Raiding Support Regiment: The Diary of a Special Forces Soldier 1943-1945

The Second World War witnessed a steady growth in the number and use of Special Forces units such as the Special Air Service (SAS), Special Boat Service (SBS), the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) and Popski’s Private Army. The harsh climate and special nature of the battlefields in the Middle East were the cradle for emergence of units such as the SAS and LRDG. It took a special kind of soldier – highly self reliant, physically and mentally tough – to operate in the desert with minimum levels of support. Most special units were short-lived expedients to address particular tactical circumstances. Their personnel were renowned for their toughness, skill and ruthlessness. Their leaders, such as David Stirling of the SAS, would establish considerable reputations for their tactical vision, soldierly qualities and powers of leadership. By their very nature, Special Forces were lightly equipped. Whether for reconnaissance purposes or surprise attack, Allied Special Forces relied on speed, surprise, camouflage and evasion.

In 1943, the war shifted dramatically as German forces in North Africa were defeated and Allied landings took place in Sicily and then in Italy.

The Second World War in Yugoslavia is an area neglected by historians and other commentators. This is perhaps surprising as Yugoslavia was the only country in Europe to be conquered by the Germans and then, later, to free itself solely as a result of guerrilla activity. Other countries had to be liberated by Allied armies. The British played an important role in supporting the activities of Tito’s guerrilla army. This is the story of Walter Jones’s service and the operations of the Raiding Support Regiment.

A precursor to the modern SAS the Raiding Support Regiment fought alongside the commandos and Tito’s partisan in Yugoslavia. Based on the Island of Vis in the Adriatic they provided heavy weapons support to British and partisan forces trying to drive the Germans out of Yugoslavia. Later they served in Albania and Italy. This is a brutally honest account of one man’s service with the Regiment and a neglected period of European history. It documents the transformation of a young man into a combat veteran as he witnesses the effects of bombing, the deliberate killing of POWs and partisan savagery against those who transgress the partisan code.