European? IE month/day/year or day/month/year ?
he isn't SAS, but Charles Upham deserves to have his story told. It's one hell of a story too since he's one of the only soldiers in the commonwealth to have two VCs.
It is possible there was a political element in this,since there was some resentment toward the use by the British government.....perhaps a legacy of the debacle at Gallipoli.
From a documentary a few years ago on UK TV the reason tat the Germans rumbled there were Allied troops in that area was that 2 SAS soldiers broke Standard Operational Procedures. They went on "walkabout" to a farm & haggled/traded with a Frenchwoman for some eggs. The Germans were informed & that was that & the hunt was on.
I knew Henry Druce when he was running his shipping company out of Montreal and visited him in Victoria British Columbia prior to his passing. A remarkable and humble man.
Erwin Rommel treated all his prisoners with respect and strictly to the Geneva Convention. He is recorded as saying" We are soldiers, not murderers". Rommel's men in the Africa Korps said that with Rommel there was no "Piggy Business". I know my father who fought against him with the 9th Australian Division, in Tobruk 1941, said that the Africa Korps was "An honourable enemy".
Excellent lecture. A little hint, it doesn't matter that there aren't that many photos as long as they are linked to the story, I think it disturbs the story to observe the 1st World War and other similar irrelevant photos. Quality over quantity. Otherwise, good job to you👍👍👍
Did he save Patton's 3rd army?If so from what threat & which direction did the threat appear?Saving American lives should have gotten him a Medal of Honor.
@@1975kingyYes correct. The US medal of honor cannot be awarded to non-US nationals. The exception is the award to the "Unknown Soldier" that is buried in Westminster Abbey and the French equivalent that is buried in the Arc de triumph that have been awarded the US Medal of honor in 1922. I believe the Victoria Cross (the UK equivalent award of the Medal of Honor) has been bestowed on the US unknown soldier equivalent.
@@1975kingy Check your facts.I saw your reply & looked it up.Many non-Americans received the MOH since it's inception.Goigled the very question & it was more foreign born than I thought.
@@1975kingy Know your facts.I googled it & the MOH has been given to foreign servicemen since it's inception.I looked it up & they were actually more than I thought.
Mad Mike Calvert - Chindit column commander. I believe he was put forward for 3 VC's. The most decorated British officer of the war I believe. He founded the Belgian SAS and went on to reform the British SAS in Malaya in the '50's when he should probably have been in a clinic for his alcoholism and almost certainly PTSD. He live for the violence and the opportunity to kill that the war gave him - his men loved him but many felt he enjoyed the killing a little too much. This country owes so much to him and men like him yet he's all but been written out of history for all the wrong reasons.
The only Commonwealth(incl Britain) combat soldier to be awarded the VC twice was Capt C H Upham VC &Bar. NZ Army.For 9 days of action on Crete and later in North Africa
@@MortonBartlett-yy3cn Missing the point a bit mate - I said I believe he was put forward 3 time for separate actions. He was never, ever going to be allowed to pick even one of them up. Why? Because he was thought to be homosexual. He was but that didn't stop him being one of the toughest, hardest, most accomplished, bravest soldiers this country ever turned out. If you're interested look out for a book called Mad Mike. (Not to be confused with Mike Hoare) The most they would allow Calvert was his DSO.
As I understand it after the war the British set up clandestine reprisals against the Nazis who killed soldiers under Hitler's Commando Orders. Many in those teams were from the British SAS. They would catch the offender, read out the Commando Order the Nazi followed, and then shoot them in the back of the head, often with a captured German pistol, a common weapon of the time.
No. Post- 8 May 1945 there were units set up by the British (and other allied forces) to track down Nazi war criminals - including those who had murdered SAS personnel under Hitler's "Commando Order". However, those Nazi's were arrested and tried in court - not summarily shot in the back of the head - though there may have been the odd exception.
I had read similar stories about the SAS and American units that tracked down SS soldiers particularly the officers. Unfortunately it's been a long time and I do not remember the name of the book where I read about this. It may or may not be the odd exception but I do believe it did happen along the way. A little comeuppance for the SS.
