Although it was officially established in July 1940, the SOE (Special Operations Executive) had been created in 1938 with the combination of 3 current, top secret sections just after Germany annexed Austria. Churchill's Secret Army was directed to "Set Europe Ablaze".
SOE operatives were directed to various Nazi occupied countries to simultaneously cause destruction behind German lines and in addition start to locate local resistance groups they would likely work with once the occasion for invasion came. Theatres of Operation involved France, Belgium, Poland, Germany, Yugoslavia, Greece, Hungary, Albania, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Denmark, Romania, Abyssinia and the Far East.
As operatives operated deep in Nazi held territory and they were recruited from an assortment of social class and background. The key criteria was that the probable agent had exhaustive understanding of the land they would operate in and in a position to pass as a local of that country. For that reason, those with dual nationality were highly desirable.
The renowned plane utilised by the SOE in France was the Westland Lysander. It was a small airplane which made it a great deal more challenging to observe and was sturdy enough to land on makeshift landing strips. It was used to ferry agents to and from the Britain along with collecting men and women who needed to be interviewed in London. Pilots who had been shot down were also typically brought back to the Britain by Lysander.
Amid the SOE group were also female agents and around 30% of the female operatives delivered into France from Section F, did not survive. The types of operations in each region were wide ranging. For example, in Poland, there was limited need to stir up the local population as there was already common hatred of the Nazis. This was in comparison to areas such as Vichy France where some locals worked with with the Germans and the probability of SOE operatives being betrayed was considerably increased.
For the period of World War II, the SOE had utilised about 13,000 people who directly helped or provided somewhere in the region of 1 million operatives.
SOE operatives were directed to various Nazi occupied countries to simultaneously cause destruction behind German lines and in addition start to locate local resistance groups they would likely work with once the occasion for invasion came. Theatres of Operation involved France, Belgium, Poland, Germany, Yugoslavia, Greece, Hungary, Albania, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Denmark, Romania, Abyssinia and the Far East.
As operatives operated deep in Nazi held territory and they were recruited from an assortment of social class and background. The key criteria was that the probable agent had exhaustive understanding of the land they would operate in and in a position to pass as a local of that country. For that reason, those with dual nationality were highly desirable.
The renowned plane utilised by the SOE in France was the Westland Lysander. It was a small airplane which made it a great deal more challenging to observe and was sturdy enough to land on makeshift landing strips. It was used to ferry agents to and from the Britain along with collecting men and women who needed to be interviewed in London. Pilots who had been shot down were also typically brought back to the Britain by Lysander.
Amid the SOE group were also female agents and around 30% of the female operatives delivered into France from Section F, did not survive. The types of operations in each region were wide ranging. For example, in Poland, there was limited need to stir up the local population as there was already common hatred of the Nazis. This was in comparison to areas such as Vichy France where some locals worked with with the Germans and the probability of SOE operatives being betrayed was considerably increased.
For the period of World War II, the SOE had utilised about 13,000 people who directly helped or provided somewhere in the region of 1 million operatives.
About the Author:
Churchill's Secret Army played a major role during World War II primarily in Europe but in other areas of the world too.
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