Office of Strategic Services 1942-45 by Eugene Liptak

Author:Eugene Liptak
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Office of Strategic Services 1942–45: The World War II Origins of the CIA
ISBN: 9781472801838
Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Special Operations

The first SO agents to land in France in June 1943 were instructors and radio operators to provide assistance to British SOE “F-Circuits” already in place. Each F-Circuit normally had an organizer, his lieutenant and a radio operator, and recruited, trained and equipped resistance fighters in its region. SO personnel operated in many SOE F-Circuits, and also established several of their own beginning with “Sacristan” in June 1943. Virginia Hall, who had previously worked undercover in Vichy France for the SOE, organized the only SO circuit to be led by a woman. Hall armed over 400 Maquis who conducted ambushes, derailed several trains in their tunnels, and demolished several railroad bridges in the summer of 1944.

Operation “Jedburgh” was a joint effort between SO, SOE and the Free French to establish three-man teams that could quickly organize, supply, train and accompany resistance groups in direct support of advancing Allied armies. In contrast to the regionally rooted F-Circuits, Jedburghs could be parachuted anywhere in France depending on the battlefield situation. To avoid alerting the Germans, Gen Eisenhower forbade the first Jedburgh team from deploying to France until the night of the Normandy invasion, but soon afterwards teams began parachuting across France. (The Jedburghs were also successful in keeping resistance groups of different political loyalties focused on fighting the Germans instead of each other.)

In August 1944 additional Jedburgh teams were parachuted in to protect Gen Patton’s flanks as his troops simultaneously advanced on the port city of Brest and towards the German border, organizing local resistance groups to block and harass German units. Many Jedburgh teams were unable to fulfill their mission because they were overrun by the faster-than-expected American advance.

In September 1944 Jedburgh teams were attached to the airborne divisions in Operation “Market Garden” in Holland, to recruit the local Dutch resistance to provide assistance and intelligence and to establish a communications link between the airborne forces and SFHQ in London. The Jedburghs landed along with the paratroopers, which did not allow them sufficient time; many of their radios were lost or damaged, and most teams were unable to fulfill their missions due to the incessant German attacks along the airborne perimeters, though Jedburghs near Nijmegen were more successful. The tri-national Jedburgh team “Dudley” was deployed separately in eastern Holland; it conducted intelligence and sabotage operations, but by the end of 1944 its effectiveness had suffered from disunity among Dutch resistance groups and from German countermeasures.

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