Operation Bigamy
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Operation Bigamy ''a.k.a. Operation Snowdrop'' was a raid during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
by the
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...
in September 1942.This was done under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
David Stirling Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British Army and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). Under his leadership, the SAS carried out hit-and ...
and supported by the
Long Range Desert Group The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) was a reconnaissance and raiding unit of the British Army during the Second World War. Originally called the Long Range Patrol (LRP), the unit was founded in Egypt in June 1940 by Major Ralph Alger Bagnold, ...
. The plan was to destroy the harbour and storage facilities at
Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...
and raid the airfield at
Benina Benina is a suburban borough ( formerly Basic People's Congress) and an administrative division of Benghazi, Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea ...
in
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
in coordination with the RAF. The raid was part of a deception plan for
Operation Agreement Operation Agreement was a ground and amphibious operation carried out by British, Rhodesian and New Zealand forces on Axis-held Tobruk from 13 to 14 September 1942, during the Second World War. A Special Interrogation Group party, fluent in Ge ...
, the much larger raid on
Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclopà ...
. The plan involved a "gruelling journey around the southern edge of the
Great Sand Sea The Great Sand Sea is an approximately sand desert (erg) in the Sahara that stretches from western Egypt to eastern Libya, in North Africa. Most of the area is covered by sand dunes. Geography The Great Sand Sea stretches about from north to ...
" but ended in failure. The raiding force was discovered at a road block by an Italian reconnaissance unit and Stirling decided to withdraw to
Kufra Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of the 19th century, Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...
. During the withdrawal, the
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
picked off nearly 70 of the vehicles on the barren terrain. The survivors were reformed as the 1st Special Air Service regiment. The frequently used, albeit inaccurate, name "Operation Snowdrop" stems from early editions of William Boyd Kennedy Shaws' book ''Long Range Desert Group''. At the time,
War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...
security policy would not permit Shaw to use real operational code names. In September 1967
Len Deighton Leonard Cyril Deighton ( ; born 18 February 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books and works on history, but he is best known for his spy novels. After completing his national service in the Royal Air Force, D ...
wrote an article in ''
The Sunday Times Magazine ''The Sunday Times Magazine'' is a magazine included with ''The Sunday Times''. In 1962 it became the first colour supplement to be published as a supplement to a UK newspaper, and its arrival "broke the mould of weekend newspaper publishing". ...
'' about Operation Snowdrop. The following year Stirling was awarded "substantial
damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...
" in a
libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
action about the article. The passage complained of states "Stirling himself had insisted upon talking about the raid at two social gatherings at the British Embassy in Cairo although warned not to do so". Stirling made the point that
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
had been at both gatherings and the issue was raised in a private discussion with the
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
.


References

1942 in Libya Conflicts in 1942 Special Air Service operations World War II British Commando raids Land battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom Battles and operations of World War II involving Italy Battles and operations of World War II involving Germany September 1942 {{World-War-II-stub