Deathly Deception: The Real Story of Operation Mincemeat

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Deathly Deception : The Real Story of Operation Mincemeat (eBook) Pub. Date: 6/17/2010 Publisher: OUP Oxford
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Deathly Deception: The Real Story of Operation Mincemeat Pub. Date: 9/15/2011 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
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Deathly Deception: The Real Story of Operation Mincemeat (New Edition) Pub. Date: 7/15/2010 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

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Overview

In the pre-dawn darkness of April 30, 1943, the body of a Royal Marine Major washed ashore on the south-western coast of Spain, part of an incredible plot to mislead the German High Command about the Allies' impending Mediterranean invasion. What made this ruse unique--and macabre--was that the "Major" was actually a deceased Welsh laborer, who drifted lifelessly ashore carrying false documents indicating that the Allies were set to launch an attack on Greece, rather than Sicily.

Codenamed "Mincemeat" and immortalized in the film The Man Who Never Was, this audacious, high-stakes scheme is renowned as the most spectacular episode in the annals of deception. In this accurate and in-depth retelling of the story behind the operation, Denis Smyth draws on a vast collection of previously unavailable documentary sources to expertly bring all phases of "Mincemeat" to life. He reveals how the architects of the plan navigated a maze of medical, technical, and logistical issues to deceive the enemy at the highest strategic levels. Before planting the corpse in the Spanish coastal waters via a stealthy submarine operation, the planners not only gave their dead messenger a new military identity, but also a private one--as the fiancï¿½ of an attractive young woman named "Pam." The discovery of her photo and love letters in the pockets of the deceased's uniform, along with a government briefcase containing the deceptive documents, was enough for the Nazi intelligence apparatus to "swallow Mincemeat whole." The Germans deployed their forces to meet the fictional Allied threat in Greece, falling for a ruse which ultimately saved thousands of American lives.
Filled with eye-opening revelations, Operation Mincemeat will delight aficionados of military history, wartime intrigue, and covert operations.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Smyth, a professor of history at the University of Toronto, applies the research and analytic skills of his discipline to a subject primarily addressed by general audience writers. The story of Operation Mincemeat is familiar: it was an elaborate ruse to distract the Germans from a planned invasion of Sicily by leading them to believe Greece was the Allied target. In early 1943, British Intelligence produced a briefcase containing documents alluding to the purported Aegean campaign. They invented an officer’s identity, found a body to fit, and released the corpse and briefcase from a submarine. “The man who never was” washed ashore in Franco’s Spain, and the Nazis eventually swallowed Mincemeat whole. Smyth sacrifices none of the dramatic details of the plan’s construction and implementation, down to reconfirming the identity of the man who became “Major William Martin.” Smyth completes the story in three ways. He presents the complex processes of the false information’s evaluation by German intelligence, the high command, and Hitler himself. Second, he describes the painstaking method by which the British verified Mincemeat’s progress. And third, he relates the vital achievement of Allied intelligence to convince the military commanders to undertake the deception. As a strategic success, Mincemeat has few rivals and no superiors. 8 pages of b&w photos. (Aug.)

Library Journal

When the Allies decided to invade Sicily in summer 1943, they floated the body of a British military officer ashore in German-friendly Spain with the hope that the documents he carried would influence the Germans to believe that the Greek islands or Sardinia would be the Allies' actual target—and the ruse appeared to work. First told in Ewen Montagu's The Man Who Never Was, which was made into a film, Smyth's (history & international relations, Univ. of Toronto; Diplomacy and Strategy of Survival) new account is a veritable administrative history of both sides. Recently declassified records provide many new details about this deadly brain game between skilled opponents; the book also benefits from amusing profiles of the brilliant but eccentric personalities involved. What comes through is how important chance can be for intelligence activities and how one can quietly work to improve the odds. Smyth identifies the man whose body was used for "Major Martin" and thoroughly documents this work with endnotes and a bibliography. VERDICT This fascinating story is told with new thoroughness. Recommended for all studying World War II intelligence activities. Ben McIntyre's Operation Mincemeat is oriented more for popular readers, and both books identify the same man as the corpse. (Index and photos not seen.)—Daniel K. Blewett, Coll. of DuPage Lib., Glen Ellyn, IL

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780199605989
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date: 9/15/2011
Pages: 400
Sales rank: 720,843
Product dimensions: 5.30 (w) x 8.40 (h) x 0.90 (d)

Meet the Author

Denis Smyth is Professor of History at the University of Toronto.

List of Plates xvii

List of Abbreviations xix

Prologue 1

1 Accidental Conception 6

2 Medical Consultation 22

3 Grand Stratagem 47

4 A Sea of Troubles 64

5 Loud and Clear 78

6 Tailor-Made 96

7 Brief Encounter 122

8 Travel Arrangements 149

9 Mincemeat Digested 188

10 Mincemeat Dissected 230

Epilogue 269

Appendix 281

Notes 286

Bibliography 337

Index 353

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