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    Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory
    Unavailable
    Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory
    Unavailable
    Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory
    Audiobook11 hours

    Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory

    Written by Ben Macintyre

    Narrated by John Lee

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Ben Macintyre's Agent Zigzag was hailed as "rollicking, spellbinding" (New York Times), "wildly improbable but entirely true" (Entertainment Weekly), and, quite simply, "the best book ever written" (Boston Globe). In his new book, Operation Mincemeat, he tells an extraordinary story that will delight his legions of fans.

    In 1943, from a windowless basement office in London, two brilliant intelligence officers conceived a plan that was both simple and complicated- Operation Mincemeat. The purpose? To deceive the Nazis into thinking that Allied forces were planning to attack southern Europe by way of Greece or Sardinia, rather than Sicily, as the Nazis had assumed, and the Allies ultimately chose.

    Charles Cholmondeley of MI5 and the British naval intelligence officer Ewen Montagu could not have been more different. Cholmondeley was a dreamer seeking adventure. Montagu was an aristocratic, detail-oriented barrister. But together they were the perfect team and created an ingenious plan: Get a corpse, equip it with secret (but false and misleading) papers concerning the invasion, then drop it off the coast of Spain where German spies would, they hoped, take the bait. The idea was approved by British intelligence officials, including Ian Fleming (creator of James Bond). Winston Churchill believed it might ring true to the Axis and help bring victory to the Allies.

    Filled with spies, double agents, rogues, fearless heroes, and one very important corpse, the story of Operation Mincemeat reads like an international thriller.

    Unveiling never-before-released material, Ben Macintyre brings the reader right into the minds of intelligence officers, their moles and spies, and the German Abwehr agents who suffered the "twin frailties of wishfulness and yesmanship." He weaves together the eccentric personalities of Cholmondeley and Montagu and their near-impossible feats into a riveting adventure that not only saved thousands of lives but paved the way for a pivotal battle in Sicily and, ultimately, Allied success in the war.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 4, 2010
    ISBN9780307735706
    Unavailable
    Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory
    Author

    Ben Macintyre

    Ben MacIntyre is the author of ‘Forgotten Fatherland’, published by Macmillan to great acclaim. He is Paris correspondent on ‘The Times’.

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    Reviews for Operation Mincemeat

    4/5

    450 ratings55 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was well written and researched. I liked the fact that the writer didn't just focus on the brits involved in the deception but also gave background on the Spaniards and Germans that played a part in the plot.
    • 5/5
      Brilliant research telling the well-known story of the WW2 "Man who never was" in much greater detail than previously, showing how the story was painstakingly built, fed through Spanish hands into the German spy machine and ultimately to Hitler's desk. Also explained is the substantial disinformation which was desseminated through multiple channels to bolster the core deceit that Sicily wasn't the allies' primary target. The author has also researched German files to prove who saw the false intelligence and promoted it.
    • 4/5
      Very good read with surprising character bits I don't usually expect in a WWII history book. Luckily, I've learned that's what you can expect from Macintyre each and every time.

