Operation Minnsmith, secrets and riddles
About Operation Minsmith, which took place during World War II, there are few reliable facts. However, in most textbooks, various reference books and encyclopedias that cover history espionage, it is called the victory of intelligence of Britain and an indelible disgrace for the counter-intelligence services of the Third Reich.
The British excitedly paint their luck and they have every reason to do so. The operation, which misinformed the German General Staff, made it possible to significantly speed up and facilitate the landing of the allied forces in Sicily. The Abwehr and the foreign intelligence service of the RSHA, led by brilliant analyst Walter Schellenberg, fell into a formidable shadow, after the Fuhrer realized that the redeployment of Rommel's combat units from southern Italy to Greece was the result of a ruse organized by the British.
The Fuhrer’s curses made the Himmler’s Referee too scared, even though he hoped that the failure would lead to the dissolution of Abwehr, which would allow him to concentrate power on all intelligence of the Reich in his hands.
Today, analyzing the operation "Minsmith", it is hard to believe that the legendary aces in the field of international espionage, Walter Schellenberg, and the head of the Abwehr, Admiral Canaris, were beautifully and easily deceived by the British Maritime Intelligence Service, which was not as sophisticated and skilful in its methods as compared with them.
The phenomenal failure of the Germans explains several different versions. However, it was almost impossible to find out how everything really was, since there were almost no living witnesses of those events. All that remains for modern historians is to be content with different versions of past events and to put forward new versions of them.
What happened before the landing of the Allied troops on the continent? It all started one April morning when on the coastal sand of one of the beaches of Spanish Huelva, a town located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, they found the corpse of an English officer who was wearing a life jacket of the British Air Force. A briefcase of various documents was fastened to his hand, among which was an identity card in the name of William Martin, captain of the Royal Marine Corps. There was a picture of his girlfriend inside, letters written by her, and even a few theater tickets. From the documents it appeared that the deceased was flying on a plane that was heading to the headquarters of the allied forces in North Africa from England.
At that time, Spain was inundated with various spies, and tried to maintain friendly relations with both the Germans and the British. The local police about the find sent a message to the English consulate. The Consul expressed his gratitude for the information provided and inquired if any documents were found with the drowned man. To this he received an affirmative answer. However, having learned that a briefcase with documents was also found, the consul did not demand to seal it. He made a proposal to make an inventory of the documents found, which seemed rather strange to the police commissioner. After giving a promise to pick up the briefcase and the corpse in the coming hours, the consul, however, was not in a hurry to do so. News about a strange drowned in the meantime began to spread rapidly in Huelva.
The strange delay of the consul allowed the people working for the Abwehr to make copies of all the documents found in the dead English officer’s briefcase. After that they were immediately transported to Berlin. This was helped by the fact that prudent Canaris had its people on the whole coast. They were engaged in fishing, simultaneously tracking the movement of the Allied ships. Information from them was taken by agents routeing. This entire network allowed the Abwer to obtain fairly accurate information about all British ships and submarines that sometimes appeared near the coast. All the information obtained was used for the German command.
Photocopies of the delivered documents made quite a strong impression on the head of military intelligence Reich Canaris. In particular, the portfolio contained a letter marked as confidential, in which there were messages for the army commander, General Alesander, from the chief of the British General Staff. It contained data on the possible landing of Eisenhower on the territory of Sardinia. It turned out that, contrary to common sense, which required to land on the coast of Italy, on which the Wehrmacht’s military leadership was counting, the plans envisaged a landing in Greece.
It would be logical to think: could such an experienced intelligence officer, sovereign and strict master of the Abwehr, the legendary Wilhelm Franz Canaris, have any idea of a possible attempt at disinformation. It would be natural for him to double-check everything, and not just once. He should know that such a timely and important letter for the German command from a mysterious briefcase, which was found together with the drowned man, could only appear in a dream or in one of spy novels ... Very similar to a Christmas fairy tale. Numerous reconnaissance forces are thrown on the search for information about the probable landing site of opponents. And as if by magic: the corpse of an English officer with a briefcase full of confidential documents. Just unbelieveble!
He was not alarmed by the fact that important documents were practically unattended at the police station. Without conducting any sufficiently serious checks, he sends copies to the Keitel General Staff. From there, of course, they fall into the hands of the Fuhrer. And he makes a fateful decision, which results in the redeployment of military units under the leadership of Rommel on the coast of Greece. Together with them there go the main warships. All this significantly weakened the defense of Sicily.
