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No Cloak, No Dagger: Allied Spycraft in Occupied France
The memoir of SOE agent Benjamin Cowburn is rightly regarded as a classic of wartime literature. In simple, gripping detail Cowburn explains the methods of special agents who were dropped into France during the war and the ways that agents would set about establishing secure networks with the French Resistance. He also shows how agents were able to travel across France, how they set up transmitters and contacted their British headquarters for orders, and how they arranged airplane pick-ups and deliveries of supplies.
His account sheds light on the views of both the Resistance fighters facing torture at the hands of the Gestapo and their besieged French countrymen. He notes the tensions within the different command centers, in particular between the French leader-in-exile Charles de Gaulle and his British counterparts, who were all eager to control the efforts of the Resistance.
Cowburn gives fascinating general lessons in the art of spying from establishing a worthy target to executing an operation but also tells the full story of his own sabotage operations, including the effective destruction of cylinders for thirteen locomotives in the dead of night. As in so many operations, mistakes were made which could have led to numerous arrests. In this case, the details of the operation had accidentally been left on a blackboard in the school where they had planned the raid, but were luckily scrubbed out by the headmaster’s wife. On another occasion, Cowburn snuck itching powder into the laundry of Luftwaffe agents to cause a disruption.
This new edition contains an Introduction by M.R.D Foot and a Foreword by Sebastian Faulks.
His account sheds light on the views of both the Resistance fighters facing torture at the hands of the Gestapo and their besieged French countrymen. He notes the tensions within the different command centers, in particular between the French leader-in-exile Charles de Gaulle and his British counterparts, who were all eager to control the efforts of the Resistance.
Cowburn gives fascinating general lessons in the art of spying from establishing a worthy target to executing an operation but also tells the full story of his own sabotage operations, including the effective destruction of cylinders for thirteen locomotives in the dead of night. As in so many operations, mistakes were made which could have led to numerous arrests. In this case, the details of the operation had accidentally been left on a blackboard in the school where they had planned the raid, but were luckily scrubbed out by the headmaster’s wife. On another occasion, Cowburn snuck itching powder into the laundry of Luftwaffe agents to cause a disruption.
This new edition contains an Introduction by M.R.D Foot and a Foreword by Sebastian Faulks.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published May 21, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 12, 2018
Continuing in my current run of books about the Special Operations Executive (SOE), I thought that this memoir of an SOE agent would just give a few more personal insights into an agent’s life. It does but gives so much more.
You can tell that the author, Benjamin Cowburn, an engineer from Lancashire who had lived in France as a child, wrote the book from the safety of his home long after the war had ended because of his, at times, quite casual descriptions of events. Despite this, Cowburn manages to convey the real sense of danger, excitement, menace and fear felt by SOE agents on a daily basis. Just his day-to-day life was difficult, especially at the beginning. Living as someone else, as a Frenchman, when in reality he had not been in France since the Occupation had taken place, he had to learn local ways so as not to arouse suspicion. One example: he had to use the correct ration card when doing something as simple as buying a pack of cigarettes – getting it wrong may mean suspicion, betrayal and arrest.
His job, his calling really, was to live in France as unobtrusively as possible, blending into the background, while simultaneously seeking out French men and women who believed in a free France and who were prepared to carry out acts of defiance and sabotage against the occupying German Army in order to help bring about an Allied victory. This was incredibly dangerous. First he had to try to evaluate if they would betray him immediately; this was mostly successful, partly because he had good intuition and partly because he usually approached friends of friends, so had an idea of their deep-felt loyalties before he spoke with them. Then he had to train them – he had been highly trained by SOE in England – to keep quiet about what they were doing, even to close family members (unless they were also involved), to keep away from other members of the Resistance unless absolutely necessary and, of course, how to use weapons and explosives. The extreme bravery needed to go out under curfew to blow up railway lines or factories, or to walk coolly through German checkpoints while carrying weapons or plastic explosives, they had to bring themselves. He then had to expand and run this network of Resistance fighters, carrying out small acts of sabotage to help the Allied cause.
I was surprised at how much travelling he had to do to achieve his objectives. It seemed incredible to me that he was able to explain away, when necessary, what he was doing in the towns that he visited, all across France, and why he kept moving around, mostly using public transport and bicycles. Cowburn found several ways of crossing over from the Occupied Zone to Vichy France, which was one of the most difficult journeys to make. I won’t spoil it by telling you how.
He had to communicate with SOE in London via radio – the wireless, or W/T, so had a dedicated wireless operator sending and receiving messages in Morse code. This was the most dangerous job, because the Abwehr - German Army Intelligence – used tracking stations to triangulate the position of any suspicious transmission, and then detector vans were deployed in the area identified by the tracking stations and drove around the streets trying to pinpoint the building it was coming from. At the time of their greatest efficiency it was said they could find the location in as little as thirty minutes - sometimes the agent would have to be on air for an hour.
It is an unfortunate fact that life as an agent is so lonely, continually stressful and always emotionally and intellectually challenging that many agents could not work alone but began to congregate regularly for a meal or to drink and talk. This went against SOE procedures, being that each agent should have his own ‘cell’ of recruits completely separate from all other cells, so that if one group became compromised and arrested they would be unable to betray the other cells’ members, even under torture. There were occasions when arrests became widespread owing to groups knowing too many of their colleagues. This was not always the fault of the agents, because for the first one to two years there were not enough W/T operators for each cell to have its own and they had to share them, sometimes with disastrous results. Once the Gestapo (Nazi Secret State Police) got hold of you they could nearly always make you talk. It is incredible to me that anyone managed to resist under that kind of intimidation and torture.
All this sounds terribly depressing, I know, but despite the setbacks, the arrests, the problems, the loneliness and the inefficiencies of working for any big organisation, Cowburn comes across as very positive in outlook. He always believed, even in the darkest days of the war, that with fortitude, mental and physical strength, cunning and intelligent use of force, the Allies would prevail. Cowburn and the other SOE agents achieved so much over the course of the war – tying down thousands of German troops across Europe to guard factories, bridges and railway lines; carrying out thousands of small acts of sabotage that weakened their morale and caused inconvenience and frustration; and, just before D-Day, through these acts preventing hundreds of crack SS troops and tanks from getting to Normandy in time to reinforce their forces trying to push the Allies back into the sea.
This book gives a real sense of what life was like for an agent and I have huge admiration for Cowburn and all the agents and their French recruits who dared to put their lives on the line for France. It is a fascinating read and essential for anyone interested in covert operations, espionage and how these can influence the bigger picture in a conflict.
Five stars.
You can tell that the author, Benjamin Cowburn, an engineer from Lancashire who had lived in France as a child, wrote the book from the safety of his home long after the war had ended because of his, at times, quite casual descriptions of events. Despite this, Cowburn manages to convey the real sense of danger, excitement, menace and fear felt by SOE agents on a daily basis. Just his day-to-day life was difficult, especially at the beginning. Living as someone else, as a Frenchman, when in reality he had not been in France since the Occupation had taken place, he had to learn local ways so as not to arouse suspicion. One example: he had to use the correct ration card when doing something as simple as buying a pack of cigarettes – getting it wrong may mean suspicion, betrayal and arrest.
His job, his calling really, was to live in France as unobtrusively as possible, blending into the background, while simultaneously seeking out French men and women who believed in a free France and who were prepared to carry out acts of defiance and sabotage against the occupying German Army in order to help bring about an Allied victory. This was incredibly dangerous. First he had to try to evaluate if they would betray him immediately; this was mostly successful, partly because he had good intuition and partly because he usually approached friends of friends, so had an idea of their deep-felt loyalties before he spoke with them. Then he had to train them – he had been highly trained by SOE in England – to keep quiet about what they were doing, even to close family members (unless they were also involved), to keep away from other members of the Resistance unless absolutely necessary and, of course, how to use weapons and explosives. The extreme bravery needed to go out under curfew to blow up railway lines or factories, or to walk coolly through German checkpoints while carrying weapons or plastic explosives, they had to bring themselves. He then had to expand and run this network of Resistance fighters, carrying out small acts of sabotage to help the Allied cause.
I was surprised at how much travelling he had to do to achieve his objectives. It seemed incredible to me that he was able to explain away, when necessary, what he was doing in the towns that he visited, all across France, and why he kept moving around, mostly using public transport and bicycles. Cowburn found several ways of crossing over from the Occupied Zone to Vichy France, which was one of the most difficult journeys to make. I won’t spoil it by telling you how.
He had to communicate with SOE in London via radio – the wireless, or W/T, so had a dedicated wireless operator sending and receiving messages in Morse code. This was the most dangerous job, because the Abwehr - German Army Intelligence – used tracking stations to triangulate the position of any suspicious transmission, and then detector vans were deployed in the area identified by the tracking stations and drove around the streets trying to pinpoint the building it was coming from. At the time of their greatest efficiency it was said they could find the location in as little as thirty minutes - sometimes the agent would have to be on air for an hour.
