Overview

During World War II, the British formed a secret division, the 'SOE' or Special Operations Executive, in order to support resistance organisations in occupied Europe. It also engaged in 'targeted killing' - the assassination of enemy political and military leaders. The unit is famous for equipping its agents with tools for use behind enemy lines, such as folding motorbikes, miniature submarines and suicide pills disguised as coat buttons. But its activities are now also gaining attention as a forerunner to today's 'extra-legal' killings of wartime enemies in foreign territory, for example through the use of unmanned drones. Adam Leong's work evaluates the effectiveness of political assassination in wartime using four examples: Heydrich's assassination in Prague (Operation Anthropoid); the daring kidnap of Major General Kreipe in Crete by Patrick Leigh Fermor; the failed attempt to assassinate Rommel, known as Operation Flipper; and the American assassination of General Yamamoto.

Full Product Details

Author:   Adam Leong Kok Wey ,  Leong Kok Wey Adam
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   I.B. Tauris
Volume:   86
Dimensions:   Width: 13.80cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.449kg
ISBN:  

9781784530723

ISBN 10:   1784530727
Pages:   272
Publication Date:   28 September 2015
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION Introduction Definitions What are Special Operations? What is Leadership Decapitation? Strategic Effectiveness Tactical Effectiveness Why World War II? Review of Relevant Literature Research Methodology, Questions and Hypotheses, and Sources Research Questions and Hypotheses Sources Conclusion STRATEGIES OF LEADERSHIP DECAPITATION, STRATEGIC LOGIC, AND NEXUS WITH MORALE Introduction Strategies of Decapitation and Leader Decapitation Sun Tzu: Attacking the enemy's 'strategy' The Assassins Hunting down the leaders Strategic paralysis Soviet Spetsnaz Doctrine The Logic of Leadership Decapitation The Importance of Morale Conclusion HITLER'S 'HANGMAN' BUTCHERED - CASE STUDY OF OPERATION ANTHROPOID Introduction An outline of the history of Czechoslovakia The Fourth Arm Who was Reinhard Heydrich? Why Heydrich needed to be killed? Operation Anthropoid The outcome The findings Conclusion CASE STUDY OF THE KIDNAP OF MAJOR GENERAL KREIPE IN CRETE Introduction Crete during World War II: A brief outline Cretan resistance activities SOE in Crete Early Commando raids in Crete To capture the 'Butcher of Crete' (Why?) The operation itself The outcome The findings Conclusion CASE STUDY OF THE YAMAMOTO MISSION Introduction Yamamoto's background Yamamoto's death warrant The Yamamoto Mission The outcome The findings Conclusion CASE STUDY OF OPERATION FLIPPER Introduction Background of the Western Desert Campaign (September 1940- December 1941) Enter the Commandos The Plan to Get Rommel How the operation actually proceeded The outcome The findings Get Rommel, again! (Operation Gaff) Conclusion CONCLUSION: ANALYSIS, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH, AND CONCLUSION Introduction Analysis Strategically Effective Tactically Effective MAPS BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Author Information

Adam Leong completed his PhD in Special Operations and Military History at the University of Reading. He is currently Senior Lecturer at the National Defence University of Malaysia.

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