I have the German interrogation report of the German soldier who betrayed the SIG/French SAS at Derna, and plan to turn this into an e-Article. Does anyone know where it is possible to get open access photographs (i.e. not IWM) relating to the French SAS and/or the SIG? All the best Andreas
This week I encountered a reference to Setif, Algeria (which I have an interest for events on 8/5/1945) and read quickly an article about the Special Intelligence Group (SIG) a SF unit of Jews (from Palestine) and four German defectors. They went on a mission to attack airfields @ Derna, with Free French commandos (SAS) and one of the two groups was betrayed by a German. Footnote 32 states, with my bold: WO 201/727, headed ‘Capt. Buck’s Party’. Barrie Pitt, The Crucible of War: Year of Alamein 1942(London: J. Cape, 1982), is quoted in T. Geraghty, March or Die: France and The Foreign Legion(London: Harper Collins, 2001), p.213, as saying that ‘Bruckler’ re-joined the Foreign Legionafter the Second World War and served with an Englishman, Jim Worden, to whom he told thestory of his betrayal of the raiders. Afterwards, he alleges he had been personally decorated byRommel and then posted to Tunisia, where he was again captured, this time by Americans. In May 1945 he was released by the French at Setif POW camp, Algiers, as he volunteered to re-join the Legion to fight Algerian nationalists.’ See: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/sig.pdf I referred this to our French "helper" and in response he mentioned Andreas, adding the attached photos.
Ah yes. I still owe your French helper the translation of that document. 'That document' being the traitor's interrogation by German Luftwaffe officers after the betrayal. All the best Andreas
There are two other threads: 1) Special Intelligence Group or S.I.G. Only opening post in 2009 refers 2) List of special service units (loosely speaking) in North Africa mentions them in 2022
Andreas, David. I guess you must have seen this before (I've posted the link up in other forum threads previously) but if not here you go (programme made in 2010/11, some stock WW2 out of context footage used within, but worth a viewing to see and hear Maurice Tiefenbrunner, amongst others, speak). Kind fegards, always, Jim.
