Together, these facts made communication between resistance cells difficult and meant thatthere were no natural bases from which guerrilla operations could be mounted. Nevertheless,thanks to supply drops of explosives, weapons and ammunition arranged by SOE, the Danesharassed the Germans, raising the moral of the Danish people during the latter, and mostbrutal, stages of the war.“SOE IN DENMARK” was written at a time when SOE was still largely unknown to the generalpublic, its operations a closely guarded secret. It was expected that its activities would never beofficially acknowledged and the study of its actions in Denmark was compiled with the aim ofproviding a lasting record of its achievement. Thus, within these pages we read of the dangersthe agents faced, the logistical mountains they had to overcome, and the successes achieved inthe face of a ruthless enemy. Completed with unique photographs from the Danish archives,“SOE IN DENMARK” is an essential addition to the SOE literature.In “MEMORIES OF AN S.O.E. HISTORIAN”, an absolute must read for us living room historians,Michael (MRD) Foot is the subject of a highly significant tribute to an officer entrusted withwriting the official WWII record of the Special Operations Executive. He authored first, “TheHistory of SOE in France” (1966), and twenty years later the highly sensitive accounts of SOEoperations in Belgium and Holland (which the Germans easily infiltrated tragically for our side).With his extraordinary war service background and academic reputation, MRD was the obviouschoice for these historic responsibilities.As we read along mesmerized by a hitherto unknown aspect of WWII, M.R.D. Foot emerges as atruly heroic officer, relentless, fearless, and unquestionably honest in his pursuit of the truth, tosay nothing of his courage while fighting off those who would silence him. His wartime exploits,including capture and surviving death threatening injuries, provide exceptional exciting reading.At length, M.R.D,’s behind-the-lines mission to track down a notorious SD interrogator whichended in failure is offered, the young SOE officer barely escaping with his life. Add a career thathas brought him into close contact with impressive casts of Allied and enemy characters totongue-in-cheek incidents from his later academic life places in our hands one of the best WWII,and post years, books to appear thus far in 2022. If you know a little something about the SOE,there is no way you can ignore this gem of insights about British bravery, resoluteness, andordinary, everyday WWII officer military life in Special Operations. Chapter 8, “Reflections onSOE”, is a priceless statement, certainly another “one of the best” in the growing literature on
Special Operations Executive.
