Wikipedia

Special Operations Branch

TheSpecial Operations Branch (SO)was a branch of theOffice of Strategic ServicesduringWorld War IIthat "pioneered" many of theunconventional warfare,counter-insurgency(COIN), andforeign internal defensetactics and techniques used by today'sUS MilitarySpecial Operations Forces(SOF).[1][2]Special Operations was the American equivalent of theSpecial Operations Executive(SOE) of the United Kingdom.[1][3][4][5][6]

Special Operations Branch
Agency overview
Formed1942(1942)
Dissolved1945(1945)
Superseding agencies
HeadquartersWashington, D.C.
Agency executive
Parent departmentDeputy Director Strategic Services Operations
Parent agencyOffice of Strategic Services

The Chief of SO,Millard Preston Goodfellow,reported to the deputy director of Strategic Services Operations.[7]

In the Special Operations Field Manual, OSS DirectorWilliam Donovanwrites;

"The mission of the Special Operations Branch is to carry out that part of the OSS mission which can be accomplished by certain physical subversive methods as contrasted with the operations of theMorale Operations,the Operational Groups, and theMaritime Unit.The primary objective of the Special Operations Branch is the destruction of enemy personnel, materiel, and installations."[8]

Special Operations operators and agents trained first atCamp X,then atCamp David,and severalNational Park Serviceproperties around the Washington, D.C. area.[9]

The concept of OSS Operational Groups (OG) began as Special Operations units within SO Field Bases, but eventually outgrew the SO, where the newly establishedOperational Group Commandwas granted Branch status.[1]

Responsibilities

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[8][10]

  • Sabotage
    • Types of Sabotage
      • Industrial Sabotage
      • Military Sabotage
      • Political and Public Sabotage
    • Methods of Sabotage
      • Sabotage applied to individuals
      • Sabotage by destruction
      • Sabotage by Resistance
      • Coup de Main Projects
      • Defense Missions
  • Direct contact with and support of underground resistance groups.
  • Conduct of special operations not assigned to other governmental agencies and not under direct control of theater or area commanders.
  • Organization, equipment, and training of such individuals or organizations as may be required for operations not assigned to other governmental agencies.

Divisions

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Headquarters

Special Operations was headquartered at theE Street ComplexinWashington, D.C.

Field Base Sections[11][12]

References

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  1. ^abc"Special Operations".soc.mil.Retrieved2024-06-26.
  2. ^Balestrieri, Steve (2017-05-10)."How the OSS Shaped Special Operations Forces and CIA of Today".SpecialOperations.Retrieved2024-06-26.
  3. ^"University Library Microform: OSS/London: Special Operations Branch and Secret Intelligence Branch War Diaries".albany.edu.Retrieved2024-06-26.
  4. ^"Fake News for the Resistance".usmcu.edu.Retrieved2024-06-26.
  5. ^"https://discovered.ed.ac.uk/discovery/fulldisplay?vid=44UOE_INST:44UOE_VU2&search_scope=UoE&tab=Everything&docid=alma9920787533502466&lang=en&context=L&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&query=sub,exact,World%20War,%201939-1945%20--%20Secret%20service%20--%20Great%20Britain".discovered.ed.ac.uk.Retrieved2024-06-26.{{cite web}}:External link in|title=(help)
  6. ^"OSS Agents: Kill or be Killed".Warfare History Network.2021-09-21.Retrieved2024-06-26.
  7. ^"HyperWar: Office of Strategic Servcices (OSS) Organization and Functions".ibiblio.org.Retrieved2024-06-26.
  8. ^abDonovan, Willian J."Special Operations Field Manual - Strategic Services"(PDF).
  9. ^Whiteclay, John Chambers II (2010).Training for War and Espionage: Office of Strategic Services Training During World War II.Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC, 20505 (Vol. 54, No. 2 ed.). Studies in Intelligence.
  10. ^Donovan, Willian J."Special Operations Field Manual Version 4"(PDF).
  11. ^"United States. Office of Strategic Services. Special Operations Branch. Western Europe Section reports".oac.cdlib.org.Retrieved2024-06-26.
  12. ^"https://librarysearch.library.utoronto.ca/discovery/fulldisplay?&context=L&vid=01UTORONTO_INST:UTORONTO&search_scope=UTL&tab=LibraryCatalog&docid=alma991106567667106196".librarysearch.library.utoronto.ca.Retrieved2024-06-26.{{cite web}}:External link in|title=(help)
  13. ^"John Vanden Berg Collection".Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.Retrieved2024-06-26.
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