Author(s): Maurice Buckmaster

History

They Fought Alone, first published in 1958, is the story of the British SOE (Special Operations Executive) in France, written by Colonel Maurice James Buckmaster (1902-1992), the head of the SOE French Section. The SOE was formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance missions in occupied Europe during World War II. Included are accounts of the heroic men and women who worked quietly and often alone behind enemy lines to carry out resistance operations against the Nazis, serving to speed the Allied advance following D-Day.

From the dust jacket: In the words of General Eisenhower, British secret agents in France "shortened the war in Europe by nine months." Until now, the full story of those secret agents who served in occupied France during the Second World War has remained untold. Here is that story, in all its astonishing detail, told by the one man fully qualified to tell it Colonel Maurice Buckmaster, O.B.E., wartime head of Special Operations Executive (French Section). Starting with no functioning organization, he recruited and directed 480 active agents in behind-the-lines work which for four years plagued and diverted the Germans. Colonel Buckmaster comments briefly on the selection and training of recruits, the education for destruction, and the tense, dramatic planning that made their operations effective. He then tells in detail about a wonderful variety of individual exploits. This account is the stuff of true drama the heroic, lonely secret war, told from the inside. It is both a vital part of military history and a thrilling story of daring and adventure.