The Secret War: Spies, Ciphers, and Guerrillas, 1939-1945

“The Secret War” is Max Hastings’ deeply researched history of the Allied and Axis intelligence competition during World War Two. Superbly written, exhaustively detailed and commendably judgmental (but not necessarily uncritical of the British intelligence services), Hastings’ scope of analysis is stunning, with thrilling tales of counter espionage agents (one described as “[a] jaunty little cock sparrow figure,” another carrying “a haversack groaning with blimpish prejudices”), crypt analysts (“the ideal crypt analyst is Beethoven with the soul of an accountant”), spies, double agents, their mistresses and their quirky personalities (“all wartime intelligence departments should be run by civilians in uniform”).Bletchley Park (“the jewel in the crown”) gets its own chapter, richly detailing the secret “Enigma” “signit” interdiction program and a fair appraisal of the contributions of Alan Turing, the vocal, controversial Hugh Trevor Roper and Britain’s intelligence head, Stewart Menzies. Most of a chapter is devoted to the quixotic American who broke the Japanese code contributing to the American victory at Midway, then afterwards sacked. Abwehr’s Canaris comes in for muted praise but the Wehrmacht’s Reinhard Gehlen is “a supremely gullible dupe.”His tales of Richard Sorge, a Soviet double agent in the Far East, and, Anatoli Gourevitch, a slick Soviet spy in Belgium, add to the edgy derring do of Stalin’s people along with the shocking deception and aftermath of Operation “Monastery.”The chronological layout of this book, chocked with detail, overwhelms the reader at times, but this comment should not be viewed as criticism. This book is an outstanding achievement for World War Two scholarship and makes one look anew at the nuances, intrigues and brutality in intelligence warfare.The reader’s copy contained few photographs; however the plate index in the front indicates an abundance of photographs in the final printing.

I chose to title my review with this quote from Winston Churchill because it so eminently sums up the great difficulties faced by intelligence gathering, especially during a war fought using mid-twentieth century level technology. World War II was a conflict fought not just on battlefields on land, sea, and the air but also by men and women seemingly far from the action who labored to gather and then interpret enemy communications. Max Hastings has produced yet another densely fact-filled but gripping history of the Second World War as it was fought behind the scenes by imperfect people using imperfect and sometimes brand-new devices.The Secret War covers the war years roughly chronologically, though of necessity it frequently shifts backwards and forwards in time as Hastings describes the activities of different nations and spy bureaus. Before 1939 the country with the most sophisticated spy apparatus was the Soviet Union, though its efficiency had been undermined both by the Purges of the late 1930s as well as Joseph Stalin's paranoia. Similarly, Nazi Germany's espionage efforts were hampered by Adolf Hitler's insistence on micro-managing the war effort. As is to be expected, the British efforts are Hastings' major focus, though he also pays close attention to those of the United States and Japan. Some of Hastings' material will be familiar to people who enjoyed "The Imitation Game," for example, though naturally The Secret War provides much more depth and analysis than any movie ever could. Names now well known like Alan Turing and the other Bletchley Park boffins, Richard Sorge (who was a Soviet agent who tricked the Nazis into thinking he was working for them out of their Tokyo embassy),and the infamous Cambridge Five all receive ample coverage in great detail. Even more fascinating are the stories Hastings tells of the lesser-known and seemingly minor heroes and heroines who played small but vital roles: an Irish governess named Mrs. Daly, Mrs Violet Ferguson and her prized tea set, and the egotistical volunteer aptly codenamed "Blunderhead."I believe I enjoyed the chapters "Islands in the Storm" and "A Little Help From Their Friends" best because they hold so many stories of eccentric, usually vainglorious, but certainly heroic figures, often inimitably summed up with such pithy phrases as "a haversack of blimpic prejudice." I found the references to Soviet espionage efforts in the United States before and during the war disturbing though hardly surprising, and I appreciated Hastings' care to describe Joseph McCarthy's witch-hunt as "unfounded against many individuals, but had substance in the generality." Above all, I found Hastings' repeated conclusions that much of the espionage had limited effects on the war's overall progress, and that projects like Ultra which were vital were often not made use of to their maximum potential, revelatory if disappointing.This fascinating book of 555 pages plus extensive notes is impeccably documented, amply illustrated, and extremely well written. It certainly deserves a place in the library of any student of World War II or of twentieth century espionage. And certainly, if you are ever tempted to believe that Ian Fleming's James Bond or other fictional spy heroes are too fantastic to be believable, some time spent perusing the pages of The Secret War will quickly change your mind.