@@dianeduffcroop8158 Of course there were units detailed by the British, American, French and Russians to track down German personnel who committed war crimes. How do you think the defendants in the Nuremberg (and other) Trials were found...? Even the SOE had a person/ people looking to discover what had happened to their agents and to identify and catch those responsible for their murder. Vera Atkins did just such a role for F (French) Section after the war. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Atkins see also the excellent book by Sarah Helm "A Life in Secrets: The Story of Vera Atkins and the Lost Agents of SOE"
Interesting story! I know the SAS used American Willy's jeeps in WW 2, but what's with the British Landover shot? Didn't think we started making them till around '49!
The original ones were fit, generally from elite forces but it was more about having talented oddballs around back then. Loads of them had really strange adventurous pasts and talents.
I recently retired from a 28 year career of which 24 was in Special Operations Units; 17 in Special Forces (Green Berets) Units in Germany, Fort Bragg NC and Afghanistan; the rest in various Headquarters Staffs in Korea, Ft Bragg; and my last 3 in Training & Doctrine Command. Just about every Green Beret will claim, tongue in cheek, that they graduated from the last hard class. When I went into SF as a Private, I succeed for two reasons, the first, as an athlete, I was programmed to play to the whistle, pass the baton within the zone, run thru the finish line. The second? I was too ignorant to know when I should have quit. I never looked at the graduation date because we lost classmates almost every day. On my first day of the Q Course, there about 250. By the end of the first week we were down to around 150, the 3 biggest attrition events were the first Physical Fitness Test, the Swim Text, and then, one morning at 3 or 3:30(0300-0330)(for the slow ones, when the little hand was on the 3 and the long hand pointed to either the 12 or 6) we were told to put 35 lbs in our rucks, handed a map with an X where we were and an X where the cadre wanted us to be; then they walked away. Some folks milled around, some started walking and some started trotting (you can’t really run far). Guess which set of folks were not in our morning formation on that next Monday morning. 26 weeks later, of the 250, 13 of us graduated along with about 18-20 dudes who failed a portion of their course and the ones with good attitudes were allowed to restart their training where they had failed. Today, the missions expected of a Special Forces soldier are exponentially greater than I was trained for. The misnomer folks may have of Special Anykind of unit, when you pass selection or the qualification course, that is just the beginning of another 4 to 28 more years of training, deploying, training, fighting, training and redeployment home where you will get 30 days leave and come back and start training again. Your question has merit, I think that the men who volunteered for the WW2 SAS, would very likely be the kind who would volunteer again. I was a 6 time volunteer, when I enlisted (voluntary) I volunteered for Airborne School and then I volunteered again to go to the SFQC, later, after college, I volunteered to serve again as an officer, I volunteered for Airborne assignments and I volunteered yet again to go back into SF Units. I asked myself every time I went out to see the students train if I could hack it….. I ALWAYS asked myself.
It was different then in that people were probably more ready for a tough old time and knew they had an enemy ready to destroy them right on their doorstep.
we in the US owe so much to our friends across the pond. I could never imagine being a fraction as brave as these men, god bless and may they rest in peace.
Thank you for showing the faces of those Brave SAS soldiers that were executed by the Nazis. We need more of these memorials to these incredibly Brave individuals that we owe our freedom to today. May they rest in peace eternally.
The vehicle at 0:49 is a Series 2 Land rover, which means it was taken in the late 50's or 1960's. Also 18:15 is another Landrover. Again, post war. This is poor research in an otherwise good video.
Druze wasn't SAS. Indeed, the photos of Landrovers you have featured makes this story ridiculous. The Landrover wasn't even released until 1947. Accuracy is essential.
Thank you sir so much for this video. In recent years there has been, still is, a growing trend to tell 'the German perspective'. A good idea but, what sickens me is to hear German accounts of their 'heroic' fighting with no mention less any apologies for the notorious arrogance of many Germans, and the huge numbers of atrocities' committed by ordinary German soldiers. In other words, German servicemen who fought for Hitler's NAZI ideas are being whitewashed, even held to have been justified and Heroic. That is so 'woke' and disgusts me hence my thanks to you. Let's also remember that when the Germans thought they were winning in 1940 /41, Hitler and his henchmen were still widely perceived by the German service personnel and public as great leaders, not as the evil scum they really were. Hilter
Brilliant video the stories of the original SAS & SBS are exceptional but lets not forget about our original Special Forces The British Army Commandos of WW2 my late Grandfather was in First Special Service Brigade SOE Commando later known as 1 Commando.