Later, all this could be a reason for accusing Canaris of treason by the Reichsführer and Schellenberg. It was a great opportunity to seize power over German intelligence. They considered the letter a fake, but could not yet find direct evidence of this.
Cautious Himmler understood that he was late with the denunciation of Canaris. It was necessary to do this as early as possible, but there was no evidence. It was clear that intuition and suspicion, even from their side, would not be an argument sufficient for the Fuhrer. Moreover, the redeployment of troops has already begun.
True, the next morning, Shelenberg was provided with a strange radio message, just intercepted by the interception service. However, there was no evidence that it was related to the English portfolio with documents. According to people who intercepted her, it was intended for British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. It contained only two words: "Stuffing swallowed."
Of course, intuition told Shelenberg that it was most likely information for the management about the successful completion of the disinformation operation. He even had thoughts that it was Canaris, through his people, who was transmitting to Churchill information about the completion of the operation. However, this idea brgigadenfuhrer immediately discards. He does not express her even in conversation with the Reichführer, with whom he had a rather warm relationship.
It is possible that Hitler’s accidentally overheard conversation with Admiral Doenitz had an impact on the as yet unaccountable decision on disinformation of Himmler. The Fuhrer switched to a scream during a conversation, when he declared that the allies would land on Sicily and asked to consider the possibility of leaving the fleet there. Himmler was probably afraid to turn his head under the hot hand, since after Stalingrad the Fuhrer became even more irritable and nervous and suspicious of his surroundings.
Reichsfuhrer was well aware that he could turn Hitler's anger towards himself if he reported an obvious “misinformation” slipped by Canaris. Do not blame the Fuhrer and their inaction with Canaris. All this led to the fact that he decided to rely on the will, fate, and began to hope that, in spite of all suspicions, the document is still authentic.
As a result, the Reichsfirer, Heinrich Himmler, and the head of the RSHA 6 administration, Waller Schellenberg, made a wise decision: they were silent. Otherwise, how to explain that they, the great masters of espionage from the RSHA, could not detect the catch in time and did not keep Hitler from making the wrong decision at the right time.
The result was the landing of Allied forces in Sicily, which marked the beginning of the liberation of Italy. Canaris was then removed from the leadership of the Abwehr. Yes, and the department itself was dissolved by order of the Fuhrer. All intelligence was concentrated in the hands of the SS. In February 1945, Canaris was arrested, and it was Walter Schellenberg who was ordered to arrest. Canaris was executed in April.
After the war, there were enthusiastic statements from the British about how they were able to hold the famous masters of espionage in Germany. They wrote that the result exceeded even their wildest expectations, allowing them to disperse German defenses throughout European territory. And one of the developers of the operation "Minsmith" wrote a book, which was called: "The man who was not" ...
That's the whole history of the operation, which was across the throat of German intelligence. And translated "Minsmith" from English is very simple - "Minced meat."
The British excitedly paint their luck and they have every reason to do so. The operation, which misinformed the German General Staff, made it possible to significantly speed up and facilitate the landing of the allied forces in Sicily. The Abwehr and the foreign intelligence service of the RSHA, led by brilliant analyst Walter Schellenberg, fell into a formidable shadow, after the Fuhrer realized that the redeployment of Rommel's combat units from southern Italy to Greece was the result of a ruse organized by the British.
The Fuhrer’s curses made the Himmler’s Referee too scared, even though he hoped that the failure would lead to the dissolution of Abwehr, which would allow him to concentrate power on all intelligence of the Reich in his hands.
Wilhelm Franz Canaris
Today, analyzing the operation "Minsmith", it is hard to believe that the legendary aces in the field of international espionage, Walter Schellenberg, and the head of the Abwehr, Admiral Canaris, were beautifully and easily deceived by the British Maritime Intelligence Service, which was not as sophisticated and skilful in its methods as compared with them.
Walter Schellenberg (German name - Walter Friedrich Schellenberg)
The phenomenal failure of the Germans explains several different versions. However, it was almost impossible to find out how everything really was, since there were almost no living witnesses of those events. All that remains for modern historians is to be content with different versions of past events and to put forward new versions of them.
What happened before the landing of the Allied troops on the continent? It all started one April morning when on the coastal sand of one of the beaches of Spanish Huelva, a town located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, they found the corpse of an English officer who was wearing a life jacket of the British Air Force. A briefcase of various documents was fastened to his hand, among which was an identity card in the name of William Martin, captain of the Royal Marine Corps. There was a picture of his girlfriend inside, letters written by her, and even a few theater tickets. From the documents it appeared that the deceased was flying on a plane that was heading to the headquarters of the allied forces in North Africa from England.
