Cirrus@Austlit

'Know Your Enemy is the sequel to Irregular Safari and follows the same family through two world wars and the Great Depression. Renewed terrorist activity, reprisal attacks and political pressure force the sale of the family interests in South Africa and after much difficulty, a gun battle and tragedy they are able to consolidate back in Britain. On the outbreak of WW I the family become involved and some are posted to the Western Front in France. The horrors of trench warfare and a field hospital are experienced. (Based on a diary written in the trenches by the author’s father.) The countries of Europe were bankrupted by the war and were ill prepared for the start of the depression and the Wall Street crash and were struggling for survival. Hitler emerged and manipulated the situation to form the Third Reich with plans to overrun Europe. Members of the family and their friends are directly involved in many of the lesser known secret facets of WW II such as Mulberry, Knickebein, Armadillo, Pluto, Un Grand Ruse de Guerre and the Quattara Rabbit Run Deception. An assignment to gather secret information keeps the family au fait with a lot of classified material but causes reprisal attacks from the ‘Enemy Within’ and amazing revelations of traitors operating on the ‘Home Front’. The highly secret preparations for ’D Day' and the Normandy landing reach a crisis that requires much skill, improvisation and bravery to resolve. ' (Publication summary)