      Recommended book but highly recommended author I've liked since his bio of Adam Worth.
    • 4/5
      Deception of Germans during WWII. Good description of the operation that fooled the Germans as to where the Allies were going to land in S. Europe.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely amazing. A Jew helping, along with many others and in a crucial way, to defeat one of the most evil regimes in human history. A great operation with a huge impact. Makes me wonder what is still being kept under wraps.
    • 5/5
      An fascinating story worth the time. Very well read. I highly recommend it!
    • 5/5
      Utterly engrossing tale of deception and intrigue surrounding the Allied invasion of Sicily -- focusing in particular on one British scheme to trick the Germans into believing the contents of a dead man's briefcase. Macintyre spins a fascinating yarn, providing vivid sketches of all the personalities involved and clearly explaining the various machinations involved in constructing not only the fake documents, but a completely false persona to go with them. He also never loses sight of the bigger picture, and I came away from the book with additional knowledge about intelligence operations, particularly similar efforts to deceive the Germans before the Normandy invasion, and the military picture in general in 1943.
    • 5/5
      An excellent recap of one of the greatest intelligence fakeries perpetrated on the Germans during WWII.
    • 4/5
      My first Ben Macintyre book and I found it an easy, compelling read. Given the complexity of the deception being described, this was no small trick. "Operation Mincemeat" was a clear narrative with historic photos of both the principles in the operation and the documents and paraphernalia employed. Four stars.
    • 5/5
      I found this to be well-written and quite absorbing, in its account of a masterful intelligence operation conducted by the British against the German intelligence services, to deceive the latter as to where "Operation Husky" would fall in late 1943. There are a number of surprises, including an identification of who the false soldier was; there's also a good indication of just how sloppy the German intelligence analysis was. Recommended.
    • 5/5
      Ben Macintyre is a brilliant storyteller – and this is a brilliant story.The story is a relatively simple one: With an Allied invasion of Sicily imminent in 1943, the British decided to deceive the Germans as to the location of the landing, trying to convince them that the troops would be landing in Sardinia and Greece. To achieve this, they created some fake documents, put them into a briefcase tied to a corpse, and floated that ashore in Spain. Local German spies eventually saw the papers, believed them to be true, and spread the word. A considerable number of German troops were diverted away from Sicily, helping to ensure the success of that operation.What Macintyre has done is to go into this story in forensic detail — turning it into a real page-turner, creating memorable characters and including much humour as well. No wonder this story was turned into a musical comedy in London in 2022.Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Having never heard of this military operation.... this book was an interesting look into the efforts undertaken to keep the invasion of Sicily during WW II a secret from the German military.
    • 4/5
      Audacious world war II plan to deceive the Germans about the invasion of Southern Europe
    • 5/5
      5661. Operation Mincemeat How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, by Ben Macintyre (read 3 Dec 2019) This book, published in 2010, tells, apparently completely, the story of the dead man cast into the sea off Spain who was loaded with data showing that the Allies were going to invade not Sicily in 1943 but Greece and Sardinia. The body and the stuff put onto him was so carefully prepared that the Nazis were fooled and diverted forces from Sicily, resulting in an easier conquest of Sicily. It is an amazing story and one is really surprised that the Nazis could be fooled since it seems logical that Sicily would be the next step after the victory in North Africa. The book gives every indication of exhaustive research and was fun to read even though one has trouble believing the story--but is convinced by it in the final analysis.
    • 4/5
      I'm not generally into 'war' books. But a good friend who has never let me down with book recommendations liked it, so I went ahead and borrowed it for my Kindle. It took me a little while to get into it, but it really is an impressive story and a well written book. I learned a lot about the war and a lot about why the Allies won.
    • 4/5
      This was a great (true) story about how during WWII the Allies were able to make the Nazi's think they were going to invade Greece instead of Sicily, a major coup on the road to winning the war. The plan involved loads of behind the scenes espionage, but primarily the big scheme was planting the dead body of what appeared to be a naval officer delivering important war plans of the invasion - misleading war plans. All in intricate detail which does tend to get bogged down occasionally. Very well done on audio, narrated by John Lee. I highly recommend it to anyone that is interested in Fifth Column spies during WWII. All of Macintyre's books of this are fascinating, if this is your thing.
    • 4/5
