The Secret War

Wars are not fought just with weapons and tanks, brains and nerves can also bring about victories, as this latest work by Max Hastings reveals. There have been a number of books which tell of the clandestine work of the SOE, OSS, Soviet NKVD and the German Abwehr, but not to the same level achieved in this masterful work. Some of the incidents may sound familiar but here they have been expanded to be delivered with greater detail.

From the audacious to those involving meticulous planning the secret war which went on behind the front lines is presented in a gripping history. Not all plans were elaborate, the way in which the Germans located chemical plants in Britain by studying football fixtures was simplicity itself. Things did not always go according to plan and the successes and failures are stacked up alongside one another. All the great names are here also, which makes this is a must read for anyone who enjoys military history.