Did German Commandos Raid England?

It has been reported that German commandos raided mainland Britain to assault radar stations - are these reports true? Did German soldiers actually land in England?

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Credits: US National Archives; Russ McLean

[jimdonovan]

As a young boy I was told by my father that he had been sent to the south coast to remove burnt bodies of German soldiers from the beach. I asked who burnt them and he told me of pipes in the water with oil in them. When the Germans landed on the coast the oil was set on fire and the German soldiers burnt. My father rarely told of such things. He was later sent to fight the Japanese in Burma, he never discussed that period but swore the burnt soldiers story was true. I never found my father out in a lie.

[krisfrederick]

Rudolf Hess raided England. All by himself.

[desdicadoric]

If only Germany had known Britain would find it impossible to stop small inflatable boats

[Trek]

Its funny, but years ago there was a documentary about the defence of the UK including flame throwers under the water to which my Grandmother, quite without prompting said "Should have had them at Ventnor" and I asked her what she meant. She said that after she had trained for duties on Anti Aircraft batteries she had got orders for a posting to the Isle of Wright which got cancelled for no reason. A week later, she spoke to a Sgt who had been there who said that "Jerry had tried to nick the radar" but had been wiped out

That was all she ever really knew about it apart hearing that at least one POW was taken

[simonholmes]

Interesting, especially as the Isle of Wight and the South coast are mentioned. My Grandfather was in the Royal Artillery and ended up on the South coast near or on the Isle of Wight. My Dad told me years ago that my Grandfather's greatest 'fear' was being given night guard/patrol duty on the coastal paths - his reason being that there were a number of incidents where other soldiers on night patrol, simply 'disappeared', the implication being that they had been killed by German commandos.

[chipmunkhunt]

I live in Altoona, PA and the Germans sent people to attack the railroad shops here, but they were captured shortly after they were dropped of by U-boat.

[Anthonywakeham]

My father was in the Royal Hampshires and he told an inquisitive me that there was a raid . I don’t remember the Location but a Group of British soldiers disappeared.

[inhocsignovinces]

I lived in Puerto Rico and during WWII a German U-boat surfaced in the Mona Channel and fired 30 shells of its 105mm deck gun at a camp site lodging men from the Civilian Conservation Corps. The German crew incorrectly identified the bonfires at night as a military facility. At the end, no injuries reported.

[mitchmatthews]

I remember a Jack Higgins novel called The Eagle Has Landed, which Germans land in England disguised as Polish soldiers in order to kidnap Winston Churchill. The movie made from that story had some big stars (Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Donald Sutherland). Thanks again, Mark!

[Hardradi-hkhskp]

Thank you Dr. Felton for all you do on this platform. I'm a USAF veteran and had the great luck of living in the UK and several other places in Europe. My great uncles fought in WW2 under Gen. Patton and I was able to walk in their footsteps of many of the battles they fought in. I wish I had your channel and material in the years I served there. I did get my hands on the British Official Histories (History of the Second World War) and all the wealth of knowledge they contain. Your channel and writing combined with the British Histories have made many wonderful and informative nights for me sitting by my fire with an excellent glass of wine to accompany your works and memories of seeing battlefields from North Africa to Norway, and Britain from North to South. Again sir, thank you for what you do.
Harðráði 1066

[pathutchison]

His is the only place to find newly discovered info about WW2. Thanks Dr. Felton. Your channel is a great service to all of us, and a credit to you and your research team. Keep up the great work.

[kingofsnakes]

Mark, this is unrelated, but I wanted to tell you how much your channel has become a part of my everyday life. I'm a Magic the gathering player and I love building new commander decks while listening/watching your videos. It's even started to influence my builds. I created a fast hitting red deck I call "Blitzkrieg". Another I use all snow lands and call it "Eastern front". And my favorite is a blue/white flyer deck I call "Luftwaffe". Thank you for your channel. It means a lot to me.

[malakasquad]

There's never a dull moment with you, Dr. Felton. Your stories are always fascinating. 👍

[Ambush.]

I born and lived on the island and this raid by the Germans was well known amongst villagers on Niton, although things were hushed-up…..
But gunfire was indeed heard by some of the older locals who I spoke to as a young child, it was suggested that the Germans did get a few bits from the radar that they took back to Germany.

[martindunstan]

Evening Mark, I live 4 miles from Ventnor on the Isle of Wight so that was even more intriguing than usual, fascinating story and thankyou.

[Olliethesnowman]

What an excellent video Dr. Felton!! 😇

[garethlewis]

A friend and former workmate of mine called Stan Flatters swore blind that his father who was in the Skegness area Home Guard was snatched by a German raid whilst he was on patrol along the sea front and he ended up in Germany as a PoW.

[muttman]

My grandmother told me she once seen Ribbentrop on the top deck of a bus going from Oldham to Manchester.
I asked her what he was doing there
She said about twenty miles an hour

[julianbrown]

My father was captain of a minesweeper based on the east coast, he mentioned that they opened British minefields to allow German troops access to a particular area before the sea was set on fire. If correct it would seem to indicate that they knew they were coming.

[KK-zqdm]

Another fascinating report! I don't know how you do it, Dr. Felton, but don't ever stop! Right when I think I have read and seen it all you come up with a incident that I am humbled by. Bravo Zulu from the USN, Ret.