Aims
This course aims to help you to:
• develop your understanding of the political and military complexities surrounding WW2 sabotage and subversion
• assess the contribution of irregular warfare to strategic success in warfare
• understand the difficulties facing the Special Operations Executive and the price paid by many of its officers and agents.
Content
Many have heard of the brave men, and especially the courageous women, who served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the Second World War (WW2). Names like Noor Inayat Khan and Violette Szabo have become famous through books, television programmes and even feature films. But the SOE story is a much larger one. In this course, we will use the stories of a few individuals to explore some of its lesser-known corners.
We will first consider what might constitute a ‘typical’ agent (if such a person existed), investigate the wider events and developments that led to the formation of SOE and look at the forms undercover subversion might take. Wherever they served, though, agents existed in daily fear of capture, often through betrayal; we will examine the ways in which German and Italian countermeasures operated, often with devastating success. If they were to survive, those who worked in such conditions needed both training and support; we will examine both.
Next, we will look beyond the field of operations usually associated with SOE, occupied France, and take a selective tour of some of the other areas of the world where SOE agents worked.
SOE was not always successful, far from it, but one particular area that saw some success was Scandinavia, so we will look in more detail at Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
As the tables turned in the European war, Winston Churchill persuaded his American and Soviet allies that the ‘soft underbelly’ of the Axis powers was to be found in southern Europe. So our next goal will be to investigate some of the ways SOE supported the Mediterranean Campaign and the advance through Italy. Finally, we will look at some of the agents whose undercover efforts supported Allied operations into Germany and Austria, and then briefly consider SOE’s achievements, its postwar fate and its lasting legacy.
Presentation of the course
Delivery of the course will be via illustrated lectures and group discussions.
Course sessions
1. Beginnings
What was a ‘typical’ agent and where did they operate? How and why did SOE come into being and what was its purpose?
2. Danger, betrayal and survival
Lessons learned from early operations. Training, equipment and covert deployment. Security and counter-intelligence in Britain, The Netherlands, France, Austria, Italy and the Mediterranean
3. The whole world
SOE as a global organisation. Africa. The Americas. Asia. Australasia. Europe; focus on Scandinavia
4. The soft underbelly
Development of the Massingham base in French North Africa and its role in the Mediterranean Campaign and subsequently in Italy.
5. Endings
SOE’s role in the Northwest Europe Campaign and Southern France. Operations into Germany and Austria. Postwar survival in a Cold War context.
Learning outcomes
You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course.
The learning outcomes for this course are:
• position SOE operations in the overall context of Second World War history
• appreciate the conditions under which SOE agents operated and the dangers they faced
• understand the various motivations of SOE agents, the training they underwent and the systems that supported them
• appreciate the scope and breadth of SOE’s global operations
