Although it was officially established in July 1940, the SOE (Special Operations Executive) had been created in 1938 with the combination of 3 current, top secret sections just after Germany annexed Austria. Churchill’s Secret Army was directed to “Set Europe Ablaze”.
SOE operatives were directed to various Nazi occupied countries to simultaneously cause destruction behind German lines and in addition start to locate local resistance groups they would likely work with once the occasion for invasion came. Theatres of Operation involved France, Belgium, Poland, Germany, Yugoslavia, Greece, Hungary, Albania, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Denmark, Romania, Abyssinia and the Far East.
As agents operated deep in occupied countries and they were recruited from a range of social group and background. The principle prerequisite was that the would-be operative had in depth awareness of the state they would operate in and able to pass as a local of that country. That is why, agents with dual nationality were highly coveted.
The renowned airplane utilised by the Special Operations Executives in France was the Westland Lysander. It was a small plane which meant it was considerably more tough to see and was sturdy enough to touch down on makeshift landing strips. It was used to ferry agents to and from the uk together with lifting men and women who had to be interviewed in london. Airmen who had been shot down were also typically flown back to the uk by Lysander.
Amid the SOE numbers were also female operatives and in the region of 30% of the female operatives sent into France from Section F, did not survive. The sorts of operations in each country were diverse. For instance, in Poland, there was little need to encourage the locals as there was already common hatred of the Nazis. This was in comparison to areas such as Vichy France which collaborated with the occupying forces and the probability of SOE operatives being betrayed was enormously increased.
For the period of World War II, the SOE had utilised about 13,000 people who directly helped or provided somewhere in the region of 1 million operatives.
The Special Operations Executive performed a important part in World War II mainly in Europe but in other parts of the world as well.
