Operation Mincemeat

📖 The Scoop

In the pre-dawn hours of April 30th, 1943, a Spanish fisherman Antonio was about to begin his day. The gossamer mists had not yet receded. But he knew the dwindling greyness would soon segue into the golden haze of the morning sun. The Second World War was in the fourth year, but for him, it was a business-as-usual day. Spain was a neutral country but the fact that Spanish echelons tacitly supported the Germans was the elephant in the room that no one had the chutzpah to question. German spies roamed the streets of Spain with impunity. Canards had been doing the rounds that even captains in some of the ships were German secret agents. Everyone turned a blind eye and Antonio was more than happy to comply. He set out to the sea off the coast of Spain; the iridescence on the ocean surface brought an instant glint on his eyes because it suggested the presence of shoals of sardine that will make an easy catch for him that day. But the Atlantic Ocean had something different to offer him. It was a human body dressed in military uniform, carrying a black briefcase. This dead man is about to change the course of the war. 

Operation Mincemeat was one of the most successful deceptions of the Second World War. The name could be weird, the operation could sound outlandish and morbid, and the master brains behind the plan risk being deemed insane, but the fact remains that Operation Mincemeat was one hell of a success and it aided the Allies in turning tables in the most decisive World War. The aim of Operation Mincemeat was simple. Germans had to be fooled into believing that Sicily wasn’t the target. But will Hitler swallow the lie?

Genre: History / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General (fancy, right?)