The raid on the port of St Nazaire in March 1942 by a sea-borne task force from British Combined Operations remains one of the most daring actions of World War II. The port lies at the mouth of the River Loire and in 1942, as well as a U-Boat base, contained the massive 'Normandie' dock, the only facility on the Atlantic coast large enough to accommodate the German pocket battleship Tirpitz. This book tells the story of the raid on St Nazaire that denied the use of the dock to the Tirpitz, the sister ship of the Bismarck, and constituted a crucial victory in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Background to the Raid
Chronology
Commanders
Attackers and Defenders
Planning the Raid
The Sea Journey
The Run up the Loire
Campbeltown's Attack
The Dockyard Battle
Aftermath
St Nazaire Today
Bibliography
Index

Ken Ford was born in Hampshire, UK, in 1943. He trained as an engineer, but now spends his time as an author and a bookseller specialising in military history. Ken has made a long term study of many of the battles of World War II and has already published books on the Assault crossing of the River Seine in 1944 and the battle for Geilenkirchen.
Howard Gerrard studied at the Wallasey School of Art and has been a freelance designer and illustrator for over 20 years. He has won both the Society of British Aerospace Companies Award and the Wilkinson Sword Trophy and has illustrated a number of books for Osprey including Campaign 69: Nagashino 1575 and Campaign 72: Jutland 1916. Howard lives and works in Kent, UK.