Secret War
Nigel West delivers a provocative reassessment of SOE’s achievements, failures, and sacrifices.
- Author
- Nigel West
- Publisher
- Pen & Sword Books
- Price
- £25
- ISBN
- 9781526755661
- Published
- 2019
Secret War by Nigel West
Nigel West interrogates the mythology of the Special Operations Executive. With archives burned, operatives silenced, and successes celebrated, he asks hard questions: why were undertrained agents sent into the field? Why did so many Dutch missions collapse? Were agents sacrificed to shield SIS intelligence?
West contrasts SOE’s early chaos—staffed by clubland amateurs and competing with regular services—with the later professionalism brought by Colin Gubbins. He highlights Jedburgh teams, the SAS, and Resistance allies who salvaged SOE’s reputation before D-Day, while acknowledging the brutal losses in France, the Balkans, and the Far East. A challenging, essential analysis for students of clandestine warfare.
Pen & Sword Books. £25. ISBN 9781526755661.