Operation Biting

Max Hastings recounts this cliffhanging tale with a wealth of previously unchronicled detail. He brings to life its remarkable personalities: the “boffin” R.V. Jones; the flamboyant Mountbatten; Daphne Du Maurier’s troubled husband, 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 paratroopers into action; Charlie Cox, the little RAF technician who dismantled the Würzburg radar and became an unexpected hero; and Wing-Commander Charles Pickard, the legendary bomber pilot who led the drop squadron. Rarely have so many fascinating personalities been brought together to accomplish a mission that became a front-page triumph amid a season of British defeats.