Operation Mincemeat

British intelligence floated a body carrying forged papers off the coast of Spain to persuade Germany that the Allies would invade Greece, not Sicily. The deception helped the real invasion of Sicily in July 1943.

Context

The plan was devised by British naval intelligence officers, among them Ewen Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley, as part of a wider Allied deception effort. The body, of a Welsh man named Glyndwr Michael who had died of poisoning, was dressed as a Royal Marines officer called Major William Martin. His identity was only revealed publicly decades later.

A submarine released the body off Huelva in Spain around 30 April 1943. The briefcase held letters implying that the Allies would attack Greece and Sardinia, with Sicily as a feint. Spanish authorities passed copies to German agents, and the German high command took the papers seriously and shifted some forces toward Greece and Sardinia.

The Allies landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943. Historians agree the ruse helped, but the effect should not be overstated. German reinforcements arrived in Sicily anyway, and the campaign still lasted weeks. The story became widely known through Montagu's 1953 book The Man Who Never Was. The operation also depended on details, such as personal letters, theatre ticket stubs and a photograph of a fiancee, which were added to make the officer seem real to German analysts.