The Special Operations Executive (SOE) in Burma

The Special Operations Executive (SOE) in Burma
Author: Richard Duckett
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2017-10-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1786722720

In the mountains and jungles of occupied Burma during World War II, British special forces launched a series of secret operations, assisted by parts of the Burmese population. The men of the SOE, trained in sabotage and guerrilla warfare, worked in the jungle, deep behind enemy lines, to frustrate the puppet Burmese government of Ba Maw and continue the fight against Hirohito's Japan in a theatre starved of resources. Here, Richard Duckett uses newly declassified documents from the National Archives to reveal for the first time the extent of British special forces' involvement - from the 1941 operations until beyond Burma's independence from the British Empire in 1948. Duckett argues convincingly that `Operation Character' and `Operation Billet' - large SOE missions launched in support of General Slim's XIV Army offensive to liberate Burma - rank among the most militarily significant of the SOE's secret missions. Featuring a wealth of photographs and accompanying material never before published, including direct testimony recorded by veterans of the campaign and maps from the SOE files, The SOE in Burma tells a compelling story of courage and struggle in during World War II

Special Operations Executive

Special Operations Executive
Author: Mark Seaman
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2006
Genre: History
ISBN: 0415383986

A uniquely accurate and reliable assessment of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). This new volume brings together leading authors to examine the organization from a range of key angles.

Undercover

Undercover
Author: Patrick Howarth
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2021-11-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 100045987X

This book, first published in 1980, is an invaluable assessment of SOE’s contribution to the Allied victory. From both first-hand knowledge (Howarth served with SOE for 4 years) and in-depth research, this book traces the development of the organisation and its successes and failures. By bringing to life some of the outstanding men and women who served in SOE, this book pays tribute to their bravery and examines their role in fomenting and supporting clandestine resistance against the Nazi regime.

The Global Infrastructure of the Special Operations Executive

The Global Infrastructure of the Special Operations Executive
Author: Derwin Gregory
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2021-12-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 1351718339

During the Second World War, the British government established the Special Operations Executive (SOE) for the purpose of coordinating ‘all action, by way of subversion and sabotage, against the enemy overseas’. Although the overseas operations of this branch of the British Secret Services are relatively well known, few studies have explored the ‘backroom sections’ of this organisation. This book draws together the infrastructure developed to support an agent’s ‘journey’ from recruitment to despatch to the field. At the start of the Second World War there were few existing facilities established within the UK to support clandestine operations. As the conflict progressed, in parallel to learning the operational procedures of their trade, SOE also had to rapidly expand their support infrastructure around the world. The organisation could effectively support their agents only by establishing facilities dedicated to training, research and development, supply, transportation, communication, and command and control. By predominately focusing on the organisation’s ‘agent facing’ infrastructure, this book provides a backdrop to the brave men and women who conducted operations abroad. In addition, it gives an overview of the facilities in which SOE’s backroom staff lived and worked. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of archaeology, history and war studies.

SOE

SOE
Author: Michael Richard Daniell Foot
Publisher:
Total Pages: 288
Release: 1985
Genre: History
ISBN:

Originally published: London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1984.

SOE in Denmark

SOE in Denmark
Author:
Publisher: Frontline Books
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2021-08-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 1399015052

From a small number of clandestine activities against the German occupation of Denmark in 1940, a sophisticated resistance movement developed which by 1944, with the support of Special Operations Executive, had become a highly effective intelligence gathering and sabotage organisation. Denmark is composed of a mainland and more than 500 islands, a fifth of which are inhabited, and the countryside is devoid of any inaccessible or mountainous region. Together this made communication between resistance cells difficult and meant that there were no natural bases from which guerrilla operations could be mounted. Nevertheless, thanks to supply drops of explosives, weapons and ammunition arranged by SOE, the Danes harassed the Germans and raised the moral of the Danish people in the latter, and most brutal, stages of the war. This largely forgotten story of SOE and its agents in Denmark, the latter facing extremely hazardous conditions, was written immediately after the war by a SOE staff member and read and validated by the Director of SOE, Major General Colin Gubbins. A very large number of documents were burned at SOE’s London headquarters in Baker Street when the organisation was wound down in 1946 making this history of the Danish Section an invaluable and irreplaceable study. SOE in Denmark was written at a time when SOE was still largely unknown to the general public and its operations a closely guarded secret. It was expected that its activities would never be officially acknowledged and the study of its actions in Denmark was compiled with the aim of provide a lasting record of its achievement. Within its pages we read of the dangers the agents faced, the logistical mountains they had to overcome, and the successes achieved in the face of a ruthless enemy. Completed with unique photographs from the Danish archives, SOE in Denmark is an essential addition to the SOE literature.

Special Operations in WWII

Special Operations in WWII
Author: James Stejskal
Publisher: Casemate
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2020-04-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612007724

A brief history of secret British and American World War II organizations, their training, tools, successes, and their legacy. Winston Churchill famously instructed the head of the Special Operations Executive to “Set Europe ablaze!” Agents of both the British Special Operations Executive and the American Office of Strategic Services underwent rigorous training before making their way, undetected, into occupied Europe to do just that. Working alone or in small cells, often cooperating with local resistance groups, agents undertook missions behind enemy lines involving sabotage, subversion, organizing resistance groups and intelligence-gathering. SOE’s first notable success was the destruction of a power station in France, stopping work at a vital U-boat base. Later operations included the assassination of Himmler’s deputy Reinhard Heyrich and ending the Nazi atomic bomb program by destroying the heavy water plant at Vemork, Norway. OSS operatives established anti-Nazi resistance groups across Europe, and managed to smuggle operatives into Nazi Germany, including running one of the war’s most important spies, German diplomat Fritz Kolbe. All missions were incredibly dangerous and many agents were captured, tortured, and ultimately killed—the life expectancy of an SOE wireless operator in occupied France was just six weeks. In this short history, historian James Stejskal examines why these agencies were established, the training regime and ingenious tools developed to enable agents to undertake their missions, their operational successes, and their legacy.

SOE Manual: How to be an Agent in Occupied Europe

SOE Manual: How to be an Agent in Occupied Europe
Author: Special Operations Executive
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2014-11-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 0008103623

The actual course given to all secret agents in SOE before working behind enemy lines. It includes everything you needed to know to go undercover – from documents, cover stories and how to live off the land to how to get through an interrogation.

SOE in France

SOE in France
Author: Michael Richard Daniell Foot
Publisher:
Total Pages: 602
Release: 1966
Genre: World War, 1939-1945
ISBN:

How to Be a Spy

How to Be a Spy
Author:
Publisher: Dundurn
Total Pages: 434
Release: 2004-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 1550025058

During World War II, training in the black arts of covert operation was vital preparation for the 'ungentlemanly warfare' waged by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) against Hitler's Germany and Tojo's Japan. Reproduced here is the most comprehensive training syllabus used at SOE's Special Training Schools (STSs) showing how agents learnt to wreak maximum destruction in occupied Europe and beyond. The training took place in country houses and other secluded locations ranging from the Highlands of Scotland to Singapore and Canada. An array of unconventional skills are covered - from burglary, close combat and silent killing through to propaganda, surveillance and disguise - giving insight into the workings of one of World War II's most intriguing organizations. Denis Rigden's introduction sets the documents in its historical context and includes stories of how these lessons were put into practice on actual wartime missions.