An epic oral history of the Special Forces in WWII, combining the testimony of over 100 survivors with stylised reconstruction and film archive.

This series tells the story of the elite force created in the Second World War to combat the enemy by any means necessary. Misfits and buccaneers, who operated outside conventional military rules, the Commandos were the 'cream of the crop'.

Britain's well-founded fear of defeat at the beginning of the Second World War led to the creation of an elite force to combat the enemy by any means necessary – the Commandos. The only prerequisites to joining were independence, imagination and a sense of adventure. Inevitably, these criteria gave rise to a collection of misfits and buccaneers who operated outside conventional military rules and who were characterised by their unequivocal acceptance that one day, they would die for their country. Amazingly effective and spine-chillingly brutal, Commandos were widely seen as the 'cream of the crop'.

Descending from the air was considered by the British 'a funny way to go to war' until June 1940 when Churchill declared the need for 5000 parachute troops. Initial fatal accidents led to eventual success and praise in the official German army report. Parachutes were here to stay.