Overview

The episode of the opportunistic valet of Britain's ambassador to neutral Turkey during World War II—dubbed Cicero for the eloquence of the top-secret material he appropriated from his employer Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen and sold to the Nazis—is a staple of intelligence lore. Yet this remarkable and sometimes comical story has often been recounted with little regard for the facts, most prominently in the popular film Five Fingers. Now, historian and former intelligence officer Richard Wires presents the first full and objective account of the Cicero spy episode, offering closure to past discrepancies and credible solutions to remaining mysteries. Copiously documented, The Cicero Spy Affair provides readers with the true chronology of events and places them in an international context. It is a story set in the hotbed of intrigue that was wartime Turkey, replete with a dramatic car chase, a series of colorful mistresses ever loyal to their lover the spy, and an old-school British ambassador whose documents are photographed at night as he plays the piano in the drawing room and/or slips into a sleeping pill-induced slumber. Despite the affair's amusing aspects, it is also a sobering tale in which there are no winners and from which there are serious lessons to be learned. Germany never made use of the highly sensitive British documents it obtained during this crucial four-month period of the war because the handling of the information was caught up in a bitter and wasteful personal rivalry between Ribbentrop and Schellenberg. It was sheer luck for the British that their war effort did not sustain any significant damage. For, while the book states definitively that security regarding the Allied invasion of Normandy was not breached in the Cicero affair, Germany did gain a potential advantage concerning campaigns in the Aegean and the Balkans. This embarrassed the British greatly, especially since Cicero walked away a free man. However, the greedy valet—the most highly paid spy in history at that time—did not achieve his goals, either; he discovered some years later that the British banknotes he insisted on as payment were counterfeited by the Germans as part of a larger counterfeiting project. Cicero died a desperate man, deeply in debt—a fitting anticlimax for an espionage episode resulting in neither bodily injury nor strategic impact, but in humiliation on all sides.

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Reviews

The story of the most famous spy of the century--Cicero--has long been haunted by mysteries. Was he a double agent? What role did the long-legged secretary play? What effect did his intelligence have? Now Richard Wires, exploiting fresh scholarly sources, exhausting every aspect, and examining them with a critical eye, takes us to the heart of the Cicero affair--once and for all. -David Kahn, author of Hitler's Spies

