Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler's Defeat

This is a wonderful read, an account of the sabotage/guerilla operations installed by the British during WWII. Anyone interested in WWII, Churchill, ‘ungentlemanly warfare’, early connections with the OSS (to become the CIA), et al. will love this book. It is, simultaneously, the account of a group of men/women (Colin Gubbins, Millis Jefferis, Joan Bright, Cecil Clarke, Stuart Macrae, Eric Sykes, William Fairbairn, Gus March-Phillipps, Eddie Myers, Chris ‘Monty’ Woodhouse, Harry Ree and Tommy Macpherson) and major achievements/operations (the development of the 1939 limpet mine, the sticky bomb, the aero-switch, the Hedgehog mortar; the destruction of the St Nazaire dock (on which the Tirpitz depended for servicing), the Gorgopotamos viaduct (on which Rommel depended as a supply route), the assassination of the ‘Butcher of Prague’, Reinhard Heydrich, the destruction of the Norsk Hydro heavy water plant in Norway (on which Hitler depended for his nuclear weapons program), the disabling of the Peugeot factory which had been converted for the making of tanks and the harassing/obstruction of the ‘Das Reich’ division’s attempts to get to Normandy after Operation Overlord. This is all heady stuff and the Brits and Scots at the center of things are all over-the-top adventurers with suitably British nicknames and the capacity to work 16-hour days (before retiring to the pub and club bars for a systematic unwinding). The illustrations are very helpful, with pictures of particular weapons, pictures of the pertinent men and women and photographs of their operational centers where weapons were developed and tested and where commandos were trained in silent killing and explosives. The personal stories range from the sad to the quirky/superheroic. The book is enormously informative, written like a thriller and guaranteed to bring a tear or two to the eye at crucial moments. And it is true. Highly recommended.

A great book. I really enjoyed this book. The movie is nothing like the true events in the book. It is amazing how these acts of war were pulled off. If you enjoy WWII stories then get this book.

When we think about the European theater during World War Two, a few events really stand out: the countries falling like dominoes to Hitler’s blitzkrieg tactics; England suffering from and then defeating the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain; and, of course, the allied invasion of Normandy that was the beginning of the end for Germany. But in this book, Giles Milton pays close attention to the “little things” that helped win the war: sabotage, guerilla resistance, and new weapons. The destruction of the German’s Norsk Hydro heavy water plant in Norway prevented the Nazis from producing nuclear weapons; the sabotage of Peugeot factory in Sochaux, France, made it impossible for the Germany army to replace tanks and trucks; and the complete destruction of the Normandie Docks at St. Nazaire by the exploding HMS Campbeltown meant that German ships had to sail up the English Channel to Germany for repairs, and Germany’s largest and most dangerous battleship, the Tirpitz, was put out of action for the rest of the war. During the Normandy invasion, the underground guerilla resistance movement went into action to prevent the SS Panzer Division Das Reich from reaching Normandy, 450 miles away. First, the tank-carrying flat rail cars were sabotaged with axle grease loaded with carborundum so that the gears would freeze up. Then the French railroad lines were cut in more that 1,000 places. General Lammerding’s Panzer Division was forced to use the roads and the guerillas so harassed them that the three-day trip took seventeen days and the division arrived too late—“the Allied beachhead was secure.” The invention of the lightweight limpet mine and the sticky bomb took out many German tanks and ships through sabotage in the occupied countries, but the most important new weapon of the war in Europe was the anti-sub Hedgehog, which fired an array of bomb-like homing devices that could surround the German submarines and hone in on them. Much more deadly than the old depth charges, the Hedgehogs deployed on U.S. and British naval ships destroyed thirty-seven enemy subs in less than a year. These are just a few examples of the “ungentlemanly warfare” techniques in Milton’s excellent and exciting book. World War Two buffs and readers interested in military history will simply love this book that proves a few saboteurs on the ground were more valuable than a fleet of bombers. I rate the book at four and a half stars.

