1st Edition
Secret Flotillas Vol. I: Clandestine Sea Operations to Brittany, 1940-1944
With the fall of France, almost the entire coastline of Western Europe was in German hands. Clandestine sea transport operations provided lines of vital intelligence for wartime Britain. These 'secret flotillas' landed and picked up agents in and from France, and ferried Allied evaders and escapees. This activity was crucial to the SIS (Secret Intelligence Service) and the SOE (Special Operations Executive).
This authoritative publication by the official historian, the late Sir Brooks Richards, vividly describes and analyses the clandestine naval operations that took place during World War Two.
Introduction. Acknowledgements. Preface. Foreword Part 1: Clandestine Sea Lines to Brittany - 1940-1944 1. May-June 1940: The Lost Battle for France 2. The British Clandestine Services in the New Strategic Context 3. Slocum's Section and the First Operations to Northern France 4. First Contacts with the West Coast of France 5. August-October 1940 6. November 1940 - March 1941 7. Did the Abwehr Allow L'Emigrant to Escape? 8. SOE's Aspirations and Operations: August 1940 - June 1941 9. SOE's Endeavours to Set up Independent Sea Transport to Brittany, 1941 10. April - November 1941 11. October 1941 - February 1942 12. November 1941 - June 1942 13. January 1942 - March 1943 14. West Coast: November 1942 - October 1943 15. North Coast: Winter 1943-44 16. The Aber-Benoit Saga: November-December 1943 17. North Coast and the 'Var' Line: August 1943 - April 1944 18. The 'Shelburne' Escape Line: January-March and July-August 1944 19. July-August 1944 20. Operations for SIS: January-August 1944 21. Escapes by Sea from Brittany: 1940-44. Footnotes. Appendix A: Clandestine Sea Transport Operations to North and West Coasts of France, 1940-44. Appendix B: Clandestine Escapes and Contacts at Sea by Vessels from Breton Ports, 1940-44. Appendix C: Recommendations by Captain Slocum for awards to members of the 15th MGB Flotilla and Inshore Patrol Flotilla. Appendix D: Comments on MARIE-LOUISE Rendez-Vous
Biography
Brooks Richards
