Secrets of the Cold War: US Army Europe's Intelligence and Counterintelligence Activities against the Soviets

by Leland McCaslin

Overview

Secrets of the Cold War focuses on a dark period of a silent war and offers a new perspective on the struggle between the superpowers of the world told in the words of those who were there. The author, formerly an expert in counterintelligence in US Army Europe, weaves together exciting true accounts of allies collecting enemy information in the East and fighting spies and terrorists in the West. Amassing Soviet military information by Allied agents in the East is at the forefront! Learn the bizarre method a British agent uses to obtain the muzzle size of a Russian tank as he risks his life jumping on a moving train in East Germany. A French officer drives into a Soviet tank column and escapes undiscovered by cunning methods. In West Germany, terrorist attacks and spies are rampant. Communists shoot a rocket-propelled grenade into a General's occupied limo and terrorists kidnap another General. From the espionage files, an American soldier is nearly recruited in a downtown bar to be a spy and a First Sergeant is lured by sex to be an unknowing participant in spying. Behind-the-lines images are historic and intriguing. See photographs of a French officer and a Soviet officer relaxing in the East German woods in a temporary unofficial peace; 'James Bond' type cars with their light tricks and their ability to leave their Stasi shadows 'wheel spinning' in the snow will amaze readers. A Russian translator for the presidential hotline recounts a story about having to lock his doors in the Pentagon, separating himself and his sergeant from the Pentagon Generals when a message comes in from the Soviets. When he called the White House to relay the message to the President and stood by for a possible reply to the Soviet Chairman, he stopped working for the Generals and started working solely for the President. In another riveting account, a US Berlin tank unit goes on red alert when the Soviets stop a US convoy on the autobahn between West Germany and Berlin. The Berlin Command orders the tanks to rescue them, "If anything gets in your way, either run over it or blow it away!" Young US Berlin train commanders recount their encounters with their Soviet counterparts aboard the Berlin Duty Train. In an unusual train incident, one male Soviet Officer places a love note in a young US female Train Commander's pocket, touching her leg. The note is in the book. Containing a host of first-person accounts that lift the lid on previously untold clandestine activities, this is a major contribution to Cold War history, and exciting reading for all those who have an interest in the real-life world of military intelligence, counterintelligence and espionage. Francis Gary Powers, Jr: "Well written and informative, the book is a magnificent assessment of the Cold War history."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781908916914
Publisher:	Helion and Company
Publication date:	03/20/2013
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

Dedication iii

Preface 6

Foreword 9

Acknowledgements 10

List of contributors 12

Pre-publication security reviews 15

1 The threat: seven case histories 16

2 Allied Military Liaison Missions Potsdam - our collectors in the East ("legal" overt spies) 34

3 Soviet Military Liaison Missions - their collectors in the West ("legal" overt spies) 68

4 The Military Intelligence Field Office (counter spies) 72

5 Counterintelligence Division Part 1 82

6 Counterintelligence Division Part 2 94

7 "US Clearances" for Germans 101

8 Flag Notes And Laredo Leader - a few successes 103

9 Intel 2 Course or the in-flight icing problems! 108

10 The Russian Hotline 111

11 The real return of a defector from the cold 115

12 The Berlin duty train 117

13 Berlin Armor: just a step away from a Cold War to a 'Hot War'! 136

14 Revisit Potsdam - Lt Col Nicholson's death 139

15 Border patrol 145

16 SETAF - Rapid Reaction Force - Paratroopers 150

17 It was a grand affair - the annual MI Ball 159

18 Three significant CI women who broke the glass ceiling 162

19 Travel in Europe 165

Afterword: From the G2 173

Congratulations USAREUR! 177

Appendix I The early days - intelligence training 179

Appendix II USAREUR HQ key positions, staff agencies, major units and population 182

Appendix III Famous US Armed Forces Recreation Center (AFRC) 183

Glossary 186

Editorial Reviews

What makes “Secrets of the Cold War: US Army Europe’s Intelligence and Counterintelligence Activities Against the Soviets,” by Leland C. McCaslin, stand out is its highlighting of unique missions by American and Allied forces in Europe to thwart Soviet espionage. It is full of first-person narratives of real events that seems to be taken from the pages of a pop-fiction spy thriller.

Mark Patton

…an enjoyable read written by those at “ground zero” of the silent war. “

Stars and Stripes European Edition

…engaging details and dramatic situations…unique details on this major area of Cold War Espionage…

Midwest Book Review

In today’s complex threat environment it is easy and a mistake to dismiss the Cold War as a time of relative simplicity. A read through McCaslin’s book provides some balance to these thoughts and reveals more than one solid example of how precarious a position intelligence professionals of the period often found themselves in. Whether the reader is a Cold War veteran of any service, a historian or simply an interested person, McCaslin’s efforts in Secrets of the Cold War offer an enjoyable and informative look at the different intelligence and counter-intelligence efforts and concerns during that very dangerous time…

American Intelligence Journal

Containing a host of first-person accounts that lift the lid on previously untold clandestine activities, this is a major contribution to Cold War history and exciting reading for all those who have an interest in the real life world of military intelligence, counterintelligence and espionage.

Cold War Times