OPERATION MINSMIT
1 Purpose
Ensure the delivery of the portfolio with documents to the beach as close as possible to Huelva (Spain). Make it in such a way as to create the impression that the portfolio was on a plane that fell into the sea. and he was being carried by an officer from England to the Allied headquarters in North Africa.
2. Way
The dead body, dressed in the field uniform of a major of the British marines and a life jacket, along with a briefcase and a rubber dinghy, is delivered to the coast of Spain by a submarine.
A body fully prepared for launching will be placed in an airtight container labeled. "Handle with care - Optical Instruments - Special Shipping."
The container is about 200 centimeters long and about 60 centimeters in diameter, without any projections from the sides. On the one hand, it is closed with a lid, which is screwed tightly with bolts. Attached to it is a chain spanner. Both the lid and the bottom have handles. The container can be lifted by both handles or using only the handle on the lid, however, it is undesirable to lift the container with one handle, since the steel from which it is made is very thin. The total weight of the container is about 150 kilograms.
The body in the container is surrounded by a layer of dry ice, so the container should be opened on the deck and not inside the submarine, since dry ice emits carbon dioxide.
3 Place
The body should be launched as close to the shore as possible, and as close as possible to the city of Huelva, preferably north-west of the mouth of the river.
According to the hydrographic control, the currents in this area go mainly along the coast, therefore, to put the body into the water, you should choose the time when the wind blows in the direction of the coast. At this time of the year, southwesterly winds prevail in this region.
The latest information on tidal currents in the area, received from the head of the hydrographic department, is attached.
4 Shipping
The cargo will be delivered to the port of departure by land at any specified laziness, preferably as close as possible to the day of departure. The portfolio will be transferred to the submarine commander at the same time. Rubber boat is in a separate package.
5. Body descent
Having removed the body from the container, the chain attached to the handle of the briefcase must be attached to the overcoat belt in which the corpse is dressed. This chain is exactly the same. which usually put on under the overcoat on the chest and release the free end through the sleeve. At one end of the chain there is a carabiner fastener, allowing you to attach it to the handle of the briefcase, on the other - the same clasp that fastens on the chest. It is this end of the chain that should be fixed on the overcoat's belt, as if the officer took a chain from the plane for convenience, but left it attached to the belt so as not to forget the briefcase or drop it in the plane.
Then the body and the rubber boat should be lowered into the water. Since the rubber boat will sail at a different speed than the body, the place of the launch of the boat relative to the body does not matter much, but it should not be too close to the body.
6. Informed Persons in Gibraltar
Steps have been taken to report the planned operation to the garrison commander in Gibraltar and the head of the intelligence section of his headquarters. In addition to these, in Gibraltar nobody is aware of the operation,
7. Signals
If the operation is successful, it is necessary to convey: "Minsmith is over." If the report will be sent from Gibraltar, the head of the intelligence department should be warned to address him to the head of the Admiralty intelligence department (personally). If the report can be sent earlier, it is transmitted in the manner prescribed by the relevant orders of the commander of the underwater forces.
8. Cancel
If the operation has to be canceled, an order will be given to “Cancel the Minismith”. In this case, the body and container should be submerged in the deep water area. Since the container may have positive buoyancy, it should either be loaded with something or filled with water. In the latter case, care must be taken to ensure that the body remains in the container. The portfolio must be handed over to the head of the intelligence department in Gibraltar with instructions to burn it without opening it (if it is not possible to do it earlier). The rubber boat to transfer for destruction also to the head of the intelligence department.
9. Impossibility of the operation
If the operation proves impossible, it is necessary to inform, and as soon as possible: “The minsmith failed” (see paragraph 7).
10. Disguise
Before the operation begins, the inscription “Optical instruments” on the container will serve as a sufficient disguise. After the operation, the submarine crew can be informed that our goal is to expose a very active German agent in Huelva and that, thanks to the operation, data will be obtained that will cause the Spaniards to send the agent out of the country. At the same time, it is necessary to convince the crew that any “leakage” of information, whenever it occurs, may deprive us of the opportunity to force the Spaniards to do what is beneficial to us. Crew members should not subsequently be interested in the results achieved, since the operation requires the full preservation of secrets, otherwise the Spaniards will unravel our plan.
