Download or read book Special Operations in WWII written by James Stejskal and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2020-04-30 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book The Special Operations Executive and the Office of Strategic Services written by Charles River and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2023-12-25 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When people think about the Second World War, they seldom think in terms of silence and small acts. This was a war in which the industry of entire nations was rearranged to feed fighting, and it was fought on a scale in which battles could include hundreds of thousands of combatants. Whole cities and populations were destroyed, with millions of casualties occurring at places like Leningrad. But World War II was also a conflict in which modern covert operations first hit their stride. From the jungles of Burma to the streets of Paris, spies, saboteurs, and commandos carried out missions built on secrecy and cunning. Precise, self-contained operations could be as important to the outcome of the war as acts of massive destruction, whether it involved targeted assassinations, sabotaging key logistics, or counterintelligence to break up the enemy's own rings. At the time, most of these operations were hidden from the public since that was the only way they could be successfully carried out, but in the years since, stories about various missions have emerged. They paint a picture of incredible courage and ingenuity, whether in war zones, enemy territory, or far from the front lines. Though it might be hard to believe, the Americans did not have a covert operations organization when they joined the war, and like the British, it took them some time to realize it could be a powerful tool. As a result, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was not established until June 13, 1942, six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Voices within the Pentagon, State Department, and White House all opposed the establishment of this new and untested organization that would carry out activities normally considered unacceptable, so officials within the OSS had to fight for the very existence of the organization, battling through layers of bureaucracy to get the resources it needed and ensure its independence of action. They also worked hard to justify the use of covert tactics in warfare, to the extent that its leader, William "Wild Bill" Donovan, cited precedents that stretched back to the Bible. In time, all the hard work led to the growth of the OSS into an organization with over 13,000 staff and 40 offices scattered across the world. Its purposes were initially similar to that of Britain's Special Operations Executive, including espionage, sabotage, and intelligence assessments, but with time and experience, it expanded to include economic, psychological, and guerrilla warfare, as well as counter-intelligence work. And of course, it would all chart a path for the early days of America's most famous intelligence agency, the CIA.
Download or read book The Secret War written by George C. Chalou and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1995-12 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The proceedings of the first major scholarly conference on the OSS, which was in existence from 1941 through 1945. Includes 24 papers presented by veterans and historians of the OSS. Offers new insights into the activities and importance of the U.S.'s first modern national intelligence agency. Discusses: the U.S. on the brink of war; the operations of the OSS at the headquarters level and in the field throughout Western Europe, the Balkans, and Asia. Also explores the legacy of the OSS. Contributors include: Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., William Colby, Walt W. Rostow, Robin Winks, and Aline, Countess of Romanones.
Download or read book The Special Operations Executive the Office of Strategic Services written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Behind the Lines written by Russell Miller and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2014-07-08 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of special operations in the second world war as it has never been told before--directly by those who took part. Compiled by Russell Miller from interviews, diaries, letters and contemporaneous first-person accounts--many unpublished until now--the oral history in Behind the Lines follows the adventures of the courageous men and women who volunteered for service with the Untied States' Office of Strategic Services and Britain's Special Operations Executive. They parachuted behind enemy lines, often alone, with orders to cause mayhem. Arrest almost always resulted in torture and imprisonment; sometimes in execution. Trained in the black arts of warfare--sabotage, subversion, espionage, guerrilla tactics and undermining enemy morale by the distribution of insidious propaganda--theirs was a war fought in the shadows. Their activities extended to every theatre of operations: in occupied France, equipped with false identities, they played a deadly game of cat and mouse with the Gestapo; in the Balkans they discovered that the fiery politics of the region were as dangerous as the enemy; in the Burmese jungle, in some of the worst combat conditions of the war, they led native marauders in surprise attacks against the Japanese. From Britain they were supported by a team of back-room inventors who produced expertly forged documents and dreamed up ingenious devices like exploding rats and invisible ink. The special agents of World War Two really were a breed apart. This is their extraordinary story. In their own words.
