Written by Colin Gubbins and Millis Jefferris and was first produced by Military Intelligence (Research) in May 1939. This was one of a series of 3 books along with Partisan Leaders Handbook and The Art of Guerrilla Warfare. It was produced as brown-paper. It consisted of 36 pages and they were issued to the first Intelligence Officers at their briefing in Whitehall in July 1940.
It deals with the use of explosives in a guerrilla warfare setting. It was designed as a reference for personnel with little-to-no training in demolitions, providing guidance on the types and amounts of explosives to use to destroy different types of targets, firing devices, electric and non-electric firing trains and circuits. .
The series was later translated in several languages to form a core training for Allied agents likely to work in subversive operations behind enemy lines.
John Warwicker