CASE NOTES
Origins of the Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) originated in Britain in July 1940, formed by Winston Churchill to "set Europe ablaze." It was intended to coordinate the resistance behind enemy lines. It's initial remit was to merge existing intelligence groups. Later, the SOE's agents were tasked with sabotage, espionage, and supporting local partisans. SOE recruited agents to disrupt, subvert and to incite rebellion through guerrilla warfare and sabotage. The SOE became a feared secret force for subversion in occupied territories.
MI6
MI6 (Military Intelligence section 6) played a vital role in World War II by gathering foreign intelligence and running agents throughout occupied Europe. Their operations for disrupting the enemy through double agents, as in Operation Fortitude for D-Day are now legendary.
MI6 also took on the task of training United States' OSS agents. In some ways, their task of and coordinating with resistance movements, overlapped with the SOE's operations and in-fighting between agencies was a crucial factor in many of the problems both agents faced.
MI6 also focused on political insight and strategic sabotage against the enemy. They expanded dramatically during the war, using coded messages and black propaganda to influence opinion and gather crucial battlefield information, in order to aid many Allied victories.
Observations, background, and marginal notes appended to the official record.