“Winston Churchill was desperate to fight the Germans any way he could – including guerilla warfare”, writes Leah Garrett in a groundbreaking book about a secret unit created within the British Army during World War II. At one point, Lord Mountbatten suggested creating “a new special unit of commandos” formed by “displaced nationals such as Poles, Norwegians, and Frenchmen” among others. The idea thrilled the British Prime Minister. German-speaking refugees were to form the ranks of the X Troop that was born in 1942.
The unit was singular in the sense that the large majority of its 87 members were Jewish young men eager to bring the fight to Nazi Germany. Considered aliens and potential enemies when they reached Britain’s shores, these new commandos had to shun their real names and identities to perform their duty. One of them, George Lane (Lanyi György was his real name) even found himself in Marshal Rommel’s presence after his capture during a special mission leading up to D-Day.
Between the covers of X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War II (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), historian and author Leah Garrett traces the history of “one of the most selective unit” through the fate of these “highly intelligent, highly motivated, German-speaking commandos” whose knowledge of the enemy’s language would be crucial at many levels on the battlefield. They became Churchill’s brawns and brains.
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