Effectiveness of the Special Operations Executive - Essay Example

Running Header: Effectiveness of the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E) Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code & Name: Date of Submission: Effectiveness of the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E) Introduction After the dark days following the fall of France, and the threat posed by Hitler’s regime intensified, there was a need to establish a new volunteer fighting force that would employ secret weapons of war against Hitler’s armies. A fighting force characterized by heavily improvised secret tactics to fight against Hitler in his own backyard, Germany. This force was called the ‘Special Operations Executive’ (SOE). The main mission of the special operations executive (SOE) was sabotage, as well as subversion of the enemy (Hitler’s army) lines. Sabotage in this case implied actions such as blowing up of bridges, factories, as well as trains that were used by Hitler’s army. Subversion by the Special Operations executive (SOE) implied SOE fostering a revolt or what is often referred to as the guerilla tactic in all the enemy occupied countries. In the year 1940, July 16th, Prime Minister Winston Churchill appointed Hugh Dalton, a civilian to be SOE’s political commandant and ordered him to ensure that German is completely destroyed. Special Operation Executive (SOE) agents were dispatched in the field. At that time there were limited wireless communication among the agents, and this became a challenge, however effective communication strategy were developed, and SOE agents were able to coordinate their activities, and this resulted in a number of successful operations that finally paralyzed Hitler’s army (MacKenzie 37). Effectiveness of the SOE A scrutiny at the actions that the Special Operation Executive (SOE) agents took evidently portrays a great success in the SOE agents that were in France. The SOE agents through action characterized by sabotage where trains were blew up, bridges were destroyed, and factories which were the army bases for Hitler, as well as the source for the armory used by His army were destroyed. Indeed, the Special Operation Executive (SOE) agents who were sent to the field played a critical role in the fall of Hitler’s regime. The special Operation Executive (SOE) strategy was very effective particularly those from France. A number of their success story during the war indicates that SOE were indeed effective in destroying the strong army of Hitler, and bringing the war to an end. The Successes of SOE in France include but are not limited to the following. Destruction of the heavy water plant at Vemork The Special Operation Executive (SOE) followed closely the enemy lines, and they were able to learn the operations behind Hitler’s army. This made them successful in destroying a number of strong bases of Hitler’s army. The Special Operations (SOE) agents destroyed one of the heavy water plants that Hitler’s army dependent on at Vemork. This destruction paralyzed the operations of Hitler’s army because the water plant was associated with Nazi atomic bomb programme. In fact, the destruction of this water plant by the SOE contributed greatly in weakening Hitler’s army forces, alongside bringing to an end of the Nazi atomic bomb programme. This indeed worked against Hitler’s army due to the heavy dependence they had on the water plants in aiding their war against France, and other countries In Europe. SOE agents blew up the Pessac power station in France This action brought the Special Operation Executive on the headlines in the month of June, 1941. This was a significant success operation that really worked against the enemy. The Special Operation agents made were successful in blowing the Pessac power station in France, by the use of a few well positioned exploitative charges. This really struck the enemy operations because this power station was used to run various operations including the electric railways in the region. After the power station was blown, it played a crucial contribution in crippling the most important U-boat base that was located in the town of Bordeaux. To make even it more of a success story for the Special Operation Executive, it led to an abrupt halt of all the electric train and thus the movements of the enemy was significantly affected, since the electric train was an upper hand to the enemy’s flexibility to fight. The destruction of this electric power station in marked to date as one of the greatest successes of the Special Operation Executives to date (Wylie 41). SOE agents influenced the Psychology of Britain, the US, and France in the war against Hitler’s army forces The news of the destruction of the Pessac power station gave the other army’s strength to fight Hitler’s army which was perceived to be fierce due to the large areas that they had already taken dominion over. Other countries opposed to Hitler developed more confidence to deal with Hitler, and the perception that Hitler could only be fought through a squadron of bombers changed. This tactic had proved successful in destroying the German war machine. It defined a new wave of war, that didn’t just encompass offensive attacks, but employed both intelligence and military power. Blowing up of the Gorgopotamos rail bridge The Special Operation Executives were spread all over the war prone areas. In 1942, the SOE agents blew up the Gorgopotamos rail bridge in Greece. This bridge was such crucial with regard to transportation of vital supplies to the armies. The bridge was used to carry vital supplies including armory, water and food for Rommel’s desert army. Its destruction meant these operations were paralyzed (Boyce & Everett 43). Reprisals against the local population The Special Operation Executives (SOE) operation led in reprisals which worked against the local population. For instance, after the killing of Heydrich, 5000 men, children and women were exterminated in two villages near Prague. In making efforts to avoid retribution, SOE embraced invisible sabotage which implicated no one, and left no trace. One such operation included sending of a supply train, which was loaded with tanks to wrong destinations by the use of forged documents. SOE created tension in the enemy Camps By the date referred to as the D-Day by Hitler, the Special Operation Executive (SOE) agents were feared by the enemy camps due to the successful sabotage operations they had successfully managed to carry out. They were feared that they had the capacity to strike the enemy at any given time where chance is availed. The SOE networks were expanding to cover4 most parts of Europe, and this led to the development of the army of resistance that was ready, to an extend that when the enemy landed, the Special Operation Executive (SOE) would strike them with venom. Destruction of the ‘Das Reich’ Forces The SOE grew to be very effective even as their networks spread across Europe. One notable achievement that demonstrates their effectiveness in carrying out their operations included their fight against the ‘Das Reich’ forces which had began marching towards the Normandy beaches. The Special Operation Executive (SOE) agents siphoned off all the oil that is used at the axle so that the train can move, they replaced the oil with abrasive grease, and this made the people in the train to be seized up. Das Reich columns were constantly ambushed on the roads, and this made the allies to have a strong base in France (Wilkinson 40). SOE put Pressure on (Enemy) Germans in Genoa The Special Operation Executive agents put a lot of pressure on the enemy found in northern Italy, as well as Yugoslavia. In particular, the case in Genoa where 600 partisans accounted for the unconditional surrender of 12000 German troops was a success story. SOE was at the centre of these negotiations. SOE survived until Januray1946, when it was disbanded with no war to fight. OPERATIONS OF THE SOE AGENTS IN FRANCE There were a number of Special Operation Executive (SOE) agents who were sent to France to facilitate sabotage plans with the intension to weaken the army strongholds of the enemy. In this case, Hitler had done a lot in expanding His army through recruiting the citizen soldiers into war. The citizen soldiers were civilians whom Hitler forced to go to war. They were taught basic military skills; most of them being laymen were only trained on how to use guns. Many citizen soldiers died during the war due to lack of tactics to fight, and this weakened Hitler’s army. Most important to note is that the presence of citizen soldiers made the sabotage plans being executed by the Special Operation Executive (SOE) to be successful. This is because the impacts of the sabotage action such as blowing up of trains were great as many people in Hitler’s troops died and this weakened his army force (Seaman 54). Hitler’s ideology of using numbers in the war worked against him as the Special Operation Executives (SOE) employed this same strategy to bring his army to an end. Hitler’s ideology of numbers in war, made his accomplices to recruit more people into the army as citizen soldiers. This initially worked well for him as he moved with numbers taking over major cities. The case became more complicated when Hitler promised to take over France. At this time, offensive war initiatives by countries which opposed Hitler were almost far from reach due to the large army he had developed, and the weapons and armory that were already in his hands. Enemy countries in Europe including France which was under threat were contemplating on options to deal with Hitler’s invasion which was not an imagination but a real threat. Increased tension grew up, however the idea of Special Operation Executives as fronted by Winston Churchill made sense than before. The agents were sent to the fields, and they were really the enemy within. Some of the SOE agents such as Yolanda Elsa Maria Unternahrer knew more than one language (for instance she knew Spanish, French and Italian, and thus would mingle within the enemy territory (Lord & Watson 37). It is important to mention that the effectiveness by which the SOE agents managed the operations significantly affected the outcome of the war. Hitler had to lose the war, not because He had weaker army but for the high intelligence that was employed by the Special Operation Executives, which made them successful in staging a number of sabotages such as blowing up the power sources, which disrupts the transportation of the enemy troops, blowing up of bridges causing the problem of accessibility, disrupting telephone communications. The development of the wireless technology at the time, also helped the Special Operation Executives (SOE) to link with each other, and coordinates a number of sabotage events that paralyzed the armies of the enemy. There were many SOE agents that were sent to the field, just to name a few, they include; a. Claude Marc Boucherville de Baissac He was one of the SOE agents, born in Curepipe, Mauritius in 1907. He joined the SOE after being interviewed in March 1942. Like other recruits of SOE, he was given a false identity ‘Clement Bastable’ in a bid to maintain his anonymity. He soon became one of the organizers for the sabotages after his instructors realized his volatile nature. He did well in the preliminary part of the recruitment, and was recommended to the role of the circuit organizer in SOE. He made effort to parachute through a scientist circuit, near the Bordeaux area, but he was dropped low causing him to limp. After the recovery of his sprained ankle, went to Bordeaux in September, and created small resistance cells that were responsible for a number of sabotages in the area (Charles & Cruickshank 32). b. Peter Morland Churchill He was also one of the agents of the Special Operation Executives (SOE) having being born in Amsterdam at the time of war. He developed interest in the war and he was among the French section early recruits having joined SOE in April 1941. Soon after 1942, he was sent for a mission which that demanded he meets a charismatic artist by the name ‘Andre Girard’, who was the then leader of the CARTE, a resistance network based in Riviera. At the time, Girard had forged links with many senior members of the French army. He had convinced Churchill that with SOERs backing he would do much. The Germans later invaded the southern unoccupied zone of France, this was the onset of the fall of CARTE, after chaos came in due to the split between Girard and his chief of staff, Henri Frager. Other SOE agents include Yolande Elsa Maria Unternahrer among others (Great Britain 53). Conclusion All in all, it is evident that the introduction of the Special Operation Executive (SOE) significantly changed the dynamics of the war. SOE maintained their main mission of propagating sabotages in the enemy camps, as well as propagating guerilla tactics in the war. They were very effective as they carried out a number of sabotages that led to the end of the war. The anonymity of the SOE agents and the passion they did their assigned duties in the enemy camps were characteristic. It is indeed clear that the Special Operation Executive (SOE) was very effective in the war particularly in France. References Seaman, R. Special Operations Executive: a new instrument of war, London: Routledge, 2006. Boyce, Everett, C. SOE: The Scientific Secrets, New York: History Press Limited, 2009. Wilkinson, P. Foreign fields: the story of an SOE operative, London: I.B.Tauris, 2002. Charles, Cruickshank, G. S O E in Scandinavia, New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Lord, Watson, G. Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920-2001) and Its Antecedents, New York: Helion & Company Limited, 2004. Wylie, N. The politics and strategy of clandestine war: Special Operation Executive, 1940-1946, New York: Taylor & Francis, 2007. MacKenzie, W. The Secret History of SOE: Special Operations Executive 1940-1945, Moscow: Little, Brown Book Group, 2002. Great Britain, How to be a spy: the World War II SOE training manual, London: Dundurn Press Ltd., 2008. Read More