REVIEW BY JONATHAN EATON
Sir Max Hastings has an established reputation as a leading writer on 20th-century conflicts, drawing on his previous experience as both a war correspondent and newspaper editor. His recent works have included studies of Vietnam and the Cuban Missile Crisis, as well as a series of well-received treatments on aspects of the Second World War. His latest book returns to that period with a focus on the 1942 commando raid codenamed Operation Biting.
The context of this raid lies in Winston Churchill’s enthusiasm for the use of new forces and tactics to maintain the pressure on German occupying forces on mainland Europe, even after the withdrawal at Dunkirk. This was famously outlined in a memorandum from Churchill to his chief of staff, Major General Hastings ‘Pug’ Ismay, dated 4 June 1940, in which the then-Prime Minister argued emphatically for learning the lessons of the Dunkirk evacuation. Churchill was keen on the potential of forces that could be rapidly deployed, withdrawn, and then redeployed in an offensive manner in order to confuse and harass the enemy.
Part of Churchill’s genius, particularly during the darkest periods of the conflict from a British perspective, lay in his active encouragement of his military commanders to see beyond the immediate threat and use unorthodox approaches to gain an advantage. As Churchill articulated shortly after, he sought plans for ‘a vigorous, enterprising, and ceaseless offensive against the whole German-occupied coastline’. This approach would not only keep German forces in a state of confusion and imbalance, but it would also serve to shore up British morale. It is noteworthy that Operation Biting itself took place in the same month as the surrender of Singapore and the evasion by German battlecruisers of the Royal Navy in the so-called ‘Channel Dash’, a period where good news was anxiously sought by the British military command.
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