Top Secret Tales of World War II

William B. Breuer

Description

Critical Acclaim for TOP SECRET TALES of World War II

"A book for rainy days and long solitary nights by the fire. If there were a genre for cozy nonfiction, this would be the template."-Publishers Weekly

"Perfect for the curious and adventure readers and those who love exotic tales and especially history buffs who will be surprised at what they didn't know. Recommended for nearly everyone."-Kirkus Reviews

This war was fought by soldiers out of uniform. Stealth and ingenuity were their weapons. Victory was their only code of conduct.

In Top Secret Tales of World War II, noted military historian William Breuer documents espionage-in all its forms-as it evolved in the hands of both Allied and Axis agents of intelligence and counterintelligence. Here you'll find riveting tales of patriotism and treachery, subversion and sabotage, kidnappings and assassinations, and bribes and blackmailing-with frequently startling revelations about the secret wars behind both the battlefields and the headlines.
Introduction.

PART ONE: HEADING TOWARD THE ABYSS.

Sinister Plots in the "New Germany."

"Burglars" Call on a Japanese Spymaster.

Ten Moles in Hitler's High Command.

A Scheme to Declare Hitler Insane.

The Blond Beast's Ruse Backfires.

Did His Generals Sabotage the Fuhrer?

Her Serene Highness Plots with Goering.

A Bizarre Kidnapping Scheme.

The French Consul's Janitor.

A German General Spies on Himself.

A Baseball Player's Foresight.

Tailing a Soviet Spy in England.

PART TWO: THE LIGHTS GO OUT IN EUROPE.

A Weird Hoax to Launch a War.

Most Secret: Defuse the Magnetic Mines.

Mystery Explosion in a Nazi Shrine.

Goering Hires a Rainmaker.

Churchill's Amazing Gamble.

A Covert Weather War.

Masquerade on the High Seas.

Nazi Spies in the U.S. Capitol.

Two Tiny Tots Escape to England.

The World's Dumbest Spy.

Global Celebrity a Secret Agent.

A POW's Wife Unlocks a Code.

Canada's Covert " Luxury Fleet."

One Airplane Infuriates the Fuhrer.

PART THREE: THRUSTS AND COUNTERTHRUSTS.

A Cunning Forgery Pays Off.

Shopping for U.S. Secrets.

A Scientist on a Covert Mission.

"Black Propaganda" Warriors.

A Trojan Horse Hoax.

The Bulldog Bites the German Navy.

Keeno, King of the Robots.

A German POW Makes History.

A Kamikaze Plan Against Pearl Harbor.

Hijacking Mussolini's Money.

Hitler's Doom Seen in the Stars.

Abwehr Dupe: Vice President Wallace.

The Nazis' Most Unlikely Secret Agent.

PART FOUR: CONFLICT SPREADS AROUND THE WORLD.

A Batty Idea for Firebombing Tokyo.

The FBI Nabs a Honolulu "Sleeper."

A French Counterfeit Traitor.

Their Weapons Were Words.

Peculiar Demise of a Captured Plane.

A Bishop in Disguise.

The Mysterious Inspector Thompson.

A Nazi Counterfeiting Plot.

A Chance Meeting in a Cafe.

Hitler's Evil Guardian Angel.

Roosevelt's Guest a Nazi Spy.

Ruse in a Berlin Brothel.

A Spy Spies on the Spymaster.

PART FIVE: THE TIDE TURNS.

A Female Resistant Tricks the Gestapo.

An Owner Blows Up His Factory.

A Plan to Bomb the United States.

The Princes and Seven Thousand Danish Jews.

Eisenhower's Secret Weapon.

A Call for Nazi Suicide Pilots.

A Plot to Murder Two Allied Generals.

Hitler Warned by a Female Spy.

An Alarming Breach of Security.

The Wizard and the Mushroom Man.

Warning: Your Submarine May Explode.

A Puzzling Episode in Normandy.

A Poison "Treatment" for Hitler.

Belgian Resistants Steal a Locomotive.

A German General Cuts a Strange Deal.

PART SIX: ALLIED MARCH TO VICTORY.

The Armee Secrete Saves Antwerp.

Machinations at a Dutch Hotel.

"Gift-Wrapping" a Kidnap Victim.

An Ingenious German Deception Plan.

Spies Swarm into the Third Reich.

Blasting Doomed Resistants to Freedom.

The Plot to Surrender a Nazi Army.

