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Soe Secret Operations Manual Paperback – January 1, 1993

Name: Soe Secret Operations Manual: Not Stated: 9780873647441: Amazon.com: Books
Rating: 4.3 (8 reviews)

by Not Stated (Author)

4.3 8 ratings

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Never before released to the public, this is the original manual used to train special agents dropped behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Europe. Used by the British SOE and its American counterpart, the OSS, it is an authentic reproduction of extraordinary historical significance obtained from a former clandestine services operative. The forerunner of all government guides to dirty tricks.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Paladin Pr (January 1, 1993)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0873647440
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0873647441
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.3 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,202,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #253,077 in Reference (Books)

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4.3 8 ratings

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T.A.L. Dozer

SOE Manuals: Setting the Record Straight.

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2017

SOE Manuals: Setting the Record Straight.

As of 2017 there are seven books currently available on the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) on training operatives during WWII. As documentation becomes declassified and available to the public various authors and publishers rush to put this information into print. In this case is the SOE training manual that has been releases under various names/titles. To save the consumer some money I outlined the most common available reprinted manuals.

The “SOE Syllabus: Lessons in Ungentlemanly Warfare, World War II” (hard cover edition) and “How to be a Spy: The World War II SOE Training Manual” (soft cover edition) by Denis Rigden is by far the best available version of the training manual. This book did a great editing job, has an excellent publishers note, sources, and introduction, as well it is expertly indexed.

The next two books are direct copies of the first and OK alternates to the two above books. “World War 2 Spy School: The Complete 1943 S.O.E. Counter Espionage Manual” by Ian Hall has a few pages for an introduction and is not indexed.

“How to Become a Spy: The World War II SOE Training Manual, British SOE” by Skyhorse Publishing is also a direct copy with no original introduction and is not indexed.

Some of the subjects covered in the above books are;

-Irregular Warfare
-Disguise Techniques
-Surveillance
-Agent recruiting
-Burglary
-Interrogation
-Agent Covers
-Agent Cell organization
-Resistance
-Subversion
-Sabotage
-Propaganda
-Codes And Ciphers
-Secret Inks
-Fieldcraft and Tracking
-Demolitions
-Hand-to-Hand Combat
-Weapons Training
-Physical Training

This is just a sampling of the material covered.

The next three books have completely different content than the above listed books. “Special Operations Executive Manual: How to be an Agent in Occupied Europe” by William Collins Books is a small hardcover book of a 1943 training manual covering different subjects of tradecraft. The content includes;

-Security Talk
-Opening Address
-Individual Security
-Cover
-Interrogations
-Know the Enemy
-Surveillance
-Use of Premises
-External Communications
-The Cell System
-Security of Organization
-Selection of Dropping Points and Arrangements for the Reception of Agents and Stores
-Enemy Forces
-German Counter-Espionage
-Intelligence Reports
-Sabotage of Enemy Road Signs
-Recognition of Enemy Forces Uniforms
-Morale Warfare
-Methods of Morale Warfare
-Passive Resistance in Occupied Countries
-Codes and Ciphers
-Letter-Opening
-Disposal of Parachute
-Subversion Organization Exercise
-Treasure Hunt
-Reconnaissance and Selection of dropping Points for Parachute Operations
-Fieldcraft

Overall, this is pretty good book with original content.

“SOE Secret Operations Manual” by Paladin Press is another book with different training content then what has been listed. This soft cover book includes the following content;

-Double Transposition Cipher
-Anonymous Letters in Connection with Passive Resistance and Simple Sabotage
-Propaganda: Introduction
-Cipher: Elementary Course
-Underground in the Far East
-Propaganda Presentation
-Opinion Sampling
-Selection of Targets
-Planning and Methods of Attack
-Passive Resistance
-Liaison Agent
-Interrogation
-Burglary

The British Spy Manual: The Authentic Special Operations Executive (SOE) Guide for WWII” by Sinclair McKay is not operative training manual. It does not cover any tactics, techniques or procedures. It is a reprint of secret equipment issued to agents and operatives. It includes both volume one and two of the descriptive catalogues of special devices and equipment. The book includes an excellent and extensive original introduction. The remainder of the book covers all the equipment and supplies most include pictures. This is an excellent book for its historic significance.

I hope this helps you determine what books you need to purchase.

7 people found this helpful

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Chu Te

It is good for its purpose.

