British Intelligence, Strategy and the Cold War, 1945-51

Over the last ten years there has been a growing appreciation of Britain’s central position in the development of the early Cold War, and a range of studies have focused on the diplomacy of this critical period. This volume examines the clandestine aspects of British policy, concentrating on the themes of intelligence and strategy. Drawing upon previously neglected documentary sources, this survey examines such central issues as the role of the British defectors: Philby, Burgess and Maclean; Anglo-American special operations against the Eastern bloc; the bitter arguments between Attlee and Montgomery over nuclear strategy; and the military dimension of Britain’s plans for leadership of a Third Force’ as a rival to the Soviet and American blocs.