My late father had a close friend who was ex old school SAS, he was extreamly mild mannered, very calm and collected, and later on in life he became a padre for a cadet organisation, never spoke a word of what he did, and after meeting him, I would have never believed or so much as imagined he certainly did what he did...
Japanese war crimes get a lot of attention too. Most people know they were more brutal than the Germans. Italian and Allied war crimes aren't really mentioned much though
@@RamesesBoltonMost Italian war crimes were in support of the Germans. Allied war crimes existed but were not as commonplace. Dresden was war, Lidice was meaness.
The Italians and the Japanese didn't murder millions of Jews and other people they deemed unworthy of life. That might have something to do with it. Maybe being a Nazi apologist isn't a good look for you.
After the unbelievable assault on the dry dock at St Nazaire by British commandos Hitler decreed that any soldier caught behind the front line was to be treated as a spy and executed....add to that the practice, by Nazi SS TROOPS not taking prisoners ( for two reasons, one taking prisoners cost time and effort, secondly to instill fear into the allies that faced them).. this practice was to cost many of them not taken prisoner themselves.... The other effect of this practice backfired because instead of causing the allies to be less effective due to fear it bolstered the will to win rather than being tortured and executed.....
A fascinating story and I am sure he would have many tails to tell if he was willing. The SAS have a long a distinguished history, rightly so. Yet we cannot forget the courage of the French that helped him and his men without whom could not have survived. They were self trained individuals, men and women dedicated to the liberation of their Nation.
Another outstanding video highlighting the brave exploits of soldiers detailed to undergo the harshest of missions. Civilians bore the brunt and under extreme duress, showed that ordinary people can show extreme bravery.
I think you should take a look at Anders Lassen VC an incredible man and story, only non commonwealth soldier to get the VC in WW2 and the only SAS man with a VC at the time
Is it just me, or does this episode feel really sloppy? It’s somehow all over the place and redundant at the same time. And I feel like there are multiple points where the narrator misspeaks and it didn’t get edited out. Also, what happened to The Braved?
An excellent account of the courage and tenacity of so many people, as well as Henry Dreuce and his men. Well told with just enough drama to keep the story interesting as well as informative. Well read too. Keep safe. Cheers!
My Dad was 17 in 1938, but with having been in the London Irish Rifles, he was able to join the regular army. Albeit that you cannot do active service, although service on gunsites was acceptable. So to say that Duce had to wait, to me seems daft.
Great channel, great vids. Very intelligent, aware, deep and nuanced but ultimately straightforward. Glad to see someone covering military history on youtube who doesnt come across as a total pedant.
Some of your pictures are considerably wrong. At 18.15 you show a picture of a SAS vehicle, which is a Land Rover 2 or 2A. This dates no earlier than 1958. This is at least 14 years after the period of combat you are talking about. Then you show a picture in which appears Wing Commander(?) Douglas Bader who was in Colditz Castle by 1944. Please get your pictorial facts correct in this otherwise good video.
Can you do a film on Lt Col RB Paddy Mayne of the Royal Ulster Rifles and a founder of the SAS, DSO & 3 Bars. A giant of a man and a true hero. Please dont watch the bbc series rogue warriors as they make a mockrry of him.
A man with unimaginable nerve.
he deserves his own movie
@@theawesomeman9821 made by the UK please!
This Brave Warrior Druce is an absolute Legend! I had never heard the name before and now I'm going on my own search to find out more about this incredible man. Thank you for posting this video!
You have made a fantastic film and told the human side of a SAS officer. But you should also tell the story about Major Anders Lassen VC who was in the SBS
He's an interesting chap. Lassen''s the only foreigner awarded a VC. Members of what is now the Commonwealth were awarded VC's yes but they were seen as part of the British colonies/commonwealth. Lassen as a Dane, although he did join the SBS after being with the SAS was not.
I visited the graves of several of the SAS men that were murdered around Moussey. They are buried in the church yard there. And are still remembered by the towns people.
The National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire, UK, has a monument to the SAS men and the local Resistance.
It is next to the big Polar Bear. (My Regiments division)
Cool, Rip the them tho ☹️
This guy deserves a posthumous VC no problems no questions.
Great to see someone covering the missions of British special forces in WW2. Excellent job mate!
Sounds like a movie I'd pay good money to see! "Druce. Henry Druce"
You mentioned he moved to Norfolk and the Royal Military Acedemy at Sandhurst which is in Berkshire.
its pronounced hay ster ly, great video love youre work dude thanks
You're a good egg. Nicely done.
Great video. The French honoured him but no DSO or VC? Strange times indeed.
Why have included a photo of Nottingham Town Hall as if it was in Belgium?
❤️🇬🇧🇺🇸❤️
These ww2 soldiers were frikking brave men. My HEROES...
Survives all that, and yet, is survived by his wife, like so many others.
6:04 - OH, so that's why Mrs. Robinson is so fucked up
Kiwi lads were involved.
Wow, what a fantastic story. Indeed. 😂
"Semper-Fi"
Aristocracy
If you're looking for crazy survival stories in the face of overwhelming odds, please have a look at Wendell Fertig, a man who had to survive the Japanese invasion of Mindanao, but managed to unite various tribes around him to organize resistance and join the American forces by radio while they thought he was dead and there was no resistance in Mindanao. An amazing man, forgotten by all except by the people of Mindanao
Didn't he do a video on him already??
Turns out Wendell Fertig wasn't Fertig at all!! 😆
@@undergroundlace1686f⁴
😊
Will do!
The crazy thing is. They'd have been aware of the commando order. But they went anyway. Knowing the risks associated. They were top draw men . Absolute legends.Same as the brave men and women of the occupied territories that helped them knowing it would bring terrible reprisals to them and their families. They all deserve our respect and gratitude. 👍💛👊
Thanks for this. The only contact I've had with a (Scottish) SAS soldier was when he contacted me to play bagpipes at his funeral, having been given only a few months to live following a terminal illness.
Despite being trained and skilled in killing the enemy in silent, covert operations, it turned out he never felt at ease taking lives one-on-one at close range, with a knife or with his hands.
On leaving the army after a long career he eventually became homeless, sleeping in doorways until a church minister discovered him and helped rebuild his life. I was proud to have made the tiny contribution I did in honour of this brave soldier's life.
You sir are a star..I would buy you a beer.
@@gazza1196 Thanks. Courage Directors is my tipple, if you can find it these days.
One of Britain's finest warriors RIP.
Nice story . Thank you
If you haven't already, how about covering John Blair "Paddy" Mayne?
Agreed! He's a legend in the SAS!
One wild man by all accounts.
A hit and run attack is one of the main tactics made the Regiment famous, so much so in 1982 a whole Squadron was almost employed to make an attack on an Argentine Airfield on Tierra del Fuego, as the air raids on the Naval task force increased, with a forward party in place to support them, until the operation was called off as the war ended
Was that the one where the SAS men supposedly left a note talking about how badly kept and disorganised the airbase was as they left?
@@ronanmcn4967 Wait, obsessive compulsive behavior standard cleanliness is part of SAS selection, didn't know that!
as part of that f"$C£ed up mission and being detained in Chile before being sent to Uruguay after a dash over the Andes i returned to Argentina and have wife and family there.. beautiful people and country
politics are the enemy not the people, war is exciting when you are young until it gets real.. when you are young you have the strength and ability but not the knowledge, when you are old you have the knowledge but not the strength and ability 🤣😂😂
The helicopter with the recce team crash landed and they hot tailed it to Chile on foot. From there they were repatriated to the U.K. The main assault was called off. Well that’s the public version.
@@woolyimage And the Literary one, as per the first half of Chris Ryans 'Land of fire'
I read the story about these SAS units in the Vosges region, the troopers and civilians and SOE operatives (men and women) suffered badly, I believe one or more female SOE agents were thrown into the crematoria alive, RIP the Brave 🙏🏻
Noor Inayat Khan was one SOE agent who was cremated alive
@@pashakdescilly7517 Noor was shot along with Yolande Beekman, Madeleine Damerment and Eliane Plewman at Dachau on 13/09/1944. The operative that was thought to have been cremated alive was Andrée Borrel at Natzweiler-Struthof who was murdered along with Vera Leigh, Sonia Olschanezky and Diana Rowden on 13/05/1944.
@@ericadams3428 Are you saying that Noor was shot dead before her body was burned, and that burning alive was the fate of another captured agent?
BTW are you using American dates or European? IE month/day/year or day/month/year ?
