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Description of  Clandestine warfare: Weapons and equipment of the SOE and OSS

In World War Two, the clandestine services provided the arms and reassurance of proper organization which enabled the underground armies to achieve substantial victories, as their contribution to the Allies’ overall strategy. Yet in providing this encouragement and the close support to the resistance forces, many agents paid with their lives for the freedom of other people. It used to be said that ‘gentlemen do not read each other’s mail’ but this maxim was abandoned with the coming of the Second World War. ‘Clandestine Warfare’ is a study which will fascinate those who are interested in the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS), who were vital components of the Allied efforts in the war against Hitler. The book describes the men involved in agency and espionage, and the material they used to evade detection. The authors go into detail about the knives and guns used to carry out the assassination missions, as well as thorough studies of radio equipment used to detect and decode messages, and of the methods used to select the agents, who carried out their activities in Europe and Asia. James Ladd was a Royal Marine before becoming a journalist and acclaimed military historian. Keith Melton is one of the leading authorities on equipment and arms for clandestine warfare and has the largest collection of SOE, OSS and other clandestine forces’ weapons and equipment, some of which was exhibited in Discovery Times Square. Captain Peter Mason was recruited by the SOE, and his recollections are used in this book.