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A review by judyward
Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies by Ben Macintyre
4.0
This book finishes a trilogy by Ben Macintyre begun by Agent Zigzag and Operation Mincemeat, both of which I enjoyed immensely. Double Cross tells the story of the intelligence agents utilized by the British government to fool the Nazi regime into thinking that the opening of the Second Front in 1944 was going to occur in such diverse areas as Norway, the south of France, and the area around Calais in northern France. The Double Cross program was run by Tar Robertson and he and his staff specialized in ferreting out German spies and turning them into double agents operating for the Allies.
In 1943, Robertson realized that every significant German agent in England was either in prison, had been executed, or was part of the Double Cross program. That allowed British intelligence to begin to feed the Germans not just false information, but to begin to create the outlines of grand, war-changing lies. Five spies formed the core of Double Cross--Bronx, Treasure, Brutus, Tricycle, and Garbo and a more diverse group couldn't be imagined. They included a bisexual Peruvian playgirl, a Polish fighter pilot, a feisty French woman who was fixated on her pet dog, a troubled Serbian, and a failed Spanish chicken farmer.
The first test of the Double Cross misinformation program was Operation Torch--the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942. Transmitting information to their handlers that suggested that the counter-attack against the Germans would begin in northern France and Norway, while at the same time the island of Malta would be relieved, the Germans were caught by surprise when Allied troops landed at Casablanca, Algiers, and Oran in November. The same strategy, with the addition of a corpse drifting in from the ocean, was used in 1943 to divert German attention while Italy was invaded through Sicily.
In the built-up to D-Day, attention had to be drawn away from southwestern England. To keep German forces in Norway and to encourage those forces to be reinforced, Allied intelligence created a fictional British Fourth Army training in Scotland and Iceland preparing for the "invasion" of Norway. 350 people represented an "army" of 100,000 men preparing for an amphibious landing and mountain warfare by having wireless trucks drive around Scotland senting countless messages into the ether about training schedules and troop movements. The Double Cross agents fed a steady stream of "intelligence" about this impending invasion to their handlers by wireless and by post.
The southeast coast of England was also used as a diversion. Props, scenery and backdrops gave the impression that an army of 150,000 men was preparing for battle and wireless operators drove all over Kent simulating the wireless traffic that would be generated by an entire corps training for an invasion of Calais.
But the central body of the lies came from the Double Cross agents because they were Hitler's most trusted source of information on military build-ups and troop movements in England. The deception delivered by the Double Cross agents was constructed over weeks and months and consisted of tiny scraps of information for German intelligence agents to piece together. And those fragments of information were buried in an avalanche of other intelligence.
The success of Double Cross was evident on D-Day. While thousands of Allied soldiers were killed or wounded, the beaches were taken in Normandy with a greater ease than expected once the invasion began.
After the war, the Double Cross agents simply disappeared back into their private lives and their stories did not become a celebrated part of the story of the Allied victory in World War II. Macintyre tells their story very effectively and readers realize the debt that is owed to this small group of people. This book would be enjoyed by anyone who has an interest in World War II--especially in the intelligence and psychological side of the conflict. Highly recommended
In 1943, Robertson realized that every significant German agent in England was either in prison, had been executed, or was part of the Double Cross program. That allowed British intelligence to begin to feed the Germans not just false information, but to begin to create the outlines of grand, war-changing lies. Five spies formed the core of Double Cross--Bronx, Treasure, Brutus, Tricycle, and Garbo and a more diverse group couldn't be imagined. They included a bisexual Peruvian playgirl, a Polish fighter pilot, a feisty French woman who was fixated on her pet dog, a troubled Serbian, and a failed Spanish chicken farmer.
The first test of the Double Cross misinformation program was Operation Torch--the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942. Transmitting information to their handlers that suggested that the counter-attack against the Germans would begin in northern France and Norway, while at the same time the island of Malta would be relieved, the Germans were caught by surprise when Allied troops landed at Casablanca, Algiers, and Oran in November. The same strategy, with the addition of a corpse drifting in from the ocean, was used in 1943 to divert German attention while Italy was invaded through Sicily.
In the built-up to D-Day, attention had to be drawn away from southwestern England. To keep German forces in Norway and to encourage those forces to be reinforced, Allied intelligence created a fictional British Fourth Army training in Scotland and Iceland preparing for the "invasion" of Norway. 350 people represented an "army" of 100,000 men preparing for an amphibious landing and mountain warfare by having wireless trucks drive around Scotland senting countless messages into the ether about training schedules and troop movements. The Double Cross agents fed a steady stream of "intelligence" about this impending invasion to their handlers by wireless and by post.
The southeast coast of England was also used as a diversion. Props, scenery and backdrops gave the impression that an army of 150,000 men was preparing for battle and wireless operators drove all over Kent simulating the wireless traffic that would be generated by an entire corps training for an invasion of Calais.
But the central body of the lies came from the Double Cross agents because they were Hitler's most trusted source of information on military build-ups and troop movements in England. The deception delivered by the Double Cross agents was constructed over weeks and months and consisted of tiny scraps of information for German intelligence agents to piece together. And those fragments of information were buried in an avalanche of other intelligence.
The success of Double Cross was evident on D-Day. While thousands of Allied soldiers were killed or wounded, the beaches were taken in Normandy with a greater ease than expected once the invasion began.
After the war, the Double Cross agents simply disappeared back into their private lives and their stories did not become a celebrated part of the story of the Allied victory in World War II. Macintyre tells their story very effectively and readers realize the debt that is owed to this small group of people. This book would be enjoyed by anyone who has an interest in World War II--especially in the intelligence and psychological side of the conflict. Highly recommended