I find this series to be fascinating in its unraveling of some of the more sub rosa aspects of the war, some of the less popular and less glamorized.
This episode deals with a broad array of intelligence-gathering and resistance, mostly by the British but encompassing activities in Greece and Yugoslavia by local partisans.
I suppose everyone knows that there were spy networks in France, for instance, but few people realize that there was internal rivalry between some groups within the British intelligence community. Churchill had ordered one branch to "set Europe ablaze" with explosions and fires. Other groups, including the RAF, wanted a nice, peaceful setting for their spying, a tranquil place that wouldn't attract the attention of the occupying Germans. Both goals made sense but were mutually contradictory.
There is some ironic humor. One important Dutch spy was captured and forcibly "turned" by the Germans, whom no one would describe as "dumber Esels" in this business. The Dutchman sent false messages to Britain as his captors demanded, but deliberately omitted a misspelling or error that served as a security check on the validity of the message. The Germans didn't catch on. Neither did the British, whose attitude was, "He's forgetting to include the security check." The fake messages were cleared in England and operations continued, resulting in the capture of fifty-two Allied parachuted spies and enormous quantities of supplies (eg., 8,000 hand grenades). When the Brits finally twigged, they signed off. At the other end, the German officer in charge also signed off, promising the British a warm welcome if they came to France.
We also have the tale of another spy who may have been working for both sides, or possibly was a mole pretending to be a double agent. If anyone wants to see how far this game can go, he might check out a sociological study of it -- "Strategic Interaction", by Erving Goffman.
This episode deals with a broad array of intelligence-gathering and resistance, mostly by the British but encompassing activities in Greece and Yugoslavia by local partisans.
I suppose everyone knows that there were spy networks in France, for instance, but few people realize that there was internal rivalry between some groups within the British intelligence community. Churchill had ordered one branch to "set Europe ablaze" with explosions and fires. Other groups, including the RAF, wanted a nice, peaceful setting for their spying, a tranquil place that wouldn't attract the attention of the occupying Germans. Both goals made sense but were mutually contradictory.
There is some ironic humor. One important Dutch spy was captured and forcibly "turned" by the Germans, whom no one would describe as "dumber Esels" in this business. The Dutchman sent false messages to Britain as his captors demanded, but deliberately omitted a misspelling or error that served as a security check on the validity of the message. The Germans didn't catch on. Neither did the British, whose attitude was, "He's forgetting to include the security check." The fake messages were cleared in England and operations continued, resulting in the capture of fifty-two Allied parachuted spies and enormous quantities of supplies (eg., 8,000 hand grenades). When the Brits finally twigged, they signed off. At the other end, the German officer in charge also signed off, promising the British a warm welcome if they came to France.
We also have the tale of another spy who may have been working for both sides, or possibly was a mole pretending to be a double agent. If anyone wants to see how far this game can go, he might check out a sociological study of it -- "Strategic Interaction", by Erving Goffman.
