37: Partisans and Parachutes - The Last Stand of the Long Range Desert Group (Part 3)

Partisans and Parachutes - The Last Stand of the Long Range Desert Group (Part 3)

With the Axis surrender in North Africa in May 1943, the Long Range Desert Group faced an existential crisis: the masters of the deep desert suddenly found themselves without a desert to fight in. In the final instalment of our three-part series on the Militia Historia Podcast, we follow the unit's difficult transition into the mountains and islands of the Mediterranean theatre.

We explore the LRDG's rigorous retraining for amphibious and mountain warfare in the cedars of Lebanon, setting the stage for their deployment to the Aegean Sea. This episode breaks down the ill-fated Dodecanese campaign, focusing on the brutal Battle of Leros. We examine the heavy casualties the unit suffered when they were forced to fight as conventional infantry against overwhelming German air superiority and elite paratrooper assaults.

Finally, we track the surviving patrols as they pivoted to intelligence gathering and guerrilla warfare in the rugged terrains of Italy, Albania, and Yugoslavia. Operating alongside local partisan fighters, the LRDG continued to harass German forces until the war's end. Join us as we detail their final operations, their ultimate disbandment in August 1945, and the enduring legacy of the most formidable reconnaissance unit of the Second World War.

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Series Music:

Written By Benjamin Sturley Performed By Salon Dijon Produced By Salon Dijon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.