Overview

Well written and informative, the book is a magnificent assessment of the Cold War history. - Francis Gary Powers, Jr. Secrets of the Cold War focuses on a dark period of a silent war and offers a new perspective on the struggle between the superpowers of the world told in the words of those who were there. The author, formerly an expert in counterintelligence in US Army Europe, weaves together exciting true accounts of allies collecting enemy information in the East and fighting spies and terrorists in the West. Learn the bizarre method a British agent uses to obtain the muzzle size of a Russian tank as he risks his life jumping on a moving train in East Germany. A French officer drives into a Soviet tank column and escapes undiscovered by cunning methods. In West Germany, terrorism and spies are rampant. Communists shoot a RPG into a General's occupied limousine and terrorists kidnap another General. From the espionage files, an American soldier is nearly recruited in a downtown bar to be a spy and a First Sergeant is lured by sex to be an unknowing participant in spying. In another riveting account, a US Berlin tank unit goes on red alert when the Soviets stop a US convoy on the autobahn between West Germany and Berlin. The Berlin Command orders the tanks to rescue them; If anything gets in your way, either run over it or blow it away! Young US Berlin train commanders recount their encounters with their Soviet counterparts aboard the Berlin Duty Train. Containing a host of first-person accounts that lifts the lid on previously untold clandestine activities, this is a major contribution to Cold War history, and exciting reading for all those who have an interest in the real-life world of military intelligence, counterintelligence and espionage.

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9781906033910

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Reviews

What makes Secrets of the Cold War: US Army Europe's Intelligence and Counterintelligence Activities Against the Soviets, by Leland C. McCaslin, stand out is its highlighting of unique missions by American and Allied forces in Europe to thwart Soviet espionage. It is full of first-person narratives of real events that seems to be taken from the pages of a pop-fiction spy thriller. * MOAA Stars and Stripes *

Author Information

Leland, his brother, father and mother (nurse) were all Army Officers. Leland graduated from Mississippi State University in 1969 where he majored in communications, studied Military Science (and received airborne training) and obtained his Army commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps. On active duty in 1969, he attended the combat arms tanker's Armored Officers' Basic Course; the Counterintelligence Special Agent's Course and served at various locations in the US. Upon his ETS (estimated time of separation), he joined the US Civil Service and began working for the military in various intelligence jobs, starting as a GS-9 in 1973. He served at Military Headquarters, The Pentagon from 1973 to 1976. In 1979, he arrived in Heidelberg, Germany, and served 16 years at US Army Europe where he actively participated in the Cold War. To thwart espionage, he appeared on several live and recorded segments of the European Armed Forces Network TV and Radio to discuss counterespionage strategies, both past and present. He then retired as a GM-14 in 1995. At that time, he was the most senior Security Specialist in Europe. While overseas, he acquired a M. Ed. from Boston University. After he retired from civil service, he taught speech at several local colleges. With his background in Security and Intelligence, he worked as a contract investigator for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) with 9/11 related duties. He is now fully retired and resides with his wife, Charlotte, and greyhound, Keener, in Alabama.

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