Max Hastings is one of Britain’s foremost military historians with several best-selling accounts of war, both in Europe and elsewhere, but this is his first foray into the murky world of spies and espionage. It is a crowded field, so what does he bring to the party that is new? Wisely he does not retell well-known events, such as the details of the Bletchley Park operation in cracking the secrets of the Enigma machine, or of ingenious deceptions such as Double Cross. Nevertheless there are many things that I, and possibly other readers, was only vaguely aware of. One example is the role of Bill Tutte, a young Cambridge mathematician, who lead the successful efforts at Bletchley Park to break the Germans’ most secret teleprinter cipher, and who deserves to be at least as well known as Alan Turing. Another is the extraordinary life of Ronald Seth (codename 'Blunderhead'!) a British agent parachuted into enemy territory, then apparently ‘turned’ by the Germans, but whose subsequent activities became so convoluted, and at times unbelievable, that at the close of the war neither the Abwehr nor MI5/6 were really sure whose side he was on.However, the strength of the book lies not in these ‘asides’, but rather the wider analysis of the usefulness of spies and espionage in their various forms. Hastings makes a strong case that their contributions are overrated. Even breaking Enigma was only a partial success, with a minority of messages being decoded in time to be useful to forces in the field, and the German army code was never really cracked. Even when a message was decoded and sent to the forces in the field in time to be useful, all too often it was not acted upon, either because the necessary forces were not available, or local commanders lacked the competence to use it. The lesson that Hastings draws is that intelligence is only useful if you have the means to use it.He is even more critical of the contributions of actions behind enemy lines of guerrillas, partisans and resistance groups. Although their actions might have some effect in raising morale, this was often short-lived, and all too often the military effects were slight and frequently resulted in savage reprisals on the civilian population. The whole secret world, by its very nature of not being open to scrutiny, is also prone to exploitation by corrupt bogus spies and profligate expenditure on hair-brained schemes doomed to failure. The book has many examples of this.Ironically, one of the greatest espionage successes was not obtained by spying on German and Japan, but by Russia spying on America and Britain, who were its allies! The notorious ‘Cambridge Five’, and their numerically far more numerous American counterparts, did considerable damage, even though Stalin was reluctant for a long time to believe much of what he was told by western spies because it did not fit with his personal views. The classic example of this was his dismissal of warnings about Barbarossa, Hitler’s decision to invade Russia, with appalling consequences for the Russian people.Hasting’s book may not contain a lot of original material, but it is well-written and researched. By closely re-examining and analysing a great volume of material (although many files both in the West, and of course in Russia, are still closed) and looking at spying globally, he is able to draw clear compelling conclusions about its usefulness that are still valid today in the modern era of cyber espionage. It will certainly challenge many people’s prejudices.

If you thought there was little more to say about WWII, think again. Max Hastings writes with his usual incisiveness about the effectiveness (or, very frequently, the ineffectiveness) of secret operations of all kinds. Ultimately, those in power often seemed to have believed whatever they wanted to, either accepting "intelligence" that actually had little or no foundation, or rejecting evidence that did not suit their preconceptions. Add to this the all too common unwillingness (or simple inability) to act on correct intelligence, and the conclusion is that for all the resources lavished on the "secret war" the overall effect on the course of the conflict was very limited.Overall, an interesting and accessible book that helps expose the murky goings-on behind the traditional face of war. Recommended.

I enjoyed this book very much. I have always enjoyed military history and the story of the Secret War was fascinating and very readable. It showed there were instances of awesome brilliance and astounding incompetence from the agents and handlers as well as the higher military authorities. I recommend this book very highly. I have read many of Max Hastings' books on military history and this one up there with the best of them.

a very intense book,tells the life and times of spying in detail,from the guys that just fantasised,to the Russians that knew if they were recalled home,it was to be executed ,also how most of the "elite" brits that betrayed their country did so for "moral" grounds,well worth reading,if only for the history ,and how many famous names appear

A weighty and potentially off-putting tome which should, however, not be missed.Filled with characters and plans so fantastic that it is hard to remember they are not from the realms of fiction. This is an absolute page turner.At times this reads more like a fast-paced thriller, so thoroughly has the author researched and revealed this huge subject of interwoven deceptions and counter-ploys.He has done his subject matter justice in this cracking read.