As a big fan of anything related to Special Forces, commandos, and covert operations, I enjoyed immensely reading Joshua Levine’s book SAS: The Authorized Illustrated History of the SAS (William Collins) during the Holidays. Incidentally, I finished reading it a few hours after I learnt that Mike Sadler, the last of the original members of the SAS (Special Air Service) had passed away.

Joshua Levine’s book is filled with breathtaking operations and incomparable characters, like Mike Sadler, David Stirling, Dudley Clarke, Paddy Mayne and Jock Lewes – among many who all played a crucial role in this inspiring chapter of World War II.

The main lesson I take from the author’s work is more political. History is full of fantastic ideas or projects that never lifted off the ground because they were not supported by the right people against all odds. The legendary SAS is not one of those. Bestselling author of Dunkirk, which was written in conjunction with the 2017 movie, Joshua Levine has a keen eye for military exploits.

Summer of 1941. Prospects are bleak for Great Britain in the war against Nazism. Soviet Union has just been invaded and the Americans are yet to enter the fray. Winston Churchill is looking for a way to get back at the enemy. Inspired by his military experience in his youth, “he had proposed a force based on the Boer Commandos, loose-knit bands of horsemen who had struck against the more powerful British during the South African War.” The greatest statesman of the twentieth century was also inspired by T. E. Lawrence, a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia in his desire to use irregular forces to inflict damage to the enemy.

But let’s return to the SAS. David Stirling, a Scottish officer, was at the helm of that project. While historians are debating the credit to be placed on his scorecard, Joshua Levine details his instrumental capacity to navigate the corridors of powers and therefore ensure the survival of this unconventional unit. It would eventually become a thorn in the flesh of German Marshal Erwin Rommel in the Desert War. About this officer nicknamed the “Phantom Major”, the author notes that “he was a well-connected young man with a gift for persuasion”. His qualities would be more than beneficial in the internecine warfare waged in the corridors of the British chain of command in Cairo, where “staff officers seem to have considered the unit an eccentric folly that was bound to fail.”

Right from the beginning, his main supporter was Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck, commander-in-chief of the Middle East theatre, who was not only impressed with the accomplishments of the SAS but also promoted its founder. While reading the book, one gets the sense that the unit regrouping those who dared might not have survived without David Stirling – a master operator whose networking capacities can only impress.

But “The Auk” – as Auchinleck was known – was not the only warlord whose interest was piqued. The other main supporter – and visibly most important one – was none other than the Prime Minister himself. Like their patriarch, the members of the Churchill family were directly involved in the war effort. Winston’s son, Randolph, wanted to serve in “a front-line position with a prestigious unit”. Commanding officers were lukewarm about this prospect, because of his weight and personality, which were nevertheless compensated with courage.

What others saw as a potential burden was a silver lining for David Stirling. For him, “Randolph offered a direct connection to Winston and all the benefits that could bring to the SAS.” The “overgrown schoolboy” would soon prove his usefulness. After taking part in the Benghazi raid, which was a “total failure”, Randolph sent his father “what was in essence a ten-page love letter to the SAS”.

In August 1942, Auchinleck was sacked as theatre commander. Someone needed to take the blame for the Eight Army’s performance. Churchill replaced him with Sir Harold Alexander. On his part, Lt. Gen. Bernard Montgomery took over command of the Eight Army. Monty and Stirling didn’t see eye to eye. The leader of the SAS needed not worry, because he had a huge fan in Winston Churchill. When the Prime Minister visited Cairo in August of that year, he invited Stirling to dinner and asked him what he could do to assist.

The rest, as they say, is history and the SAS never really had to worry about its survival anymore. Despite the desire of its members who were not fond of curbing the essence of the unit, it went through several phases of adaptation. They found new ways to fight on the battlefield until the end of the war. While they returned to ordinary life, their service, and the unit inside which they accomplished so much was destined for legend.

I could not conclude this review without mentioning two other aspects I particularly enjoyed in Joshua Levine’s book. I was impressed to read about Admiral Walter “Tich” Cowan, who – prior to the creation of the SAS – decided to join the fight with the commandos at 70 years old and for whom “death in battle now seemed preferable to illness and decline.” Totally admirable.

Secondly, I was thrilled to read and review X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War II by Leah Garrett last summer. Joshua Levine goes in that direction when he evokes the contribution of an unusual group that would join the SAS in their action. The Special Interrogation Group (SIG) was notably composed of German Jews who took refuge in British-mandated Palestine and decided to take arms. The SIG was modelled on the Palmach – “the strike force of the underground Jewish army”. He also mentions that the members of the ‘C’ Squadron, 1^st SAS, trained in what is now Israel. I would be curious to know how much of an influence these World War II forebears had in the development ethos of the Israeli commandos, but that’s another story.

All in all, The Authorized Illustrated History of the SAS is an unparalleled book for anyone seeking to get acquainted with that mythical Special Forces unit or the military enthusiast seeking to spend good moments with larger-than-life contemporary centurions.

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Joshua Levine, SAS: The Authorized Illustrated History of the SAS, London, William Collins, 2023, 320 pages.