@@pashakdescilly7517 There aren't 13 months in a year so I'm going to guess they're using day/month/year
@@JAIJ47 good point
he isn't SAS, but Charles Upham deserves to have his story told. It's one hell of a story too since he's one of the only soldiers in the commonwealth to have two VCs.
Hell yeah! One of the only soldiers to receive two Victoria Crosses!
Upham was the only double-VC winner to survive his VC-winning actions and the only one who wasn't a medic.
I have always been in awe of upham since i read his explouts in 'The Victor' comic about 50 years ago
Was just reading about him in the latest book on Colditz
It is possible there was a political element in this,since there was some resentment toward the use by the British government.....perhaps a legacy of the debacle at Gallipoli.
From a documentary a few years ago on UK TV the reason tat the Germans rumbled there were Allied troops in that area was that 2 SAS soldiers broke Standard Operational Procedures. They went on "walkabout" to a farm & haggled/traded with a Frenchwoman for some eggs. The Germans were informed & that was that & the hunt was on.
They also stayed in the same place a bit too long.
Stories like this deserve a movie.
Hope it will appear in rouqe heroes season 2.
I knew Henry Druce when he was running his shipping company out of Montreal and visited him in Victoria British Columbia prior to his passing. A remarkable and humble man.
Nice
Erwin Rommel treated all his prisoners with respect and strictly to the Geneva Convention. He is recorded as saying" We are soldiers, not murderers". Rommel's men in the Africa Korps said that with Rommel there was no "Piggy Business". I know my father who fought against him with the 9th Australian Division, in Tobruk 1941, said that the Africa Korps was "An honourable enemy".
Paddy Mayne also caused havoc in Europe. The SAS story is awesome.
yes he certainly did being an exceptional capable and coureageous man but apparently also didnt' think much about geneva rules of warfare.
Excellent lecture. A little hint, it doesn't matter that there aren't that many photos as long as they are linked to the story, I think it disturbs the story to observe the 1st World War and other similar irrelevant photos. Quality over quantity. Otherwise, good job to you👍👍👍
Being of dutch decent and doing most of my growing up in BC, I'm surprised I've never heard of this gentleman warrior.
All I can say is dankyawel.
Did he save Patton's 3rd army?If so from what threat & which direction did the threat appear?Saving American lives should have gotten him a Medal of Honor.
I’m pretty sure the MOH can’t be awarded to foreigners… I think silver star is the highest a foreigner can get…
@@1975kingyYes correct. The US medal of honor cannot be awarded to non-US nationals. The exception is the award to the "Unknown Soldier" that is buried in Westminster Abbey and the French equivalent that is buried in the Arc de triumph that have been awarded the US Medal of honor in 1922. I believe the Victoria Cross (the UK equivalent award of the Medal of Honor) has been bestowed on the US unknown soldier equivalent.
@@1975kingy Check your facts.I saw your reply & looked it up.Many non-Americans received the MOH since it's inception.Goigled the very question & it was more foreign born than I thought.
@@1975kingy Know your facts.I googled it & the MOH has been given to foreign servicemen since it's inception.I looked it up & they were actually more than I thought.
@@mitchellculberson9336 Ok yes born outside the USA but a member of their armed forces..
Mad Mike Calvert - Chindit column commander. I believe he was put forward for 3 VC's. The most decorated British officer of the war I believe. He founded the Belgian SAS and went on to reform the British SAS in Malaya in the '50's when he should probably have been in a clinic for his alcoholism and almost certainly PTSD. He live for the violence and the opportunity to kill that the war gave him - his men loved him but many felt he enjoyed the killing a little too much. This country owes so much to him and men like him yet he's all but been written out of history for all the wrong reasons.
The only Commonwealth(incl Britain) combat soldier to be awarded the VC twice was Capt C H Upham VC &Bar. NZ Army.For 9 days of action on Crete and later in North Africa
@@MortonBartlett-yy3cn Missing the point a bit mate - I said I believe he was put forward 3 time for separate actions. He was never, ever going to be allowed to pick even one of them up. Why? Because he was thought to be homosexual. He was but that didn't stop him being one of the toughest, hardest, most accomplished, bravest soldiers this country ever turned out. If you're interested look out for a book called Mad Mike. (Not to be confused with Mike Hoare) The most they would allow Calvert was his DSO.
Who dares wins!
