Operation Garbo

He was GARBO to the Allies and ALARIC to the Germans – the most successful double agent of the Second World War. Indeed, his spy network across Britain was so highly regarded that he was decorated for his achievements ... by both sides. Throughout the war, GARBO kept the Germans supplied with reports from his ring of twenty-four agents. Hitler's spymasters never discovered or even suspected a double-cross, but all the agents in GARBO's network existed solely in his imagination. In one of the most daring espionage coups of all time, GARBO persuaded the enemy to hold back troops that might otherwise have defeated the Normandy landings on D-Day; without him, the Second World War could have taken a completely different course. For decades, GARBO's true identity was a closely guarded secret. After the war, he vanished. Years later, after faking his own death, Juan Pujol García was persuaded by the author to emerge from the shadowy world of espionage, and in this new edition of his classic account, now updated to include his agents' original MI5 files, GARBO reveals his unique story.

Describes the life of Juan Pujol, a poultry farmer who opposed the Nazis and concocted a series of staggering lies that lead to his becoming one of Germany's most valued spies, while actually acting as a double-agent for the Allies.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 I was born in 1912 in Barcelona, Spain. I grew up near the railway line, and my mother always spoke Catalan at home, but never Castilian. We were first and foremost Spaniards, and we never felt the sting of separatism. #2 My father, Juan Pujol, was a Catalan through and through. He had a difficult childhood, but he was able to set up his own little factory and become the most important dye-house in Barcelona. He was extremely honest and noble, and he instilled those qualities in me. #3 My father was a loving and caring man, who was always there for me. He not only broke his own toys, but also those of his children. He would take us for long walks along the beach, and buy us cakes and sweets when we were in the hospital. #4 My father was a liberal who believed in freedom. He never attended political gatherings or party meetings, and he abhorred oppression. He taught me to respect the individuality of human beings, their sorrows and their sufferings, be they rich or poor, good or evil, black or white.

From the bestselling author of The Spy and the Traitor, A Spy Among Friends, and Rogue Heroes, a fascinating work of popular history that vividly recreates the vast web of deception spun by spies in order to conceal D-Day. On June 6, 1944, 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy and suffered an astonishingly low rate of casualties. A stunning military achievement, it was also a masterpiece of trickery. Operation Fortitude, which protected and enabled the invasion, and the Double Cross system, which specialized in turning German spies into double agents, tricked the Nazis into believing that the Allied attacks would come in Calais and Norway rather than Normandy. It was the most sophisticated and successful deception operation ever carried out, ensuring Allied victory at the most pivotal moment in the war. This epic event has never before been told from the perspective of the key individuals in the Double Cross system, who together made up one of the oddest and most brilliant military units ever assembled. Until now.

Juan Pujol, a young Spanish antifascist, became agent GARBO, a master of deception and intrigue. His story contains all the hallmarks of classic spy adventure—enciphered messages, secret inks, items concealed in cakes—culminating in one of the greatest strategic deceptions in history. Through a ring of invented subagents, GARBO and his MI5 controllers succeeded in convincing the Germans that the DDay landings were only a diversionary tactic, thus safeguarding the Allied landings and hastening the end of the war in Europe. Secret History Files is an exciting series from The National Archives that puts covert history in readers’ hands. Dossiers previously classified as "Top Secret" are now available, with an explanatory introduction and background analysis by expert historians. Publisher’s Note: This publication brings you in full the ’Summary of the Garbo Case 1941—1945’ by Tomás Harris. All document references are to the original files, which may be consulted under supervision at the National Archives, Kew. Our intention is to reproduce the material as faithfully as possible without compromising the integrity of the original. This means that the occasional inconsistency or typing error survives from Harris’s text. The symbol [...] is used where material from the original document has been retained under section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958.

Offers the never-before-revealed story of the agent known only as GARBO and follows his real-life espionage from the gentlemen's clubs of London to the beachhead trenches of Normandy

Juan Pujol, a young Spanish anti-fascist, ultimately became Agent GARBO - the greatest double-agent of World War II. Initially recruited by German intelligence, GARBO came to London after a series of adventures to work for the British. Using a ring of invented sub-agents, he and his MI5 controllers eventually succeeded in pulling off one of the greatest deceptions in history. As a part of Operation FORTITUDE, they convinced the Germans that the D-DAY landings were only a diversionary attack, so protecting the Allied landings and hastening the end of the war in Europe. The release of MI5 case files (kept secret for over fifty years), means that these facts can now be told in full. The report which forms the bulk of this publication reads like a classic spy adventure - enciphered messages, secret inks, items concealed in cakes, exotic foreigners and fanatic nationalists. It was written by GARBO's MI5 case officer, Tomas Harris, one of a group of Cambridge graduates that included the Soviet spies Anthony Blunt and Kim Philby. Mark Seaman's introduction and notes explain and illustrate the crucial historical importance of this MI5 file.

The Allied landings on the coast of "Normandy" have assumed legendary status. But overly romanticizing D-day, Wieviorka argues, losses sight of the full picture. "Normandy" offers a balanced, complete account that reveals the successes and weaknesses of the titanic enterprise.