Special Forces Hero (Hardback)
Anders Lassen VC MC**
SAS & Elite Forces Biographies Victoria Crosses Military
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 416
Illustrations: 60 black and white illustrations
ISBN: 9781526787514
Published: 16th February 2021
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Until the German occupation of his native Denmark in April 1940 Anders Lassen had no interest in the War. Yet over the next five years he became a highly decorated Special Forces legend and the only non-Commonwealth recipient of the Victoria Cross.
After taking part in a mutiny on board a Danish ship, he made his way to Scotland. He first joined the Special Operations Executive before serving with the Small Scale Raiding Force, Special Air Service and Special Boat Service. He took part in the daring Operation Postmaster, off West Africa, and raided the Channel Islands and the Normandy coast. He saw most action in Eastern Mediterranean, fighting in Crete, the Dodecanese, Yugoslavia, mainland Greece and finally Italy.
In April 1945, now a major aged 24, he was killed at Lake Comacchio, where his gallantry earned him his posthumous VC.
This superb biography is not just a worthy tribute to an outstanding soldier, but a superb account of the numerous special force operations Anders was involved in.
Featured on the website:
Centre for Maritime Historical Studies, University of Exeter
Read the full article here
Kathimerini Newspaper
Special Forces Hero is a magisterial account of a young heroic Dane at war. His story deserves to be illuminated for another generation, not least because in bringing Anders Lassen back to life Thomas Harder paints a vivid and compelling picture of an extraordinary tribe of irregular citizen-soldiers whose spirit, panache and élan still lives on amongst those to whom that wartime generation passed the baton. Who dares wins.
From the Foreword by General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith KCB CBE ADC Gen
Anders Lassen VC was the legendary WWII special forces commander almost without compare. His men would follow him to hell and back and this timely and exhaustively researched book does his story full justice. It is a gem, no less.
Damien Lewis, best selling author of Churchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII
Review by Robert Bartlett
Oxford and Cambridge Club Military History Group
This is an excellent book. The depth of research is a tribute to the author as is his drive to ensure what he has written is balanced and fair not just to Lassen but his comrades. There are numerous pages of reference and notes, a bibliography and a detailed index all supporting the detailed and humbling story of this young man.
Author interview featured by
BBC Radio Jersey with presenter Tony Gillham, 7/3/21
Author interview featured by
BBC Radio Guernsey with presenter Claire Cathcart, 10/3/21
Ferraraitalia
Il Resto del Carlino
Congedati Folgore Quotidiano
About Thomas Harder
Thomas Harder is a Danish historian and literary translator. He is the author of twenty books on Italian subjects and four biographies.
He has translated works by numerous authors notably Salman Rushdie, Umberto Eco and most recently, Giovanni Boccaccio’s medieval classic Decameron. He also works as a freelance conference interpreter.
Thomas has received a number of Danish, Swedish and Italian awards for his historical research and writing and for his translations. He lives in Copenhagen with his wife.
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