OPERATION MINCEMEAT [Hardcover]

 

 

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His name was Glyndwr Michael. Although he probably never entertained even the remote possibility while alive, he made a major contribution to the Allies' eventual victory during World War Two after his death. More accurately, it was his corpse that was recruited for one of the most interesting "special ops" in modern military history. Much of the information about "Operation Mincemeat" remained classified for decades. As Ben Macintyre explains, "After the war, Ewen Montagu [who headed the operation] retained most of the official papers relating to Operation Mincemeat. After he died, they would put in wooden trunk, and almost forgotten. In 2007, the family gave me full access to the papers, including the official records, but also memos, letters, photographs, and a 200-page memoir written by Montagu himself."

Briefly, this was the situation in 1943. In order to disguise the impending Allied invasion of Sicily, Montagu and his colleagues at the British Admiralty (MI5), notably Charles Cholmondeley, devised a bold plan: Obtain a corpse, conceal his true identity, have him dressed as an officer, and include among his possession information that suggests that Sicily was a decoy rather than the real target. The corpse would be delivered near the coast of Spain and, tides cooperating would be washed ashore and eventually delivered to German intelligence for verification. If the Germans could be convinced, countless Allied lives would be saved and success of the invasion would be almost assured. But there were (obviously) several problems to solve to avoid raising suspicion of German forensics experts if and when they examine the uniformed corpse. Fir example,

How and where to obtain the right corpse?
How to prevent any decomposition?
How to establish a verifiable identity for the corpse?
Which documents to include among his possessions?
How to transport the corpse to the drop-point off the coast near?
How to track what happens after that?

According to Macintyre, "The most extraordinary aspect of Operation Mincemeat, to my mind, is the way that the organizers approached this elaborate, many-layered deception operation as if they were writing a novel, imagining a version of reality and then luring the truth towards it. Indeed, the talents required for espionage and fiction-writing are not so very different."

Macintyre's account really does have everything essential to a compelling drama: memorable characters, high stakes, complicated plot, unexpected developments, increasing tension, and climax. The details of this riveting narrative are best revealed in context, within the frame-of-reference that Macintyre creates for them.

"I was particularly fascinated by Charles Cholmondeley," Macintyre confides, "the RAF officer seconded to MI5 who first dreamed up the plan to use a dead body to plant false information on the Germans. Cholmondeley had a long, waxed, air force mustache, a shy personality, and a very strange mind, but he was a genius at deception work, and the unsung hero of Operation Mincemeat."

Although truth is not always stranger than fiction, there are situations such as those portrayed in Operation Mincemeat when the story told has greater appeal and more enduring impact precisely because it is essentially true, at least to the extent that facts can be verified. I was fascinated by the process that began with the top-secret "Trout Fisher" memo signed by Admiral John Godfrey and ended with the eventual reassignment of Montagu and his associates. They were indeed, in Godfrey's words, a "brilliant band of dedicated war winners."

"The sea gave up the dead who were in it," -- Revelation 20:13 (NKJV)

In spy novels, genius plans come together quickly and are implemented with only a few glitches that the heroes quickly overcome. Oh, that it was that easy.

If you have never read the story about how British Intelligence fooled Hitler into shifting his forces away from Sicily before the invasion there, I can highly recommend this account, which is informed by more detailed sources than earlier versions. If you have already read extensively about the subject, you may not find enough new here to reward your time and attention.

I knew about the story from my college studies about World War II. When I realized that this book drew on many formerly secret papers about the events, I knew it was time for an enjoyable read. I wasn't disappointed.

The best parts of the book come in exploring and explaining what went wrong . . . and how the thinly disguised deception worked in spite of its flaws and errors. I don't recall a better book concerning how those who receive intelligence reports can mislead themselves into making the wrong steps. I'm reminded of the reports that eventually came out about how Stalin continually dismissed the remarkable intelligence he was receiving from British and American spies.

If you like human interest, you'll enjoy learning about the details of how such deceptions were thought up and developed. If you don't really care about the details of who did what and when, you'll think this book is too detailed in telling how the plot was hatched and executed in London and Spain.

As a true story, it has more emotional resonance than any spy thriller I've read. I had a smile on my face on most pages. I believe that you will, too.

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave
When first we practise to deceive!" -- Sir Walter Scott

often do succeed. The year 1943 was a turning point in WW2. In the European theater, the Germans were being pushed back on the Russian front and the Allies had gained back much of what they had lost in North Africa to the Axis powers. Allied leaders - both political and military - had to decide where the next military push should be. All agreed the island of Sicily - off the coast of the Italian boot - was the place to begin working on the long sought invasion of the European continent. It was considered too early, for many reason, to envision the northern France invasion that was to come in June of 1944.

The island of Sicily is often referred to as the "most invaded piece of property" in the world. I suppose it's true, because of the importance of the location Sicily holds in the middle of the Mediterranean. But if the Allies considered using Sicily as the first step on the Continent, the Germans (who were by then fighting almost alone since they thought their Italian allies almost worthless as a fighting partner) knew its value, as well. The Germans were also defending their territory in the USSR, the Causcuses, Greece, and other points in the eastern Med. Where to concentrate their troops to ward off a proposed Allied invasion?

Several British MI5 and MI6 officials, as well as those from the Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Marines, got together to concoct a plan - eventually called "Operation Mincemeat" - of dropping a dead government official off the coast of southern Spain, with all sorts of documentation which would point the Germans in the view of Greece or Sardinia as the Allied invasion area. Now, as half-baked as this plan might sound to present-day readers, you'd be best to know that Franco-led Spain was, in the 1940's, a hot-bed of spies, agents, and double and triple agents. Spain, officially "neutral" but tending towards to Germans in sentiment, was the best place for such a deception to be practiced. Upon receiving approval for the implementation of "Mincemeat", several teams of British Intelligence officers set about putting the plan to work. First step, of course, was to find a dead body of a young-ish man to be promoted to the Spanish/German intelligence as a man killed in a place crash off the coast of Spain, carrying the letters and notes to make the Germans think that Sicily was NOT the site of the proposed Allied invasion of southern Europe.

How they do this, and succeed brilliantly, is told in compelling detail by British author Ben Macintyre in his book, "Operation Mincemeat". The story, long hidden in the shrouds of "official secrecy" had been leaked out in dribs and drabs since the end of the war. Several books had been written, as well as a movie had been made, about the brilliant plan. Macintyre's new book, however, is the first to be written with cooperation from some of the participants who are still alive. It's easier to tell the full truth sixty or so years after the event, I think.

Macintyre is a very good writer and in his able hands, "Mincemeat" is a lively read. Very good book.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Movie Trivia
** SPOILER ALERT FOR A KEY PLOT ELEMENT OF THE CLASSIC FILM NORTH BY NORTHWEST **

Many reviewers have stressed how cinematic this true-life spy story is. Read more

Published 16 months ago by R. Widdowson

5.0 out of 5 stars Operation Mincemeat
An excellent read. Very well written and told by a man who knew what he was talking about. But, when you read the actual facts of a story like this, you wonder how we won the war,... Read more

Published 22 months ago by Steve B. Hyde

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