World War II gave rise to an astonishing number of unorthodox 'special forces' yet this is the first book to assess their contribution to the final victory or how they related to one another and to the more conventional fighting forces. In 1939 'Special Forces' did not exist; it was Churchill who ordered them to 'set Europe ablaze'. Operating under the cloak of secrecy during wartime and quickly disbanding after it they have not often received credit for their achievements. From early 'butcher and bolt' raids by parachutists and commandos to SOE activities in the Balkans and France; 'Merrill's Marauders' and Windgate's Chindits in Burma, Special Forces were active in all great theatres of war. They played a vital role in intelligence-gathering, Anglo-American co-operation, sabotage, the fostering of local resistance movements and guerilla fighting. They denied 'heavy water' to Germany, making it impossible for that country to manufacture an atomic bomb and crucially affected the balance of air power in the Western Desert in 1942. Here are survivors' stories - courageous men and women, many of whom have become legendary. With black and white photographs.