It is an unfortunate fact that life as an agent is so lonely, continually stressful and always emotionally and intellectually challenging that many agents could not work alone but began to congregate regularly for a meal or to drink and talk. This went against SOE procedures, being that each agent should have his own ‘cell’ of recruits completely separate from all other cells, so that if one group became compromised and arrested they would be unable to betray the other cells’ members, even under torture. There were occasions when arrests became widespread owing to groups knowing too many of their colleagues. This was not always the fault of the agents, because for the first one to two years there were not enough W/T operators for each cell to have its own and they had to share them, sometimes with disastrous results. Once the Gestapo (Nazi Secret State Police) got hold of you they could nearly always make you talk. It is incredible to me that anyone managed to resist under that kind of intimidation and torture.
All this sounds terribly depressing, I know, but despite the setbacks, the arrests, the problems, the loneliness and the inefficiencies of working for any big organisation, Cowburn comes across as very positive in outlook. He always believed, even in the darkest days of the war, that with fortitude, mental and physical strength, cunning and intelligent use of force, the Allies would prevail. Cowburn and the other SOE agents achieved so much over the course of the war – tying down thousands of German troops across Europe to guard factories, bridges and railway lines; carrying out thousands of small acts of sabotage that weakened their morale and caused inconvenience and frustration; and, just before D-Day, through these acts preventing hundreds of crack SS troops and tanks from getting to Normandy in time to reinforce their forces trying to push the Allies back into the sea.
This book gives a real sense of what life was like for an agent and I have huge admiration for Cowburn and all the agents and their French recruits who dared to put their lives on the line for France. It is a fascinating read and essential for anyone interested in covert operations, espionage and how these can influence the bigger picture in a conflict.
Five stars.
July 20, 2019
English army officer's memoir of parachuting into France repeatedly in the early years of World War Two to supply and lead resistance sabotage missions. 178 pages and reads like an outline of what could have been a juicy whopper of a book.
April 25, 2021
A fascinating insight into, we are told, the real-life adventures, deeds, dangers, victories and defeats, and trials and tribulations of Allied espionage operatives in Nazi-occupied and Vichy France.
I was struck by, and therefore find all the more credible, the apparent mundanity of much of Cowburn’s mission - smuggle oneself from one place to the next, check in on and mentor clandestine networks of committed but amateur locals, gather up a just-parachuted radio operator, get someone back to England, etc. But this is never anything but gripping to read, particularly delivered in the writer’s entertainingly mirthful style. The book also brings to life the experience of living and operating under the administration of the occupying and capitulating authorities - the genuine and omnipresent threat of the Gestapo, juxtaposed with the bored indifference of German soldiers, border guards and clumsy Vichy inspectors, leading to multiple near-incredible and often humorous escapes from detection. All of this reaches two equally fantastic but contrasting climaxes - a bafflingly fumbled double-cross, spy swap and seaborne extraction on the English Channel coast, and a much more successful act of espionage against a rail depot.
There is no 007 here, no showboating or derring-do, just a fascinating, entertaining, sometimes sobering and very human account of one man’s small, often desperate, often entirely amateurish, but somehow ultimately successful contributions to the secret war in occupied Europe.
I was struck by, and therefore find all the more credible, the apparent mundanity of much of Cowburn’s mission - smuggle oneself from one place to the next, check in on and mentor clandestine networks of committed but amateur locals, gather up a just-parachuted radio operator, get someone back to England, etc. But this is never anything but gripping to read, particularly delivered in the writer’s entertainingly mirthful style. The book also brings to life the experience of living and operating under the administration of the occupying and capitulating authorities - the genuine and omnipresent threat of the Gestapo, juxtaposed with the bored indifference of German soldiers, border guards and clumsy Vichy inspectors, leading to multiple near-incredible and often humorous escapes from detection. All of this reaches two equally fantastic but contrasting climaxes - a bafflingly fumbled double-cross, spy swap and seaborne extraction on the English Channel coast, and a much more successful act of espionage against a rail depot.
There is no 007 here, no showboating or derring-do, just a fascinating, entertaining, sometimes sobering and very human account of one man’s small, often desperate, often entirely amateurish, but somehow ultimately successful contributions to the secret war in occupied Europe.
September 16, 2015
An interesting memoir that only covers a brief amount of the author's life as a secret agent during WWII. The English author had the advantage of peaking almost flawless French. He talks about what it was like being under cover in France during WWII and being dropped from a plane in the country and setting up intel/sabotage groups.
He does talk about the famous female triple agent in France, she started out helping the English for France, she was captured and immediately started helping the Germans, months later the English found out she had turned on them and put pressure on her to turn her against the Germans while having them think she was still their asset. The author was one of the agents whose cover was blown by her helping the Germans. Fortunately for him, he was one of the few that found out what was going on and was able to escape back to England thru a very daring plan using their triple agent to cover his escape. He relates several exciting missions and how they went down but overall the book is very workmanlike and a bit dry. An editor could have helped the author flesh out some parts better and perhaps some footnotes could have helped explain some of the technical details. Despite this, the book has sold well over the years and remains in print. It a classic on the subject of undercover networking and sabotage as the author does dispense some advice on these topics but it's hardly exhaustive.
