Special Operations Executive.
Formed in 1940, the Special Operations Executive was an underground army that waged a secret war in enemy-occupied Europe and Asia. Its agents demonstrated incredible courage and resourcefulness in their guerrilla war. By working with resistance forces, they provided a boost to the morale of occupied societies.
Its agents were mainly tasked with sabotage and subversion behind enemy lines. They had an influential supporter in Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who famously ordered them to 'set Europe ablaze!'
Gubbins’s approach to warfare included blowing up trains, bridges and factories, as well as fostering revolt and guerrilla warfare in enemy-occupied countries.
Women also joined up. Some were enlisted in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) to disguise their secret work. These were the only women permitted a combat role during the Second World War.
Special weapons.
SOE operatives were often parachuted with clandestine radio transmitters disguised to look like ordinary suitcases. They also had specially designed explosives, silenced guns and forged papers.
Research and development stations were set up near Welwyn in Hertfordshire, where scientists and technicians worked on specialist weapons, sabotage equipment and camouflage materials.
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) - now known as MI6 - viewed SOE with suspicion. Its head, Sir Stewart Menzies, argued that SOE were 'amateur, dangerous, and bogus'. He brought massive internal political pressure to bear on the fledgling organisation.
After Churchill’s election defeat in July 1945, SOE lost its biggest supporter. It also faced renewed opposition from SIS and others in Whitehall who wanted control of British intelligence services and operations.
SOE was abolished in January 1946. The SIS absorbed much of its training and research staff.
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/SOEhttps://youtu.be/tDuaF29QZXs
