SAS Hijacked A Fascist Train To Liberate A Concentration Camp

SAS Hijacked A Fascist Train To Liberate A Concentration Camp

From Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

May 28, 2026 · 49 min · Episode 1796

About this episode

The episode reveals a daring SAS mission during WWII to liberate a concentration camp in Italy.

Today, we uncover a forgotten SAS mission straight out of a war thriller: an elite unit jumps the chain of command and hijacks a 'pirate train', turning it into a weapon against fascist Italy. Their goal? To launch a surprise attack deep behind enemy lines on an Italian concentration camp and free its prisoners. Historian Damien Lewis joins us to reveal the breathtaking tale of WWII’s most cinematic untold raid. Damien is the author of 'SAS: The Great Train Raid' and 'SAS Great Escapes 5'. Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore. We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6 Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe . You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Dan Snow

Guest: Damien Lewis

Topics covered

  • SAS mission
  • World War II
  • fascist Italy
  • concentration camp
  • military history
  • untold stories

Keywords

  • SAS
  • train hijack
  • WWII
  • concentration camp
  • Damien Lewis
  • military operation
  • fascism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: History Hit

Books & works: SAS: The Great Train Raid, SAS Great Escapes 5

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