Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Section D for Destruction: Forerunner of SOE and Auxiliary Units

Section D for Destruction: Forerunner of SOE and Auxiliary Units

Atkin, Malcolm

Paperback

Armed ForcesBritish HistoryInternational Relations

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 139907766X
ISBN13: 9781399077668
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Published: Jan 8 2024
Pages: 280
Language: English
The first comprehensive history of Section D since the release of secret documents on its operations into the public domain.

UPDATED EDITION of the ground-breaking 2017 publication that offered the first comprehensive account of the work of Section D of the Secret Intelligence Service.

When Neville Chamberlain made his famous 'Peace in Our Time' statement in 1938, he may not have been aware that a new section of the Secret Intelligence Service, Section D, was already making plans to mount a political and sabotage war against Nazi Germany.This new form of warfare encompassed bribery, black propaganda and sabotage by agents described as having no morals or scruples. It disregarded the conventions of neutrality and was prepared to hit the Nazi state wherever it could do most damage.

A scientific section was established to develop new types of weapons, and membership was extended beyond the traditional public-school 'old boy network' of British intelligence to work with German and Austrian resistance groups - socialists, trade unionists, Catholics and Jews.Section D's plans ranged from leaflet campaigns in Germany, the sabotage of railways, factories and ports through to plans to block the River Danube by blowing up a mountain and an attempt to introduce foot and mouth disease into German cattle herds. Some aspects of the story are reminiscent of a Childers or Buchan novel - but they are true!

The work of Section D prepared the way for the creation of resistance organisations in occupied Western Europe and was the forerunner of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). It also paved the way for the Auxiliary Units guerrilla force in Britain. As such, Section D represents a key stage in the development of irregular warfare.

Also from

Atkin, Malcolm

View All

Also in

International Relations

View All