The Life Guards and Smiley's regiment, the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues), each provided two squadrons to make up the 1st Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR), which, together with two other horsed cavalry regiments already in Palestine and several mobilised Yeomanry regiments, provided the 1st Cavalry Division with the capability to
relieve an infantry division in Palestine for service in the Western Desert. Smiley found Palestine interesting but, seeking more active duty, he volunteered to join No 52 (Middle East) Commando under training at Geneifa, Egypt, in November 1940

Afterwards, while in Cairo under orders for return to Syria, he snapped up an invitation to join the Special Operations Executive (SOE) mission about to be sent to Albania.

Although there was little reliable information on the situation in Albania, SOE hoped to orchestrate partisan attacks on the occupying Italians. A team comprising Major N. L. D. "Billy" McLean, Smiley, Lieutenant Garry Duffy - a demolitions expert - and a radio operator was parachuted into Axis-occupied Greece, where an SOE mission was already established. They crossed the Albanian frontier to find that the communist and royalist guerrilla groups were principally engaged in outmanoeuvring each other in readiness to take control of the country once the Axis forces had been evicted.
 

However, Smiley and Duffy were able to make contact with a group of communist partisans intent on attacking the Italian garrison in the town of Leshovik. Surprise was achieved, and despite the partisans' failure to press home their advantage, the Italian burnt down their barracks and withdrew.

Impressed by this success, Smiley called for
an airdrop of explosives and destroyed a bridge used by recently arrived German troops. The encouraging report he sent to SOE headquarters in Cairo as soon as he rejoined McLean and the radio operator elicited news of the imminent despatch of a brigadier to take control of the Albanian mission. On arrival, the brigadier sent McLean and Smiley - whom he suspected of "going native" - to the coast for collection by the Royal Navy and some leave.

Siam - as the country was then known - was supposedly at war with Britain under Japanese pressure, but SOE was active in promoting anti-Japanese activity in the country. Smiley accepted and was instrumental in organising the repatriation of former Commonwealth prisoners held by the Japanese in Thailand. But in French Indo-China he met obstruction from communist partisans interested only in
resisting the return of the French colonial authorities. He was appointed OBE for his work in South-East Asia.