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 A...

In this ground-breaking new book, Alan Ogden brings to life Lt Gen sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, soldier, statesman and an often-overlooked figure in British Military and Diplomatic History. Framed through the life of Carton de Wiart this book also offers an exploration of important topics and developments in the first half of the 20th-century, including the Boer War, World War I, World War II and Anglo-Sino relations.This biography ranges from de Wiart's early life, his wartime expe...

Master of Deception is a biography of Peter Fleming, elder brother of Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond. Peter Fleming worked as a travel writer and journalist, serving with distinction throughout World War II and played a crucial role in British intelligence operations in the Far East. This biography ranges from the personal life of Fleming such as his marriage to Celia Johnson, a famous actor of the time, to his extensive military intelligence career which took him from Norway ...

Master of Deception is a biography of Peter Fleming, elder brother of Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond. Peter Fleming worked as a travel writer and journalist, serving with distinction throughout World War II and played a crucial role in British intelligence operations in the Far East. This biography ranges from the personal life of Fleming such as his marriage to Celia Johnson, a famous actor of the time, to his extensive military intelligence career which took him from Norway ...

In the Aegean, between 1943 and 1945, the Raiding Forces – a combination of British Special Forces (primarily the SBS) and the Greek Sacred Squadron – established a reign of terror and suspense in the hearts of a German force a hundred times its number.In this very readable official report, the founding, training and composition of Raiding Forces are dealt with in sufficient detail to show what manner of men comprised the patrols, and Terror By Night does not fog the reader’s mind ...

The Discontented tells the heroic story of the Hungarian uprisings against the Habsburgs in 17th and 18th centuries.Led by the charismatic trio of Imre Thököly, Helena Zrinyi and Ferenc Rákóczi II, there were moments when the rebels nearly succeeded in securing the independence of Hungary from the Habsburg Emperors.However, against a background of international intrigue and superpower politics, the valiant actions of the kurucs were ultimately doomed and t...

A biography of a British World War II secret agent who escaped the Buchenwald concentration camp.One of the most determined and courageous secret agents of the Second World War, Harry Peulevé joined the BEF in 1940 before volunteering for F Section of the Special Operations Executive. On his first mission to occupied France to set up the SCIENTIST circuit, he broke his leg on landing and, after numerous close calls, made a heroic crossing of the Pyrenees on sticks i...

Tom Firth was born in Japan where his English father and Polish mother were living. He begins by describing his unusual childhood and the devastating Yokohama earthquake in 1923. In 1930 the family settled in Warsaw, Poland. However they became split up when Poland became overrun by the Nazis and the Russians in 1939. Whilst his father and older brother were in England, Tom found himself trapped in the Russian-occupied part of the country and, after several agonizing months, eventually mad...

The historian of the British World War II intelligence organization chronicles his life and service career in this memoir.Michael (M.R.D.) Foot enjoys the rare distinction of being the only person referred to by his real name in a John Le Carré novel. A highly significant tribute to the man entrusted with writing the official record of the Special Operations Executive. He authored first (1966) the History of SOE in France and twenty years later the highly sensitive ...

An examination of the SOE, its accomplishments, and the Canadian connection to the organization.During the Second World War, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill created the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to conduct acts of sabotage and subversion, and raise secret armies of partisans in German-occupied Europe. With the directive to “set Europe ablaze,” the SOE undertook a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the Nazi Gestapo. An agent’s failure could resul...

Using many rare and unpublished images this book identifies and delves into the characters of the notorious men who were instrumental in one of the greatest crimes against humanity in World history.Through words and pictures the chilling truth emerges. In many respects these monsters were all too normal. Rudolf Hess, the Commandant of Auschwitz, was a family man and hospitable host and yet while there is no record of his committing acts of violence personally he presided over a regime that...

Memoirs of SOE agents have always been rare - so many were either killed in action or executed - and today they are almost unheard of. But Sydney Hudson's story, which he has waited nearly sixty years to tell, is just about as dramatic and thrilling as any to have ever appeared. After volunteering for guerilla operations should the Germans occupy Britain, he transferred to SOE. He spent most of the Second World War in France, remarkably surviving 15 months captivity and interrogation befor...