Operation ColumbaThe Secret Pigeon ..., Gordon Corera
Operation ColumbaThe Secret Pigeon ..., Gordon Corera
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Operation Columba--The Secret Pigeon Service
The Untold Story of World War II Resistance in Europe

Author: Gordon Corera

Narrator: Derek Perkins

Unabridged: 9 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 10/16/2018


Synopsis

The fascinating, untold story of how British intelligence secretly used homing pigeons as part of a clandestine espionage operation to gather information, communicate, and coordinate with members of the Resistance to defeat the Nazis in occupied Europe during World War II.Between 1941 and 1944, British intelligence dropped sixteen thousand homing pigeons in an arc across Nazi-occupied Europe, from Bordeaux, France to Copenhagen, Denmark, as part of a spy operation code-named Columba. Returning to MI14, the secret government branch in charge of the ""Special Pigeon Service,"" the birds carried messages that offered a glimpse of life under the Germans in rural France, Holland, and Belgium. Written on tiny pieces of rice paper tucked into canisters and tied to the birds’ legs, these messages were sometimes comic, often tragic, and occasionally invaluable—reporting details of German troop movements and fortifications, new Nazi weapons, radar systems, and even the deployment of the feared V-1 and V-2 rockets used to terrorize London.The people who sent these messages were not trained spies. They were ordinary men and women willing to risk their lives in the name of freedom, including the ""Leopold Vindictive"" network—a small group of Belgian villagers led by an extraordinary priest named Joseph Raskin. The intelligence Raskin sent back by pigeon proved so valuable that it reached Churchill and MI6 parachuted agents behind enemy lines to assist him.Gordon Corera uses declassified documents and extensive original research to tell the story of the Operation Columba and the Secret Pigeon Service for the first time. A powerful tale of wartime espionage, bitter rivalries, extraordinary courage, astonishing betrayal, harrowing tragedy, and a quirky, quarrelsome band of spy masters and their special mission, Operation Columba opens a fascinating new chapter in the annals of World War II. It is ultimately, the story of how, in one of the darkest and most dangerous times in history, under threat of death, people bravely chose to resist.

About Gordon Corera

Gordon Corera has been the BBC’s security correspondent since 2004. He has reported from London, Moscow, and Washington, and is the only journalist to have interviewed serving heads of both the CIA and MI6. He has covered firsthand many of the central episodes in the spy wars between the three countries and has unparalleled insight into the working of all sides. He is the author of several books, including The Art of Betrayal: The Secret History of MI6, and has contributed to a number of important BBC documentary series about MI6, the CIA, and Russia.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Harry

Given the passing of the years, the thousands of books, films and TV coverage devoted to the Second World War it is quite surprising that Gordon Corera has come up with a new fact filled book on a less than well known aspect of the conflict. Not only that but it's (generally) a 'ripping yarn.' As ev......more

Goodreads review by Rachel

I’m not going to say I was on the edge of my seat or anything (turns out there’s quite a lot of *waiting* in espionage and resistance) but I did come away with a fondness for pigeons I wasn’t expecting. The middle part was pretty dry, but the first and last thirds were fantastic. So much heart and h......more

This book was incredibly informative. The first half of the book was absolutely gripping and action packed. I couldn’t put it down. Unfortunately the suspense ended and I struggled to push through the remaining 185 pages. They were just as well written as the first half of the book, but they were al......more