Steel from the Sky: The Jedburgh Raiders, France, 1944, and: Operation Jedburgh: D-Day and America's First Shadow War (review)

The Jedburghs were three-man teams parachuted into occupied France after D-Day to develop liaison with the Resistance. They were truly inter-allied, French, British and American. Each of the 93 teams included a Frenchman, with the remaining two members divided more or less equally between British and American officers.

All 93 of the Jedburgh missions are covered by Ford, whose approach is that of an encyclopedist, providing an entry for each team with commentary, a page or more in length, but with no academic paraphernalia—no sources, no notes, no bibliography. Yet his volume has special value because to my knowledge it is the only work in print that embraces the entire Jedburgh program, and the author is unquestionably an authority. He began with an ambitious concept—to write about all the Allied missions into France, the Special Air Services (SAS), the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Operational Groups, the Inter-Allied missions. He soon found the abundance of material overwhelming, and limited himself first to the SAS in his Fire from the Forest (Cassell, 2004). As material on the remaining missions was still too vast, he narrowed his approach to the Jedburghs. His organization is admirable: he has divided France into eight regions where the Jeds primarily served, and with descriptions of each team's actions, enables the reader to grasp the assets and drawbacks of the entire program.

Colin Beavan, seeking to know about the career of his grandfather, who had worked for OSS and CIA, carried out extensive research in the files of OSS, Special Operations Executive (SOE), and other agencies on American clandestine missions into France. Of the various teams of "shadow warriors," he found the Jedburgh missions most appealing. He presents a popular narrative rather than an academic treatise, leaving technical details to footnotes. He wants to capture "the excitement, the fear and the moral dilemmas more than headquarters citations that would only serve to disturb the narrative for the general reader" (p. xxviii). He tells his story with many citations from Jed reports, especially from the dozen or so Americans whose reports are most illuminating. He has accomplished his objective, of emphasizing the American involvement, in excellent style.

With his enthusiasm for his topic, Beavan leaves the impression that the Jeds and the Resistance accomplished more than they actually did. Nevertheless, he is well aware of weaknesses in the Resistance and includes one chapter (chapter 25: "Insubordination") in which he describes the difficulties the Jeds had in getting the Maquis to obey orders. It is a fascinating commentary pointing out that while one would like to believe that all maquisards were stout and courageous, many were unruly, disinclined to fight, and included those who did not believe foreign officers had the right to command Frenchmen. The problem is also brought out in Ford, who quotes Jed Claude Vuchot as experiencing "nothing so painful" (p. 141) as observing his men as looters, or some chiefs wanting "to raise, organize and dispose his little band at [their] own will and pleasure" (p. 143).

While Ford has no notes, Beavan has scrupulously documented his account and has an extensive section on sources and bibliography. He also identifies useful web sites. As an example, one can easily access a basic unpublished study, Arthur Brown, "The Jedburghs: A Brief History." Beavan also mentions that all the Jed reports are available on microfilm (see Adam Matthew Publications) but curiously has no reference...