SOE in the Low Countries

by M. R. D. Foot, Nigel West (Introduction)

Overview

SOE’s Belgian and Dutch operations in the Second World War have always been considered highly controversial because of the notorious Englandspiel (‘the English game’) run by the Germans, which effectively took control of the entire resistance organisation in Holland. Skilfully manipulated by Colonel Hermann Giskes, the occupying force arrested dozens of Dutch agents and operated their wireless sets with sufficient finesse to persuade SOE’s headquarters in London that their networks were operating without interference. In reality, each consignment of agents and equipment fell directly into the hands of the Nazis.Was there a traitor in London? Was it incompetence in the field or hopelessly inadequate security procedures? The Belgian experience, equally complicated, was for a time almost as disastrous as the Dutch. Opinions have differed, but here the official records are opened for independent scrutiny by an acknowledged specialist in SOE’s operations. The story that emerges is a harrowing catalogue of Whitehall jealousies and infighting, blunders and ineptitude, combined with breathtaking bravery on the part of the agents who were captured.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781445671062
Publisher:	Amberley Publishing
Publication date:	06/01/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

M. R. D. Foot CBE was the official historian to the SOE. In 1942 he was serving at Combined Operations Headquarters, but wanting to see action he joined the SAS and was parachuted into France after D-Day. He became a prisoner of war and was severely injured attempting to escape. For service to the French Resistance he was awarded the Croix de Guerre. After the war Foot taught at Oxford University before becoming Professor of Modern History at Manchester University. His experiences during the war gave him a lifelong interest in intelligence matters and the experiences of prisoners of war. Becoming the official historian of SOE, with privileged access to its records, he wrote the definitive accounts of its wartime work.Nigel West is an author specialising in security, intelligence and espionage issues. He is the European Editor of the 'World Intelligence Review', published in Washington DC. He was voted 'The Experts' Expert' on intelligence by the Observer. He writes regularly for Spears Wealth Management Survey and works with the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies.

Table of Contents

Foreword Nigel West 6

Author's Note 8

Abbreviations 13

I Introduction 16

II Dutch Catastrophes 1940-2 66

III Dutch Catastrophes 1942-4 120

IV Dutch Recovery 1943-4 151

V Belgian Disasters 1940-2 168

VI Belgian Recovery 1942-4 220

VII Luxembourg 1940-5 266

VIII 'Overlord' and 'Market Garden' 1944 271

IX Follow-through and Aftermath 1944-5 300

Appendices

1 Chronology 326

2 Partisan Leader's Handbook 338

3 Action Agents Sent to Holland 362

4 Action Agents Sent to Belgium 375

5 German Directive for Interrogation of Captured Agents 390

6 Notes on the Means of Dealing with the Movement of Armoured and Motorised Forces by Road to Reinforce Coastal Sectors 395

7 Sources 397

Notes 407

Index 444

Editorial Reviews

"It is impossible to imagine M.R.D. Foot's position as the pre-eminent historian of SOE ever being challenged." —Antony Beevor, author, Venona: The Greatest Secret of the Cold War

From the Publisher