Operation Mincemeat

Then man that never was.

After the first major allied victory with the 8th army in North Africa against Rommel, the allied army wanted to keep the momentum going. The British wanted to push into the soft under belly of Europe, but US army was not so keen, but Sir Winston Churchill pushed them towards the campaign in southern Europe. The allied forces looked at a number of different landing around the Mediterranean, but nothing came up more perfect then that Italy. The problem with Italy, it was too far from North Africa for a sea invasion and not be spotted. Also to far for air support for bombing runs and fighter cover. So the idea was to invade Sicily and us it as a spring board to Italy. It was agreed that if the numbers of the enemy’s forces could be lowered, we would have much low casualties and an easier road to success.

Operation Mincemeat.

The aim of Operation Mincemeat was to allow documents pertaining to Allied operations in the Mediterranean to fall into the hands of German Military Intelligence, to mislead them regarding the target of the intended invasion of southern Europe. In order to convince the Germans of the veracity of the documents, it was decided they would be on the body of a Marine officer, which would also carry documents and personal items attesting to his identity. Finding a usable body had been difficult, as indiscreet inquiries would cause talk, and it was impossible to tell a dead man's next of kin what the body was wanted for. A suitable body was identified, a Welsh homeless man in a name of Glyndwr Michael. They decided to give him a new identity of Major William Martin. Considerable effort was made to create Martin's personal identity card and discs, personal letters, a photograph of a fiancée, St. Christopher medal, some bills and theatre tickets.

On 30 April 1943, The submarine HMS Seraph delivered Martin's body and it was lowered into the sea towards Huelva, where the tide pushed his body into Spanish Atlantic coast. 

Attached to Martin's body was a briefcase containing secret documents that had been fabricated by the British Security Service. The purpose was to make German intelligence think he had been a courier delivering documents to a British general. The documents were crafted to deceive the Germans into thinking that the British were preparing to invade Greece mainland and Sardinia, rather than Sicily.

Martin's body was picked up by a fisherman and, as planned, the documents he was carrying found their way into the hands of German Intelligence. The Germans moved units to bulk up Greece and Sardinia, taking the eyes off the real prize. The operation was judged a success, as the invasion of Sicily was accomplished more easily and quickly than its planners had expected. Number of casualties/deaths for the Allied force was about an 8th of what was originally calculated.