I always wanted to know the real story behind some of the sneaky things done during WWII. This book starts before the war all the way through until the various units were disbanded after the war. There were a lot of riveting stories of the actions of very many brave, patriotic and dedicated people who fought they tyranny of the Nazi’s. Some of them probably wouldn’t be believable as fiction they are so wild like driving an old destroy filled with explosives into a dry dock to destroy it. Or the audaciousness of sneaking into Norway to blow up Heavy Water machinery so Hitler wouldn’t be able to build a nuclear weapon. Then sinking the ship containing the already manufactured Heavy Water. If you have any interest in explosives you can read how the first magnetic limpet mine was made out of two salad bowls. Or the most effective anti-submarine system the Hedgehog was developed by reading the stories of the maverick, genius inventors who developed them. The entire book is framed by the politics of the time in which British arms development and manufacturing were not suitable at all for creating and fielding such weapons. Even more importantly was Churchill taking an interest in conducting “Ungentlemanly Warfare” despite the obvious disdain and outright contempt of that particular type of warfare in the British military. This was an intensely researched and lovingly written book. Very highly recommended!

Slow starting but filled with interesting anecdotes. I felt the book would benefit from a couple of rewrites to make it a smoother read and more engaging story. Still it provides insight to the dirty tricks department during WW II. It was fascinating to realize that Ian Fleming and his brother were involved in some of the operations. James Bond was clearly inspired by that experience. he James Bond stories are more fun to read than this book. I guess the American submariners in the pacific were fortunate that there Japanese didn’t have the equivalent of the Hedgehog anti submarine weapon.

Freedom was hard won by driven men and women for us. This is a fantastic read! Thank you so much!

After hearing about the movie, I decided to read the books instead. First was Damien Lewis's book Churchill's Secret Warriors. This book has excellent details on the group that pulled off Operation Postmaster and it follows their exploits further into Greece. I followed that up with this book for which the movie is named. It goes into great detail from how the ministry was formed, the great work that it did, its accomplishments, and how it ended. It includes Operation Postmaster as well as the destruction of Norsk Hydro (which is covered by the film Heroes of Telemark) the destruction of the St. Navaire shipyards, and the behind the scenes destruction to prevent reinforcements to get to the French coast for D-Day. This group invented the limpet mine, sticky bombs, and other items that greatly helped the war effort. Their successes have not been covered much in the media or even the few movies inspired by these writings. Their principles of using sabotage over heavy saturation bombing was proven many times. And they preferred to not engage in wanton killing especially of civilians which is shown in both books.

This is a fascinating book and well written but unlike Damien Lewis' book of a similar title deals less with the larger picture of Churchill's order to "set Europe ablaze" and more with the story of a small group of men working behind the lines in sabotage and destruction. It unfolds into the story of the evolution of the S.B.S and Anders Lassen V.C. a consummate warrior and maverick who became a huge thorn in the side of the axis forces throughout north Africa and the Aegean. There are many details of operations I had no idea about, and the Aegean and Balkans are the oft forgotten theatre of W.W.II. Seems to slow a little at the end as Landers' missions became somewhat repetitive, but each one adds some little detail of his sometimes odd behavior and almost maniacal hatred for Germans. A fascinating story of a complex man. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in military history.

Fantastisch boek over de verrichtingen van de onbekende saboteurs in de tweede wereld oorlog. In begrijpelijk Engels geschreven en erg informatief. Dit waren een aantal uren heerlijk leesplezier!

Told with verve and dash, this is about a group of people who fought a war for British and allied survival during World War 2 which has been hidden from us survivors for 80 plus years. Heroes of harsh times when new ways of fighting had to be invented. A splendid, moving book.

Costumo comprar livros lacrados na Amazon. Este veio sem nada e com a capa amassada. Não foi uma pechincha.

Great book which is difficult to put down. Milton always writes well and I have many of his books. This is a great adjunct to the other standard fare about the war in Europe.

I don't know why I have never heard of this amazing World War II story that shaped the outcome of the war and the defeat of Hitler. It is a fascinating must read for anyone interested in the true history of the Fall of the Nazis. The book is meticulously researched and very well written. I will be searching for other books by this author.