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Home / Periods / World War II / Special Operations Executive

Phase

Special Operations Executive

1940–1945 CE

The British government created the Special Operations Executive in 1940 by combining organisations concerned with sabotage, propaganda and irregular warfare. Its task was to support resistance, disrupt Axis communications and industry, and prepare clandestine networks in occupied countries.

SOE recruited and trained agents in wireless communication, demolitions, weapons, security and covert movement. Operations depended on local resistance groups and carried extreme risks: captured agents and helpers could face torture, imprisonment or execution under German security policies.

The organisation worked across Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia and developed specialised equipment for agents and saboteurs.

Related people for Special Operations Executive

Adolf Hitler1889–1945 Christine Granville1908–1952 Colin Gubbins1896–1976 Erwin Rommel1891–1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt1882–1945 George VI1895–1952 Klaus Barbie1913–1991 Sefton Delmer1904–1979 Vera Atkins1908–2000 W. Averell Harriman1891–1986 William E. Fairbairn1885–1960 Winston Churchill1874–1965

Books

25 Best Novels About the Special Operations Executive

Non-Fiction

4 Best Non-Fiction Books About the Special Operations Executive

Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.