In fact, the most important thing is that the Germans and Spaniards treat the documents in the manner prescribed by clause /. If they suspect that the documents are false, this will have serious consequences.
1 Purpose
Ensure the delivery of the portfolio with documents to the beach as close as possible to Huelva (Spain). Make it in such a way as to create the impression that the portfolio was on a plane that fell into the sea. and he was being carried by an officer from England to the Allied headquarters in North Africa.
2. Way
The dead body, dressed in the field uniform of a major of the British marines and a life jacket, along with a briefcase and a rubber dinghy, is delivered to the coast of Spain by a submarine.
A body fully prepared for launching will be placed in an airtight container labeled. "Handle with care - Optical Instruments - Special Shipping."
The container is about 200 centimeters long and about 60 centimeters in diameter, without any projections from the sides. On the one hand, it is closed with a lid, which is screwed tightly with bolts. Attached to it is a chain spanner. Both the lid and the bottom have handles. The container can be lifted by both handles or using only the handle on the lid, however, it is undesirable to lift the container with one handle, since the steel from which it is made is very thin. The total weight of the container is about 150 kilograms.
The body in the container is surrounded by a layer of dry ice, so the container should be opened on the deck and not inside the submarine, since dry ice emits carbon dioxide.
3 Place
The body should be launched as close to the shore as possible, and as close as possible to the city of Huelva, preferably north-west of the mouth of the river.
According to the hydrographic control, the currents in this area go mainly along the coast, therefore, to put the body into the water, you should choose the time when the wind blows in the direction of the coast. At this time of the year, southwesterly winds prevail in this region.
The latest information on tidal currents in the area, received from the head of the hydrographic department, is attached.
4 Shipping
The cargo will be delivered to the port of departure by land at any specified laziness, preferably as close as possible to the day of departure. The portfolio will be transferred to the submarine commander at the same time. Rubber boat is in a separate package.
5. Body descent
Having removed the body from the container, the chain attached to the handle of the briefcase must be attached to the overcoat belt in which the corpse is dressed. This chain is exactly the same. which usually put on under the overcoat on the chest and release the free end through the sleeve. At one end of the chain there is a carabiner fastener, allowing you to attach it to the handle of the briefcase, on the other - the same clasp that fastens on the chest. It is this end of the chain that should be fixed on the overcoat's belt, as if the officer took a chain from the plane for convenience, but left it attached to the belt so as not to forget the briefcase or drop it in the plane.
Then the body and the rubber boat should be lowered into the water. Since the rubber boat will sail at a different speed than the body, the place of the launch of the boat relative to the body does not matter much, but it should not be too close to the body.
6. Informed Persons in Gibraltar
Steps have been taken to report the planned operation to the garrison commander in Gibraltar and the head of the intelligence section of his headquarters. In addition to these, in Gibraltar nobody is aware of the operation,
7. Signals
If the operation is successful, it is necessary to convey: "Minsmith is over." If the report will be sent from Gibraltar, the head of the intelligence department should be warned to address him to the head of the Admiralty intelligence department (personally). If the report can be sent earlier, it is transmitted in the manner prescribed by the relevant orders of the commander of the underwater forces.
8. Cancel
If the operation has to be canceled, an order will be given to “Cancel the Minismith”. In this case, the body and container should be submerged in the deep water area. Since the container may have positive buoyancy, it should either be loaded with something or filled with water. In the latter case, care must be taken to ensure that the body remains in the container. The portfolio must be handed over to the head of the intelligence department in Gibraltar with instructions to burn it without opening it (if it is not possible to do it earlier). The rubber boat to transfer for destruction also to the head of the intelligence department.
9. Impossibility of the operation
If the operation proves impossible, it is necessary to inform, and as soon as possible: “The minsmith failed” (see paragraph 7).
10. Disguise
Before the operation begins, the inscription “Optical instruments” on the container will serve as a sufficient disguise. After the operation, the submarine crew can be informed that our goal is to expose a very active German agent in Huelva and that, thanks to the operation, data will be obtained that will cause the Spaniards to send the agent out of the country. At the same time, it is necessary to convince the crew that any “leakage” of information, whenever it occurs, may deprive us of the opportunity to force the Spaniards to do what is beneficial to us. Crew members should not subsequently be interested in the results achieved, since the operation requires the full preservation of secrets, otherwise the Spaniards will unravel our plan.
