Killing the Enemy: Assassination Operations During World War II [Paperback]

During World War II, the British formed a secret division, the 'SOE' or Special Operations Executive, in order to support resistance organisations in occupied Europe. It also engaged in 'targeted killing' - the assassination of enemy political and military leaders. The unit is famous for equipping its agents with tools for use behind enemy lines, such as folding motorbikes, miniature submarines and suicide pills disguised as coat buttons. But its activities are now also gaining attention as a forerunner to today's 'extra-legal' killings of wartime enemies in foreign territory, for example through the use of unmanned drones. Adam Leong's work evaluates the effectiveness of political assassination in wartime using four examples: Heydrich's assassination in Prague (Operation Anthropoid); the daring kidnap of Major General Kreipe in Crete by Patrick Leigh Fermor; the failed attempt to assassinate Rommel, known as Operation Flipper; and the American assassination of General Yamamoto.Adam Leong completed his PhD in Special Operations and Military History at the University of Reading. He is currently Senior Lecturer at the National Defence University of Malaysia.

INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Definitions
What are Special Operations?
What is Leadership Decapitation?
Strategic Effectiveness
Tactical Effectiveness
Why World War II?
Review of Relevant Literature
Research Methodology, Questions and Hypotheses, and Sources
Research Questions and Hypotheses
Sources
Conclusion

STRATEGIES OF LEADERSHIP DECAPITATION, STRATEGIC LOGIC, AND NEXUS WITH MORALE
Introduction
Strategies of Decapitation and Leader Decapitation
Sun Tzu: Attacking the enemy's 'strategy'
The Assassins
Hunting down the leaders
Strategic paralysis
Soviet Spetsnaz Doctrine
The Logic of Leadership Decapitation
The Importance of Morale
Conclusion

HITLER'S 'HANGMAN' BUTCHERED - CASE STUDY OF OPERATION ANTHROPOID
Introduction
An outllÃ%