Secret WWII: Spies & Special Ops

After D-Day on June 6, 1944, the global race is already underway to build the first atomic bomb. In this episode, we explore the efforts happening in complete secrecy to stop Nazis from doing it first.   

Host Bradley W. Hart is joined by guests Nicholas Reynolds, author of Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence; Jeffrey Rogg, author of The Spy and the State; and Clare Mulley, the author of The Spy Who Loved: The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville.

Many WWII spies carried out their missions behind enemy lines with no support. Other intelligence agents provided advanced research and analysis that helped make covert operations possible. In this bonus episode, you'll hear stories of American operators' training for clandestine duty—told by these men and women themselves. 

These firsthand accounts are a part of The National WWII Museum's Oral History Collection.

A massive build-up of troops and equipment in the United Kingdom was a clear indicator to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi high command that an attack against Occupied Europe was imminent, but a sophisticated Allied deception plan leaves the Germans guessing where D-Day will truly take place. 

Operation Fortitude successfully obscures true Allied intentions while Operation Jedburgh helps reduce German defenses ahead of the Normandy landings by putting OSS operatives at the heart of the European war. William "Wild Bill" Donovan lives up to his nickname by joining the battle personally -- over the strong objections of his superiors.  

Host Bradley W. Hart is joined by historians and authors Peter Crean, Mary Kathryn Barbier, Jeff Rogg and Nick Reynolds.

In November 1942, the Allies make their first major move against Adolf Hitler's empire with Operation Torch, an amphibious assault in French North Africa. Operatives from the OSS are already on the ground gathering intelligence to lay the groundwork for a successful operation, but the complex dynamics between occupied and unoccupied France thwart many of their efforts. Meanwhile, British spies and operatives increasingly work alongside their American allies, including several who will go on to prominent postwar careers.  

Host Bradley W. Hart is joined by Peter Crean, Michael Bell, John Curatola, Mary Kathryn Barbier, and Nick Reynolds.

A new type of American warfare is about to begin, combining intelligence with guerrilla operations in the Pacific. Under the command of Carl F. Eifler, OSS Detachment 101 links up with local fighters to help tie down Japanese forces in Burma, but at a heavy cost. Thousands of miles away, the Germans continue their efforts to infiltrate Britain and the United States using an operative named Duško Popov—who turns out to be one of the most effective double agents of the war.  

Host Bradley W. Hart is joined by authors Nicholas Reynolds and Jeffrey Rogg, and historian Mary Kathryn Barbier, author of Spies, Lies and Citizenship: The Hunt for Nazi Criminals. Plus, hear firsthand accounts from the Oral History Collection of The National WWII Museum.