Key Facts
- Raiding force size
- 12 (8 SBS + 4 Greeks)
- Survivors reaching pickup
- 2 SBS men
- Days hiding before pickup
- 4
- Target
- Two airfields on Rhodes
- Film adaptation
- They Who Dare (1954)
Strategic Narrative Overview
In September 1942, eight SBS operators and four Greek assistants landed on Rhodes by submarine to attack the two airfields. The operation encountered severe difficulties; most of the raiding party were killed or captured during or after the assault. Only two SBS men evaded the enemy, hiding in the Rhodian countryside for four days before reaching the designated extraction beach to be recovered by submarine.
01 / The Origins
By mid-1942, Axis forces operating from airfields on the island of Rhodes posed a serious threat to Royal Navy supply convoys passing through the eastern Mediterranean. German and Italian bombers used these bases to strike at Allied shipping. British commanders authorised a small commando raid by the Special Boat Section to neutralise the airfields and reduce pressure on naval convoys sustaining operations in the region.
03 / The Outcome
The raid failed to achieve its strategic objective at an extremely high cost in personnel. The losses were so severe that the depleted Special Boat Section was subsequently absorbed into the Special Air Service. The operation became notable enough to be dramatised in the 1954 British film They Who Dare, which depicted the events of the ill-fated mission.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.