It is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of irregular warfare and the early efforts to resist Nazi Germany.

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Medieval Sword School

'Section D for Destruction. forerunner of SOE' describers the Secret Intelligence Service's (SIS) romp across Europe in the two years prior to the outbreak of war in 1939. An in-depth insight on how it bribed, sabotaged and created false news in anticipation of war with Nazi Germany. While the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain promised 'Peace in our time' SIS D section developed contacts with neutral European intelligence services. Plans were prepared for resistance movements in occupied countries, and in country houses around Britain, SIS selected British business executives to attend secret briefings on how to interrupt trade with Germany.

In the brief interlude before the outbreak of war in1939, and with the assistance of the French 2ieme and 3ieme Bureau's, Czech, Norwegian and Dutch intelligence service, SIS officers created weapon dumps to arm civilian resistance fighters in Nazi occupied countries. It liaised with the Jewish Haganah and before the outbreak of war had placed undercover officers in every country in Europe. By 1940 the SIS had wireless sets operating from German territory and from all over the continent.

On 19 November 1939 in the Dutch/German border town of Venlo, German agents kidnapped two British SIS officers. In Amsterdam SIS officers persuaded diamond merchants to hand for safe keeping in Britain, £1,250,000 worth of industrial diamonds. Against a background of street fighting, Jewish diamond merchants arrived at the offices of J. K. Smit, and threw their bags of industrial diamonds into a pillow cover. Later, with an armed Dutch soldier for protection, the officers returned to the destroyer HMS Walpole waiting at the dockside, carrying in a pillow sack to London, the largest stock of industrial diamonds on the continent.

While creating arms dumps for potential civilian resistance fighters behind German lines, a similar policy for resistance fighters in the UK, when the Germany invaded, Britain, met with objections from authorities including the War Office and Whitehall who considered it ungentlemanly! Malcolm Atkin's book is a must read, describing a no holds barred fight against the Nazis. An insight into the key stage into the history of irregular warfare.

Richard Gough, Author and military historian.

This is a well-written and very readable volume that is likely to become the authoritative work on its subject.

NZ Crown Mines