In early 1943, the Allies had taken control of North Africa. Their next objective was to push north and move into Southern Europe. Sicily was chosen to become the theater of the new invasion, but large numbers of German forces occupied the area. If the invasion was to succeed, the Germans had to be lured away.
Enter Ian Fleming, the famous writer who created super spy James Bond, who at this time worked for the British Naval Intelligence. Copying an idea he had read in a detective novel, Fleming suggested to use a dead body equipped with false information.
Although the idea could work, rumors and inquiries could cause the plan to fail. Intelligence had to make sure they could find a body that nobody would miss. Eventually, the officers in charge located the remains of Glyndwr Michael, a homeless Welshman who had perished after eating bread crusts smeared with a paste that turned out to be rat poison. The poison had affected Michael’s body in such a way that it looked as if he had died from hypothermia and drowning. As the British Intelligence officers were looking to dress the body in a life jacket and drop it in the ocean, Glyndwr's body was a perfect match for the plan.
While the body was kept on ice, Cholmondeley and Montagu, the officers in charge of OPERATION MINCEMEAT started to create Michael’s new personality: Royal Marines Major William Martin. His body was equipped with an identity card, theater and bus tickets, keys, a religious medallion and a cross, several letters and a jeweler’s bill for an engagement ring and other personal items. Next, a briefcase was handcuffed to his wrist. Inside was a “secret” letter in which Greece was identified as the next target.
With the information complete, the body and personal items were moved from London in the dead of night and taken to the submarine HMS Seraph, in Scotland. On the night of 30 April 1943, the submarine surfaced off the southern coast of Spain, where the captain of the HMS Seraph read Psalm 39 and the body of Major Martin was pushed into the water.
The body was discovered by a local fisherman and was buried in the town of Huelva on 1 May. The letters and personal effects were delivered to Nazi agent Adolf Clauss, who operated in the area. This was exactly what the Allies were hoping for. Moreover, a local pathologist concluded that Major Martin had drowned.
Unbeknownst to the Germans, code-breakers at Bletchley Park had successfully deciphered the Enigma cipher, meaning that the German’s secret code was no longer secret and the Allies knew exactly what their adversaries were up to. They learned the “secret” documents had been opened and then photographed and sent to Berlin. British intelligence then sent a telegram to Churchill, informing him: “Mincemeat swallowed rod, line and sinker.”
After copying the “classified” information, the Germans placed the letters back into the envelopes, and returned the body, the briefcase and all Martin’s personal belongings to the British. Hitler decided the invasion would occur in Greece, [although Mussolini and Goebbels had their doubts] and moved a large portion of his forced from Italy, freeing the way for the Allied invasion in early July.
Michael’s body still lies in the Huelva cemetery today. His true identity remained classified until 1998, and an extra line of inscription was placed on his gravestone: Glyndwr Michael Served as Major William Martin, RM.
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