I think there must be something about the nature of war that occasionally causes those involved to think out of the box. Ukraine's recent attack on a Russian air base using drones launched from trucks strikes me as an example. But so, too, does the idea of using pigeons (aka Columba livia) as couriers in wartime, because that's what Gordon Corera's book, Operation Columba, is about.
During WWII, smuggling information out of Nazi occupied territories in Europe was hard, if not impossible. So some creative minds in Great Britain hit upon the idea of dropping homing pigeons into those territories to aid the process. The pigeons would be delivered by planes, resistance fighters would attach specially prepared information to tiny canisters attached to the pigeons' legs and send them on their way back across the channel where the information would be conveyed to whomever needed it the most.
Operation Columba, as it was called, evidently proved surprisingly helpful to Allied forces in numerous ways. And Corera's retelling of that story drew me in deeper and deeper, page by page, and chapter by chapter. So much so that I'm now hot on the trail of some of Corera's other books.
Lots of reading going on at your place.
ReplyDeleteLa guerra hace sacar lo peor de la persona. Hay demasiados conflictos bélicos en el mundo y eso lo padece la indefensa población, mientras que los que planean la guerra siempre se encuentran a salvo.
ReplyDeleteUn abrazo.
That book looks interesting, I'll make a not of it and see if it's at my local library. I don't buy books any more as the library provides such a good service.
ReplyDeleteI think I’ve heard of this. It’s quite amazing.
ReplyDeleteSounds fascinating. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDelete