Combined Operations

Sergeant John Kenneth Smith, Royal West Kent's reporting, sir. Yes, Sergeant. You volunteered to become a commando soldier. Yes, sir. You are, I believe, an expert with explosives. Somewhat, sir. We have decided to accept you, Sergeant.

Thank you, sir. We're proud of the honor. We have decided to accept you because we could use volunteers of your experience. On a special, very dangerous job. Am I permitted to ask the nature of the job, sir?

I'm sorry, Sergeant. It's secret. I volunteer, sir. Good. You'll be ordered to a combined operations training center immediately. You'll need a few weeks there before you're ready for this work. Thank you, Sir, it's Smith, and good luck.

The National Broadcasting Company, in cooperation with the Council on Books and War Time, presents the premiere of Words at War, a series based on the most important books to come out of this war. Stories of the battlefronts are behind the scenes diplomacy of underground warfare of the home front have action on the seas.

is a living record of this war and the things for which we fight. Tonight's story is based on material from the recently published book, Combined Operations, the official story of the British Command Ours. Words at War presents Hilary St. George Sanders, the author of Combined Operations, for a few introductory words.

Mr. Sanders. What you are going to hear tonight is not an actual extract from the book, combined operations, it is an imaginative reconstruction of one of the most successful commando raids described therein. It does not pretend to be accurate in every detail.

After all, why tell the enemy what he would very much like to know? But you may be assured that the incidents depicted either happened or might well have happened. In any case, here is the story, as told by a man whom we shall call Sergeant Smith. Sergeant Smith of number two commando of the combined operations command. Actually Smith is not my name, but for reasons