Parachutes, Patriots, and Partisans: The Special Operations Executive in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945

Based on impressive research and new evidence, this history of the secret British wartime agency, the Special Operations Executive, in wartime Yugoslavia argues that SOE actions achieved little military advantage for the Allies and exacerbated the developing civil war among the forces of monarchist Drazha Mihailovic, Tito’s partisans, and other guerilla groups. Heather Williams tracks SOE relations with the British Foreign office, policy-makers, and military high command; the Yugoslav guerrilla movements and exiled Yugoslav government; other secret organizations, and the American Office of Strategic Services, examining how rivalries among these players influenced the future of Yugoslavia.Copublished with C. Hurst & Co, Publishers Ltd., LondonThe Wisconsin edition is for sale only in North and South American, U.S. dependencies, and the Philippines.