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History Special Forces

A Most Ungentlemanly Way of War

The SOE and the Canadian Connection

by (author) Bernd Horn

Publisher
Dundurn Press
Initial publish date
Jan 2016
Category
Special Forces, Canada, World War II
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781459732810
    Publish Date
    Jan 2016
    List Price
    $7.99
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781459732797
    Publish Date
    Jan 2016
    List Price
    $19.99

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Description

An examination of the SOE, its accomplishments, and the Canadian connection to the organization.

During the Second World War, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill created the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to conduct acts of sabotage and subversion, and raise secret armies of partisans in German-occupied Europe. With the directive to “set Europe ablaze,” the SOE undertook a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the Nazi Gestapo. An agent’s failure could result in indescribable torture, dispatch to a concentration camp, and, often, a death sentence.

While the SOE’s contribution to the Allied war effort is still debated, and many of its files remain classified, it was a unique wartime creation that reflected innovation, adventure, and a fanatical devotion on the part of its personnel to the Allied cause.

The SOE has an important Canadian connection: Canadians were among its operatives and agents behind enemy lines. Camp X, in Whitby, Ontario, was a special training school that trained agents for overseas duty, and an infamous Canadian codenamed “Intrepid” ran SOE operations in the Americas.

About the author

Colonel Bernd Horn, an experienced Canadian Forces infantry officer, is currently chief of staff of the Land Forces Development and Training System. Dr. Horn is also an adjunct professor of history at the Royal Military College and has authored, co-authored, or edited 28 books. Some of his recent publications are Fortune Favours the Brave and Show No Fear. He lives in Kingston, Ontario.

Bernd Horn's profile page

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