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to disrupt German reinforcements by carrying out operations such as destroying communication lines, setting up ambushes, and conducting sabotage actions to impede the movement of convoys from Brittany to Normandy after D-Day.
Operational Area
Saint-Brieuc area, Brittany, France
Unit Force
18 men of 4th Special Air Service
Opposing Forces
Operation
In the early hours of June 6, 1944, 36 commandos from the 4th Special Air Service (SAS) French Battalion (later known as the 2nd Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes) were dropped over Brittany while American and British scouts were jumping over Normandy. They were divided into four teams, with two teams commanded by Lieutenants Deschamps and Botella jumping near the forest of Duault in Côtes-d’Armor (Operation Samwest) around 12:30 am, and two teams dropping near Plumelec in the Morbihan region (Operation Dingson).
The teams involved in Operation Samwest were Stick 1 (“Pierre 3”) led by Lieutenant Charles Deschamps, and Stick 2 (“Pierre 4”) led by Lieutenant André Botella. Stick 1 included personnel such as Sergeant Henri Stéphan, Jean Lorahic, Henri Debruyne, Michel Mouflin, Cornaille, Jean Rameau, Julien Devize, and Irénée Tocaven. Stick 2 consisted of Sergeant-Chef Alfred Litzler, Sergeant Michel Payen, Albert Urvoy, Leon Schermesser, Jacques Brossard, Georges Chammings, Albert Le Cudennec, Jean Renaud, and Jean Richard.
The initial phase of the mission aimed to establish a secret support base near Saint-Brieuc in Brittany, establish contact with local resistance groups to integrate them into guerrilla operations, and set up drop zones and landing zones for the remaining commandos.
The battalion’s objective was to disrupt German reinforcements by carrying out operations such as destroying communication lines, setting up ambushes, and conducting sabotage actions to impede the movement of convoys from Brittany to Normandy after D-Day.
By June 9th, 1944, a total of 116 French SAS soldiers had been dropped over the Samwest secret base. Survivors from the Samwest cell joined the Dingson cell to coordinate their actions. However, on June 18th, 1944, a German attack disrupted the resistance fighters, resulting in heavy casualties with nearly 30 individuals killed. Captain Leblond took charge of gathering the survivors and training new recruits during Operation Grog, which commenced on June 19th, 1944.
