Soe Secret Operations Manual

by Anonymous

Never before released to the public, this is the original manual used to train special agents dropped behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Europe. Used by the British SOE and its American counterpart, the OSS, it is an authentic reproduction of extraordinary historical significance obtained from a former clandestine services operative. The forerunner of all government guides to dirty tricks.

Genres: World War II

Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four star because it is interesting, but really dry. If you have read about SOE, this is the manual that covers what the agents were taught. It even includes codes. It is rather intersting.

[Elizabeth]

It seems kind of dumb to give this a rating, but I *did* like it. However, it would have been improved by an explanatory introduction. It says on the back that it's "the original manual used to train special agents dropped behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Europe" but I don't think it can have been given to the agents themselves; it must have been a teacher's guide, as (among other things) it contains lecture notes and a complex explanation of wireless ciphering which is explicitly stated should be memorized rather than written down. Also, although the back cover tells us it was "used by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and its American counterpart, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)," it doesn't say who wrote it. British? American? a collaboration? Written piecemeal? Handed out in chapters? When was it written, and when was it used? Did Christine Granville get the benefit of this manual when she joined the SOE in 1939? etc.

It doesn't do the manual any favors that the first 78 pages have got "SECRET" stamped coyly all over them, obscuring text here and there. SOME OF US ARE READING THIS FOR CONTENT, YOU KNOW.

And indeed, if you ARE reading it for content and you have a fictional SOE agent to train, it is an extraordinarily useful and fascinating book. Particularly helpful are parachute drop instructions, lists of necessary items to pack, pros and cons of different types of lodging, etc. -- details that could be made up but are so much more convincing if they are based in truth. "Interrogation Techniques," for example, which are listed exhaustively but dryly--17 separate types ending with the euphemistic "Third Degree" (torture is always referred to euphemistically here, other terms being "Final Measures" or "grilling," except occasionally when it refers to someone else being tortured, not you, the SOE agent-in-training. "If you are "really 'up against it'… there are only two courses of action open to you… an attempt to escape or suicide.") Happily there are also some suggested techniques for bluffing your way through an interrogation. And there's a whole 21 page section on burglary with some VERY useful tips for Bilbo Baggins and Eugenides. Courtesy of John Dillinger. (I do not lie.)

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(An aside: Being immersed in the SOE as I am these days, I found the "SpecOps" of The Eyre Affair very jarring--I kept expecting the action to move to Occupied France.)