The Special Operations Branch (SO) was a branch of the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

that "pioneered" many of the

unconventional warfare Unconventional warfare (UW) is broadly defined as "military and quasi-military operations other than conventional warfare" and may use covert forces or actions such as subversion, diversion, sabotage, espionage, biowarfare, sanctions, propaga ...

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

(COIN), and

foreign internal defense Foreign internal defense (FID) is a term used by the military in several countries, including the United States Armed Forces, United States, French Armed Forces, France and the British Armed Forces, United Kingdom, to describe an integrated or ...

tactics and techniques used by today's

US Military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

Special Operations Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

(SOF). Special Operations was the American equivalent of the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

(SOE) of the United Kingdom. The Chief of SO,

Millard Preston Goodfellow Millard Preston Goodfellow, who often went by the name "Preston Goodfellow," was an American soldier, spy, diplomat, journalist, war correspondent, and newspaper publisher. A veteran of World War I, Goodfellow became a leading figure at the Office ...

, reported to the deputy director of Strategic Services Operations. In the Special Operations Field Manual, OSS Director

William Donovan William or Bill(y) Donovan may refer to: Sports * Bill Donovan (1876–1923), pitcher and manager in Major League Baseball * Bill Donovan (Boston Braves pitcher) (1916–1997), pitcher in Major League Baseball *Billy Donovan (born 1965), American b ...

writes; "''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 the Morale Operations, the Operational Groups, and the Maritime Unit. The primary objective of the Special Operations Branch is the destruction of enemy personnel, materiel, and installations.''" Special Operations operators and agents trained first at

Camp X Camp X was the unofficial name of the secret Special Training School No. 103, a Second World War British paramilitary installation for training covert agents in the methods required for success in clandestine operations. It was located on the n ...

, then at

Camp David Camp David is a country retreat for the president of the United States. It lies in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont, Maryland, Thurmont and Emmitsburg, Maryland, Emmitsburg, a ...

, and several

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

properties around the Washington, D.C. area. The concept of OSS Operational Groups (OG) began as Special Operations units within SO Field Bases, but eventually outgrew the SO, where the newly established Operational Group Command was granted Branch status.

Responsibilities

* 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

Headquarters Special Operations was headquartered at the

E Street Complex The E Street Complex, also known as the "Navy Hill Complex," the "Potomac Hill Complex," the "Observatory Hill Complex," and the "Pickle Factory," is the historic site of the primary headquarters facility of the Office of Strategic Services, and ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Field Base Sections *

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

JEDBURGH Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire. History Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...

References

{{Authority control Research and Analysis Branch 1942 establishments in the United States 1945 disestablishments in the United States Agencies of the United States government during World War II Defunct United States intelligence agencies Government agencies disestablished in 1945 Government agencies established in 1942 Intelligence services of World War II World War II espionage Central Intelligence Agency