Jedburgh was an operation in World War II in which men from the Office of Strategic Services and the British Special Operations Executive parachuted into Nazi occupied France to conduct sabotage and guerilla warfare, and to lead French Maquis forces against the Germans. The operation took its name, probably assigned at random from a list of pre-approved code names, from the town Jedburgh in Scotland. After about two weeks of paramilitary training at commando training bases in the Scottish highlands, the Jeds moved to Milton Hall, which was much closer to London and shadow warfare headquarters. Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead:17 million Civilian dead:33 million Total dead:50 million Military dead:8 million Civilian dead:4 million Total dead:12 million World War II... The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime (but not direct) precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency. ... The Special Operations Executive (SOE), sometimes referred to as the Baker Street Irregulars after Sherlock Holmess fictional group of spies, was a World War II organization initiated by Winston Churchill and Hugh Dalton in July 1940 as a mechanism for conducting warfare by means other than direct military engagement. ... The term National Socialism has been used in self-description by a number of different political groups and ideologies, some of which have no connection with the Nazis; see National socialism (disambiguation). ... Members of the Maquis in La Tresorerie For other uses, see Maquis. ... Location within the British Isles Jedburgh (Referred to locally Jedart or Jethart) is a royal burgh in the Scottish Borders, lying on the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot. ... This article is about the British city. ...

The Jedburgh teams comprised three men: a leader, an executive officer, and a non-commissioned radio operator. The radio was critical for communicating with Special Force Headquarters in London.

The Jedburgh teams normally parachuted in by night to meet a reception committee from a local Resistance or Maquis group. Their main function was to provide a link between the guerillas and the Allied command. They could provide liaison, advice, expertise, leadership, and -- their most powerful ability -- they could arrange airdrops of arms and ammunition. A C-130 Hercules airdropping a light tank. ...

Like all Allied forces who operated behind Nazi lines, the Jedburghs or Jeds as they called themselves, were subject to torture and execution in the event of capture, under Hitler's notorious Commando Order. Because the Jeds normally operated in uniform, to apply this order to them was a war crime, but the illegality of the order must have been small consolation to those Jedburgh members executed. Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... On October 18, 1942 Adolf Hitler issued a top secret order that all Commandos captured in Europe and Africa (but excluding seamen), should be immediately killed even if they attempted to surrender. ... A war crime is a punishable offense, under international (criminal) law, for violations of the law of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ...

Operation Jedburgh represented the first real cooperation in Europe between SOE and the Special Operations branch of OSS. By this period in the war, SOE had insufficient resources to mount the huge operation on its own; OSS jumped at the chance to be involved since in a single swoop it got more Special Operations agents into northwestern Europe than it had had in the entire war.

Many of the surviving American Jeds went on to great responsibility in the US Army or the CIA. Examples include CIA director William Egan Colby, key CIA officer in Vietnam (Lucien Conein), Gen John Singlaub and Col Aaron Bank. William Egan Colby (January 4, 1920–April 27, 1996) became Director of Central Intelligence on September 4, 1973, after James R. Schlesinger. ... John K. Singlaub was a highly decorated OSS officer and Major-General in the US Army, and a founding member of the Central Intelligence Agency, (CIA). ... Aaron Bank (November 23, 1902-April 1, 2004) was the founder of the US Army Special Forces, commonly called Green Berets. ...

For more information, see http://www.operationjedburgh.com