Operation Mincemeat

Operation Mincemeat

The most audacious deception operation of WWII. On the 30th of April, 1943, the corpse of a 'Major Martin' washed up near the Spanish city of Huelva. On his body, Spanish officials found secret documents detailing an upcoming Allied invasion of Greece. This was the moment that the Axis powers had been waiting for, and the Germans began redirecting much-needed divisions to Greece and the Balkans. They would discover only too late that this was all an elaborate feint, conceived by British Intelligence to obscure the Allies' real target - Sicily. By mid-July, the Allies had landed in southern Italy and the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe was well underway.


So how exactly did its architects create this complex web of misdirection and misinformation? And can it really be true that the success of the Sicily invasion came down to this one act of deception? In this Explainer episode, Dan takes us through the twists and turns of this audacious and unorthodox act of subterfuge.


Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.


Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.


We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.


You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(1496)

Captain Cook 250 Years On

Captain Cook 250 Years On

250 years ago today Captain James arrived back from one of the most remarkable voyages of exploration in the history of the world. The expedition took Cook and his crew through the Pacific making cont...

12 Jul 202126min

The Irish War of Independence

The Irish War of Independence

11 July 1921 the truce that bought the Irish War of Independence came into effect. The negotiations that brought about the end of hostilities, between Irish representatives led by Éamon de Valera and ...

11 Jul 202137min

A History of Tennis

A History of Tennis

In this archive episode, David Berry joined Dan on the pod to discuss the history of tennis. From the birth of modern tennis in Victorian Britain to the present day, they talk about struggles around s...

10 Jul 202125min

How Coffee and Tobacco Captivated Britain

How Coffee and Tobacco Captivated Britain

When tobacco arrived in Britain in the 1560s, it was hailed as a "holy herb", a miracle cure to improve health and a catalyst for wit and creativity. The coming of coffee - "black as hell, strong as d...

9 Jul 202141min

England and Italy. The History.

England and Italy. The History.

The history of Italy and England stretches back thousands of years well before Italy and England even existed as nations. As the two will meet in the European Championship final this Sunday it seemed ...

8 Jul 202142min

The Japanese Americans Who Fought in WWII

The Japanese Americans Who Fought in WWII

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941, Japanese Americans were put in a terrible position in the USA. Many tens of thousands of Japanese Americans were interned in cruel conditio...

7 Jul 202121min

Assyria and the Birth of Writing

Assyria and the Birth of Writing

It is often the case that it is assumed that it was in ancient Greece and the eastern Mediterranean that was host to the foundation of European politics, culture, economics and engineering. But in fac...

6 Jul 202128min

Ethel Rosenberg: Super Spy or Innocent Victim?

Ethel Rosenberg: Super Spy or Innocent Victim?

In June 1953 Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, an American married couple with two young sons, were executed having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. Julius was undou...

5 Jul 202129min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
henrettelsespodden
rss-katastrofe
historier-som-endret-norge
rss-benadet
sektledere
aftenposten-historie
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
historier-som-endret-verden
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
rss-frontkjemperne
historiepodden
liberal-halvtime
med-egne-oyne
vare-historier
rss-historiske-romanser
rss-gamle-greier
rss-politisk-preik
rss-historiepodden-ww2
rss-alt-var-bedre-for