As I understand it after the war the British set up clandestine reprisals against the Nazis who killed soldiers under Hitler's Commando Orders. Many in those teams were from the British SAS. They would catch the offender, read out the Commando Order the Nazi followed, and then shoot them in the back of the head, often with a captured German pistol, a common weapon of the time.
No.
Post- 8 May 1945 there were units set up by the British (and other allied forces) to track down Nazi war criminals - including those who had murdered SAS personnel under Hitler's "Commando Order". However, those Nazi's were arrested and tried in court - not summarily shot in the back of the head - though there may have been the odd exception.
@@douglasherron7534 I heard it on a documentary about spy work, chances were this was the odd exception.
I had read similar stories about the SAS and American units that tracked down SS soldiers particularly the officers. Unfortunately it's been a long time and I do not remember the name of the book where I read about this. It may or may not be the odd exception but I do believe it did happen along the way. A little comeuppance for the SS.
@@dianeduffcroop8158 Of course there were units detailed by the British, American, French and Russians to track down German personnel who committed war crimes.
How do you think the defendants in the Nuremberg (and other) Trials were found...?
Even the SOE had a person/ people looking to discover what had happened to their agents and to identify and catch those responsible for their murder. Vera Atkins did just such a role for F (French) Section after the war. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Atkins see also the excellent book by Sarah Helm "A Life in Secrets: The Story of Vera Atkins and the Lost Agents of SOE"
While I like the idea of this, it's probably not true.
So so very sad about the murdered brave SAS soldiers. Bless their souls and surviving families
Interesting story! I know the SAS used American Willy's jeeps in WW 2, but what's with the British Landover shot? Didn't think we started making them till around '49!
I spoted that two and a photo of douglas bardar
SAS selection today is insane to achieve, I wonder if the original SAS troopers would qualify and be accepted?
The original ones were fit, generally from elite forces but it was more about having talented oddballs around back then. Loads of them had really strange adventurous pasts and talents.
Given that they receive appropriate weapons training and training on new equipment what’s stopping them from being qualified
I recently retired from a 28 year career of which 24 was in Special Operations Units; 17 in Special Forces (Green Berets) Units in Germany, Fort Bragg NC and Afghanistan; the rest in various Headquarters Staffs in Korea, Ft Bragg; and my last 3 in Training & Doctrine Command. Just about every Green Beret will claim, tongue in cheek, that they graduated from the last hard class. When I went into SF as a Private, I succeed for two reasons, the first, as an athlete, I was programmed to play to the whistle, pass the baton within the zone, run thru the finish line. The second? I was too ignorant to know when I should have quit. I never looked at the graduation date because we lost classmates almost every day. On my first day of the Q Course, there about 250. By the end of the first week we were down to around 150, the 3 biggest attrition events were the first Physical Fitness Test, the Swim Text, and then, one morning at 3 or 3:30(0300-0330)(for the slow ones, when the little hand was on the 3 and the long hand pointed to either the 12 or 6) we were told to put 35 lbs in our rucks, handed a map with an X where we were and an X where the cadre wanted us to be; then they walked away. Some folks milled around, some started walking and some started trotting (you can’t really run far). Guess which set of folks were not in our morning formation on that next Monday morning. 26 weeks later, of the 250, 13 of us graduated along with about 18-20 dudes who failed a portion of their course and the ones with good attitudes were allowed to restart their training where they had failed. Today, the missions expected of a Special Forces soldier are exponentially greater than I was trained for. The misnomer folks may have of Special Anykind of unit, when you pass selection or the qualification course, that is just the beginning of another 4 to 28 more years of training, deploying, training, fighting, training and redeployment home where you will get 30 days leave and come back and start training again.
Your question has merit, I think that the men who volunteered for the WW2 SAS, would very likely be the kind who would volunteer again. I was a 6 time volunteer, when I enlisted (voluntary) I volunteered for Airborne School and then I volunteered again to go to the SFQC, later, after college, I volunteered to serve again as an officer, I volunteered for Airborne assignments and I volunteered yet again to go back into SF Units. I asked myself every time I went out to see the students train if I could hack it….. I ALWAYS asked myself.
It was different then in that people were probably more ready for a tough old time and knew they had an enemy ready to destroy them right on their doorstep.
Given the fact the selection tests for the Paras and Commandos are unchanged since 1943 I would say they would pass.
we in the US owe so much to our friends across the pond. I could never imagine being a fraction as brave as these men, god bless and may they rest in peace.
Thank you for showing the faces of those Brave SAS soldiers that were executed by the Nazis. We need more of these memorials to these incredibly Brave individuals that we owe our freedom to today. May they rest in peace eternally.
I think the pic of James Bennett is that of Bob Bennett Can anyone confirm my thought?
brave men above and beyond for sure
The vehicle at 0:49 is a Series 2 Land rover, which means it was taken in the late 50's or 1960's. Also 18:15 is another Landrover. Again, post war. This is poor research in an otherwise good video.
Popski, more formally Lt Col Vladimir Peniakof, absolutely deserves some coverage.
'Paddy' Mayne is worth looking at.
Henry Druce a true action hero. Like so man in the SAS at the time.
Druze wasn't SAS. Indeed, the photos of Landrovers you have featured makes this story ridiculous. The Landrover wasn't even released until 1947. Accuracy is essential.
Middlesex Regiment, seconded to MI6 - served with 2 SAS.
Doesn't detract from his exploits.
RMAS is not in Norfolk, it is in Berkshire - though the main gate is actually in Surrey (Camberley).
Imagine dying because you ate plastic explosive believing it was cheese💀💀
You know the poor fella was starving and would eat anything wraped in plastic...
Says a awful lot about French cheese.
@@bearcarter5168 a mean.. its french
And no baguette ??
I virtually did that exactly that, when on active service in Dhofar in the SAS. Your statement reminded me, of the incident. 😂😂
Funny now.
Finally a nother video keep going I love you videos ❤️
I’m first
Thank you sir so much for this video.
In recent years there has been, still is, a growing trend to tell 'the German perspective'.
A good idea but, what sickens me is to hear German accounts of their 'heroic' fighting with no mention less any apologies for the notorious arrogance of many Germans, and the huge numbers of atrocities' committed by ordinary German soldiers.
In other words, German servicemen who fought for Hitler's NAZI ideas are being whitewashed, even held to have been justified and Heroic.
That is so 'woke' and disgusts me hence my thanks to you.
Let's also remember that when the Germans thought they were winning in 1940 /41, Hitler and his henchmen were still widely perceived by the German service personnel and public as great leaders, not as the evil scum they really were.
Hilter
Brilliant video the stories of the original SAS & SBS are exceptional but lets not forget about our original Special Forces The British Army Commandos of WW2 my late Grandfather was in First Special Service Brigade SOE Commando later known as 1 Commando.
We need more stories like this before all of the WW-II generation is gone!
My personal favourite is Robert McLaren, the Sottish born, Australian soldier who cut his own appendix out and then led an attack on the Japanese.
How about colonel Tim Collins? Finished the jungle phase of selection with a broken leg.
My late father had a close friend who was ex old school SAS, he was extreamly mild mannered, very calm and collected, and later on in life he became a padre for a cadet organisation, never spoke a word of what he did, and after meeting him, I would have never believed or so much as imagined he certainly did what he did...
I have met several former members of the Regiment and agree completely with what you say.
WHO DARES WINS
Why the picture of the Landrover at 0:48? The Series 1 Landrover appeared in 1948.
Was it just coincidence or did you put that photo of the Women Nazis, just as you were talking about the SS.
I love how nazis crime get so much attention but italian and japanese war crimes don't
Japanese war crimes get a lot of attention too. Most people know they were more brutal than the Germans. Italian and Allied war crimes aren't really mentioned much though
@@RamesesBoltonMost Italian war crimes were in support of the Germans. Allied war crimes existed but were not as commonplace. Dresden was war, Lidice was meaness.
The Italians and the Japanese didn't murder millions of Jews and other people they deemed unworthy of life. That might have something to do with it. Maybe being a Nazi apologist isn't a good look for you.
@@alanhyt79 The Japanese killed millions in Asia and practiced more brutal tortures than Germany
@@alanhyt79the Japanese killed more Chinese civilans than Germans killed Jews
Paddy Mayne, now there's a story to be told.
Please cover John Tonkin. SAS Operation Bulbasket.
