Operation Mincemeat

On April 30, 1943, the British submarine HMS Seraph released a body into the sea off Huelva in southern Spain. It was dressed as Major William Martin of the Royal Marines and carried a briefcase chained to its belt. Inside were letters, apparently between senior British generals, hinting that the coming Allied landing in southern Europe would target Greece and Sardinia, with Sicily only a cover story. Spanish officials, friendly to Germany, let German agents copy the papers before returning them to the British. The plan was devised by Ewen Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley of British intelligence, building on an idea in a memo circulated by Ian Fleming's boss, Admiral John Godfrey.¹²

The body was that of Glyndwr Michael, a homeless Welshman who had died in London after eating rat poison; his identity was kept secret until the 1990s. Codebreakers at Bletchley Park then read German signals showing the documents were judged genuine, and Hitler ordered reinforcements to Greece and Sardinia. When the Allies landed in Sicily on July 10, 1943, defenses were weaker than they might have been. Historians agree the deception worked, though they debate how many troops it actually diverted.¹²³