Se ogsÄ Anders Frederik Emil Victor Schau Lassen (klik foto for helskÊrm)
Lewisâs compelling book gives as good an explanation as any of why the Special Operations Executive also came to be known as the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. And perhaps the least gentlemanly of the SSRF butcher-and-bolt specialists was an aristocratic Dane, Anders â known as Andy â Lassen, who was not averse to bellowing orders in German to confuse the enemy.
His father, visiting London before the war, liked to summon his chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce with a blast of his hunting horn from the steps of the Hyde Park Hotel. It was the similarly unorthodox Lassen who petitioned the War Office to be allowed to develop the bow-and-arrow, with which he had hunted on the family estate, as the perfect, silent killing machine. But Whitehall mandarins refused, declaring arrows â in the age of the machine-gun and flame-thrower, as Lewis wryly points out â to be somehow âinhumanâ.
Still, that didnât stop Lassen, dubbed the âRobin Hood commandoâ by locals in rural Dorset, where he trained in the summer of 1942 in preparation for a furtive assault on the occupied Channel Islands. Indeed, one of the themes of this absorbing tale is the constant battle not just between the Allies and the Nazis, but also between the regular army and Churchillâs licensed buccaneers.
In Italy in 1945, one regular officer told Lassen that he and his wild bunch were a disgrace. What, he thundered, would the enemy think of them, if they were found not just dead, but unshaven? It is certainly true he was no respecter of bureaucratic authority. After every raid, he and other key commanders were supposed to file an operational report. But he detested all such paperwork and his reports famously consisted of no more than five words: âLanded. Killed Germans. F***ed off.â
But almost more interesting than the operations are the fearless individuals who carried them out, most prominently Lassen, a wonderful, fantastical character who was a sort of cross between a marauding Viking and James Bond. After playing his part in the liberation of Athens, he and his dissolute group of maverick fighting men were carried through the streets and showered with flowers. They partied, says Lewis, âas if there were no tomorrow.â
At one point, Lassen managed to get his hands on a jeep; after it was stolen, he promptly stole another from some recently-arrived American forces, which he then took to parking in the only secure place he could think of, driving it up the steps of his hotel, into the capacious lift and up to the floor his room was on. Handsome and supremely confident, he was also a rampant womaniser. One night in Salonika, while his men were carousing in the hotel grounds, he emerged from his room naked apart from his boots, shouting: âChaps, canât you let your CO screw in peace?â
His men adored him because he was fearless, led from the front and never gave an order he wouldnât carry out himself. His menâs success, particularly in the Aegean, can be summed up by the words of one exasperated German commander, who said Lassen and his men âcome like cats and disappear like ghostsâ.Kill without mercy, party like thereâs no tomorrow: Churchillâs secret band of fearless warriors broke hearts, rules â and the Nazisâ spirit. Amazon: Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII
“PĂ„ tide for Israel at anerkende Ladonia”
Sweden decided to recognize the unelected government of a bankrupt PLO terror state located inside Israelâs borders. But if Sweden is going to start recognizing illegal micro-nations located inside Israel, itâs only reasonable for Israel to return the favor. Itâs time for Israel to recognize the Royal Republic of Ladonia.
While most of us know Lars Vilks for his Mohammed cartoons, he is also the founder of Ladonia. Unlike Sweden, Ladonia stands for such values as freedom of expression. He declared independence from Sweden in 1996, calling the square kilometer that surrounds the sculptures the Royal Republic of Ladonia, or just Ladonia. Because Sweden has not recognized Ladoniaâs independence, nor has any other country for that matter, it is classified as a micronation.
While no one actually lives in Ladonia, it does have its own newspaper, holidays and government. And a lot of nobles. Its history has as much legitimacy as that of the Arab Muslim settlers in Israel calling themselves Palestinians and itâs only four years younger than they are. It also has elections, which is more than âPalestineâ has. Itâs time for Israel to extend official recognition to this brave young country and its leadership. Itâs Time for Israel to Recognize the Royal Republic of Ladonia, Israeli FM grumbles politics is not IKEA after Sweden recognizes Palestine.