Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia were all German allies in the
Second World War, unlike the other countries of Europe which had either
been forcibly occupied by the Nazis or remained neutral. SOE Missions
mounted within their borders were thus doubly hazardous for they were
conducted in enemy-populated territory, heavily policed by military
forces and gendarmerie. Furthermore all these states had well developed
and experienced security services, usually supplemented by Gestapo and
Abwehr units. A further complication to the activities of SOE in these
countries was that they had all been effectively conceded by Western
Allies to Russia; not surprisingly therefore, operations in the Soviet
'sphere of influence' were to prove diabolically difficult.
This is a story about the courage of individuals in the face of
overwhelming odds. Hunger, ill-health, exhaustion, cold and treachery
all combined to make life for those members of SOE who parachuted into
these Fascist outposts of Fortress Europe as insufferable as it was
dangerous. For weeks on end, the SOE missions moved continually at
night, chased by enemy troops, betrayed by local villagers, awaiting air
drops that never came and listening out for orders that were rarely
specific. Thus the picture that emerges of SOE activities in these
countries is one of heroic proportions, with courage, dedication and
daring displayed by every mission.
Although nearly all SOE personnel were either killed or captured, the
impact of their clandestine operations served as a persistent irritant,
continuously undermining Germany's strategic and political assumptions
about the loyalty of her allies.
