Undercover: The Men and Women of the Special Operations Executive

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Synopsis
The Special Operations Executive, generally known as SOE, was one of the most remarkable creations of the Second World War. In July 1940, Winston Churchill instructed Hugh Dalton, Minister of Economic Warfare, 'to set Europe ablaze'. Operating both as a cloak and a dagger, SOE's task was to foment and support clandestine resistance wherever it could gain a foothold. Yet, except for one volume concerning its operations in France, no history of SOE has ever been written. Undercover is the story of this extraordinary organization as told by one of its members. Patrick Howarth served in SOE for almost four years, working with many of the characters whose exploits he recalls. By bringing to life some of the outstanding men and women who served in the organization, he paints a vivid picture of memorable detail. Among the people whose stories he tells are Charles Macintosh, who laid a telephone line along a secret passage built by the Medicis in Florence, serving as the link between the SS headquarters and the Allied High Command; Christine Granville, the beautiful Polish countess, who was parachuted into France and managed to obtain the release of some of her fellow agents from the Gestapo; and Tom Harrisson, ethnologist and co-founder of Mass-Observation, who organized, in Sarawak, the Allies' only fighting unit to be armed with blowpipes. Here too are some of the triumphs and disasters of the war: the capture of the commander of the German garrison on Crete, the destruction of the heavy water plant in Norway, the raising of a guerrilla army of Karens in the Burma hills, and the tragedy of the Warsaw rising. From this wealth of detail, Patrick Howarth has documented the many characters and events associated with SOE, both from his first-hand knowledge and subsequent research, and has written an invaluable assessment of SOE's contribution to the Allied victory.
Copyright:
1980

Book Details

Book Quality:
Excellent
Book Size:
240 Pages
ISBN-13:
9780710005731
Publisher:
Routledge & Kegan Paul, Limited
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Patrick Howarth
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Military, Nonfiction
Submitted By:
Kari G
Proofread By:
mary stephens
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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