Fighting the Nazis: French Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence, 1935–1945 - Hardcover

* The amazing memoirs of a legendary counter-espionage officer *The details of France's long struggle against nazi spies and propagandists before 1940 *The astonishing career of the only French officer privy to the top-secret details of the D-Day invasion Originally published in France in 1975 this interesting work provides a remarkably detailed account of Paillole's service as the leader of French counterintelligence prior to and during World War II. In the years leading up to the outbreak of war, German military intelligence had significantly insinuated itself into the social fabric of France. Assigned to the French Deuxieme Bureau, which handled both counterintelligence and analysis of enemy intelligence, Paillole created a network of covert travaux ruraux ("rural routes") that gathered information on German espionage efforts both in France and in North Africa. Paillole often found himself struggling on two fronts: against the Germans and caught up in the contest between de Gaulle and Henri Giraud, who both sought leadership of the Free French. Paillole warned his military masters about the impending German attack in May 1940, but his concerns were lost in a mass of contradictory intelligence. Drawing on the author's unique personal insights and experiences, this book is filled with fascinating operational and organizational detail with references to, and descriptions of, literally hundreds of exciting and dangerous espionage and counter-espionage cases taking place before and during the Second World War. Paillole also pinpoints the key individuals who had actively collaborated with the Nazis.

Colonel Paul Paillole was a graduate of France's top military academy. He died in October, 2002.