Originally published on March 13, 2023 (Episode 307)
Introduction
In August 1944, Fred Bailey parachuted out of a perfectly good airplane into Nazi-occupied France, landing in a disused brickyard. A sickly child who had grown up with a heart condition, Bailey had nonetheless joined the British Army at 18, served in the North African desert campaign, and then volunteered for special duties. His new assignment was with the Special Operations Executive, as part of a Jedburgh team—a three-man unit dropped into France to support the Resistance in tandem with the Allied invasion.
Bailey, who died in January 2023 at age 99, was the last surviving British veteran of these remarkable teams. His life, and the Jedburghs’ daring mission, form the backdrop to my conversation with Ben Jones. Jones, historian of the Second World War and author of Eisenhower’s Guerrillas: The Jedburghs, the Maquis, and the Liberation of France (Oxford University Press, 2016), joins me to explore how these teams operated, why they mattered, their connection to the great politics of the war, and why their story continues to resonate.
About the Guest
Ben Jones is Director of the South Dakota State Historical Society and State Historian of South Dakota. He is a retired a Air Force officer who served in Air Force Special Operations, and taught at the Air Force Academy, among other postings.
For Further Investigation
Ben Jones, Eisenhower’s Guerrillas: The Jedburghs, the Maquis, and the Liberation of France (Oxford University Press, 2016)
Review of Eisenhower’s Guerrillas in Studies in Intelligence, vol. 60, number 2
Imperial War Museum archives on the Special Operations Executive, Section F, Operation Jedburgh—here are written team reports; and there are oral histories that you can track down, categorized by each Jedburgh Team code name, include Fred Bailey’s (recorded December 11, 1990), which is wonderful. Bailey emphatically says "we went in far too late...", and very crisply and incisively explains how the effects of the operation would have been better had they arrived two or three months before. His team leader John Smallwood also was interviewed.
Fred Bailey’s obituary (Telegraph, 21 February 2023)
Interview with John Singlaub—very long, very comprehensive, about OSS training, Jedburgh service, and his subsequent service in China
William Colby in Norway—future CIA director, then a Jedburgh
Brian Lamb interview with Robert Merry on Joseph and Stewart Alsop, with reflections on Stewart Alsop’s wartime service
💬 Listen & Discuss
Jedburgh teams operated in secrecy, dropped into occupied France to train and support resistance fighters. What do their experiences teach us about unconventional warfare, coalition-building, and the limits of special operations? Share your thoughts in the comments—and send this episode to someone fascinated by the hidden dimensions of World War II.
