SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE, 1940-1946:
SUBVERSION AND SABOTAGE DURING WORLD WAR II
Series Two: SOE Operations in the Balkans

Part 1: Yugoslavia, 1939-19445
Part 2: The Balkans, 1940-1946, Bulgaria, 1940-1958 and the Danube, 1940-1957

Publisher's Note - Part 2

Part 2 provides the general files on the Balkans (with much on Anglo-American and Anglo-Soviet relations in the region); together with the files for Bulgaria (where SOE concentrated on the trying to win over the Bulgarian army); and the Danube (a busy operational area with much action against Axis shipping).

There is much work for scholars to do in this area. SOE activities in the Balkans remain under-researched and many questions still need to be properly assessed. How much did SOE assist the Partisans? How much did they hinder the German war effort? How difficult were the choices between the rival groups? Were SOE and the Allies right to step aside at the end of the war? Did they have a choice? How did these war-time alliances affect the post-war situation?

Policy, planning and the organisation of SOE activities is covered in the files on Cairo HQ, Istanbul HQ and Bari HQ, along with material on OSS/SOE co-ordination in the Balkans. Daily situation and progress reports for SOE in the Balkans, July 1943-October 1944, are provided in HS 5/157-159. There is also good material on propaganda, discussions with the Foreign Office, SOE/Soviet NKVD relations, operational orders and assessments of the efficiency of various resistance movements and partisan forces.

Bulgaria was regarded by the Allies as of considerable strategic importance in their efforts to contain German expansion towards the Middle East. It was perceived that the Bulgarian people did not support the Axis power wholeheartedly. However, economic conditions were less severe than in other parts of Europe and the Bulgarian police were experienced in dealing with disorder. This led the Foreign Office to argue that it would be extremely difficult for SOE to inspire a general revolt of the people and army against the pro-Axis regime of King Boris. A better policy would be to try to win over elements within the Bulgarian army. This process is documented in HS 5/173-194.

Initial operations to contact the main political opposition groups, such as the Left Agrarians, the Protogerovists and the Military League, failed to bear fruit. The files contain much information on Todoroff, a Bulgarian exile and de facto leader of the Agrarian Party between 1923 and 1938, and Dimitrov (agent JOHN). SOE found that these agents and other Bulgarians attempted to exploit perceived differences between the United States and Britain and between these powers and the Soviet Union over Bulgaria. The files also give details on the fate of the MULLIGATAWNY and CLARIDGES mission. The death of King Boris, the growth of partisan forces and the development of the OF militia revitalised SOE operations in Bulgaria in the final two years of the war. The files reveal the difficulties and complexities faced in co-ordinating missions in this region.

British military activities in the Danube commenced in 1939. The main aim was to obtain control of vessels in order to deprive the Axis of river tonnage and the ability to transport Romanian oil, grain, minerals and other vital commodities to and from Germany. The few surviving SOE files for this theatre (HS 5/195-212) provide important details on SOE work. Danube sabotage, the pilot enticement scheme, liaison with Soviet forces, subversion of river pilots and the use of propaganda are all well covered.

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