St Nazaire Raid
The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a successful British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined Operations Headquarters on 28 March 1942. St Nazaire was targeted because the loss of its dry dock would force any large German warship in need of repairs, such as the Tirpitz, to return to home waters via either the English Channel or the GIUK gap, both of which were heavily defended by British units including the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, rather than having a safe haven available on the Atlantic coast.
The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown, accompanied by 18 smaller craft, crossed the English Channel to the Atlantic coast of France and was rammed into the Normandie dock gates. The ship had been packed with delayed-action explosives, well hidden within a steel and concrete case, that detonated later that day, putting the dock out of service for the remainder of the war and up to five years after.
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃.na.zɛʁ]; Breton: Sant-Nazer/Señ Neñseir; Gallo: Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany.
The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière". Given its location, Saint-Nazaire has a long tradition of fishing and shipbuilding.
History
Antiquity
Archaeologists believe that Saint-Nazaire is built upon the remnants of Corbilo, an Armorican Gaulish city populated by the Namnetes tribe, which (according to the Greek navigator Pytheas) was the second-largest Gaulish city, after Massilia (now Marseille). Archeology suggests that the area has been inhabited since at least the Neolithic period, as evidenced by the presence of monuments like the tumulus of Dissignac and the dolmen located in the centre of the present-day city, and ancient bronzes found in the vicinity.
David Yates
David Yates (born 1963) is an English filmmaker who has directed feature films, short films, and television productions.
He rose to mainstream prominence by directing the final four films in the Harry Potter film series: entries five, six, seven, and eight (2007–2011). His work on the series brought him major commercial success along with accolades, such as the Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing. Yates' following projects include The Legend of Tarzan (2016) and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016).
Early in his career, Yates directed various short films and became a prolific television director with credits including the six-part political thriller State of Play (2003), for which he won the Directors Guild of Great Britain Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, the adult two-part documentary drama Sex Traffic (2004), and the Primetime Emmy Award-winning production The Girl in the Café (2005).
Yates is a founding member of Directors UK. He has had a close partnership with Warner Bros. as a director/producer.
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