Simple Sabotage Field Manual: Methods to Quietly Undermine Hostile Governments, Military Forces, and Industrial Operations

Originally produced in 1944 by the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS)—the wartime intelligence agency that later evolved into the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)—the Simple Sabotage Field Manual is a remarkable artifact of covert warfare.

Designed for distribution among resistance groups, sympathetic civilians, and undercover operatives in enemy-occupied territories, the manual outlines practical, low-risk ways for ordinary individuals to quietly undermine hostile governments, military forces, and industrial operations.

Unlike traditional wartime sabotage involving explosives or specialized training, this guide focuses on subtle, everyday actions—small decisions, deliberate inefficiencies, and minor disruptions that, when multiplied across a population, can significantly degrade an opponent’s productivity and morale. The manual explains how simple behaviors such as misfiling documents, creating bureaucratic delays, performing work poorly, spreading confusion, and fostering interpersonal friction can collectively hinder the functioning of an organization far more effectively than dramatic acts of destruction.

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II to coordinate espionage activities. The OSS was a precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).