Wires is superb, with research as definitive as a field riddled with intentionally misleading sources will permit, with analysis that asks all of the right and important questions, and with lively, cool prose that retains the drama inherent in the story without a hint of exaggeration. This book, which appears in David Kahn's series, Perspectives on Intelligence History, is a model for the field...Time and again Wires presents the evidence, weighs it with care, and gives us his own considered conclusions. Wires no doubt is helped in his balancing act by having degreed in European history and in law, and having served in southern Germany in the Counter-Intelligence Corps, as well as having lived in London, but his best ally is a sturdy commonsense. The result is an astute, sensible, very readable book that is unlikely ever to be overtaken by the work of others...a fine book: were that there were more like it in this crowded and often murky field. -Albion ... this account of the Cicero spy affair is a very good read by all standards. -The Historian Professor Wires is as critical of the intrigues inside the Nazi intelligence machine as he is of the faulty security inside the British Embassy; and he disposes of several popular legends. -Times Literary Supplement [T]his book is far more than just an overview-reaching some conclusions previously unreached....The Cicero Spy Affair is scholarly research presented in exciting and concise fashion. You won't be able to read it without learning something. Or learning a lot. You'll find it hard to put down. -The Star Press A thrilling plunge into the world of the legendary WWII spy code-name Cicero, a shadowy figure whose mysteries have challenged the best efforts of expert intelligence officers, historians, and journalists....A great true spy adventure full of dramatic suspense. Wires has done exhaustive research in discovering what is known today, despite the web of lies and false clues of a master spy operating in the guise of a faithful servant. -Kirkus Reviews Wartime spying is one of the most intriguing areas in the Historiography of World War II, and Wires has given us the best account yet of the remarkable espionage career of Elyesa Bazna, a valet who in 1943-44 microfilmed dozens of top-secret papers belonging to the unsuspecting British Ambassador to Turkey....This is a great tale, all the more so because it is true. Recommended for general collections and those strong in World War II studies. -Library Journal This is a briliantly researched and reconstructed piece of history. Both the text itself and the notes let us into details and side issues, such as the example of Moyzisch's assistant secretary who turned out to be a spy for the Americans. There is a detailed analysis of the complex Turkish situation. The dramatis personae are well characterized as to personality and motivation. The shadow war of intelligence in World War II is crowded with spies on all sides and there is a rich literature published especially in England about the subject. This book deserves a place of honour among them. It clarifies for the first time the story of the so-called spy of the century, the highest paid spy, the man codenamed, unknown to him at the time, Cicero. -International Social Science Review �T�his book is far more than just an overview-reaching some conclusions previously unreached....The Cicero Spy Affair is scholarly research presented in exciting and concise fashion. You won't be able to read it without learning something. Or learning a lot. You'll find it hard to put down. -The Star Press ?...this account of the Cicero spy affair is a very good read by all standards.?-The Historian ?Professor Wires is as critical of the intrigues inside the Nazi intelligence machine as he is of the faulty security inside the British Embassy; and he disposes of several popular legends.?-Times Literary Supplement ?[T]his book is far more than just an overview-reaching some conclusions previously unreached....The Cicero Spy Affair is scholarly research presented in exciting and concise fashion. You won't be able to read it without learning something. Or learning a lot. You'll find it hard to put down.?-The Star Press ?A thrilling plunge into the world of the legendary WWII spy code-name Cicero, a shadowy figure whose mysteries have challenged the best efforts of expert intelligence officers, historians, and journalists....A great true spy adventure full of dramatic suspense. Wires has done exhaustive research in discovering what is known today, despite the web of lies and false clues of a master spy operating in the guise of a faithful servant.?-Kirkus Reviews ?Wartime spying is one of the most intriguing areas in the Historiography of World War II, and Wires has given us the best account yet of the remarkable espionage career of Elyesa Bazna, a valet who in 1943-44 microfilmed dozens of top-secret papers belonging to the unsuspecting British Ambassador to Turkey....This is a great tale, all the more so because it is true. Recommended for general collections and those strong in World War II studies.?-Library Journal ?This is a briliantly researched and reconstructed piece of history. Both the text itself and the notes let us into details and side issues, such as the example of Moyzisch's assistant secretary who turned out to be a spy for the Americans. There is a detailed analysis of the complex Turkish situation. The dramatis personae are well characterized as to personality and motivation. The shadow war of intelligence in World War II is crowded with spies on all sides and there is a rich literature published especially in England about the subject. This book deserves a place of honour among them. It clarifies for the first time the story of the so-called spy of the century, the highest paid spy, the man codenamed, unknown to him at the time, Cicero.?-International Social Science Review ?Wires is superb, with research as definitive as a field riddled with intentionally misleading sources will permit, with analysis that asks all of the right and important questions, and with lively, cool prose that retains the drama inherent in the story without a hint of exaggeration. This book, which appears in David Kahn's series, Perspectives on Intelligence History, is a model for the field...Time and again Wires presents the evidence, weighs it with care, and gives us his own considered conclusions. Wires no doubt is helped in his balancing act by having degreed in European history and in law, and having served in southern Germany in the Counter-Intelligence Corps, as well as having lived in London, but his best ally is a sturdy commonsense. The result is an astute, sensible, very readable book that is unlikely ever to be overtaken by the work of others...a fine book: were that there were more like it in this crowded and often murky field.?-Albion .,. this account of the Cicero spy affair is a very good read by all standards. -The Historian A comprehensively thorough yet absorbingly readable account of a major episode in World War II espionage. Richard Wires provides a delectable feast for scholars, practitioners, and spy buffs alike: vast research treated with expert feel, cogent judgment, intriguing presentation. So close to definitive that it may never be superseded. -H.Bradford Westerfield, Yale University The story of the most famous spy of the century--Cicero--has long been haunted by mysteries. Was he a double agent? What role did the long-legged secretary play? What effect did his intelligence have? Now Richard Wires, exploiting fresh scholarly sources, exhausting every aspect, and examining them with a critical eye, takes us to the heart of the Cicero affair--once and for all. -David Kahn, author of Hitler's Spies

