| Page Created |
| May 14th, 2025 |
| Last Updated |
| June 4th, 2025 |
| United States |
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| Additional Information |
| Unit Order of Battle Commanders Operations Equipment Multimedia Sources Biographies |
| Operations |
| September 28th, 1943 – November 15th, 1943 |
| Operation Creek |
| Office of Strategic Services Detachment 101 |
| One of the first Office of Strategic Services operations in the China-Burma-India theatre, Operation Creek with the infiltration of operatives across the Salween River into Japanese-occupied Burma. Their goals included mapping terrain, identifying enemy positions, and setting the foundation for later guerrilla activities. Working with native Kachin tribesmen, the team established safe zones and supplied arms to local fighters. The jungle terrain and tropical disease made the mission perilous, but the intelligence they returned guided U.S. and British Chindit campaigns the following year. It ended in mid-November when monsoon conditions and enemy pursuit forced the team’s withdrawal. |
| February 27th, 1944 – February 28th, 1944 |
| Operation Ginny I |
| Office of Strategic Services Operational Group, 2671st Special Reconnaissance Battalion |
| Operation Ginny I was a sabotage mission carried out by the Office of Strategic Services targeting two railway tunnels near Framura on the Ligurian coast of northern Italy. The objective was to disrupt German troop and supply movements by destroying the tunnel infrastructure along a critical coastal line between La Spezia and Genoa. A 15-man Office of Strategic Services Operational Group, composed primarily of Italian-American soldiers trained in demolition and guerrilla warfare, departed by PT boat from Corsica and attempted a nighttime landing near the target. However, due to poor weather, rough seas, and navigational issues, the team failed to land at the correct location. The decision was made to abort the mission and return to base without engaging the enemy or planting explosives. Though no casualties occurred, the operational failure prompted the planning of a second, more coordinated attempt, Operation Ginny II. |
| March 22nd, 1944 – March 26th, 1944 |
| Operation Ginny II |
| Office of Strategic Services Operational Group, 2671st Special Reconnaissance Battalion |
| Operation Ginny II was the second attempt by the same Office of Strategic Services Operational Group to sabotage the railway tunnels near Framura, Italy. The team set out again from Corsica aboard U.S. Navy PT boats and landed successfully near the target area. However, the operatives were discovered by Italian Fascist militia and captured by German forces on March 14th, 1944. Despite being in uniform and complying with the laws of war, all 15 Office of Strategic Services operatives were executed on March 26th, 1944, near La Spezia on direct orders from German General Anton Dostler. Their summary execution violated the Geneva Convention and triggered a major diplomatic incident. After the war, General Dostler was tried by a U.S. military tribunal and was executed in December 1945 for war crimes. Operation Ginny II remains one of the most tragic Office of Strategic Services missions of the war and was pivotal in setting legal precedents for the treatment of special forces personnel under international law. |
| June 5th, 1944 – mid-September 1944 |
| Operation Jedburgh |
| Office of Strategic Services, Special Operations Executive, Bureau Central de Renseignements et d’Action |
| Beginning on the night before D-Day, June 5th, 1944, Jedburgh teams parachuted into Nazi-occupied France to coordinate and lead Resistance efforts against German forces. Each three-man team (typically one American, one British or French officer, and one radio operator) operated independently to train guerrilla fighters, organise ambushes, and disrupt German troop movements, railways, and communications. Working in coordination with the advancing Allied armies, the Jedburghs significantly hindered German reinforcements and supported major offensives such as the Normandy breakout and Operation Dragoon. The last teams operated into September as France was liberated and some were later redeployed to the Netherlands and Southeast Asia. |
| August 14th, 1944 – September 23rd, 1944 |
| Operation Chrysler |
| Office of Strategic Services Operational Group Pat |
| Launched just days after the Allied landings in southern France (Operation Dragoon, August 15th, 1944), Operational Group PAT’s Operation Chrysler inserted a 15-man Office of Strategic Services team into the Haute-Loire region. They parachuted in near Le Puy-en-Velay to assist local Maquis fighters. The unit conducted demolition raids on German convoys and railway junctions, trained Resistance fighters, and coordinated air drops of supplies. Their operations forced the retreating German 19. Armee to divert forces for internal security. The team continued operations through September, helping the Allies secure key communication lines leading north to Lyon and beyond. |
| August 18th, 1944 – October 20th, 1944 |
| Operation Sparkplug |
| Office of Strategic Services Operational Groups Sparkplug |
