In the early months of 1941, Britain stood largely alone against Nazi Germany. The fall of France, the evacuation at Dunkirk, and the relentless Blitz had placed the nation on the defensive. Yet even in those dark days, British military planners were looking for ways to strike back to demonstrate that Fortress Europe was not impregnable and that occupied territories could be reached. One of the first and most successful of these offensive gestures was Operation Claymore, a commando raid on the Lofoten Islands off the coast of northern Norway, carried out on March 4, 1941.