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2008

At first, I did not appreciate this book; however, after re-reading it, I realized that it was written in outline form for classroom instruction. Once my understanding of the book's purpose changed, my appreciation of the book changed. Today, I am going back through the book a third time and its relevance to understanding agent operations in history becomes clear. Because of this, I can recommend it. However, if you're planning to run your own operations from it, abandon such hope. It's a historical document from the Second World War. Enjoy it for what it is.

8 people found this helpful

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Sgt. Rock

An much abbreviated version of the original

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2013

This is a much abbreviated version of the original. The longer original is available under the title, SOE syllabus by Denis Rigden. I'd recommend it to spec. ops. intelligence and WWII enthusiasts.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

JAG

Interesting book!

Reviewed in Canada on September 14, 2017

Verified Purchase

Contains many historically interesting points. The people who undertook work on behalf of SOE were true heroes on behalf of freedom.

Mr. M. Sanders

SOE Training Manual

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2010

Verified Purchase

The SOE Training Manual makes for fascinating reading for military historians and those interested in WW2 history alike, the book lifts the lids on the methods SOE the Special Operations Executive used behind enemy lines in occupied urope and Asia in WW2.

Whilst not illustrated, the text says it all really. This book really shows how those who were the secret army, fought a secret war with the risk of capture and death a daily set of hazards.

Highly recommended.

One person found this helpful

Benjamin Hall

An interesting read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 9, 2009

Verified Purchase

As the title correctly indicates, this is a `manual' and as such is not (in my view at least) a particularly easy read dependant as it is on the extensive use of bullet points and lists.

The text frequently moves between English and US English (lots of `Z's instead of `S's) and the section relating to Burglary appears to be a straight lift from American text which is supported by references to American place names and terminology.

Whilst this is entirely understandable given the stated O.S.S. input within this manual, however it did cause me to pause and consider that whilst this may indeed be a direct reproduction of a `secret' manual used by the S.O.E. (and O.S.S.) it is most probably not `the' manual used by the S.O.E. (based on the courses developed by the then Captain, E.A. Sykes).

Given that Fairbairn worked mostly with Applegate and the O.S.S. in Canada and the U.S. it maybe that this manual is a 'fairbairnised' version of Sykes S.O.E. work.

As there are (understandably) no refrences in this book, the above interpretation has no real weight beyond being an educated guess.

Having said that, whilst this book is a fascinating look into agent training during WWII, there appears to be nothing in this book that could be regarded as `secret' in the traditional sense of the word either at the time or now.

It may be that content such as this was considered `Secret' based more on the use of the document rather than the actual content, which would make sense given the circumstances at the time.

By today's standards I would expect work such as this to be (at most) RESTRICTED under the Government Protective marking Scheme (G.P.M.S.).

The opening chapters on cryptography and ciphers are an interesting read (clearly this was in the days before `Bob and Alice') and whilst stamped `SECRET' replicating the original markings, this technology was already known at the time and in use by Axis forces, prompting the question `why is this marked secret' ?

The guidance on recruiting agents was interesting even if (by today's standards) the guidance seems to be common sense but then again this information was being used to turn everyday people who would have had little if any awareness of this sort of thing, into undercover agents in occupied territory.

This manual could also be described as `course notes' which may explain why thre are no detailed descriptions, given that much of the `real' knowledge would have been imparted face to face and in the form of practical application.

Having read the text (there are no images and a few line diagrams which appear to have been hand drawn) and accepting that this is a reproduction of the original document, I couldn't help feeling that some well placed explanatory notes (in the same vein as Silent Killing: Nazi Counters to Fairbairn-Sykes Techniques) would have been very helpful.

This would have improved understanding when dealing with initials used within various sections instead of the full name ("C.E." and "S" being two examples).

This book does however provide provenance to the tactics adopted by agents such as why dead letter boxes would have been more appropriate in certain circumstances and why many agents would not have actually meet the circuit organiser face to face, contrary to the popular impression given today.

The lack of any detailed content relating to interrogation resistance was disappointing (such as counting or visualisation) but then this is more of an observation of the original training than this book.

Oddly, there is no reference to the much adopted 24 hour rule, whereby agents would try at all costs to resist interrogation for 24 hours to assist other agents to take evasive actions.

I would recommend this book to any reader who may want to identify why agents behaved in a particular way - based on their training - however this manual does not reveal any `dirty tricks' or provide an insight into the mindset of an agent beyond what could be considered basic methods/operating procedures/considerations and security.

All things being equal, this for me was a good read and provided a brief insight into a by-gone age of espionage training which I would recommend is read with the caveat that this manual was used to train agents almost 70 years ago.

10 people found this helpful