After the unbelievable assault on the dry dock at St Nazaire by British commandos Hitler decreed that any soldier caught behind the front line was to be treated as a spy and executed....add to that the practice, by Nazi SS TROOPS not taking prisoners ( for two reasons, one taking prisoners cost time and effort, secondly to instill fear into the allies that faced them).. this practice was to cost many of them not taken prisoner themselves.... The other effect of this practice backfired because instead of causing the allies to be less effective due to fear it bolstered the will to win rather than being tortured and executed.....
Keep up the amazing work and Preservation of history.
Excellent coverage of this man's remarkable life. They should make a movie about it! 😀
Excellent. ive always wanted to know more about this tragedy. I hope to visit Moussey and pay my respects. Thanks for posting this.
Allied and Occupied Country weapons in Axis hands and Vice Versa for a future video please
A fascinating story and I am sure he would have many tails to tell if he was willing. The SAS have a long a distinguished history, rightly so. Yet we cannot forget the courage of the French that helped him and his men without whom could not have survived. They were self trained individuals, men and women dedicated to the liberation of their Nation.
Another outstanding video highlighting the brave exploits of soldiers detailed to undergo the harshest of missions. Civilians bore the brunt and under extreme duress, showed that ordinary people can show extreme bravery.
Are you suggesting that Sandhurst is in Norfolk, did I just misunderstand what was said?
Bless those who fought against germany
What a fantastic man and a legend 😊😊😊😊
a collection of the bravest the free world has ever seen.
Battlefield justice harsh swift and righteous.
I think you should take a look at Anders Lassen VC an incredible man and story, only non commonwealth soldier to get the VC in WW2 and the only SAS man with a VC at the time
I believe that there were two non Commonwealth VC winners and if I'm not mistaken, both were Danes.
Teach history like this to our school children, make it compulsory
Is it just me, or does this episode feel really sloppy? It’s somehow all over the place and redundant at the same time. And I feel like there are multiple points where the narrator misspeaks and it didn’t get edited out.
Also, what happened to The Braved?
An excellent account of the courage and tenacity of so many people, as well as Henry Dreuce and his men. Well told with just enough drama to keep the story interesting as well as informative. Well read too. Keep safe. Cheers!
My Dad was 17 in 1938, but with having been in the London Irish Rifles, he was able to join the regular army. Albeit that you cannot do active service, although service on gunsites was acceptable. So to say that Duce had to wait, to me seems daft.
THEY WENT A HUNTING NOT VERY NEAR THE RULES OF WAR ,, THEY GOT SOME BUT NOY ALL , GOOD VID .😊
Great channel, great vids. Very intelligent, aware, deep and nuanced but ultimately straightforward. Glad to see someone covering military history on youtube who doesnt come across as a total pedant.
The war in the desert in North Africa the role of the SAS (Stirling and co. portrayed in the series. Rogue Heroes)
What a man but let us not forget the other guys in that unit, all were brave men who should have been awarded the same honours in europe.
They need to make a game of this on Xbox and PlayStation.
Not underestimating the bravery of these soldiers in WWII. Perhaps a slight oversight to have two Land Rovers at 0.48!
Wernt most of the "special" ss units by this time in the war made up of replacements and Hitler Youth
Germans are too serious, they really hate pranks.
Why does the thumbnail seem like he has blue eyeshadow on? Is it just me? Just found it oddly out of place
What an amazing life of this SAS Soldier, and Commentary!👍🪖
Some of your pictures are considerably wrong. At 18.15 you show a picture of a SAS vehicle, which is a Land Rover 2 or 2A. This dates no earlier than 1958. This is at least 14 years after the period of combat you are talking about. Then you show a picture in which appears Wing Commander(?) Douglas Bader who was in Colditz Castle by 1944. Please get your pictorial facts correct in this otherwise good video.
💯✨Major Henry Druce armed with a stolen ham💪 🔥🤩‼🌟💎♡
A Bunch of heroes. JJ
Love this ordinary grunt tale. Hail
Can you do a film on Lt Col RB Paddy Mayne of the Royal Ulster Rifles and a founder of the SAS, DSO & 3 Bars. A giant of a man and a true hero. Please dont watch the bbc series rogue warriors as they make a mockrry of him.
Great insight to lesser know facts Re the second world war, thank you.
Nonetheless, thank you for telling this man’s story.
A dude...ate...C4 plastic explosive?
Lighting farts....suicide.
I am in awe of the bravery shown...Thank You.