Funkspiel

Funkspiel (German: radio game) was a German term most used referring to counter-intelligence operations in France against the Special Operations Executive during World War II. SOE was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in Axis occupied countries and to aid local resistance movements. The Germans used captured wireless operators and their wirelesses (radios) to send false information to SOE headquarters in London and to intercept and act on SOE messages to agents in the field. A similar operation in the Netherlands was called Englandspiel (England game). The results of the two operations were that dozens of SOE agents were captured and executed, networks were destroyed, and the Germans confiscated tons of weapons and military equipment. In both cases, SOE headquarters was slow to react to signs that its communications had been compromised. Funkspiel and Englandspiel are regarded as the worst disasters that SOE suffered during World War II.