| Front Cover |
Book Details |
|
| Genre |
Non-Fiction |
| Subject |
World War, 1939-1945 - Secret service |
| Publication Date |
October 1975 |
| Format |
Hardcover (9.4
x
6.5
mm)
|
| Publisher |
HarperCollins |
| Language |
English |
| Extras |
Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover |
|
| Description |
| Examines Allied intelligence and counter-intelligence operations during World War II, describing the cipher machine used to break German codes and the tactics, ruses, and deceptions employed to ensure the successful invasion of Normandy |
| Personal Details |
| Acquire Date |
6/10/2010 |
| Condition |
Very Good/Very Good |
| Rating |
0 |
| Links |
Library of Congress
|
|
| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
D810.S7 .C36 1975 |
| Dewey |
940.54/85 |
| ISBN |
9780060105518 |
| Edition |
[1st ed.] |
| Cover Price |
$20.75 |
| No. of Pages |
947 |
| First Edition |
Yes |
| Rare |
No |
|
| Notes/Review |
DJ is price-clipped. Previous owner inscription on FFEP.
--------------------------
I have to admit that this book has sat on my shelf, unread, for years. I was intimidated by its length. The cover says it's about hiding the secrets of D-Day from Hitler. How could such a long book about one aspect of D-Day keep my interest?
It turns out that the book is about quite a bit more than the deceptions around the Normandy landing. I might suggest the book is mostly about two topics.
The first topic can be distilled to a single word: stratagem. A stratagem is a plan or scheme, especially one used to outwit an opponent or achieve an end. The Casablanca Conference in January 1943 was attended by American, British, and French leaders for the purpose of planning strategy for the next phase of the war. They came to 6 conclusions. The last of them was to "continue and expand a campaign of political warfare, subversion, economic warfare, and deception in order to undermine the German will and ability to fight."
The second topic is the Schwarze Kapelle ("Black Orchestra"). That's the group of German Generals who plotted to kill Hitler. (Not to be confused with Rote Kapelle ["Red Orchestra"], the communist underground in Berlin.)
That's the subject. The timescale is from the mid-1930s to mid-August of 1944 (ending with the action in the Falaise Gap). The geographic scope covers action in North Africa, Italy, and France. It is filled with stories of SIGINT (signals intelligence) and HUMINT (human intelligence) and how they helped win the war.
This book is a good companion to And I Was There: Pearl Harbor and Midway--Breaking the Secrets by Edwin Layton. That book covers wireless intelligence in the Pacific. Between the two books, one gets an encyclopedic look at how intelligence helped win the war.
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