The SAS are among the best-trained and most effective Special Forces units in existence. This book is the incredible story of their origins, told in their own words. During the summer of 1941, a young Scots Guard officer called David Stirling persuaded MEHQ to give its backing to a small band of 60 men christened 'L Detachment'. With a wealth of stunning photographs, many from the SAS Regimental Archives, the book captures the danger and excitement of the initial SAS raids against Axis airfields during the Desert War, the battles in Italy and those following the D-Day landings, as well as the dramatic final push into Germany itself and the discovery of such Nazi horrors as Belsen.

An exhaustive account of an elite organization's formative years, The SAS in World War II is the fruit of Gavin Mortimer's expertise and his unprecedented access to the SAS Regimental Archives. Incorporating interviews with the surviving veterans, it is the definitive account of the regiment's glorious achievements in the years from 1941 to 1945.

Dedication
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: Stirling's leap of faith
Chapter 2: L Detachment takes wings
Chapter 3: Stirling's capture
Chapter 4: The SRS in Sicily and Italy
Chapter 5: Bill Stirling and the boys of 2SAS
Chapter 6: Roy Farran: from Toronoto to Termoli
Chapter 7: Back to Blighty
Chapter 8: D-Day for 1SAS
Chapter 9: 2SAS earn their wings
Chapter 10: 2SAS return to Italy
Chapter 11: Operation Archway: the drive into Germany
Chapter 12: Operation Howard: Paddy Mayne's last hurrah
Chapter 13: Delighted then demobbed
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index