In 1942, before El Alamein turned the tide of war, the German merchant fleet was re-supplying its war machine with impunity. So Operation Frankton, a daring and secret raid, was launched by Mountbattens Combined Operations and led by the enigmatic Blondie Hasler to paddle Cockleshell canoes right into Bordeaux harbour and sink the ships at anchor. It was a desperately hazardous mission, and fewer than half the men made it to Bordeaux; only four laid their mines; just two got back alive. But the most damage was done to the Germans sense of impregnability.