A Covert Plan to Seize Berlin.

Urgent: Pilfer One Hundred Huge Missiles.

Notes and Sources.

Index.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Segunda Guerra Mundial
• William Breuer
• Military
• World War II
• History
• Seconde Guerre mondiale

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 21 avril 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470311868
• Langue: English

Extrait

Top Secret Tales of World War II
Also by William B. Breuer

An American Saga
Bloody Clash at Sadzot
Captain Cool
They Jumped at Midnight
Drop Zone Sicily
Agony at Anzio
Hitlers Fortress Cherbourg
Death of a Nazi Army
Operation Torch
Storming Hitlers Rhine
Retaking the Philippines
Devil Boats
Operation Dragoon
The Secret War with Germany
Hitlers Undercover War
Sea Wolf
Geronimo!
Hoodwinking Hitler
Race to the Moon
J. Edgar Hoover and His G-Men
The Great Raid on Cabanatuan
MacArthurs Undercover War
Feuding Allies
Shadow Warriors
War and American Women
Unexplained Mysteries of World War II
Vendetta! Castro and the Kennedy Brothers
Undercover Tales of World War II
Top Secret Tales of World War II
William B. Breuer
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2000 by William B. Breuer. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc.
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, [phone], fax [phone], E-Mail: [e-mail] .
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Breuer, William B.
Top secret tales of World War II / William B. Breuer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 227) and index.
ISBN 0-471-35382-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 0-471-07840-9 (paper : alk. paper)
1. World War, 1939-1945 -Secret service. 2. Subversive activities. 3. Military intelligence-History-20th century.
I. Title.
D810.S7B682 2000
940.54 85-dc21 99-27133
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4
Dedicated to EDWARD M. FLANAGAN, JR. Lieutenant General, U.S. Army (Ret.) Paratrooper junior officer in World War II who gained the respect and admiration of his elite warriors over the years as he rose to the top in his profession.
In the high ranges of secret work
[ in World War II] the actual facts
in many cases were in every respect
equal to the most fantastic inventions
of romance and melodrama .
Winston S. Churchill
Contents
Introduction
Part One-Heading Toward the Abyss
Sinister Plots in the New Germany
Burglars Call on a Japanese Spymaster
Ten Moles in Hitler s High Command
A Scheme to Declare Hitler Insane
The Blond Beast s Ruse Backfires
Did His Generals Sabotage the F hrer?
Her Serene Highness Plots with Goering
A Bizarre Kidnapping Scheme
The French Consul s Janitor
A German General Spies on Himself
A Baseball Player s Foresight
Tailing a Soviet Spy in England
Part Two-The Lights Go Out in Europe
A Weird Hoax to Launch a War
Most Secret: Defuse the Magnetic Mines
Mystery Explosion in a Nazi Shrine
Goering Hires a Rainmaker
Churchill s Amazing Gamble
A Covert Weather War
Masquerade on the High Seas
Nazi Spies in the U.S. Capitol
Two Tiny Tots Escape to England
The World s Dumbest Spy
Global Celebrity a Secret Agent
A POW s Wife Unlocks a Code
Canada s Covert Luxury Fleet
One Airplane Infuriates the F hrer
Part Three-Thrusts and Counterthrusts
A Cunning Forgery Pays Off
Shopping for U.S. Secrets
A Scientist on a Covert Mission
Black Propaganda Warriors
A Trojan Horse Hoax
The Bulldog Bites the German Navy
Keeno, King of the Robots
A German POW Makes History
A Kamikaze Plan Against Pearl Harbor
Hijacking Mussolini s Money
Hitler s Doom Seen in the Stars
Abwehr Dupe: Vice President Wallace
The Nazis Most Unlikely Secret Agent
Part Four-Conflict Spreads Around the World
A Batty Idea for Firebombing Tokyo
The FBI Nabs a Honolulu Sleeper
A French Counterfeit Traitor
Their Weapons Were Words
Peculiar Demise of a Captured Plane
A Bishop in Disguise
The Mysterious Inspector Thompson
A Nazi Counterfeiting Plot
A Chance Meeting in a Caf
Hitler s Evil Guardian Angel
Roosevelt s Guest a Nazi Spy
Ruse in a Berlin Brothel
A Spy Spies on the Spymaster
Part Five-The Tide Turns
A Female Resistant Tricks the Gestapo
An Owner Blows Up His Factory
A Plan to Bomb the United States
The Princes and Seven Thousand Danish Jews
Eisenhower s Secret Weapon
A Call for Nazi Suicide Pilots
A Plot to Murder Two Allied Generals
Hitler Warned by a Female Spy
An Alarming Breach of Security
The Wizard and the Mushroom Man
Warning: Your Submarine May Explode
A Puzzling Episode in Normandy
A Poison Treatment for Hitler
Belgian R sistants Steal a Locomotive
A German General Cuts a Strange Deal
Part Six-Allied March to Victory
The Arm e Secr te Saves Antwerp
Machinations at a Dutch Hotel
Gift-Wrapping a Kidnap Victim
An Ingenious German Deception Plan
Spies Swarm into the Third Reich
Blasting Doomed R sistants to Freedom
The Plot to Surrender a Nazi Army
A Covert Plan to Seize Berlin
Urgent: Pilfer One Hundred Huge Missiles

