Operation Biting (Signed first edition)

Max Hastings

ISBN 10: 0008642168 / ISBN 13: 9780008642167

Published by William Collins, London, 2024

About this Item

Octavo. xx + 362pp. Includes 48 black and white photographs and 2 colour photographs. First edition, second impression. Signed by the author to the title page. This book is in near fine condition. The red cloth boards are near fine, with very minor bumping to the leading edges of the the front and rear boards. The top and bottom edges of the spine are lightly bumped and slightly curled. The silvered titling to the spine is bright. The pages are clean and the binding is tight. The dust jacket is in near fine condition, with minor bumping to the edges. There is a 'Signed by the author' sticker to the front of the dust jacket. The dust jacket is unclipped.

Seller Inventory # 705

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Operation Biting (Signed first edition)
• Publisher: William Collins, London
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0008642168
• ISBN 13: 9780008642167
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 2nd Printing
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Dimensions: 16.2W x 24.1H x 3.8D centimeters 16.2 centimeters width by 24.1 centimeters height by 3.8 centimeters depth
• Weight: 694 grams
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • 2nd World War
  • Signed Books
  • Military History

About this title

Synopsis

Operation Biting was one of the most thrilling British commando raids of World War II, and probably the most successful.

In February 1942 RAF intelligence was baffled by a newly-identified radar network on the coast of Nazi-occupied Europe, codenamed Würzburg. The brilliant scientist Dr. RV Jones proposed an assault to capture key components. The nearest accessible enemy set stood upon a steep cliff at Bruneval in Normandy. Winston Churchill enthused, as did Lord Louis Mountbatten, chief of Combined Operations. A company of the newly-formed Airborne Forces was committed to the operation, which took place on the night of 27/28 February. Amid heavy snow 120 men landed, some of whom were misdropped almost two miles from their objective. They nonetheless launched the assault, dismantled the German radar, and after three nail-biting hours in France and a fierce battle with Wehrmacht defenders, escaped in the nick of time by landing-craft across stormy seas to Portsmouth.

Max Hastings recounts this cliffhanging tale in a wealth of previously unchronicled detail. He portrays its remarkable personalities: the ‘boffin’ RV Jones; the peacock Mountbatten; the troubled husband of Daphne Du Maurier, Gen. ’Boy’ Browning, who commanded the Airborne Division; ‘Colonel Remy’, the French secret agent whose men reconnoitered Bruneval at mortal risk; Major John Frost, who led the paras into action; Charlie Cox, the little RAF technician who stripped the Würzburg and became an unexpected hero; Wing-Commander Charles Pickard, a legendary bomber pilot who led the drop squadron. Seldom have so many fascinating personalities been brought together to fulfil a mission that became a front-page triumph in a season of British defeats.

Recounted in Hastings’ familiar best-selling blend of top-down and bottom-up action detail, Operation Biting tells a story that has become almost forgotten yet deserves to rank among the epic tales of courage and daring that took place in the greatest conflict in history.