      Apparently, whilst writing Agent Zigzag, Ben Macintyre became aware of this strange tale of espionage and deception. I read, and really enjoyed, Ben Macintyre's Agent Zigzag in April 2013, and so didn't need much convincing to read this book too. It's not as entertaining and compelling as Agent Zigzag, however, whilst not quite as gripping, it is a story of huge significance to the way the Second World War played out. It saved lives, shortened the war's duration, and quite possibly changed the outcome. It's well worth readingThe book is full of fascinating facts about spying and deception. Using creativity, opportunity, imagination and wish-fulfilment, a cast of characters - many bizarre, idiosyncratic and eccentric - work up a fascinating tale which they hope will deceive the Nazis. It worked, and travelled from a bunker in London, to a submarine in Scotland, to the coast of Spain, and then on to Germany, finally arriving at Hitler's desk. There are many wonderful aspects to this book, highlights for me included the psychological second guessing; the shambolic nature of Germany's spying operations; the different factions at work in wartime Spain; the delicate subterfuge required by the British in the know, to convince the Germans the documents were important, whilst trying (not too hard) to retrieve them and allowing them the opportunity to get access. The book contains some remarkable characters too, these include a British establishment Table Tennis-loving Soviet spy, explorers and adventurers, a cross-dressing Colonel, a Jewish Nazi, a German aristocrat deliberately misleading Hitler a pompous pathologist, a Welsh tramp, a racing driver, a submarine captain, and many many more. Were there more eccentrics in those days?Ben Macintyre is a consumate story teller, and as with Agent Zigzag, he tells this tale with skill, verve, and wit, and really brings the story to life, by weaving together private documents, photographs, memories, letters, diaries, and most significantly newly released material from the intelligence files of MI5. The story of Operation Mincemeat has been told before however this version is unquestionably definitive. I am now inspired to continue to read more of Ben Macintyre's work. If you have any interest in the Second World War, spying and espionage, and/or history, then you should get a lot out of this book.
    • 4/5
      Excellent book, excellent narrator (audiobook). Highly recommend for people interested in WWII. This was another case of "Don't judge a book by it's cover". I had put this book off for a long time because the name "Mincement" and, essentially - the cover -, didn't seem very interesting; once again I was wrong and this book is well worth reading. If you've ever seen the movie "The Man Who wasn't There", this is the true story behind that movie. I never knew how hard it was (is) to obtain a body, which is a good portion of the plotline in his book. It's not a fast paced barely-escaped pow movie; instead, it simply a tale about a deception operation.
    • 4/5
      This is an amazing true story of the elaborate hoax on how the British forces tricked the Germans in 1943 The use the body of a Welsh tramp and pretend he is an officer in the Royal Marines. Well worth a read it does tend to go on a bit, but there was alot of people involved and also lots of people spying for both sides. The plan worked and the rest is history.
    • 5/5
      A fascinating story of what might be one of the most important operations in WWII. More convoluted than the plot of a spy novel, this true story of deception and intrigue is a fun read even if you don't generally enjoy war history (as I don't).
    • 3/5
      British secret service - led by Ian Fleming - put together a plan to float a dead body with fake documents in it outlining a pretend invasion to fool the Germans into placing their forces elsewhere prior to D-day. It worked famously. This was very interesting and enjoyable - but probably would have made a better magazine article than an entire book.
    • 4/5
      A good story, a must read for the hardcore WWII buff, A deception that saved many lives around D-Day. Finally those involved get the credit they deserve.
    • 4/5
      This book is about a strange, yet true, espionage plan England used to deceive Germany. England's plan involved using a dead body carrying falsified documents to misled Germany into thinking that they were going to attack Greece and Sardinia instead of the obvious target, Sicily. Some of the details of this plan seem so much like a spy novel that it is no surprise that some of those people who contributed to this plan wrote spy novels (including Ian Fleming).I love reading about World War II and am especially fascinated to learn more about the espionage, and spying that went on during it. I am absolutely amazed at what England was able to pull off by using the dead body as a sort of spy. The elaborate planning of minute details of this plan was definitely interesting to read about.I not only liked reading about the plan itself but I liked getting to read about those who developed and helped the plan succeed. Ewen Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley deserve recognition for all they have done for Operation Mincemeat. I also loved reading about Bill Jewell. I was holding my breath while reading the part about the beginning of the attack on Sicily. I felt so connected to him that I didn't want anything to happen to him. I would have loved to have met Derrick Leverton (and also his brother). I still can't believe that he was able to nap during the attack and drink some tea too. The guy just seems awesome.If you are really interested in learning more about this crazy espionage plan that England pulled off I would recommend this book to you. Operation Mincemeat needs to be recognized for the great impact it had on WWII.
    • 5/5
      Utterly engrossing tale of deception and intrigue surrounding the Allied invasion of Sicily -- focusing in particular on one British scheme to trick the Germans into believing the contents of a dead man's briefcase. Macintyre spins a fascinating yarn, providing vivid sketches of all the personalities involved and clearly explaining the various machinations involved in constructing not only the fake documents, but a completely false persona to go with them. He also never loses sight of the bigger picture, and I came away from the book with additional knowledge about intelligence operations, particularly similar efforts to deceive the Germans before the Normandy invasion, and the military picture in general in 1943.
    • 4/5
      A consistently entertaining and enlightening book about "Operation Mincemeat," the British World War II deception that planted a dead body with forged papers claiming (contrary to reality) that the Anglo-US forces were going to invade Greece, not Sicily. In large part due to this deception, the Germans reinforced Greece over Sicily -- contributing to the success of the first Allied attack into Western Europe.