Notes and Sources
Index
Introduction
The Hall of Mirrors in the magnificent Palace of Versailles, a mammoth edifice built by Louis XIV in 1661, was bustling with formally garbed delegates from many countries on the beautiful day of June 28, 1919. They had gathered outside Paris for the signing of the peace treaty that concluded what euphoric Allied politicians labeled the war to end all wars.
It was one of German history s blackest hours, for the victors-mainly Great Britain, France, and the United States-had inflicted harsh terms on the vanquished, including forcing Germany to acknowledge responsibility for starting the four years of bloodshed and carnage known then as the Great War.
With hostile neighbors on all sides, Germany had been virtually disarmed by the Treaty of Versailles. Her six-million-man force had to be slashed to a Reichswehr (army) of only a hundred thousand civilian volunteers, and this caretaker force was prohibited from having airplanes or tanks.
Almost before the ink had dried on the peace treaty, a cagey, monocled Old Prussian, General Hans von Seeckt, set in motion a series of clandestine events designed to lead to the rebirth of German military and industrial might. As commander of the Reichswehr, Seeckt, known as the Sphinx because of his enigmatic personality, began conspiring to use the authorized hundred-thousand-man force as a cadre for future rapid expansion. Only the best-educated officers and sergeants who had proven themselves to be dynamic leaders and courageous in battle were allowed to remain in the service.
General von Seeckt and his coconspirators in the Reichswehr had to proceed with extreme caution and utilize ingenious deceptions to mask what was really taking place. Many British, French, and American military officers were stationed throughout Germany to make certain that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were enforced.
Once Seeckt had selected the members of his private club, he made certain that their living conditions were vastly improved, that they had food items not available to civilians, and that their pay was hiked. The general then established a strict routine of sports and other recreational activities that developed strong, healthy soldiers.
Seeckt next created a series of military schools whose civilian instructors-in reality high-ranking officers from the Great War-taught sergeants and lieutenants the techniques of commanding entire divisions, in preparation for some future war. Among the eager students was young Erwin Rommel, a platoon leader in the war who was regarded by a superior as the perfect fighting animal, cold, cunning, ruthless, untiring, incredibly brave.
In 1921, the Old Prussian, without informing the German government, negotiated a clandestine mutual military assistance pact with a highly unlikely ally, the Soviet Union, against whom Germany had fought bitterly during the Great War.
The alliance had been instigated by Nikolai Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union. Back in March 1917, news of the downfall of Czar Nicholas II had reached Lenin in exile in Switzerland, where he had been trying to foment a revolution. In his impatience to return home, he accepted for himself and his friends the offer by the German Kaiser Wilhelm of a private railroad car to travel to Russia across Germany.
Kaiser Bill, as he was called by the Allies, was confident that Lenin would aid his cause by taking Russia out of the war against Germany. But Lenin s own aim was to make not only Russia but the entire world, Germany included, Communist countries.
Arriving in Petrograd (as St. Petersburg was then called) in April, Lenin called on the Russian masses to join him in overthrowing the moderate government and replacing it with a Communist one. Most of the peasants joined his Bolsheviks, and in October 1917 the government was ousted.
Lenin became absolute dictator. As Kaiser Bill had hoped, he took the huge but ineptly led Russian army out of the war.
Now, three years later, with both the Soviet and German economies in dire straits and inflation galloping out of control, Nikolai Lenin had instructed the Soviet ambassador to Germany, Nucolai Krestinski, to make a discreet approach to