How to Be a Spy


Book Description

During World War II, training in the black arts of covert operation was vital preparation for the 'ungentlemanly warfare' waged by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) against Hitler's Germany and Tojo's Japan. Reproduced here is the most comprehensive training syllabus used at SOE's Special Training Schools (STSs) showing how agents learnt to wreak maximum destruction in occupied Europe and beyond. The training took place in country houses and other secluded locations ranging from the Highlands of Scotland to Singapore and Canada. An array of unconventional skills are covered - from burglary, close combat and silent killing through to propaganda, surveillance and disguise - giving insight into the workings of one of World War II's most intriguing organizations. Denis Rigden's introduction sets the documents in its historical context and includes stories of how these lessons were put into practice on actual wartime missions.




SOE Manual: How to be an Agent in Occupied Europe


Book Description

The actual course given to all secret agents in SOE before working behind enemy lines. It includes everything you needed to know to go undercover – from documents, cover stories and how to live off the land to how to get through an interrogation.




The British Spy Manual


Book Description

Imagine sitting behind a desk, in a classroom, miles from anywhere in the English countryside, alongside dozens of fellow students, dreaming of being parachuted into Occupied France to undertake daring missions against Hitler's forces. What were you taught? What text books did they give you, and what homework and exams were you expected to pass in order to make the grade? We now publish the classroom dossier that all secret agents being trained for missions against the Axis forces in the Second World War were supplied with and expected to implement when on service. Full of colourful and imaginative drawings, photographs and diagrams the two-volume set represents a unique piece of British military history at your finger tips. From techniques in camouflage, to setting up communications, concealing weapons caches and constructing booby traps - this is the original text book our heroes learned, to ply their trade to deadly effect.




Simple Sabotage Field Manual


Book Description

This Simple Sabotage Field Manual, a genuine guide from the Second World War, states that its purpose is to "characterize simple sabotage, to outline its possible effects, and to present suggestions for inciting and executing it." Among the other fine pieces of advice in this handy volume, one is encouraged to "switch address labels on enemy baggage", "let cutting tools grow dull", "forget to provide paper in toilets", and "change sign posts at intersections and forks; the enemy will go the wrong way and it may be miles before he discovers his mistakes."




Clandestine Warfare


Book Description

Examines the weapons and equipment used by the British SOE and the American OSS.




KGB Alpha Team Training Manual


Book Description

A rare glimpse into how Soviet Spetsnaz and KGB units protected and defended their country from perceived enemies - inside and outside its borders. Includes special sections for Alpha Teams on assassination, sabotage and kidnapping.




SOE Secret Operations Manual


Book Description

This rare document is the original used to train special agents dropped behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. Used by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and its American counterpart, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), it is an authentic, word-for-word reproduction obtained from a former operative with the clandestine services. It includes sections on ciphers, propaganda, selection of targets, methods of attack, passive resistance, the liaison agent, interrogation and more. The forerunner of all U.S. government guides to sabotage, propaganda, interrogation, burglary and other dirty tricks, this extraordinary historical document makes for riveting reading.




SOE


Book Description

The history of Special Operations Executive (SOE) seems to spring a never-ending run of surprises, and here are some more. This book explores the mysterious world of the tools SOE used for their missions of subversion and sabotage. An often grim reality is confronted that is more akin with the world of James Bond and Q's workshop than previously believed. Written by two scientists, one of whom served in the SOE and one who was tasked with clearing up after it was disbanded; their insider knowledge presents a clear account of the way in which SOE's inventors worked. From high explosive technology to chemical and biological devices; from the techniques of air supply to incendiarism; from camouflage to underwater warfare; and from radio communications to weaponry, "SOE: The Scientific Secrets" is a revelation about the tools that allowed the murky world of spying and spies to operate during wartime.




WW2 Spy School


Book Description

This is not a novel. This is not a historical account. This is, in fact, the training manual of the S.O.E in World War 2. This document was the official training manual for every allied spy and counter-espionage agent in World War 2. Written by the S.O.E. (M.I.6), it was soon picked up and used by the American OSS (the originator of the CIA). In great detail, it describes such subjects as Explosives, Fieldcraft, Cyphers, and Propoganda. Care has been taken to deliver the manual in its original style and format. The document is dated at 1943, and as far as we know is published in its entirety. At over 400 pages, it is both exhaustive and painstakingly detailed. For instance... " 5. Searching a Prisoner, if you are armed.... Kill him first. If that is inconvenient, make him lie face to the ground, hands out in front of him. Knock him out, with rifle butt, side or butt of the pistol or with your boot. Then search him." Nice, huh? A great read, superb information, and a unique insight into a dark age of history. Introduction by Ian Hall




How I Became a Spy


Book Description

From the award-winning author of The Great Trouble comes a story of espionage, survival, and friendship during World War II. Bertie Bradshaw never set out to become a spy. He never imagined traipsing around war-torn London, solving ciphers, practicing surveillance, and searching for a traitor to the Allied forces. He certainly never expected that a strong-willed American girl named Eleanor would play Watson to his Holmes (or Holmes to his Watson, depending on who you ask). But when a young woman goes missing, leaving behind a coded notebook, Bertie is determined to solve the mystery. With the help of Eleanor and his friend David, a Jewish refugee--and, of course, his trusty pup, Little Roo--Bertie must decipher the notebook in time to stop a double agent from spilling the biggest secret of all to the Nazis. From the author of The Great Trouble, this suspenseful WWII adventure reminds us that times of war call for bravery, brains and teamwork from even the most unlikely heroes.