Download or read book Churchill s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare written by Giles Milton and published by Picador. This book was released on 2017-02-07 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Six gentlemen, one goal: the destruction of Hitler's war machine In the spring of 1939, a top-secret organization was founded in London: its purpose was to plot the destruction of Hitler's war machine through spectacular acts of sabotage. The guerrilla campaign that followed was every bit as extraordinary as the six men who directed it. One of them, Cecil Clarke, was a maverick engineer who had spent the 1930s inventing futuristic caravans. Now, his talents were put to more devious use: he built the dirty bomb used to assassinate Hitler's favorite, Reinhard Heydrich. Another, William Fairbairn, was a portly pensioner with an unusual passion: he was the world's leading expert in silent killing, hired to train the guerrillas being parachuted behind enemy lines. Led by dapper Scotsman Colin Gubbins, these men—along with three others—formed a secret inner circle that, aided by a group of formidable ladies, single-handedly changed the course Second World War: a cohort hand-picked by Winston Churchill, whom he called his Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Giles Milton's Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a gripping and vivid narrative of adventure and derring-do that is also, perhaps, the last great untold story of the Second World War.
Download or read book The Politics and Strategy of Clandestine War written by Neville Wylie and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-09-15 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating new collection of essays on Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) explores the ‘non-military’ aspects of British special operations in the Second World War. It details how SOE was established in the summer of 1940 to ‘set Europe ablaze’, as Churchill memorably put it. This was a task it was meant to achieve by detonating popular resistance against Axis rule, and nurturing ‘secret armies’, which might be capable of providing military and other forms of assistance for British forces when they were once again able to return to the offensive and conduct land operations in Europe. The importance of the collection, however, goes beyond merely illuminating aspects of SOE’s work which have largely been overlooked in previous scholarship. More significantly, by situating SOE within the context of Britain’s broader political needs, the essays demonstrate the extent to which SOE came to epitomise and embody the range of skills that are found in today’s secret service organisations. SOE showed itself capable of operating on a global scale and developing the necessary expertise, equipment and personnel to conduct activities across the whole spectrum of what we have come to know as ‘covert operations’. By bringing SOE’s activities into sharper focus and exposing the scale of its involvement in Britain’s wartime external relations, the essays echo current thinking on the place of the so-called ‘secret world’ in international politics.
Download or read book World War II Secret Operations Handbook written by Stephen Hart and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "World War II Secret Operations Handbook" explores the skills and tricks used by the British Special Operations Executive, the US Office of Strategic Services, the French Maquis, and other special forces in combat in Europe, Africa and Asia between 1939 and 1945. With more than 120 black-&-white drawings and with easy-to-follow text, "World War II Secret Operations Handbook" is an excellent guide to the techniques and skills used by the men and women of the special forces, techniques that are as relevant today as they were in 1945.
Download or read book Special Operations Field Manual written by and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Special Operations Field Manual was a top secret document written in 1944 by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The purpose of the manual was to provide information, guidance, and basic doctrines for the Strategic Services during World War II. The manual was eventually declassified in 2006 and is now in the public domain due to it being a work of the United States federal government. This book is republished by Origami Books due to its historical value. This book is intended for historical interests and is not to be used as guide for illegal conducts."--Publisher's note.
Download or read book SOE The Scientific Secrets written by Fredric Boyce and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-11-08 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of Special Operations Executive (SOE) seems to spring a never-ending run of surprises, and here are some more. This book explores the mysterious world of the tools SOE used for their missions of subversion and sabotage. An often grim reality is confronted that is more akin with the world of James Bond and Q's workshop than previously believed. Written by two scientists, one of whom served in the SOE and one who was tasked with clearing up after it was disbanded; their insider knowledge presents a clear account of the way in which SOE's inventors worked. From high explosive technology to chemical and biological devices; from the techniques of air supply to incendiarism; from camouflage to underwater warfare; and from radio communications to weaponry. SOE: The Scientific Secrets is a revelation about the tools that allowed the murky world of spying and spies to operate during wartime.
