No Bridges Blown : With the OSS Jedburghs in Nazi-Occupied France [Hardcover]

A rediscovered classic of military history back in print for the seventy-fifth anniversary of the end of World War II

When William B. Dreux parachuted into France in 1944, the OSS infantry officer had cinematic visions of blood-and-guts heroics, of leading the French Maquis resistance forces in daring missions to blow up key bridges and delay the German advance.

This isnt the glamorized screen-ready account he expected; this is the real story. Dreuxs three-man OSS team landed behind enemy lines in France, in uniform, far from the targeted bridges.No Bridges Blownis a story of mistakes, failures, and survival, a story of volunteers and countrymen working together in the French countryside. The only book written by one of the Jedburghs about his wartime experiences, Dreux brings the history of World War II to life with stories of real people amidst a small section of the fighting in France. These people had reckless courage, little training, and faced impossible odds. This story will resonate with veterans and everyday citizens alike and it brings to life the realities of war on the ground in Nazi-occupied France.

In movies and on television you sometimes see a tough American paratrooper knock out a German guard with a devastating karate chop or a swift judo throw. You will find none of that in this story. The closest any German ever came to me was when he was poking his submachine gun in my stomach as I sat trapped in a car. No karate or judo expert could have gotten out of that fix. I had to do it differently.

There are no great victories either. If anything, it was the other way around. Once I led a Maquis group and tried to punch a hole through the rear of the Atlantic Wall defenses on the Brittany coast. My group was made up of untrained young Frenchmen and some former Senegalese and Algerian soldiers. The Germans let me lead my men forward into a trap. Then they opened up on us; the Senegalese and Algerians panickedl3C