| Office of Strategic Services Sparkplug team parachuted into the Apuan Alps of northern Tuscany, Italy. The area was vital for German logistics along the Gothic Line, their last major defensive barrier in Italy. Working with Italian partisans, the Office of Strategic Services operatives trained fighters, ambushed German convoys, and disabled supply routes using timed explosives and coordinated attacks. Their sabotage forced German units to reroute and slowed reinforcements to the front. The mission, which lasted until October 20th, 1944, directly contributed to the success of Allied breakthroughs near Florence and Bologna, and demonstrated the effectiveness of small, mobile special forces in mountainous terrain. |
| August 22nd, 1944 – September 17th, 1944 |
| Operation Greenhouse |
| Office of Strategic Services Operational Group Greenhouse |
| Office of Strategic Services Operational Group Greenhouse parachuted into the Rhône Valley to exploit the German withdrawal after Operation Dragoon. Their objective was to destroy escape routes and prevent an orderly retreat. The team blew up railway bridges near Montélimar and Lyon, targeted fuel depots, and coordinated with Resistance fighters to block mountain passes. Their actions slowed the German 19th Army’s escape, allowing U.S. and Free French forces to inflict serious losses during pursuit operations. By September 17th, 1944, the front lines overtook their positions, and the team was exfiltrated. |
| September 14th, 1944 – October 27th, 1944 |
| Operation Nancy |
| Office of Strategic Services Operational Group Franchy |
| Office of Strategic Services Operational Group Franchy parachuted into the Lorraine region of France, near the Moselle River, east of Nancy. Their task was to gather intelligence, assist Resistance fighters, and sabotage German lines of communication behind the rapidly moving front. They coordinated ambushes, planted mines, and destroyed railway lines as U.S. Third Army advanced under General Patton. Their intelligence was crucial for identifying fallback German positions and weak points in the defences east of Metz. They remained operational until late October when front lines overtook their area of operation. |
| 1944 – 1948 |
| Operation Safehaven |
| Office of Strategic Services Secret Intelligence (SI), Office of Strategic Services X-2 Counterintelligence Branches |
| Operation Safehaven was a collaborative effort between the Office of Strategic Services and the U.S. State Department to track and prevent the escape of Nazi assets and personnel to neutral countries. The operation focused on gathering economic intelligence to identify and block the transfer of German wealth, particularly gold and other valuables, to countries like Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal. Office of Strategic Services agents worked to uncover these clandestine movements, aiming to ensure that Nazi leaders could not finance post-war activities or evade justice. |
| January 5th, 1945 – May 1945 |
| Operation Cornflakes |
| Office of Strategic Services Morale Operations Branch |
| Operation Cornflakes was a psychological warfare initiative aimed at undermining German morale by infiltrating anti-Nazi propaganda into the German postal system. The Office of Strategic Services created counterfeit mailbags filled with forged letters and propaganda materials, which were dropped near bombed mail trains. The intent was for the German postal service to unknowingly collect and deliver these materials, thereby spreading dissent among the populace. The operation involved meticulous forgery of German stamps and documents to ensure authenticity. |
| January 31st, 1945 – April 30th, 1945 |
| Operation Sepals |
| Office of Strategic Services |
| Operation Sepals involved Office of Strategic Services activities in neutral Sweden, focusing on intelligence gathering and establishing networks to monitor German movements and communications. The operation aimed to leverage Sweden’s position to collect valuable information without violating its neutrality overtly. Details about the specific activities and outcomes of this operation remain limited due to the sensitive nature of operations conducted in neutral territories. |
| February 18th, 1945 – April 20th, 1945 |
| Operation Margarita |
| Office of Strategic Services Special Intelligence, Office of Strategic Services Operational Groups Margarita |
| Operation Margarita inserted Special Intelligence and Operational Groups personnel into the Veneto region. Their mission focused on deep intelligence gathering concerning German armour, troop concentrations, and logistics in the Po Valley. Disguised as civilians and priests, agents infiltrated German-held cities such as Verona and Padua, transmitting encrypted radio reports back to Allied Headquarters. Simultaneously, Operational Groups in rural areas trained partisans to execute small-scale sabotage. By April, as the Allies began their final offensive, Margarita teams provided battlefield intelligence that led to precision strikes and rapid territorial gains. The operation concluded on April 20th, 1945 with the collapse of German defences in northern Italy. |
| March 1945 – August 1945 |