He does talk about the famous female triple agent in France, she started out helping the English for France, she was captured and immediately started helping the Germans, months later the English found out she had turned on them and put pressure on her to turn her against the Germans while having them think she was still their asset. The author was one of the agents whose cover was blown by her helping the Germans. Fortunately for him, he was one of the few that found out what was going on and was able to escape back to England thru a very daring plan using their triple agent to cover his escape. He relates several exciting missions and how they went down but overall the book is very workmanlike and a bit dry. An editor could have helped the author flesh out some parts better and perhaps some footnotes could have helped explain some of the technical details. Despite this, the book has sold well over the years and remains in print. It a classic on the subject of undercover networking and sabotage as the author does dispense some advice on these topics but it's hardly exhaustive.
February 3, 2013
An autobiographical book about life as a Special Agent serving in France in WW2. It is a plainly told account in a matter of fact style with little or no heroic embellishment. This modesty only leaves the reader in awe of the bravery and courage of the author and others who took part in the Resistance in occupied France. The every day dangers they faced were remarkable. When we talk of pressure and hardship today we really suffer nothing in comparison to people living at this time. The book also has due regard for the courage of French citizens who risked not only their own lives but the lives of their whole families. A sobering read.
December 14, 2014
As much as I am fascinated by fictional espionage, this real life stuff is captivating for its grit. My copy is a Folio Society publication that is very well done.
December 28, 2020
I would have liked to rate this book higher, at least 4 stars, but noting the amount of time and success the author had as a spy I would have much preferred a larger and more detailed account of his experience. I just felt that the author was almost writing to a juvenile audience. His experience is first class but this particular recollection was SOE light.
September 11, 2025
It was fun reading the first accounts of a British spy. The writing style was enjoyable and made it feel personable, almost as if you're having a conversation. Some of the plot points reminded me of the 2016 movie Allied.
January 2, 2020
Superb first person account of WWII Allied operations in occupied France.
January 21, 2020
Don't expect a novel, but be prepared to be fascinated at the first hand accounts.
July 22, 2020
Very good, one of the best war time memoires I've read. Short, but rich in content.
March 9, 2021
If you want to understand how British resistance organisers operated in France during WW2, this is probably a great book.
If you want thrilling stories of resistance work in France during WW2, there is literally just one in this book, given offhand as an example of how hard it could be to pull something off. Almost an afterthought. And it's at the end. After you wade through years of the author traveling back and forth in France looking for a radio operator.
Tl;dr - the content is pretty good but the writing is methodical and dry.
If you want thrilling stories of resistance work in France during WW2, there is literally just one in this book, given offhand as an example of how hard it could be to pull something off. Almost an afterthought. And it's at the end. After you wade through years of the author traveling back and forth in France looking for a radio operator.
Tl;dr - the content is pretty good but the writing is methodical and dry.
February 4, 2018
Memoir
I found the account of British infiltration into Occupied France of interest from start to finish.
I stumbled onto this book after reading The Lavender Garden which depicts a young woman dropped into France as a British agent. Many of the details of the drop and her time in Paris echo facts from No Cloak, No Dagger. I enjoyed learning more about the facts behind the fiction.
I found the account of British infiltration into Occupied France of interest from start to finish.
I stumbled onto this book after reading The Lavender Garden which depicts a young woman dropped into France as a British agent. Many of the details of the drop and her time in Paris echo facts from No Cloak, No Dagger. I enjoyed learning more about the facts behind the fiction.
February 8, 2016
Excellent! Understated, but wonderful.
This story does a very good job of expressing the mix of much hum-drum with a modicum of terror. The unconventional railway rides must have been as frightening as the parachute jumps, but to Mr. Coburn it was all part of the day's work. Those who like military history, or the more factual parts of modern military fiction, will certainly appreciate this account. Well done, Mr. Coburn.
This story does a very good job of expressing the mix of much hum-drum with a modicum of terror. The unconventional railway rides must have been as frightening as the parachute jumps, but to Mr. Coburn it was all part of the day's work. Those who like military history, or the more factual parts of modern military fiction, will certainly appreciate this account. Well done, Mr. Coburn.
December 28, 2011
A wonderfully evocative tale of the SOE in WWII France, with wonderfully humble narration by the author. The text moves along at a splendid pace and there's never a dull moment.
This edition is also beautifully illustrated by Geoff Grandfield.
This edition is also beautifully illustrated by Geoff Grandfield.
January 14, 2023
Modesty, tenacity, courage, imagination, organization and flair. A wonderful book by Benjamin Cowburn.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews