THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion
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Intelligence Operations & Units During WW2
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A September release:
by Shannon MonaghanDescription:
There have always been special warriors; Achilles and his Myrmidons are the obvious classical examples. What we now think of as “special operations,” however, were born in World War II, and one of the earliest and most exciting units formed was Britain's SOE. In the early years of the war, when Britain stood alone against the Nazis, Winston Churchill put them on a mission to “set Europe ablaze”: to foment local revolt, to gather intelligence, to blow up bridges, and to do anything that could help to disrupt the Axis cause. A Quiet Company of Dangerous Men follows four SOE officers who distinguished themselves in this the Spanish Civil War veteran Peter Kemp, the demolitions expert David Smiley, the born guerrilla leader Billy McLean, and the political natural Julian Amery.
With new and extensive research, including unprecedented access to private family papers that reveal the men's unbreakable bonds and vibrant personalities, Shannon Monaghan has uncovered a story of war in the twentieth century that, due to the secretive nature of the SOE’s work, has remained largely unknown. A Quiet Company of Dangerous Men is a thrilling and inspiring story of four remarkable men who, through sheer determination and daring, as well as unwavering friendship and loyalty, fought for a better world.
Another:
Description:
At the start of WWII, the US found itself in desperate need of an intelligence agency. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a precursor to today’s CIA, was quickly formed—and, in an effort to fill its ranks with experts, the OSS turned to academia for recruits. Suddenly, literature professors, librarians, and historians were training to perform undercover operations and investigative work—and these surprising spies would go on to profoundly shape both the course of the war and our cultural institutions with their efforts.
In Book and Dagger, Elyse Graham draws on personal histories, diaries, and declassified OSS files to tell the story of a small but connected group of humanities scholars turned unlikely spies. Among them are Joseph Curtiss, a literature professor who hunted down German spies and turned them into double agents; Sherman Kent, a smart-mouthed history professor who rose to become the head of analysis for all of Europe and Africa; and Adele Kibre, an archivist who was sent to Stockholm to secretly acquire documents for the OSS. These unforgettable characters would ultimately help lay the foundations of modern intelligence and transform American higher education when they returned after the war.
Thrillingly paced and rigorously researched, Book and Dagger is an inspiring and gripping true story about a group of academics who helped beat the Nazis—a tale that reveals the indelible power of humanities to change the world.
A December release:
by Norman RidleyDescription:
When Hitler was striving for recognition and relevance in the political turmoil of the early Weimar years in Germany he gave little thought to the world on the other side of the Atlantic other than to nurture a constant nagging resentment over President Wilson’s role in the post-war evisceration of Germany at Versailles in 1919. It was the United States, however, that had bankrolled the German economy to substantially boost industrial production and employment in the 1920s and the evidence of American wealth and economic power was hard to ignore. Even when the Nazis took over in Germany after the elections of March 1933, Hitler’s narrow vision was still concentrated on consolidating his power base in Germany itself and quickly thereafter expanded to take in the countries of Eastern Europe. What impressions he had of American culture and society were encapsulated in the trivialities and stereotypes of Hollywood movies depicting the ‘wild west’ or the deprivations of the Great Depression. Despite its economic power, nothing in Hitler’s world view envisaged the United States as a potential player in European politics, but the Germans intelligence services that he inherited were not so easily convinced. They had been aware of American power and influence since before the First World War and for them, spying on the United States was nothing more than a continuation of their efforts to prevent that country thwarting German ambitions.
There had been spectacular successes in the past, such as the espionage attack that had wreaked massive destruction in the Black Tom Island explosion on 30 July 1916. But overall, the German agencies had gone to great lengths and considerable expense without achieving their ambitions and failed to prevent American participation in the war. With another war in prospect, the Germans once again made plans to influence American policy and do what they could to keep their forces out of European affairs. Spying for Hitler traces the history of German espionage in the United States and describes, in detail, the personnel involved and operations they conducted all through the 1930s and early 1940s. It examines the training of German agents and the espionage techniques they employed. The way in which the FBI reacted to the threat, in particular, from the Griebl-Lonkowski spy ring, shows how Hoover’s ‘Feds’ were initially slow to appreciate the danger, but soon learned the lessons. This was later to put them on a sounder footing to counter further attempts to infiltrate agents into the United States. This was most spectacularly displayed in Operation Pastorius, when saboteurs were landed on the American East Coast from U-boats.
This book also examines the way in which the Germans used ‘sleeper’ agents and also describes how the FBI successfully ‘turned’ German agents to feed disinformation to Abwehr headquarters in Berlin. It describes how espionage missions played out and the fate of those involves.
A January 2025 release:
by Kathleen Reid-SmithDescription:
Southern Thailand, 1941. This is the story of Operation Cleeves. A daring and long forgotten SOE Far East mission, where a handful of tin miners risked their lives fighting against the onslaught of Japan on the eve of World War Two in Southeast Asia.
Using declassified documents, previously undiscovered records and extensive original research, Kate Reid-Smith provides an intimate yet harrowing look into a most secret and turbulent operation shrouded in mystery. Where vivid and powerful accounts of tremendous courage in the face of resilience and redemption, uncovers how an eclectic mix of European civilians and Indian soldiers all marooned amid danger, violence and bloodshed, were suddenly confronted by unspeakable survival choices, as the circumstances of war catapulted them into an unimaginable world of horrific atrocities. Some of their stories are told for the very first time in this revelatory book, uncovering perilous undertakings requiring daring and sang-froid bravery, and how using only their wits for survival, all bore the full brunt of Japan’s initial invasion.
That looks like a great unknown story in the Far East, Jerome. Added TBR.
A March 2025 release:
byChris Jones Description:
In his short life, Liverpool-born Alexander Foote went from being a volunteer in the International Brigade in Spain to becoming an agent of Soviet military intelligence in Switzerland. Pretending to his friends that he was a dim-witted Englishman with private means, Foote became the key telegraphist of the so-called ‘Red Three’ network of radio stations, communicating top secret German intelligence to the USSR from under the noses of the Swiss authorities. The information from Foote’s Morse key originated from sources in Germany and came to Foote via the enigmatic figure of Rudolph Rossler, known as Agent Lucy. Where he obtained the information from is a mystery that has never been solved. During the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, Soviet generals came to depend on the information from Foote’s transmitter and those of his comrades.
On his release from a ten-month remand in a Swiss gaol on an espionage charge, Foote absconded to Paris in 1944 before being invited for debriefing in Moscow. When he arrived, he became aware that he was under suspicion of being a British spy and it took all his wit to talk his comrades in Soviet intelligence out of sending him to the gulag: a fate that waited for many of the others in his Swiss network.
Disillusioned with life in the USSR, Foote approached British intelligence while he was on a Soviet mission in Berlin. He made them an offer: if they got him back to Britain he would tell them all he knew about Soviet intelligence, from the inside.
This is his story.
Another:
by Thomas MaierDescription:
As a tough but smart Italian American kid, Ernest Cuneo played Ivy League football at Columbia University and was in the old Brooklyn Dodgers NFL franchise before becoming a city hall lawyer and “Brain Trust'' aide to President Roosevelt. He was on the payroll of national radio columnist Walter Winchell and mingled with the famous and powerful. But his status as a spy remained a secret, hiding in plain sight.
During this time, Cuneo began a close friendship with British spy Ian Fleming and helped inspire Fleming's James Bond novels. He also began a love affair with one of Churchill's agents at Rockefeller Center—Margaret Watson, a beautiful Canadian woman with a photographic memory ideal for spycraft. In one nighttime attack, Watson was nearly smothered to death by a Nazi assassin inside her women’s dormitory near Rockefeller Center. Cuneo’s transformation from a gridiron athlete into a high-stakes intelligence go-between and political influencer is one of the great untold stories of American espionage. He has remained “invisible” in the public eye—until now, with this unveiled look into his life.
From the bestselling author and producer of two hit TV series, Mafia Spies and Masters of Sex, Thomas Maier delves into the little-known tales behind the Rockefeller Center spy operation and the origins of American intelligence. The Invisible Spy weaves Cuneo’s remarkable personal story with vivid insights about many top twentieth-century figures, including Churchill, FDR and later JFK. Full of action and fascinating characters, this untold history reveals how Cuneo, as America's first WWII spy, helped the British launch a covert campaign against Nazi conspirators hidden in America, an espionage war unbeknownst to many.
Two books of interest to key an eye out for, thanks for those details, Jerome!
A May 2025 release:
by Kate VigursDescription:
In the wake of the Nazi invasion of Europe, the tentative sparks of resistance in occupied countries were fanned by Britain’s Special Operations Executive. Across the continent, SOE recruited women to “set Europe ablaze.” Working as secret agents and saboteurs, these individuals bolstered resistance from within and provided much needed support and weapons. F Section’s actions in France are renowned, and today some operatives have become household names. But what happened to the women who worked outside France and those who were locally recruited?
In this gripping account, Kate Vigurs tells the stories of the lesser-known women who worked across Europe, from the Netherlands to Belgium and Poland to Denmark. She explores too the lives of Jewish agents recruited in Mandate Palestine for missions in Eastern Europe. These are stories of trial and error, escape and even execution. Mission Europe examines why women were recruited, analysing their successes and contributions―and celebrates the ordinary women who did extraordinary things.
Jerome wrote: "A May 2025 release: by Kate VigursDescription:
In the wake of the Nazi invasion of Europe, the tenta..."
I am interested in reading this.
Some years ago, I read about Vera Atkins’ effort to trace the missing agents, in Sarah Helm’s Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII.
There is also William Stevenson’s Spymistress: The Life of Vera Atkins, the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II
There also was a series about the agents : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0135738/
A March 2025 release:
by Lisa RogakDescription:
Betty MacDonald was a 28-year-old reporter from Hawaii. Zuzka Lauwers grew up in a tiny Czechoslovakian village and knew five languages by the time she was 21. Jane Smith-Hutton was the wife of a naval attaché living in Tokyo. Marlene Dietrich, the German-American actress and singer, was of course one of the biggest stars of the 20th century. These four women, each fascinating in her own right, together contributed to one of the most covert and successful military campaigns in WWII.
As members of the OSS, their task was to create a secret brand of propaganda produced with the sole aim to break the morale of Axis soldiers. Working in the European theater, across enemy lines in occupied China, and in Washington, D.C., Betty, Zuzka, Jane, and Marlene forged letters and “official” military orders, wrote and produced entire newspapers, scripted radio broadcasts and songs, and even developed rumors for undercover spies and double agents to spread to the enemy. And outside of a small group of spies, no one knew they existed. Until now.
In Propaganda Girls, bestselling author Lisa Rogak brings to vivid life the incredible true story of four unsung heroes, whose spellbinding achievements would change the course of history.
A May release:
by Norman RidleyDescription:
The intelligence war between Germany and the Soviet Union, ignited by Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, was fiercely contested over four years. Neither side was prepared for the scale of the conflict, and both quickly developed methods to assess and counter each other’s military intentions. This book explores the intelligence strategies of Stalin’s SMERSH and Hitler’s Abwehr. SMERSH coordinated three independent counter-intelligence agencies within the Red Army, while the Abwehr was Germany’s military-intelligence service.
Focusing on key battles like Stalingrad and Kursk, the book examines how both sides competed for intelligence advantage. The Soviets excelled in strategic deception, manipulating German decision-making. Early in the war, they used counterintelligence to deceive the Germans, notably during their surprise counteroffensive at Moscow in December 1941 and their hidden tank formations in 1942. German intelligence chief Gehlen underestimated Soviet deception and overestimated German superiority, which hindered effective analysis. Meanwhile, the Soviets deployed agents behind German lines and employed terror tactics to destroy German operations. The pivotal battle of Stalingrad revealed the Germans' intelligence failures, and their subsequent losses marked a turning point. By the war's end, Soviet counterintelligence had become a critical weapon, reshaping the intelligence landscape and significantly impacting the outcome of the war.
A July release:
by Gabrielle McDonald-RothwellDescription:
Phyllis Latour: The Last of the Special Operations Executive's Secret Agents tells the extraordinary true story of Phyllis 'Pippa' Latour, the last surviving Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent from the Second World War. Parachuted into Nazi-occupied Northern France just before D-Day, Pippa's mission was to report on German troop movements – a task fraught with danger as Gestapo agents hunted for radio operators like her. With a life expectancy of just six weeks, Pippa relied on her courage, resourcefulness, and relentless training, yet she knew the odds were against her survival. From the terrifying moment her parachute caught in a tree upon landing, to losing her vital radio sets, facing capture by the Gestapo, and even being bombed by Allied planes, Pippa’s journey is a gripping tale of resilience and bravery. This real-life thriller captures her harrowing experiences and celebrates an unsung heroine of the Second World War.
Two new books for those interested in this area of WW2 history. Thanks for posting those details, Jerome!
A May release:
by Tim Willasey-WilseyDescription:
This is the forgotten tale of MI6's top spy in Nazi Germany and his bid to stop the Second World War. In the world of espionage, where the accounts of renowned spies often dominate the narrative, this is a rare gem - an untold story of a completely unknown spy. Baron William de Ropp, a Baltic German aristocrat, wasn't just any ordinary spy; he was MI6's top-secret agent in Nazi Germany from 1931 to 1939, managing to escape Berlin just before war broke out. This unsung hero had direct access to Adolf Hitler and an inside track on the Nazi regime. His reports, shrouded in secrecy, had the power to shape British policy toward Germany in a pivotal period of history.
The Spy and the Devil is a riveting tale of espionage, intrigue, and the untold impact of one man's secret mission on the course of history. A journey into the shadows of Nazi Germany, where a forgotten British spy worked tirelessly to avert catastrophe, and discover the secrets that history almost left behind.
Although aspects of de Ropp's activities appear in other books, notably the authorised history of MI6, his story has never been published in full before, adding an extra dimension to what is, by any standard, the account of a very remarkable man. Drawing on his years of service in the Foreign Office, Tim Willasey-Wilsey offers an insider's view of this enigmatic British spy.
A November release:
by Bruce HendersonDescription:
In 1943, the OSS—precursor to the CIA—came up with a plan to increase its support to the French resistance forces that were fighting the Nazis. To start, the OSS recruited some of the best American bomber pilots and crews to a secret airfield twenty miles west of London and briefed them on the intended mission. Given a choice to stay or leave, every airman volunteered for what became known as Operation Carpetbagger.
Their dangerous plan called for a new kind of flying: taking their B-24 Liberator bombers in the middle of the night across the English Channel and down to extremely low altitudes in Nazi-occupied France to find drop zones in dark fields. On the ground, resistance members waited to receive steel containers filled with everything from rifles and hand grenades to medicine and bicycle tires. Some nights, the flyers also dropped Allied secret agents by parachute to assist the French partisans.
Though their story remained classified for more than fifty years, the Carpetbaggers ultimately received a Presidential Unit Citation from the US military, which declared: “it is safe to say that no group of this size has made a greater contribution to the war effort.” Along with other members of the wartime OSS, they were also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Based on exclusive research and interviews, the definitive story of these heroic flyers—and of the brave secret agents and resistance leaders they aided—can now be told. Written in Henderson’s “spellbinding” (USA Today) prose, Midnight Flyboys is an astonishing tale of patriotism, courage, and sacrifice.
An excellent resource Liz, thank you!
Good one Liz
A December release:
by Christine KuehnDescription:
It began with a call from a screenwriter, asking about a story. Your family. World War II. Nazi spies. Christine Kuehn was shocked and confused. When she asked her seventy-year-old father, Eberhard, what this could possibly be about, he stalled, deflected, demurred, and then wept. He knew this day would come.
The Kuehns, a once-prominent Berlin family, saw the rise of the Nazis as a way out of the hard times that had befallen them. When the daughter of the family, Eberhard's sister, Ruth, met Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels at a party, the two hit it off, and they had an affair. But Ruth had a secret--she was half Jewish--and Goebbels found out. Rather than having Ruth killed, Goebbels instead sent the entire Kuehn family to Hawaii, to work as spies half a world away. There, Ruth and her parents established an intricate spy operation from their home, just a few miles down the road from Pearl Harbor, shielding Eberhard from the truth. They passed secrets to the Japanese, leading to the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. After Eberhard's father was arrested and tried for his involvement in planning the assault, Eberhard learned the harsh truth about his family and faced a decision that would change the path of the Kuehn family forever.
Jumping back and forth between Christine discovering her family's secret and the untold past of the spies in Germany, Japan, and Hawaii, Family of Spies is fast-paced history at its finest and will rewrite the narrative of December 7, 1941.
Jerome wrote: "A December release: by Christine KuehnDescript..."
Wow! Definitely on my TBR list – thanks for sharing, Jerome.
A June release:
by Richard DuckettDescription:
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was created by Winston Churchill in 1940 to "set Europe ablaze," but its most significant success occurred in the jungles of Burma, where its guerrilla operations were vital to the reconquest of the country. SOE’s greatest commander was Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Peacock.
Born in India in 1893, Edgar Peacock missed WWI due to his employment in Burma’s Jungles. In 1940, aged 46, he lied about his age and enlisted as a Private, ending the war as a highly decorated special forces Lieutenant Colonel, who had conceived, planned and led the most successful guerrilla operation of WW2. Approximately 130 British officers and NCOs parachuted in, raised about 12,000 indigenous guerrillas and prevented the Japanese from halting General Slim's advance on Rangoon. Over eight months of intense, continuous, combat in enemy territory, Operation Character accounted for 11,874 Japanese casualties for the loss of 22 British troops. For a period they outperformed the entire British 14th Army!
Monsoon rains, scarce supplies, dense mountainous jungle, tigers, snakes, leeches and a determined enemy, all combined to make this an operation like no other. Eminent historian, Richard Duckett, given exclusive access to private family files, has produced an extraordinary biography of an exceptional man, exploring Edgar’s truly fascinating life 'warts and all'.
A February 2026 release:
by Stephen HardingDescription:
They collaborated with Nazis and Fascists. Conspired against Allies in World War II. Committed unthinkable acts of treason. And triggered a secret manhunt as harrowing as any Hollywood cliff-hanger. The mission was part of the FBI's "European Operation." The targets were US citizens plotting against their own country. The goal: to identify and capture these traitors hiding in the shadows of war-torn Europe. To accomplish this, a small group of federal agents assumed new identities to infiltrate underground networks, interrogate key suspects, and expose the enemies within the Allied ranks. It is one of the most fascinating spy stories of World War II--and one that's never been fully told. Until now. . . .
Using newly declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act--as well as exclusive interviews with family members of the FBI agents and unpublished accounts of American citizens accused of treason--this meticulously researched book provides shocking new details behind this crucial WWII operation. From J. Edgar Hoover's attempt to expand FBI operations overseas to the agency's covert ties to Britain's MI5; from the shocking exposure of espionage activities in France and Italy to the final convictions of Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg trials--this incredible saga of spy-counterspy is brought vividly to life by author Stephen Harding in what is destined to be classic of World War II literature.
G.I. G-Men is a must-read for military and history buffs, espionage fans, and anyone who loves a great adventure story.
Jerome wrote: "A February 2026 release: by [author:Stephen Harding|51..."Looks good, Jerome!
A March 2026 release:
by Harold LibertyDescription:
The work of the Military codebreakers at Bletchley Park is now rightly and justly celebrated for its contribution to the Allied victory in World War Two. The ability to read enemy communications allowed strategic and tactical information to be understood and utilized. However less attention has been given to a range of other non-military codes, and the organisations involved with them, yet their significance on the development of the war is profound.
This account outlines how these other areas functioned, who was there and what was achieved. In particular it covers the working of the Diplomatic and Commercial section of the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS), which was evacuated to Bletchley Park in August 1939 with the military codebreakers as war loomed, and remained there until early 1942 when the section went back to London to be housed in Berkeley Street and other nearby buildings. The section did not handle military material except where military matters appeared in diplomatic communications (which by their nature were more strategic than combat in nature). This book sets the scene for the economic, diplomatic, sociological and even psychological struggle which was part of the war, including raw materials, food, power supplies and transportation. Neutral countries, by their very status still able to interact with belligerents on both sides, also played important roles, as did the information that could be drawn from them. The ability to read many neutral messages between representatives gave valuable indications of enemy intentions, issues and conditions.
This new account of the ‘other’ codebreakers draws on original documents in the National Archives and from Bletchley Park to describe fully how the breaking of non-military codes revealed the activities of diplomats, commercial groups, espionage rings, financial and business interests, traders and smugglers, all locked in a battle of wits. It will be of interest to anyone wanting to learn more about codebreaking, the Second World War, and the economics and politics of nations.
Greek-American resistor in Crete, then OSS spy in Thessaloniki https://greekreporter.com/2025/05/17/...
An October release:
by Diana ThorpDescription:
As World War II climbed to its crescendo in the Asia-Pacific, the Australian government called in a new weapon: women. Within this female arsenal was a top-secret group focused on signals intelligence. These young women, many just teens, were soon dotted across Australia, working in discreet locations – from an outback bunker disguised as a farmhouse to a Melbourne apartment block, from the garage of a Brisbane manor to a Perth girls’ school.
As war inched closer to home, they became our secret weapon, intercepting enemy messages and passing intelligence between local networks and allies across the globe, from Bletchley Park to the United States, India and across the Asia-Pacific. Some information was so sensitive it was burned to ensure its security. Their covert work helped the Allies win the pivotal battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, and plot the assassination of the Japanese commander behind the Pearl Harbour bombings.
When the war ended, the women rejoiced. Demobilised and reminded of their oaths of secrecy, they returned to civilian lives. Some followed careers, others married and raised families. Their service remained hidden – until recently. This is not just an extraordinary war story, but a coming-of-age tale for the nation and its women. It brings to life a new Anzac, neither male nor bloodied from battle. These were the daughters of the suffragette generation – of course they were destined to do something out of the ordinary. It is time to write these remarkable women back into our history, where they belong.
Jerome wrote: "An October release: by Diana ThorpDescription:
As World War II climbed to its crescendo in the Asi..."
Another interesting title to keep a watch out for!
THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP
Books mentioned in this topic
Code of Silence: How Australian Women Helped Win the War (other topics)Code of Silence: How Australian Women Helped Win the War (other topics)
The Other Codebreakers: Breaking the Non-Military Codes at Bletchley Park and Beyond (other topics)
G.I. G-Men: The Untold Story of the FBI’s Search for American Traitors, Collaborators, and Spies in World War II Europe (other topics)
G.I. G-Men: The Untold Story of the FBI’s Search for American Traitors, Collaborators, and Spies in World War II Europe (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Diana Thorp (other topics)Diana Thorp (other topics)
Harold Liberty (other topics)
Stephen Harding (other topics)
Richard Duckett (other topics)
More...
Description:
The urgent, dramatic and untold story of how, for four years, British and Allied codebreakers decrypted secret SS and Gestapo messages detailing the mass killings of the Holocaust, and how the Germans in turn deployed cryptanalysis to try to conceal their persecution of Europe's Jews. The compelling and fast-paced story is told by two central and opposing characters, who never meet each other.
At Bletchley Park, there is the legendary but unsung British codebreaker Nigel De Grey, shy, determined, nicknamed 'the Dormouse' by his colleagues. In Poland, SS Major Hermann Hoefle, a former taxi driver from Salzburg, Austria, and one of the Third Reich's ruthless bureaucrats of mass death, oversees the operations of five concentration camps, including Treblinka.
De Grey fought hard to make sure the vital intelligence from decrypted signals reached Allied leaders and was acted on. Hoefle, meanwhile, used complex coded messages to try to conceal the SS mass killings.
De Grey worked with his American counterparts, as well as codebreakers and intelligence agents from the Soviet Union, France, the Vatican, Switzerland and Poland. He had dangerous enemies closer to home, too: a cabal of senior British government and intelligence officials disbelieved or ignored repeated intelligence reports about the ongoing Holocaust.
It is the story of a battle between good and evil, between life and mass death, a war of electronic wits and cat-and-mouse. Seventy-five years on, as Russian leaders face war crimes charges in international courts, the words 'Never Again' seem even more pertinent than ever.