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Cassell Military Classics: The Red Orchestra: The Soviet Spy Network Inside Nazi Europe

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Reads like a fast-paced thriller .

The book tells the story of the biggest intelligence -gathering operation in the history of espionage .

On June 22 ,1941, Hitler launched the invasion of Soviet Union .The attack code- named "Barbarossa " led to the biggest land campaign in the history of war .Eastern campaign was four days old ,panzers smashing their way through forward Soviet defences ,when German long -range radio monitoring stations at Kranz on the Baltic coast of East Prussia intercepted cryptic messages beamed by clandestine radio transmitters.

Signal intelligence squads of Funkabwehr immediately swung into action. Using director- finder sets took cross bearings of these transmissions ,established that directional lines traversed Brussels ,Paris ,Lucerne and even Berlin itself .From the nature of these transmissions German intelligence admitted that this was the work of Soviet spyring in Reich and occupied territories ,recipient of enciphered messages was housed in Moscow.

Welcome to Red Orchestra .Though created by the GRU( Soviet Military Intelligence ) it included in its ranks people of several nationalities ,coming from different walks of life ,having diverse political persuasions ,but all united in their hatred for Nazi regime. Red Orchestra network of spies ,agents ,informers frustrated Hitler's
bid to conquer Russia.

Soviet spy apparat (network) in Berlin while transmitting information used call signs "Choro " , "Wolf " .After much dedicated and laborious detective work the cryptoanalysts of "Funkabwehr " uncovered their identies ."Choro "was Lieutenant Harro Schulze -Boysen, a Luftwaffe desk officer in the Reich Ministry of Aviation .This allowed him to access highly sensitive information ."Wolf "turned out to be Dr . Arvid Harnack ,a senior Civil servant in the Reich Ministry of Economics .Being members of Berlin high society they brushed shoulders with highest ranking officers of German High Command and Nazi party.

Another important cog of GRU spy network was Grand Chef's circuit,which operated from Belgium ,Holland ,France .But who was Grand Chef ? He was Leopold Trepper alias Adam Mikler ,Jean Gilbert , a Polish Jew.Recruited into the GRU,he went to Belgium .There he opened a commercial enterprise as a cover for his clandestine activities .His firms Simex ,Simexco -after the German Occupation of western Europe -did lucrative business with Todt organisation which supervised works of construction and fortification for "Wehrmacht" .Money generated from the business was used by Grand Chef to further expand activities of the network .As the author aptly puts it " Third Reich was subsidising the Red Orchestra just as a living organism will nourish the cancer that is eroding it "


It was during the course of such interactions Trepper's agents heard Hitler's preparations to invade Russia.However the most important source of intelligence for GRU proved to be "LUCY".LUCY worked for Soviet
Soviet intelligence which operated from neutral country Switzerland .The network dubbed "DIE ROTE DREI"(The Red Three) was erected by GRU agent ,a Hungarian map maker Sandor Rado ,whose call name was DORA.

LUCY was Rudolf Rossler, a German refugee publisher living in Lucerne,Harsh treatment meted out by Alfred Rosenberg who seized his profitable theatre company made him a rabid anti-nazi.Rossler alias LUCY ,whose identity was to remain secret long after the war had ended ,received information from sources in German High Command (OKW).The post war CIA study had partially unmasked their identities .The most important among them were Lt.Gen Fritz Thiele,second -in-command of OKW's communications branch and Baron Rudolf Von Gersdorff chief of intelligence on the staff of Army Group Centre on theEastern Front.

Thus through LUCY the GRU penetrated German General Staff .Scarcely ten hours passed between taking of a decision by OKW and its receipt in Moscow which means the decision was known to STAVKA(Soviet High Command)even before it came to the notice of German field commanders.
This was intelligence windfall of the first order which had no parallels anytime in history.

The operation of Soviet spy networks helped Red Army to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat .War began disastrously for the Russians .If only Stalin had heeded to the warnings of Red Orchestra of about impending German attack ,Wehrmacht could have been stopped on its tracks.

The book contains some startling revelations .This pertains to Operation Case Blue launched on June 28,1942 by Wehrmacht .Mr .Tarrant has debunked the claim of leading historians of the war on Eastern Front who said Stalin again ignored intelligence warnings and was responsible for the destruction of South -Western front with the enemy reaching the banks of Volga at Stalingrad.

Author has shown that Stavka was aware of German intentions thanks to Red Orchestra .Entire ten pages of Hitler"s Directive No:41 setting out the strategic intentions of summer offensive was transmitted to Moscow thanks to Lucy.This enabled Stalin and his generals to devise a strategy where by Germans were lured deep into the Soviet territory .In military parlance this is know as elastic or mobile defence.Red Army retreated,shirked contact with the enemy,surrendering vast swathes of land in the process.Author says Germans where drawn into the jaws of enormous steel trap which snapped shut in Stalngrad.

Knowledge bestows power and intelligence represents highest form of knowledge .Soviet foreknowledge again of German intentions helped Red Army to parry enemy blows .This was precisely what happened during Operation Citadel .Thanks again to LUCY, Red Army was able to blunt the German drive to pinch out the Kursk Bulge .

Some what strange it looks,Soviet histriography of war has virtually ignored the contribution of Red Orchestra in that country's victory over Nazi Germany .On the contrary author under the chapter ,"Ultra Myth " has reproached attempts made by some historians in the West to belittle its role.

