No Cloak, No Dagger: Allied Spycraft in Occupied France by Benjamin Cowburn (Hardcover, 2009)

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ISBN-13: 9781848325432, 978-1848325432. No Cloak, No Dagger: Allied Spycraft in Occupied France Author(s): Benjamin Cowburn. In this case, the details of the operation had accidentally been left on a blackboard in the school where they had planned the raid, but were luckily scrubbed out by the headmaster's wife.

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The memoir of SOE agent Benjamin Cowburn is rightly regarded as a classic of wartime literature. In simple, gripping detail Cowburn explains the methods of special agents who were dropped into France during the war and the ways that agents would set about establishing secure networks with the French Resistance. He also shows how agents were able to travel across France, how they set up transmitters and contacted their British headquarters for orders, and how they arranged airplane pick-ups and deliveries of supplies. His account sheds light on the views of both the Resistance fighters facing torture at the hands of the Gestapo and their besieged French countrymen. He notes the tensions within the different command centres, in particular between the French leader-in-exile Charles de Gaulle and his British counterparts, who were all eager to control the efforts of the Resistance. Cowburn gives fascinating general lessons in the art of spying from establishing a worthy target to executing an operation but also tells the full story of his own sabotage operations, including the effective destruction of cylinders for thirteen locomotives in the dead of night. As in so many operations, mistakes were made which could have led to numerous arrests. In this case, the details of the operation had accidentally been left on a blackboard in the school where they had planned the raid, but were luckily scrubbed out by the headmaster's wife. On another occasion, Cowburn snuck itching powder into the laundry of Luftwaffe agents to cause a disruption. This new edition contains an Introduction by M.R.D Foot and a Foreword by Sebastian Faulks. AUTHOR: Before World War II, Benjamin Cowburn worked in France as an engineer. His fluent French and local knowledge made him a perfect Special Agent recruit. He was dropped into France three times, narrowly avoided capture on several occasions and was a highly regarded agent. REVIEWS: 'The best of memoirs by a Special Operations Executive agent. Tough, laconic, humbling' Sebastian Faulks 'Rings with authenticity. Cowburn's gripping account is among the finest of SOE memoirs' Dr Roderick Bailey

Product Identifiers

PublisherPen & Sword Books LTD
ISBN-139781848325432
eBay Product ID (ePID)88402964

Product Key Features

Publication Year2009
TopicMemorials, Government, History
Book TitleNo Cloak, No Dagger: Allied Spycraft in Occupied France
Number of Pages224 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TypeTextbook
AuthorBenjamin Cowburn
FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height234 mm
Item Width156 mm

Additional Product Features

Country/Region of ManufactureUnited Kingdom
Title_AuthorBenjamin Cowburn

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  • Excellent.

    Quite an extraordinary but not very well known book about the life of an SOE agent in France in World War 2. Ben Cowburn's account of living on the edge planning sabotage operations, building Resistance cells, and staying alive is really enthralling and thoroughly recommended.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned