SAS the Great Train Raid

In autumn 1943, an SAS force operates deep inside Italy as the country’s surrender and German occupation create confusion along the railways. The raiders seize a train and use it to move through enemy-controlled territory, turning the transport system intended to support Axis forces into the means of their own attack.

The mission culminates in the liberation of prisoners held at the camp at Pisticci and an attempt to escape before German units can respond. Lewis reconstructs the operation through testimony and records, showing how railway knowledge, disguise and cooperation with local people made an apparently impossible raid possible.