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| The OSS in World War II Albania: Covert Operations and Collaboration with Communist Partisans | 
 enlarge | Author: Peter Lucas
Creator: Fatos Tarifa
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $30.00
You Save: $5.00 (14%)
Buy New/Used from $26.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (2 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1220036
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 220
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6
ISBN: 0786429674
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.548673094965
EAN: 9780786429677
ASIN: 0786429674
Publication Date: March 23, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
World War II found the country of Albania fighting a war within a war. In addition to the threat all of Europe faced from the Germans, Albania was engaged in a civil war between the Nazi-sponsored Ballists and the Communist Partisans led by Enver Hoxha. While America was reluctant to get involved in the civil conflict, the United States was naturally inclined to lend support to whoever fought the Nazis--even if that meant an alliance with the Communists. On a cold November night in 1943, Dale McAdoo (code named Tank) secretly landed on the Albanian coast with a team of OSS (Office of Strategic Services) agents, including Ismail Carapizzi, an Albanian guide and interpreter who would later be murdered. McAdoo's team, the first of many to follow, set up a base of operations in a deep water level cave on the rocky Albanian coast that served the OSS as it carried out its mission of gathering intelligence to support the Allied war effort and harass the Germans. McAdoo was joined by Captain Tom Stefan (code name Art), an Albanian-speaking OSS officer from Boston, whose assignment was to join Hoxha at his remote mountain headquarters and bond with the reclusive Communist leader to benefit the OSS. This volume describes how the OSS aided the Communist-led Partisans in an attempt to weaken the Nazi cause in Albania and neighboring Italy. The book presents an in-depth look at the small core of hardened men who comprised these highly specialized teams, including each member's background and his special fitness for his wartime role behind enemy lines. The American and British presence in Albania during World War II and the later deterioration of Hoxha's relations with Captain Tom Stefan and the OSS mission are discussed in detail. Firsthand interviews with still-living participants and extensive onsite research make this book a unique resource for a little-known dramatic piece of World War II history.
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| Customer Reviews:
 OSS in Albania September 18, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Well written. Very accurate. A story that had to be told. Only for someone who is very interested in Special Ops in WWII.
 An Obscure Theater of WWII...Which is Fascinating to Read May 15, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Mr. Lucas has spent years in researching this book on a very little known area of WWII...American secret OSS operations in Albania. His overview of the pre-WWII Albanian political scene sets the stage for understanding the truly convuluted nature of why the B-K, Partizans, King Zog followers, etc. fought each other as much as they did the Germans. It also gives the reader a grasp of why the US would insert a small number of OSS operative into what had previously been a British theater of war. Once these teams were inserted, Mr. Lucas goes in depth on their interaction with Enver Hoxha, the Brits and their US handlers back in Italy. Particularly interesting is the detailed background information on a number of US OSS operators such as CPT Stefan, LT Kukich, LT O'Keefe, etc. It is most interesting to see how their pre-war lives did (or did not!) prepare them for truly vicious fighting in the Balkans. Finally, in a "where are they" now chapter, Mr. Lucas reveals the post-WWII activities of the key figures and how their service in the OSS affected their lives. This book was particularly interesting for me as my uncle was LT John O'Keefe and I served in the Balkans back in the mid-90's. Mr. Lucas has clearly captured the essence of what it was like "back then" in a very dangerous WWII backwater where few people knew the US was involved. Hopefully this new book will begin to erase that lack of knowledge and bring out what these truly heroic men actually underwent.
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