By the end of 1943, Red Orchestra networks were all dead ,snuffed out in a massive counter -intelligence operation launched by Abwehr and Gestapo.LUCY's sources too perished due to purge unleashed by Nazi regime against senior Commanders of German Officer Corps for their attempt to assassinate Hitler on July 20, 1944.However by this time the tide of war on theSoviet front had changed ,Red Army began its inexorable advance towards Berlin .


Based on solid ,painstaking research ,this book I rate the book best read in recent times Author has shed new light on the war in the Eastern Front ignored by historians in the West for which he needs to be felicitated .Now it appears the history of Soviet-German war needs revision ,reinterpretation.

The book tells the story of the biggest intelligence gathering operation in the history of espionage. I n fact "RED ORCHESTRA" was a loose collection of Soviet spy apparats ,networks which operated in Nazi Germany ,Nazi -occupied France,Belgium ,Holland and in Neutral Switzerland.Erected by the GRU, (Soviet Military Intelligence)its purpose was to spy on Nazi Germany .It included in its ranks people from different walks of life .Some of its members were strategically -placed German officers ,who fed the Soviet Agents operational decisions ,details regarding German conduct of war in the eastern front.

The organisation ,played a key role in thwarting Hitler's designs to conquer Soviet Russia..The Nazis Came to know about Red Orchestra after Germany had launched its invasion of Russia.The founder of Soviet spy network in western Europe was a Polish Jew ,LEOPOL D TREPPER. However ,the most important among all the espionage network was the Lucy Ring ,which operated from Switzerland.Lucy warned Russians about Hitler's plan to invade Soviet Union, even went to the extent of giving the precise Time and date ,when invasion will commence.Strangely Stalin chose to ignore those warnings.As a result Soviet Union ,came to the brink of military disaster.

As the war progressed , Lucy started passing on top- grade intelligence to Russians .Top secret plans of the German High command ,were known to Soviet front -line generals ,even before they were known to German Field Commanders .Lucy's sources of imformataion were two senior officers who served in communications Branch;Col.Rudolf Von.Gersdorff, Chief of Intelligence in the staff of Army group centre.(Eastern Front)The information Relayed seriously compromised the German Military operations in Russia..During the latter half of the 1942,contrary to what I had known ,the WEHRMACHT was drawn into the jaws of an enormous steel trap Which eventually led to Stalingrad.Subsequently, on July 1943,again thanks to the intelligence provided by Lucy, the Red army was able to stop the German drive to pinch out the KURSK salient .

By this time ,Soviet spy networks were all rolled up by a massive counter-intelligence operation launched by the ABWEHR and the GESTAPO.Swiss network also stopped functioning.Lucy sources dried up due to ruthless purge unleashed by the Nazi regime against senior commanders of German officer corps for their alleged complicity to assassinate Hitler on July20,1944.But success came too late for Germans.Strategic initiative had already been wrested by the Red army as it began relentless drive towards Berlin.

Gripping ,thrilling absolutely marvellous book,the best that I have read in recent times.Based on solid painstaking research ,Mr Tarrant has shed some new light on Russo-German War for which he needs to be felicitated. This book is bound to alter how the posterity may look at this event.-Reviewed by K.Mukherji (mukherjik@hotmail.com

a breath of fresh air amongst all the garbage that is out there. this is one of the few books that simply and excitingly tells the truth of the greatest spy network in history. is there any wonder that the russians were so far ahead of us during the cold war considering the lead they had built up? this book reads like a novel with exciting caracters only the caracters are real. it takes less than 200 pages for v.e. tarrant to do what most authors of dubious reputation like louis kilzer only try to do. tell an incredibly fascinating and true story that is historically accurate. 5 big stars

This book details the devastating (to the Germans) effect of the 'European' spy ring known as 'The Red Orchestra', whose many sources included a direct pipeline to OKW. It tells the story of the beginnings, people, and fates of those involved. It tells of the info. so massive in size that was given to the 'Director' in Moscow, that the 'Ultra' intercepts the west was receiving was miniscule in comparison. For the first time in available info. to the west some of the exact transmissions from the ring that the Soviet military were able utilize most effectively.

It clarifies in an easy and readable manner the significance of codes the ring used, (Werther was not a person, but a 'cover code' signifying the text info. was army related. 'Cover code' Olga was info. about the Luftwaffe). It also shows the breadth and depth of the 'underground' of people involved in destroying the Nazi regime, Communist and non-Communist. (Rossler was a right-wing conservative).

Drawn from sources recently made available from the ex-Soviet state, interviews with survivors, and established known data from the War, it puts to 'lie' the historically flawed book "Hitler's Traitor" by Kilzer and shows him to be a 'sensationalist' whose book should be in the 'fiction' classification.

Reading tip: Read it in one sitting. It is compelling and thrilling and you will enjoy tracking all the characters better if you read it straight through.

It is hard to cheer for either side: the Nazis or the Soviets, but this espionage book is absolutely fascinating. The author provides excellent background and research as the stories unravel. Of course, when the Grand Chef shows up soon after the first big raid, this will be difficult for movie viewers to accept. But, it points out that counter-intelligence was in its primitive state too.

You almost need a flow chart for the first half of the book. The people have name, code names, etc. The second half is clearer, and to me, more interesting. This covers the period where -- or whatever perverted logic -- it seems some on the German general staff were willing to see the Wehrmacht slaughtered at the Battle of Kursk in order to get rid of Hitler.