Wires is superb, with research as definitive as a field riddled with intentionally misleading sources will permit, with analysis that asks all of the right and important questions, and with lively, cool prose that retains the drama inherent in the story without a hint of exaggeration. This book, which appears in David Kahn's series, Perspectives on Intelligence History, is a model for the field...Time and again Wires presents the evidence, weighs it with care, and gives us his own considered conclusions. Wires no doubt is helped in his balancing act by having degreed in European history and in law, and having served in southern Germany in the Counter-Intelligence Corps, as well as having lived in London, but his best ally is a sturdy commonsense. The result is an astute, sensible, very readable book that is unlikely ever to be overtaken by the work of others...a fine book: were that there were more like it in this crowded and often murky field. -Albion ... this account of the Cicero spy affair is a very good read by all standards. -The Historian Professor Wires is as critical of the intrigues inside the Nazi intelligence machine as he is of the faulty security inside the British Embassy; and he disposes of several popular legends. -Times Literary Supplement [T]his book is far more than just an overview-reaching some conclusions previously unreached....The Cicero Spy Affair is scholarly research presented in exciting and concise fashion. You won't be able to read it without learning something. Or learning a lot. You'll find it hard to put down. -The Star Press A thrilling plunge into the world of the legendary WWII spy code-name Cicero, a shadowy figure whose mysteries have challenged the best efforts of expert intelligence officers, historians, and journalists....A great true spy adventure full of dramatic suspense. Wires has done exhaustive research in discovering what is known today, despite the web of lies and false clues of a master spy operating in the guise of a faithful servant. -Kirkus Reviews Wartime spying is one of the most intriguing areas in the Historiography of World War II, and Wires has given us the best account yet of the remarkable espionage career of Elyesa Bazna, a valet who in 1943-44 microfilmed dozens of top-secret papers belonging to the unsuspecting British Ambassador to Turkey....This is a great tale, all the more so because it is true. Recommended for general collections and those strong in World War II studies. -Library Journal This is a briliantly researched and reconstructed piece of history. Both the text itself and the notes let us into details and side issues, such as the example of Moyzisch's assistant secretary who turned out to be a spy for the Americans. There is a detailed analysis of the complex Turkish situation. The dramatis personae are well characterized as to personality and motivation. The shadow war of intelligence in World War II is crowded with spies on all sides and there is a rich literature published especially in England about the subject. This book deserves a place of honour among them. It clarifies for the first time the story of the so-called spy of the century, the highest paid spy, the man codenamed, unknown to him at the time, Cicero. -International Social Science Review T his book is far more than just an overview-reaching some conclusions previously unreached....The Cicero Spy Affair is scholarly research presented in exciting and concise fashion. You won't be able to read it without learning something. Or learning a lot. You'll find it hard to put down. -The Star Press ?...this account of the Cicero spy affair is a very good read by all standards.?-The Historian ?Professor Wires is as critical of the intrigues inside the Nazi intelligence machine as he is of the faulty security inside the British Embassy; and he disposes of several popular legends.?-Times Literary Supplement ?[T]his book is far more than just an overview-reaching some conclusions previously unreached....The Cicero Spy Affair is scholarly research presented in exciting and concise fashion. You won't be able to read it without learning something. Or learning a lot. You'll find it hard to put down.?-The Star Press ?A thrilling plunge into the world of the legendary WWII spy code-name Cicero, a shadowy figure whose mysteries have challenged the best efforts of expert intelligence officers, historians, and journalists....A great true spy adventure full of dramatic suspense. Wires has done exhaustive research in discovering what is known today, despite the web of lies and false clues of a master spy operating in the guise of a faithful servant.?-Kirkus Reviews ?Wartime spying is one of the most intriguing areas in the Historiography of World War II, and Wires has given us the best account yet of the remarkable espionage career of Elyesa Bazna, a valet who in 1943-44 microfilmed dozens of top-secret papers belonging to the unsuspecting British Ambassador to Turkey....This is a great tale, all the more so because it is true. Recommended for general collections and those strong in World War II studies.?-Library Journal ?This is a briliantly researched and reconstructed piece of history. Both the text itself and the notes let us into details and side issues, such as the example of Moyzisch's assistant secretary who turned out to be a spy for the Americans. There is a detailed analysis of the complex Turkish situation. The dramatis personae are well characterized as to personality and motivation. The shadow war of intelligence in World War II is crowded with spies on all sides and there is a rich literature published especially in England about the subject. This book deserves a place of honour among them. It clarifies for the first time the story of the so-called spy of the century, the highest paid spy, the man codenamed, unknown to him at the time, Cicero.?-International Social Science Review ?Wires is superb, with research as definitive as a field riddled with intentionally misleading sources will permit, with analysis that asks all of the right and important questions, and with lively, cool prose that retains the drama inherent in the story without a hint of exaggeration. This book, which appears in David Kahn's series, Perspectives on Intelligence History, is a model for the field...Time and again Wires presents the evidence, weighs it with care, and gives us his own considered conclusions. Wires no doubt is helped in his balancing act by having degreed in European history and in law, and having served in southern Germany in the Counter-Intelligence Corps, as well as having lived in London, but his best ally is a sturdy commonsense. The result is an astute, sensible, very readable book that is unlikely ever to be overtaken by the work of others...a fine book: were that there were more like it in this crowded and often murky field.?-Albion .,. this account of the Cicero spy affair is a very good read by all standards. -The Historian A comprehensively thorough yet absorbingly readable account of a major episode in World War II espionage. Richard Wires provides a delectable feast for scholars, practitioners, and spy buffs alike: vast research treated with expert feel, cogent judgment, intriguing presentation. So close to definitive that it may never be superseded. -H.Bradford Westerfield, Yale University The story of the most famous spy of the century--Cicero--has long been haunted by mysteries. Was he a double agent? What role did the long-legged secretary play? What effect did his intelligence have? Now Richard Wires, exploiting fresh scholarly sources, exhausting every aspect, and examining them with a critical eye, takes us to the heart of the Cicero affair--once and for all. -David Kahn, author of Hitler's Spies

