Operation Jericho

Freeing the French Resistance from Gestapo jail, Amiens 1944

By: Robert Lyman, Adam Tooby (Illustrator)

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eBook | 26 May 2022

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This is the story of Operation Jericho, the spectacular prison break staged by an elite group of British, Australian and New Zealand bomber pilots, who flew a daring low-level mission to blow holes in the walls of Amiens jail and free French Resistance prisoners under the sentence of death during World War II.

With D-Day looming, early 1944 was a time of massive intelligence activity across northern France, and many résistants were being captured and imprisoned by the Germans. Among the jails full of French agents was Amiens, where hundreds awaited likely execution for their activities.

To repay their debt of honour, MI6 requested an air raid with a seemingly impossible brief: to simultaneously blow holes in the prison walls, free as many men and women as possible while minimizing casualties, and kill German guards in their quarters. The crews would have to fly their bomb-run at an altitude of just 20ft. Despite the huge difficulties, the RAF decided that the low-level specialists of No. 140 Wing had a chance of success.

With the aid of first-hand accounts, explanatory 3D diagrams and dramatic original artwork, the eminent historian Robert Lyman explains how one of the most difficult and spectacular air raids of World War II was pulled off, and debunks some of the myths over why the raid was ordered in the first place.

About the Author

Dr Robert Lyman FRHistS (www.robertlyman) is regarded as one of Britain's most talented military historians, with 15 bestselling works published to date and numerous television appearances including on the BBC's ‘Who Do You Think You Are?' and the ‘Great Escapes' documentary series, on Tobruk (1941) and Kohima (1944). He spent 20 years in the British Army. His previous book on Operation Jericho, The Jail Busters, was on the Chief of the Air Staff's reading list in 2016.