Operation Certain Death cover art

Operation Certain Death

The Inside Story of the SAS’s Greatest Battle

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Operation Certain Death

By: Damien Lewis
Narrated by: Damian Lynch
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

Operation Certain Death chronicles the story of the single most daring Special Forces operation since World War Two - Operation Barras; the attempted rescue by the SAS of the British Forces who were being held captive by guerrilla gang the West Side Boys in the Sierra Leone jungle. The West Side Boys were a strange-looking bunch, wearing pink shades, shower caps, fluorescent wigs and voodoo charms they believed made them invulnerable to bullets - an impression re-enforced by ganja, heroine, crack cocaine and gallons of sweet palm wine. In 1999 a twelve man patrol of Royal Irish Rangers, who were training government troops in Sierra Leone, were captured and held hostage by the West Side Boys. They were held prisoner in a fortified jungle hideaway, with severed heads decorating the palisades, defended by some 400 heavily armed soldiers.

Operation Barras, the rescue mission, was a combined force of 100 Paras, twelve members of the Special Boat Squadron, helicopters from the Navy and RAF and, spearheading the operation, 40-strong D squadron of the SAS. Against amazing odds the hostages were rescued - over 150 of the enemy were killed. Operation Certain Death is a thrilling true story of all out war. No hostages taken. Blood-letting on a vast scale inflicted on a very blood-thirsty enemy.

A gripping piece of true military history, perfect for fans of action adventure stories and anyone interested in the top secret division of the British Army.

©2004 Damien Lewis (P)2004 Quercus Editions Limited
Africa Armed Forces Military Special & Elite Forces Scary Thought-Provoking Disappearance War

Listeners also enjoyed...

Operation Mayhem cover art
Zero Six Bravo cover art
X Platoon cover art
SAS South Georgia Boating Club cover art
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare cover art
Eye of the Storm cover art
Task Force Black cover art
First into Action Again cover art
Fighting for Queen and Country cover art
SAS Great Escapes cover art
Soldier ‘I’ cover art
First into Action cover art
Apache at War cover art
Killing Zone cover art
The Hunt cover art
Regimental cover art
All stars
Most relevant
The story is a brilliant one and the narration first class.

Combined, these two factors made for one of the best of the 172 audio books I’ve listened to.

One not to be missed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Started a little bit slowly, and I almost put it down. I’m glad I persevered. It turned into an absolutely fascinating and gripping story.

Clear narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Goes into the operation in intimate detail, can be rambling at times but you do need it to understand the conflict that existed.

Very detailed information

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I have listened to a number of Damion Lewis books and this story shows the true value of the SAS and other British professional soldiers put into a situation with overwhelming odds against them.
Great story

Brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

gripping listern, well written and narrated. Another quality Damien Lewis book. what more can I say......gotta use 15 words.

Great listern

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews