Timeline of SOE French Section

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Timeline of SOE French Section (Section F)

The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British secret organization in World War II. Its job was to spy, sabotage, and gather information in countries occupied by the Axis powers, helping local resistance groups by supplying weapons and equipment parachuted from England.

In France, the work was done mainly by Section F (the French Section). From 1941 to 1944, Section F sent about 470 agents to France, with roughly 40 of them being women. The Valençay SOE Memorial lists 91 men and 13 women who were killed, executed, or died in concentration camps during the war.

France-based SOE agents worked in small networks that usually included an organiser (the leader), a courier, and a wireless operator. Agents reached France by parachute, clandestine air flight, or, in a few cases, by ship or boat. Most operations began around midnight, and supplies and weapons were dropped from the air. Part of an agent’s job was to identify suitable landing sites—usually farm fields—for parachutists, supplies, and aircraft.

SOE had two sections dealing with France. This article covers SOE F Section. The RF Section (Réseau Français) was controlled by Charles de Gaulle and his supporters. RF was similar in size to F; the two sections were operationally independent but shared logistics and transportation.