Download or read book Clandestine Warfare written by James D. Ladd and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the weapons and equipment used by the British SOE and the American OSS.
Download or read book No Moon as Witness written by James Stejskal and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2021-06-30 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The creation and intense training regimens of the British Special Operations Executive and the American Office of Strategic Services leading into WWII. 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. 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. The SOE’s notable successes included the destruction of a power station in France, 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 of their 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 No Moon as Witness, 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. “The book is well organized and also an excellent read. It examines the close history of the SOE and OSS—and how they worked together . . . or not. In addition, the ‘tools of the trade’ chapter includes images and sketches that often do not appear in other books.” —SOF News
Download or read book Churchill s Hellraisers written by Damien Lewis and published by Citadel Press. This book was released on 2020-08-25 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From award-winning war reporter Damien Lewis, the untold story of the heroic hellraisers who stormed a Nazi fortress—in one of the most daring raids of World War II . . . Winter, 1944. Allied forces have liberated most of Axis-occupied Italy—with one crucial exception: the Nazi headquarters north of the Gothic Line. Heavily guarded and surrounded by rugged terrain, the mountain fortress is nearly impenetrable. But British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is determined to drive a dagger into the “soft underbelly of Europe.” The Allied’s plan: drop two paratroopers into the mountains—and take the fortress by storm . . . The two brave men knew the risks involved, so they recruited an equally fearless team: Italian resistance fighters, escaped POWs, downed US airmen, even a bagpipe-playing Scotsman known as “The Mad Piper.” Some had little military training, but all were willing to fight to the death to defeat the Nazi enemy. Ultimately, the mission that began in broad daylight, in the enemy’s line of fire, would end one of the darkest chapters in history—through the courage and conviction of the unsung heroes who dared the impossible . . . “One of the most dangerous and effective attacks ever undertaken by this Regiment against the enemy.” —Lt Col Robert Walker‐Brown, MBE DSO, senior SAS commander “Action-packed . . . Battleground history buffs will be entertained.” —Publishers Weekly
Download or read book The Office of Strategic Services OSS Model and the Future SOF Warrior Joint Special Operations University Report of Proceedings Selection Process Organization Resourcing written by Department of Defense and published by . This book was released on 2017-08-20 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has been some 70 years since the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) quietly came into being as a small, nearly invisible, Washington, D.C.-based organization whose unique capabilities and strategic reach resulted in decisive outcomes within World War II European, Chinese, Southeast Asian and other theaters of operations. Today the record of the OSS survives as far more than a topic of historical curiosity. As a result of its dramatic successes and failures, the OSS has developed a legacy of mission accomplishment that survives as a practical touchstone for the (SOF) Warriors of the 21st century. In fact, the OSS Model continues to provide fresh insights and practical relevancy to the concept of persistent engagement as practiced by today's United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). In speaking about the OSS veteran, a contemporary Special Forces officer observed that "we must understand who he is, not just what he did." As part of his Commander's Guidance for 2011, then USSOCOM Commander Admiral Eric T. Olson directed that a study be undertaken to address if and how the OSS Model could serve as a source of inspiration to incorporate into USSOCOM efforts to select, organize, resource, and develop authorities for SOF of the future. Specifically, the study was intended to identify ways to promote agility in the command through leveraging the OSS selection process, modeling its streamlined organizational structure, using the OSS simplified resourcing authorities, and adapting its charter and authorities to conduct seamless intelligence and operations. Admiral Olson highlighted the OSS attributes of expertise, ability to leverage networks and creativity to guide JSOU's efforts. The Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) engaged selected members of the USSOCOM Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, and the OSS Society to assist in the development of recommendations for Admiral Olson's review. JSOU organized the participants into four study groups addressing both OSS and USSOCOM approaches to the Selection, Organization, Resourcing, and Authorities of SOF. The study groups began their discussions following the Innovation Workshop conducted at USSOCOM on 16 November 2010. Three principles guided the proceedings of that Innovation Workshop and subsequent discussions: Understand the nature of the operational environment; recognize the need for a small, innovative footprint for forces engaged within the operational environment; and ensure sufficient flexibility in the relevant authorities to allow for the innovation necessary within the operational environment.
Download or read book OSS Office of Strategic Services written by Troy J. Sacquety and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Considered a legacy unit of U.S. Army Special Operations Forces, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) has assumed almost mythical stature since World War II. Several OSS veterans, among them Colonel Aaron Bank, Lieutenant Colonel Jack T. Shannon, and Majors Herbert R. Brucker and Caesar J. Civitella brought unconventional warfare (UW) tactics and techniques to Special Forces in the early 1950s. It should be remembered, however, that the short-lived OSS (1942 to 1945) had two basic missions: its primary one was to collect, analyze, and disseminate foreign intelligence; its secondary one was to conduct unconventional warfare. The first, executed primarily by the Research and Analysis branch (R&A), was considered the most important during the war. It is the second mission of UW, however, that has received the most attention since WWII. It was this element of the OSS that provided the most exciting stories and which was cloaked by an aura of secrecy and mystery. This book is designed to serve as a primer on the UW elements of the OSS. It is not an exhaustive look at the OSS, nor does it address every OSS function or branch. Its intent is to provide the reader with a basic understanding of what missions the separate OSS branches had, what the main operational efforts were, and where they took place geographically"--Preliminary page.
Download or read book The OSS and Ho Chi Minh written by Dixee Bartholomew-Feis and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2006-05-12 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some will be shocked to find out that the United States and Ho Chi Minh, our nemesis for much of the Vietnam War, were once allies. Indeed, during the last year of World War II, American spies in Indochina found themselves working closely with Ho Chi Minh and other anti-colonial factions-compelled by circumstances to fight together against the Japanese. Dixee Bartholomew-Feis reveals how this relationship emerged and operated and how it impacted Vietnam's struggle for independence. The men of General William Donovan's newly-formed Office of Strategic Services closely collaborated with communist groups in both Europe and Asia against the Axis enemies. In Vietnam, this meant that OSS officers worked with Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh, whose ultimate aim was to rid the region of all imperialist powers, not just the Japanese. Ho, for his part, did whatever he could to encourage the OSS's negative view of the French, who were desperate to regain their colony. Revealing details not previously known about their covert operations, Bartholomew-Feis chronicles the exploits of these allies as they developed their network of informants, sabotaged the Japanese occupation's infrastructure, conducted guerrilla operations, and searched for downed American fliers and Allied POWs. Although the OSS did not bring Ho Chi Minh to power, Bartholomew-Feis shows that its apparent support for the Viet Minh played a significant symbolic role in helping them fill the power vacuum left in the wake of Japan's surrender. Her study also hints that, had America continued to champion the anti-colonials and their quest for independence, rather than caving in to the French, we might have been spared our long and very lethal war in Vietnam. Based partly on interviews with surviving OSS agents who served in Vietnam, Bartholomew-Feis's engaging narrative and compelling insights speak to the yearnings of an oppressed people-and remind us that history does indeed make strange bedfellows.
Download or read book Sabotage and Subversion written by Ian Dear and published by History Press. This book was released on 2016-10-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Second World War daring and highly unusual missions were mounted by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) - formed on Churchill's orders 'to set Europe ablaze' - and its American counterpart, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). In sixteen separate chapters the author describes how the fearless individuals in these clandestine organisations were recruited, trained and armed, and examines some of their guerrilla operations in Europe, Africa and the Far East, such as the raid on Fernando Po, the destruction of the Gorgopotamos Bridge in Greece and the strike against Japanese shipping in Singapore harbour. Also covered are the means SOE and OSS used to subvert the enemy, by employing black propaganda, forgery, pornography and black market currency manipulation. It may well read like fiction but the stories are fact, and shows to what lengths the Allies were prepared to go to crush the Axis powers.
