{"product_id":"9780008642181_operation-biting-the-1942-parachute-assault-to-capture-hitlers-radar","title":"Operation Biting: The 1942 Parachute Assault to Capture Hitler’s Radar","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTHE SUNDAY TIMES #1 BESTSELLER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Times Best History Book of the Year; A Waterstones Best Book of the Year\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Reads like a thriller… I couldn't put Max Hastings's new book down' DAILY MAIL\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Hastings is a master of drama, a writer intimately familiar with the mind of the soldier' THE TIMES\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOperation Biting was one of the most thrilling British commando raids of World War II, and probably the most successful. In February 1942 RAF intelligence was baffled by a newly-identified radar network on the coast of Nazi-occupied Europe, codenamed Würzburg. The brilliant scientist Dr RV Jones proposed an assault to capture key components. The nearest accessible enemy set stood upon a steep cliff at Bruneval in Normandy. Winston Churchill enthused, as did Lord Louis Mountbatten, chief of Combined Operations. A company of the newly-formed Airborne Forces was committed to the operation, which took place on the night of 27\/28 February. Amid heavy snow 120 men landed, some of whom were misdropped almost two miles from their objective. They nonetheless launched the assault, dismantled the German radar, and after three nail-biting hours in France and a fierce battle with Wehrmacht defenders, escaped in the nick of time by landing-craft across stormy seas to Portsmouth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMax Hastings recounts this cliffhanging tale in a wealth of previously unchronicled detail. He portrays its remarkable personalities: the ‘boffin’ RV Jones; the peacock Mountbatten; the troubled husband of Daphne Du Maurier, Gen. ’Boy’ Browning, who commanded the Airborne Division; ‘Colonel Remy’, the French secret agent whose men reconnoitered Bruneval at mortal risk; Major John Frost, who led the paras into action; Charlie Cox, the little RAF technician who stripped the Würzburg and became an unexpected hero; Wing-Commander Charles Pickard, a legendary bomber pilot who led the drop squadron. Seldom have so many fascinating personalities been brought together to fulfil a mission that became a front-page triumph in a season of British defeats.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecounted in Hastings’ familiar best-selling blend of top-down and bottom-up action detail,\u003cem\u003e Operation Biting \u003c\/em\u003etells a story that has become almost forgotten yet deserves to rank among the epic tales of courage and daring that took place in the greatest conflict in history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Max Hastings","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47285772910741,"sku":"9780008642181","price":16.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780008642181.jpg?v=1776992270","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780008642181_operation-biting-the-1942-parachute-assault-to-capture-hitlers-radar","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}