Uncovers a daring SOE mission in 1941 Southern Thailand, where civilians and soldiers bravely fought Japan's invasion.

Southern Thailand, 1941. This is the story of Operation Cleeves. A daring and long forgotten SOE Far East mission, where a handful of tin miners risked their lives fighting against the onslaught of Japan on the eve of World War Two in Southeast Asia. Using declassified documents, previously undiscovered records and extensive original research, Kate Reid-Smith provides an intimate yet harrowing look into a most secret and turbulent operation shrouded in mystery. Where vivid and powerful accounts of tremendous courage in the face of resilience and redemption, uncovers how an eclectic mix of European civilians and Indian soldiers all marooned amid danger, violence and bloodshed, were suddenly confronted by unspeakable survival choices, as the circumstances of war catapulted them into an unimaginable world of horrific atrocities. Some of their stories are told for the very first time in this revelatory book, uncovering perilous undertakings requiring daring and sang-froid bravery, and how using only their wits for survival, all bore the full brunt of Japan’s initial invasion.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• 1. Paradise Asleep: War is Coming
• 2. Paradise Awake: Old Neighbours, New Foes, Indifferent Friends
• 3. Paradise Alert: Thailand Tin and Japanese Chagrin
• 4. Operations Sandwich, Etonian and Matador: Meet the Malayan Maginot Line
• 5. Operation Puma (Oriental Mission): Lions and Tigers and Bears and Flies
• 6. Operation Scapula (STS101): Bombs, Bullets and Body Bags
• 7. Playing Hide and Seek: Brooke-Popham’s ‘Infiltration’ Mission
• 8. Never Complain, But Always Explain
• 9. Operation Matador and the Singora Line
• 10. Operation Cleeves: Herding (Tin Mining) Cats
• 11. Oriental Mission (Penang Headquarters)
• 12. Radio Hits of 1941: Signal Tunes and Missing Files
• 13. Smuggling, Trafficking and Grassroots Planning
• 14. Mining, Missions and Multi-tasking
• 15. Running from the Rising Sun
• 16. Cavalry And Chaos: Saeki's Detachment
• 17. Rapid Advance: Ando’s Detachment
• 18. Laycol, Krohcol: And the Singora Line Battle Begins
• 19. Krohcol: Guerrilla Fighting in Betong’s Mist
• 20. Singora Line North: Ronpibon, Phuket and Indecision
• 21. Singora Line South: Pinyok Swings into Action
• 22. 8 December 1941: Singora Line Dancing
• 23. Singora Line South: Battle Lines Being Drawn
• 24. The Singora Lines Falter: Two Steps Forward, No Steps Back
• 25. Singora Line South
• 26. Battles Lost: Battles Won
• 27. A Short (Operational) Life: The Death of Cleeves
• 28. The Singora Line Defeat: Retreat is not Always an Option
• 29. There is Always a Calm Before the Storm
• 30. All is Not Quiet on the Western Front
• 31. Blood in the Darkness: My Prison, My Home, My Grave
• 32. Black Bloody Saturday
• 33. Black Bloody Sunday
• 34. Survival of the Fastest
• 35. When Jungle Survival is the Only Option
• 36. Gossip, Rumour and Plausible Deniability
• 37. Misinformation, Disinformation: Bureaucracy Gone Mad
• 38. Falling Down Through (Historical) Cracks in the Dark
• 39. The Hot War is Dead: Long Live the Cold War
• Conclusion
• Appendix A: Operation Cleeves: Small-Scale Tin Mine Sabotage: Southern Thailand
• Appendix B: Operation Cleeves (OC) Personnel: 8 December
• Acknowledgements
• Bibliography
• Notes
• Plates