      The book is exhaustive but not exhausting, tracing every aspect from the initial idea, the complications associated with locating a suitable body, what to put in the pockets to make it look genuine (theater tickets from what was meant to be his last night in London), how to insert it in the water (by submarine, but faking a plane accident), where to leave it (cost of Spain, so it would fall into German-sympathetic hands), how to reinforce the deception, etc. The amount of work that went into it on the British side is extraordinary, for example going through dozens of drafts of the forged letters to get them just right.

      What is also extraordinary is how despite, or in some cases even because of, all this work how much of it was done carelessly and ended up succeeding through a combination of luck, German ineptitude, and possibly even fifth columnists in key positions on the German side. From the sound of it more than one hundred people were in on the deception which, from my experience, is about ninety more people than can be counted on to keep a secret. Most surprisingly, the body lay in a London morgue for two months before being delivered off the water
    • 4/5
      Even though Major William Martin didn’t really exist, his impact on the success of the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, was enormous. And who better to tell his story than Ben MacIntyre, the British historian made famous by his non-fiction account of the life of British double agent, Eddie Chapman, in the book Agent Zigzag.Operation mincemeat is an audacious plan contrived by intelligence officer Ewen Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley of MI5. In order to trick the Nazis into thinking the allies would be invading Europe through Greece rather than Sicily, they obtained a corpse, filled its pockets with phony (and misleading) official papers and dropped it into the waters off the coast of Spain where German spies would surely fall for the ruse.As in Agent Zigzag, MacIntyre delights in the telling of the tale and it comes through the narrative time and again. He’s a history detective and has used the recent release of British top secret documents to produce this and other books. This is all in the reader’s favor because his books are so darn enjoyable. His descriptions of the sundry spies, rogues and double agents allows you to be inside the mind of the characters and their thought processes. His description of how wars are won is worth noting:”Wars are won by men like Bill Darby, storming up the beach with all guns blazing, and by men like Leverton, sipping his tea as the bombs fell. They are won by planners correctly calculating how many rations and contraceptives an invading force will need; by tacticians laying out grand strategy; by generals inspiring the men they command; by politicians galvanizing the will to fight; and by writers putting war into words. They are won by acts of strength, bravery and guile. But they are also won by feats of imagination. Amateur, unpublished novelists, the framers of Operation Mincemeat, dreamed up the most unlikely concatenation of events, rendered them believable, and sent them off to war, changing reality through lateral thinking and proving that it is possible to win a battle fought in the mind, from behind a desk, and from beyond the grave.” (Page 482)Looking back at WWII from my vantage point in 2014, it’s apparent that the kind of deceptions that worked so well then, wouldn’t have a chance of succeeding today. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t great fun to see how Hitler was made a fool of by a few very clever characters. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Ben Macintyre’s “Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory” is a spellbinding account of one of the more remarkable feats of wartime deception. At a critical moment in World War II, British Intelligence devises Operation Mincemeat, a plot whereby the corpse of a poor Welshman is ingeniously reincarnated as the dead (and fictional) Major William Martin, equipped with top secret (albeit false and misleading) papers and correspondence detailing a planned Allied invasion of Greece and Sardinia (when in fact an invasion of Sicily has been planned). The body is deposited off the coast of Spain with the hope that the Germans take the bait. If the ruse is successful, Axis forces will deploy their troops to defend according to Martin’s bogus papers, allowing the Allies to push through Sicily with little resistance.Thoroughly researched and very well-written, Macintyre has crafted a classic World War II narrative. The many characters are vividly brought to life with personality traits, mannerisms, and their backstories in proper detail. Nuances of the complex Operation Mincemeat are clearly explained and contextualized within its broad scope; and the implications and consequences of operation itself are appropriately placed within the overall war effort and eventual Allied success in World War II.
    • 5/5
      Another fascinating, exciting spy story--in real life!
    • 3/5
      An intersting if overly detailed for my taste account of a British military intelligence plan which deceived the Axis powers and contributed to the success of the 1943 invasion of Sicily.
    • 3/5
      A nice addition for the WWII or spycraft buff, this detailed examination of the facts behind the well known events depicted in fiction as "Operation Heartbreak" and in nonfiction as "The Man Who Never Was" has some very interesting information told in an easy, conversational style. We are introduced to nearly every personality of note, in particular Ewen Montague and Charles Cholmondeley.

      Perhaps my familiarity with the story via many a WWII documentary blunted my enjoyment of the book, which is certainly researched down to the inch, and is certainly accessible even for someone without extensive knowledge of WWII history. Still, at points I felt it was too detailed and I would lose track of which of the myriad cast was currently under the spotlight. Also, MacIntyre did spend a bit of time explaining the ironies and unusual coincidences associated with this complex chain of events, some of which were unknown to me, and some of which were more tedious than involving. My major impression after reading is that the Nazi High Command were gullible due to excess ego and fear, while the Allied commanders succeeded through devious cleverness and stubbornness tinged with ego of their own.

      The end of it all is summarized by saying that a man who, in his life, held no value to anyone including himself became of large value to many thousands after his death.