They Raided Bordeaux by Canoe: Operation Frankton

In December 1942, Royal Marines paddled canoes into occupied France to attack merchant shipping at Bordeaux in Operation Frankton. Follow the Cockleshell Heroes through tidal races, the harbor raid and the escape that depended on people willing to hide them. Ten men launched in five canoes after a sixth boat was damaged. Only two returned to Britain. This illustrated documentary follows Herbert "Blondie" Hasler, Bill Sparks and their fellow raiders, while preserving the distinction between damage to shipping and larger claims about the raid's effect on the war. Watch next: They Sabotaged a Nazi Factory—Then Skied 200 Miles to Escape    • They Sabotaged a Nazi Factory—Then Skied 2...   Explore Daring WWII Raids    • Daring WWII Raids   CHAPTERS 00:00 The mission loses a boat 01:28 The target inland 02:54 Hasler and the small-boat idea 04:16 Canoes for the journey 05:38 The first night and its losses 06:58 Up the Gironde 08:18 Working with the tide 09:39 The final approach 10:48 Attaching the limpet mines 12:07 The damaged ships 13:29 Capture and the human cost 14:55 The walk toward Ruffec 16:16 The escape network 17:42 Six weeks in hiding 19:04 The route home 20:27 What the raid achieved VISUALS AND AUDIO Original painted stickman illustrations reconstruct the events. They are not archival photographs or footage, exact vessel plans or literal records of individual gestures. Maps and diagrams explain geography and mechanisms. No library music, ambience or effects are used. SOURCES AND FURTHER READING Royal Navy — commemorating the Cockleshell Heroes: https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/201... National Army Museum — Herbert "Blondie" Hasler: https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/herbert... Royal Navy Museums — Operation Frankton: https://www.royalnavymuseums.org.uk/n... French Ministry of Defence, Chemins de mémoire — Operation Frankton and the escape: https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/... Combined Military Services Museum — the canoes and equipment: https://cmsm.co.uk/operation-frankton NEXT WATCH Operation Chariot: The Ship in the Dock Gate    • They Turned a Warship Into a Bomb | Operat...   What Time Built Animated tells history through connected painted scenes and explanatory animation. #OperationFrankton #CockleshellHeroes #WW2History