Soldiers, Airmen, Spies, and Whisperers - The Gold Coast in World War II (Hardcover, 1)

The fall of France in June 1940 left the Gold Coast surrounded by potentially hostile French colonies that had rejected de Gaulle's call to continue the fight, signaling instead their support for Marshall Petain's pro-German Vichy regime. In Soldiers, Airmen, Spies, and Whisperers, Nancy Lawler describes how the Gold Coast Regiment, denuded of battalions fighting in East Africa, was rapidly expanded at home to meet the threat of invasion. Professor Lawler also shows how the small airport at Takoradi was converted into a major Royal Air Force base and came to play a vital role in the supply of aircraft to the British Eighth Army in North Africa. The importance of the Gold Coast to the Allied war effort necessitated the creation of elaborate propaganda and espionage networks, the activities of which ranged from rumor-mongering to smuggling and sabotage. The London-based Special Operations Executive moved into West Africa, where it worked closely with de Gaulle's Free French Intelligence. Lawler presents a vivid account of SOE's major triumph-masterminding the migration of a substantial part of the Gyaman people from Vichy Cote d'Ivoire to the Gold Coast. As she looks at the plethora of military and civil organizations involved in the war, Lawler throws light on decision making in Brazzaville, London, and Washington. This is an account of World War II in one colony, but the story is firmly set within the wider context of a world at war.

General

Imprint:	Ohio University Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	June 2002
First published:	May 2002
Authors:	Nancy Ellen Lawler
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 28mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	352
Edition:	1
ISBN-13:	978-0-8214-1430-9
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > African history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > War & defence operations > Battles & campaigns Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > Second World War Books > History > African history > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > History > World history > From 1900 > Second World War Promotions
LSN:	0-8214-1430-5
Barcode:	9780821414309

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