Operation Mincemeat : the true spy story that changed the course of world war II

TOP SECRET! Ben Macintyre, acclaimed author of Agent Zigzag, presents a thrilling history of wartime espionage that surpasses even the most daring tales. Set in Europe in 1941, this gripping narrative involves love, deception, and remarkable characters, all contributing to a pivotal moment in the Second World War. Macintyre's extensive research included access to MI5, MI6, and FBI files, as well as a trove of documents hidden in Oxford since 1945. The story unfolds on an April morning in 1943 when a British soldier's corpse was discovered off the Spanish coast, igniting a chain of events that would alter the war's trajectory. This operation, known as Mincemeat, stands as the most successful wartime deception ever executed. It misled Nazi intelligence, redirecting German forces and saving countless lives by employing an unconventional secret agent—one who was deceased. Conceived by an eccentric RAF officer and a brilliant barrister, the elaborate hoax featured an eclectic cast, including a forensic pathologist, a gold prospector, a submarine captain, and a transvestite spymaster. With creativity and cunning, Churchill's spies wove a web of deceit so intricate that they began to believe it themselves. The deception originated in a basement beneath Whitehall, traversing from London to Spain, ultimately landing on Hitler's desk.