Fire from the Forest: The SAS Brigade in France, 1944 by Roger Ford
This is a comprehensive account of the behind-the-lines missions that supported the D-Day landings and the breakout from Normandy. The SAS mounted 36 operations behind enemy lines, sabotaging railways, calling in airstrikes and ambushing German units on their way to the battlefront. Some achieved results out of all proportion to the small numbers of SAS involved. Others, like the ill-fated 'Operation Bulbasket', led to the capture and execution of many SAS men. It is a sanguinary tale that exposes the limits as well as the potential of elite military units and the civilian resistance movements they fought alongside.