Simple Sabotage Field Manual is a historical document prepared by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II and published in January 1944. The manual was developed as a guide for resistance movements and civilians living under enemy occupation. Its purpose was to encourage acts that would reduce the efficiency of enemy governments, military organizations, transportation systems, communications networks, and industrial production through disruption, delay, inefficiency, and non-cooperation.
Much of the manual is notable not because of physical sabotage, but because it describes how organizations can be weakened through bureaucracy, poor decision-making, excessive meetings, procedural delays, misplaced priorities, and inefficient management practices. The document explains how seemingly small actions—such as delaying decisions, insisting on unnecessary procedures, creating confusion, or fostering disagreement—can collectively reduce the effectiveness of large organizations. These sections are often cited today in discussions about organizational dysfunction and management failures.
The publication also discusses wartime resistance activities aimed at disrupting transportation, communications, logistics, industrial production, and administrative operations. Written specifically for a World War II context, the guide was intended for use against enemy-controlled governments and military organizations. It emphasizes actions that could be carried out by ordinary citizens with minimal resources and without specialized training.
Today, the document is primarily studied as a historical artifact that provides insight into OSS thinking, unconventional warfare, resistance movements, wartime psychology, and organizational behavior. Many readers find the sections on bureaucracy and workplace inefficiency particularly interesting because some of the described behaviors resemble problems commonly found in modern organizations, despite being written more than eighty years ago.
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