Soldiers, airmen, spies and whisperers : the Gold Coast in World War II / Nancy Ellen Lawler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lawler, Nancy Ellen.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World War, 1939-1945--Military intelligence--Ghana.

World War, 1939-1945.

World War, 1939-1945--Secret service--Ghana.

Ghana--History--To 1957.

Ghana.

History.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 286 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Athens : Ohio University Press, [2002]

Summary:

After the fall of France in June 1940, the French colonies surrounding the Gold Coast rejected de Gaulle's call to continue the fight, and instead signaled their support for Marshall Petain's pro-German Vichy regime. In response, the Gold Coast Regiment, all but one of its battalions fighting in East Africa, was rapidly expanded at home to meet the threat of invasion. The small airport at Takoradi was converted into a major Royal Air Force base. An elaborate network of propaganda and espionage was created. The Special Operations Executive moved into West Africa, where it worked amicably with de Gaulle's Free French agents, but often found itself bitterly opposed by the British military establishment.

Based on extensive research, Soldiers, Airmen, Spies, and Whisperers gives the first full account of the Gold Coast's participation in World War II.

Nancy Ellen Lawler vividly describes the events of the critical period between June 1940 and November 1942, when the successful Allied invasion of North Africa ended the threat to Britain's West African colonies. Soldiers, Airmen, Spies, and Whisperers includes the story of the SOE's major triumph -- masterminding the migration of a substantial part of the Gyaman people from Vichy Cote d'Ivoire to the Gold Coast.

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.

Contents:

Chapter 1 The Fall of France and the British West African Colonies

II A Summer of Uncertainty 4

III The Lines Harden: Oran and Its Aftermath 8

IV The War Office Takes Over 14

V De Gaulle, the AEF, and the AOF: Win One, Lose One 16

VI Invasion Scares: Perceiving the Threat 18

VII The Gold Coast Regiment before World War II 25

VIII The Build-up to War 30

Chapter 2 The Takoradi Ferry and Defense on the Home Front

I Beginnings of the West African Reinforcement Route 39

II The West African Reinforcement Route: Fully Operational 46

III The West African Reinforcement Route: Enter the United States 53

IV New Blood: The Expansion of the Gold Coast Regiment 56

V The Home Guard 65

VI Invasion and Counter-invasion: Fears 71

Chapter 3 The Special Operations Executive in West Africa: The Franck Mission

I Economic Warfare and the Special Operations Executive 81

II Eyes on West Africa 84

III The Frank Mission and WAGON 90

IV The Franck Mission: The Gold Coast Section 98

V The Free French 102

Chapter 4 With Friends Like These...the SOE, the SIS, and the Army

I From the Franck Mission to Frawest 107

II Intelligence Gathering in the Gold Coast 112

III West Africa's Little War: Giffard and the SIS vs Governors' Conference and the SOE 120

IV Exit Wingate 126

V Enter Lumby 134

Chapter 5 The Special Operations Executive at Work in the Gold Coast

I A Window on Wenchi 139

II Free French Operations 144

III Smuggling 149

IV To Fraternize or not to Fraternize 153

Chapter 6 Propaganda: The Home Front and Beyond

I Spreading the Word: Wartime Broadcasting in the Gold Coast 160

II Information Bureaus and Cinema Vans 167

III Propaganda, the Free French, and the SOE 172

IV Whispering in the Dark 176

V Vichy Propaganda 182

VI The Spitfires Fund 188

VII The Impact of the Propaganda Machine 191

Chapter 7 The Crossing of the Gyaman: Triumph or Embarrassment?

I One People, Two Colonies: The Gyaman of Cote d'Ivoire and Gold Coast 194

II The Gyaman under Vichy 197

III The Crossings of the Gyaman 201

IV Meanwhile, Back in the Cote d'Ivoire... 207

V The Return of the Gyaman 214

Chapter 8 The Beginning of the End: The War Moves On

I Operation Torch: The AOF Deserts Vichy 218

II The Fate of Frawest 223

III The Fate of the Soldiers and Airmen 227

Chapter 9 Possible Futures

I Fantasies of War 229

II A First What-If: The SOE Triumphant 231

III A Second What-If: The Takoradi Ferry Disrupted 232

IV A Third What-If: Boisson between Axis and Allies 233

V A Fourth What-If: Dakar Falls to Free France in September 1940 234

II Schedule of Interviews 274.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-275) and index.

ISBN:

0821414305

OCLC:

48876571