The Secret War

Description

Examining the espionage and intelligence stories of World War II, on a global basis, bringing together the British, American, German, Russian and Japanese histories. Spies, codes and guerrillas played critical roles in the Second World War, exploited by every nation in the struggle to gain secret knowledge of its foes, and to sow havoc behind the fronts. In ‘The Secret War’, Max Hastings presents a worldwide cast of characters and some extraordinary sagas of intelligence and Resistance, to create a new perspective on the greatest conflict in history. Here are not only Alan Turing and the codebreaking geniuses of Bletchley Park, but also their German counterparts, who achieved their own triumphs against the Allies. Hastings plots the fabulous espionage networks created by the Soviet Union in Germany and Japan, Britain and America, and explores the puzzle of why Stalin so often spurned his agents, who reported from the heart of the Axis war machine. The role of SOE and American’s OSS as sponsors of guerrilla war are examined, and the book tells the almost unknown story of Ronald Seth, an SOE agent who was ‘turned’ by the Germans, walked the streets of Paris in a Luftwaffe uniform, and baffled MI5, MI6 and the Abwehr as to his true loyalty. Also described is the brilliantly ruthless Russian deception operation which helped to secure the Red Army’s victory at Stalingrad, a ruse that cost 70,000 lives. ‘The Secret War’ links tales of high courage ashore, at sea and in the air to the work of the brilliant ‘boffins’ at home, battling the enemy’s technology. Most of the strivings, adventures and sacrifices of spies, Resistance, Special Forces and even of the codebreakers were wasted, Hastings says, but a fraction was so priceless that no nation grudged lives and treasure spent in the pursuit of jewels of knowledge. The book tells stories of high policy and human drama, mingled in the fashion that has made international bestsellers of Max Hastings’ previous histories, this time illuminating the fantastic machinations of secret war. Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Introduction 1 Before the Deluge 1 SEEKERS AFTER TRUTH 2 THE BRITISH: GENTLEMEN AND PLAYERS 3 THE RUSSIANS: TEMPLES OF ESPIONAGE 2 The Storm Breaks 1 THE ‘FICTION FLOOD’ 2 SHADOWING CANARIS 3 Miracles Take a Little Longer: Bletchley 1 ‘TIPS’ AND ‘CILLIS’ 2 FLIRTING WITH AMERICA 4 The Dogs that Barked 1 ‘LUCY’S’ PEOPLE 2 SORGE’S WARNINGS 3 THE ORCHESTRA PLAYS 4 THE DEAF MAN IN THE KREMLIN 5 Divine Winds 1 MRS FERGUSON’S TEA SET 2 THE JAPANESE 3 THE MAN WHO WON MIDWAY 6 Muddling and Groping: The Russians at War 1 CENTRE MOBILISES 2 THE END OF SORGE 3 THE SECOND SOURCE 4 GOUREVITCH TAKES A TRAIN 7 Britain’s Secret War Machine 1 THE SHARP END 2 THE BRAIN 3 AT SEA 8 ‘Mars’: The Bloodiest Deception 1 GEHLEN 2 AGENT ‘MAX’ 9 The Orchestra’s Last Concert 10 Guerrilla 1 RESISTERS AND RAIDERS 2 SOE 11 Hoover’s G-Men, Donovan’s Wild Men 1 ADVENTURERS 2 IVORY TOWERS 3 ALLEN DULLES: TALKING TO GERMANS 12 Russia’s Partisans: Terrorising Both Sides 13 Islands in the Storm 1 THE ABWEHR’S IRISH JIG 2 NO MAN’S LAND 14 A Little Help from Their Friends 1 ‘IT STINKS, BUT SOMEBODY HAS TO DO IT’ 2 AMERICAN TRAITORS 15 The Knowledge Factories 1 AGENTS 2 THE JEWEL OF SOURCES 3 PRODUCTION LINES 4 INFERNAL MACHINES 16 ‘Blunderhead’: The English Patient 17 Eclipse of the Abwehr 1 HITLER’S BLETCHLEYS 2 ‘CICERO’ 3 THE FANTASISTS 4 THE ‘GOOD’ NAZI 18 Battlefields 1 WIELDING THE ULTRA WAND 2 SUICIDE SPIES 3 TARNISHED TRIUMPH 19 Black Widows, Few White Knights 1 FIGHTING JAPAN 2 FIGHTING EACH OTHER 3 THE ENEMY: GROPING IN THE DARK 20 ‘Enormoz’ 21 Decoding Victory Picture Section Acknowledgements Notes and Sources Bibliography Index Also by Max Hastings About the Publisher