| Project Eagle |
| Office of Strategic Services |
| Project Eagle was a joint operation between the Office of Strategic Services and the Korean Liberation Army, aiming to infiltrate Japanese-occupied Korea. The plan involved training Korean operatives to conduct espionage and guerrilla warfare in key cities like Seoul and Pyongyang. However, the operation was halted due to Japan’s surrender in August 1945, and the trained operatives were not deployed. |
| March 10th, 1945 – April 27th, 1945 |
| Operation Dover |
| Office of Strategic Services Operational Group Dover |
| Operational Group Dover team inserted into the mountains northwest of Florence to disrupt German supply and reinforcement routes along the Bologna-Modena corridor. The team, composed of Americans and Italian partisans, conducted bridge demolitions, ambushed troop transports, and sabotaged telegraph poles. Their intelligence reports fed directly into Allied targeting of German artillery positions in the Apennines. Operating under cover in hostile territory until late April, they contributed significantly to the success of the final Allied spring offensive that breached the Gothic Line and led to the liberation of northern Italy by May 2nd, 1945. |
| March 24th, 1945 |
| Operation Varsity, Office of Strategic Services Teams |
| Office of Strategic Services |
| Captain Vinciguerra’s Office of Strategic Services detachment consists of sixteen operatives tasked primarily with infiltrating German rear areas immediately upon landing. Their objectives include collecting real-time intelligence on enemy movements, identifying defensive positions, and conducting limited sabotage operations to disrupt German defences during the critical initial hours of the operation. Employing deception and mobility, two agents, Helmut Steltermann and Robert Staub, disguise themselves in German Wehrmacht uniforms, intending to blend in and operate a captured Volkswagen Kübelwagen. Equipped with long-range radios, the team plans to relay intelligence and sabotage enemy communications amidst invasion chaos. Named Operation Algonquin, the Office of Strategic Services detachment divides into four two-man teams: Alsace, Poissy, S&S, and Student. Unlike previous missions, these teams land simultaneously with the main airborne assault forces from the US 17th Airborne and British 6th Airborne Divisions, using military gliders for insertion. However, upon approach, intense German anti-aircraft and machine-gun fire severely disrupts their landing. Vinciguerra’s glider sustains critical damage from flak, causing the destruction of the Kübelwagen tyres and essential communication equipment. Several Office of Strategic Services operatives, including Vinciguerra and Steltermann, are injured but manage to seek cover. Immediately following landing, severe setbacks arise. German defensive fire inflicts casualties, immobilises the Office of Strategic Services detachment, destroys vital equipment, and quickly negates their mission objectives. The intended confusion to mask their movements does not materialise as the operatives land amidst heavily contested drop zones. Steltermann and Staub become trapped in their Wehrmacht uniforms alongside Allied airborne troops, unable to carry out planned deception tasks. Injured, pinned down, and lacking operational mobility, the OSS operatives fail to undertake their intended covert missions. Moreover, the rapid Allied advance soon renders further intelligence-gathering redundant. |
| March 24th, 1945 – May 8th, 1945 |
| Operation Rype |
| Office of Strategic Services Special Forces (Norwegian-American ski troops under Detachment 101) |
| Office of Strategic Services Rype team parachuted into Snåsa, Norway, under the command of Major William Colby. Their mission was to sabotage the Nordland railway and prevent the retreat of over 150,000 German troops stationed in northern Norway. Facing freezing temperatures and mountainous terrain, the operatives used guerrilla tactics to blow bridges, derail trains, and cut communication lines. The operation relied on coordination with Norwegian Resistance groups and Kjevik-based aircraft for resupply. Rype’s actions significantly delayed German withdrawal and were maintained until the German surrender on May 8th, 1945. It was the only U.S. ground combat operation on Norwegian soil during the war. |
| July 16th, 1945 – August 30th, 1945 |
| Operation Hound Dog |
| Office of Strategic Services Detachment 202 |
| In mid-July 1945, Office of Strategic Services agents from Detachment 202 parachuted into northern Indochina near Tuyên Quang, in collaboration with the Viet Minh. Their principal goal was to locate and liberate downed American pilots and prisoners of war, but the mission quickly expanded to gathering intelligence on Japanese strength and movements in French Indochina. They also trained Viet Minh in demolition, radio operation, and field tactics. Despite the war ending on August 15th, 1945, Office of Strategic Services personnel continued operations through the end of August to stabilise the region and assist in Japanese disarmament. Operation Hound Dog influenced postwar American involvement in Vietnam. |