Despite having well-equipped armies, countries still insist on sending spies to their enemies, even through recruiting nationals or ones from the opposing country, to provide critical data that assist armies and government eliminating these enemies, using their points of weakness. These spies are people, exposed to physical and mental training, to be able to deceive and trap their targets. Spies support, oppose their own countries, or are double-agents for the both sides of conflict. If TV showed a handful of them, we nominate the top ten spies in the world.
10 Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje:
He is a Dutch scholar of Oriental cultures and languages; he was a famous spy, who employed his knowledge of Islam and the Aceh culture in purpose to put an end for the 40-year Aceh War. He impersonated “Haji Abdul Ghaffar,” to collect intelligence strategies that considerably contributed in crushing the rebellion of the Aceh against the Dutch colonial rule.
9 Mata Hari:
She is one of the most famed spies in history, named Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, who used her appeals to trap clientele of military men and others of influential positions gathering information, during World War I. She was executed by the French in 1917 for spying. It is unclear to which side she was loyal, German documents revealed that she was a German agent having code name H-21 and she joined the service in 1915.
8 The Rosenbergs:
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were American Communists. Julius passed secret reports from Emerson Radio, including a fuze design which was later on used to fire down a U-2 in 1960. In 1953, they were both executed by electric-chair in Sing Sing Prison for passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union.
7 Major John Andre:
He worked as a British Army officer who was executed being a spy during the American War of Independence. He helped Benedict Arnold’s attempted passing the West Point, New York to the British. In 1779, André was converted into Adjutant general of the British Army in America, ranked major. In April 1779, he was responsible for British secret intelligence. In 1780, he set in motion to conspire with American General Benedict Arnold.
6 Noor Inayat Khan:
Knowing by Madeleine, she was born in Russia, who worked as a radio operator in the French resistance during World War II. On the brink of the war, she returned to England, towards inside the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and soon after Special Operations, making use of her French fluency. She never passed any vital information, and managed to escape her captors before finally being put in iron and moved to Dachau.
5 Nancy Grace Augusta Wake:
Nancy Grace Augusta Wake who served as a British agent during the World War II, was the most important figure in the French revolution. In November 1942, Wehrmacht troops resided in the southern part of France. By 1943, Gestapo a spy wanted Wake to be killed, offering a 5 million-franc price. When the spying system was betrayed, she escaped. Wake said of her strategies: “A little powder and a little drink on the way, and I’d pass their (German) posts and wink and say”.
4 Refaat Al-Gammal:
He was an Egyptian spy who traveled to Israel in 1956. He was famous in the Israeli society and got acquainted with high ranked Israeli people. He provided the Egyptian intelligence service with significant information. Al-Gammal notified Egypt that Israel would intend to attack Egypt in 1967. He assisted Egypt to accomplish tactical shock during Operation Badr (1973).
3 Klaus Fuchs:
He was a German physicist, his contributions as the first fission weapons and premature models of the hydrogen bomb were accused for sharing information concerning the Atomic bomb research with the Soviet Union in 1950 claiming that they are entitled to get acquainted with that issue. He was in due course proved guilty and imprisoned for 14 years.
2 Elizabeth Van Lew:
Elizabeth Van Lew was a very famous spy. She joined a Quaker school and was an abolitionist. She was interested on releasing the slaves her family owned, and during the Civil War, she made a spy network that included several tactically placed officials in her homeland of Richmond. She got and sent confidential information on behalf of the North. Actually, Ulysses S. Grant thanked her contribution to the war.
1 Oleg Penkovsky:
Oleg Penkovsky, “Agent HERO,” was a Colonel in the Soviet GRU. He offered intelligence to the United States government during the mid of 20th century. He notified the United Kingdom and the United States of the Soviet’s situation of missiles in Cuba. These data helped analysts to find out the silos and missile cargo using of low-resolution spy airplane photos. He was condemned of treason in 1963, but not much reported so.
