What did SOE really achieve during the Second World War? Why were so
many agents parachuted into enemy hands? Who chose to back Communist
guerrillas in Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Greece and Malaya
in preference to other anti-Axis movements? In this new and revised
edition Nigel West strips away the secrecy that has surrounded the
Special Operations Executive since it was officially wound up in 1946,
and reveal the breathtaking political naivety, operational incompetence
and ruthless manipulation. Despite the heroism of individual agents who
suffered appalling privation to further the organization's dubious
objectives, there is an underlying tragedy of dreadful proportions.
Secret War is a detailed analysis of SOE's structure and performance
and describes its successes and failures across the globe. The book
casts doubt on the official histories authorized by the Cabinet Office
and offers evidence of the setbacks that jeopardized D-Day and gives an
account of the paramilitary units dropped behind enemy lines immediately
after the invasion which saved SOE's reputation.
This book is a highly provocative but authoritative history of the
organization that existed for less than six years but was to have a
lasting impact on the world's postwar development.