A thrilling plunge into the world of the legendary WWII spy code-named Cicero, a shadowy figure whose mysteries have challenged the best efforts of expert intelligence officers, historians, and journalists. Wires (Emeritus, Ball State Univ.), who served with the Counter-Intelligence Corps in southern Germany, corrects discrepancies in previous accounts and fictionalizations (e.g., the 1952 film Five Fingers) of the Cicero affair. Neutral Turkey was a center of intrigue and espionage caught between three giant powers, Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Soviet Union, and the western Allies during the fateful years 1943-44. The British Ambassador to Turkey, following Churchill's strategy, tried to seduce the Turks into entering the war in order to mount a massive, coordinated attack against Hitler's eastern flank, but the nervous Turks feared being overrun by the two great dictator-led armies. The British diplomat, Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, had the careless habit of bringing home top-secret documents from the embassy in Ankara for study. His trusted valet, Elyess Bazna, a former convict, had the run of the house when Sir Hughe was not home. The valet made duplicate keys and photographed documents, selling the films to a high German official. Wires supplements this oft-told story with other adventures and other questions: Did the spy got away, or was he caught? How did the skeptical German high command, thinking the spy data was a British deception, plan for D-Day after noting the word Overlord, code for the Allied invasion of Normandy during the critical winter of 1943-44? The Cicero operation, often called the most successful spying episode of WWII, helped the Germans gain insights on British proposals for Turkey and plans for winning the war. A great true spy adventure full of dramatic suspense. Wires has done exhaustive research in discovering what is known today, despite the web of lies and false clues of a master spy operating in the guise of a faithful servant. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

RICHARD WIRES is Professor Emeritus of History at Ball State University, where he chaired the department and later became Executive Director of the University's London Centre./e He holds degrees in European History and law, and he served with the Counter-Intelligence Corps in southern Germany. His recent research interests include early espionage fiction as well as actual intelligence operations.

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