The Web of Disinformation

by David Martin

Discusses undercover operations in Yugoslavia during WWII

Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Erin Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

God, Yugoslavia is fascinating. This book is, in some places, hard to follow because of just how dense the research is, but the main point about the Allies' abandonment of Milhailovic is made tragically clear.

[Damien Vickovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating treatise on the political and diplomatic dynamics between the great powers and the Yugoslav Civil War in the midst of WWII.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Martin's "Web of Disinformation" presents a conspiracy theory; that is to say James Klugman, a Russian spy, working for the Balkan section of British Military Intelligence, based in Cairo systematically falsified all intelligence originating in Yugoslavia so as to overstate the accomplishments of Tito's communists and to understate those of Ðraza Mihailovic's Chetniks with the result that the British withdraw support from the Chetniks in order to work exclusively with Tito. This decision the part of the British contributed to the installation of a communist regime in Yugoslavia which executed many Chetniks including Mihailovic.

At first glance, Martin's thesis seems wildly extravagant. My instinct however is that this is one conspiracy theory that is well-based in facts. Evelyn Waugh who was a military attaché assigned to Tito's partisans implied in his novel Sword of Honour that communist moles in the British Intelligence community were fabricating evidence to present a favourable image of Tito's partisans. Sir Fitzroy Maclean who was one of Tito's great advocates in the British military was greatly saddened by the execution of Mihailovic. Finally, it is well known that Klugman was indeed a communist operative.

The big question is whether or not any of this matters. It was really only the Yugoslavians who suffered from Tito's regime. However, if you are of Serbian descent and have sympathies for the Serbian monarchy you might take some comfort from this fine back. The myth that the Chetniks were Nazi collaborators is still quite strong. Martin's book drives home the point that the case against the Chetniks is an entire fabrication.