In fact, the most important thing is that the Germans and Spaniards treat the documents in the manner prescribed by clause /. If they suspect that the documents are false, this will have serious consequences.
I. Montague, Lieutenant Commander
November 31.3.43, XNUMX
November 31.3.43, XNUMX
At that time, Spain was inundated with various spies, and tried to maintain friendly relations with both the Germans and the British. The local police about the find sent a message to the English consulate. The Consul expressed his gratitude for the information provided and inquired if any documents were found with the drowned man. To this he received an affirmative answer. However, having learned that a briefcase with documents was also found, the consul did not demand to seal it. He made a proposal to make an inventory of the documents found, which seemed rather strange to the police commissioner. After giving a promise to pick up the briefcase and the corpse in the coming hours, the consul, however, was not in a hurry to do so. News about a strange drowned in the meantime began to spread rapidly in Huelva.
The strange delay of the consul allowed the people working for the Abwehr to make copies of all the documents found in the dead English officer’s briefcase. After that they were immediately transported to Berlin. This was helped by the fact that prudent Canaris had its people on the whole coast. They were engaged in fishing, simultaneously tracking the movement of the Allied ships. Information from them was taken by agents routeing. This entire network allowed the Abwer to obtain fairly accurate information about all British ships and submarines that sometimes appeared near the coast. All the information obtained was used for the German command.Photocopies of the delivered documents made quite a strong impression on the head of military intelligence Reich Canaris. In particular, the portfolio contained a letter marked as confidential, in which there were messages for the army commander, General Alesander, from the chief of the British General Staff. It contained data on the possible landing of Eisenhower on the territory of Sardinia. It turned out that, contrary to common sense, which required to land on the coast of Italy, on which the Wehrmacht’s military leadership was counting, the plans envisaged a landing in Greece.
It would be logical to think: could such an experienced intelligence officer, sovereign and strict master of the Abwehr, the legendary Wilhelm Franz Canaris, have any idea of a possible attempt at disinformation. It would be natural for him to double-check everything, and not just once. He should know that such a timely and important letter for the German command from a mysterious briefcase, which was found together with the drowned man, could only appear in a dream or in one of spy novels ... Very similar to a Christmas fairy tale. Numerous reconnaissance forces are thrown on the search for information about the probable landing site of opponents. And as if by magic: the corpse of an English officer with a briefcase full of confidential documents. Just unbelieveble!
He was not alarmed by the fact that important documents were practically unattended at the police station. Without conducting any sufficiently serious checks, he sends copies to the Keitel General Staff. From there, of course, they fall into the hands of the Fuhrer. And he makes a fateful decision, which results in the redeployment of military units under the leadership of Rommel on the coast of Greece. Together with them there go the main warships. All this significantly weakened the defense of Sicily.
Later, all this could be a reason for accusing Canaris of treason by the Reichsführer and Schellenberg. It was a great opportunity to seize power over German intelligence. They considered the letter a fake, but could not yet find direct evidence of this.
Cautious Himmler understood that he was late with the denunciation of Canaris. It was necessary to do this as early as possible, but there was no evidence. It was clear that intuition and suspicion, even from their side, would not be an argument sufficient for the Fuhrer. Moreover, the redeployment of troops has already begun.
True, the next morning, Shelenberg was provided with a strange radio message, just intercepted by the interception service. However, there was no evidence that it was related to the English portfolio with documents. According to people who intercepted her, it was intended for British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. It contained only two words: "Stuffing swallowed."
Of course, intuition told Shelenberg that it was most likely information for the management about the successful completion of the disinformation operation. He even had thoughts that it was Canaris, through his people, who was transmitting to Churchill information about the completion of the operation. However, this idea brgigadenfuhrer immediately discards. He does not express her even in conversation with the Reichführer, with whom he had a rather warm relationship.
It is possible that Hitler’s accidentally overheard conversation with Admiral Doenitz had an impact on the as yet unaccountable decision on disinformation of Himmler. The Fuhrer switched to a scream during a conversation, when he declared that the allies would land on Sicily and asked to consider the possibility of leaving the fleet there. Himmler was probably afraid to turn his head under the hot hand, since after Stalingrad the Fuhrer became even more irritable and nervous and suspicious of his surroundings.
Team of the operation "Minced meat"
Reichsfuhrer was well aware that he could turn Hitler's anger towards himself if he reported an obvious “misinformation” slipped by Canaris. Do not blame the Fuhrer and their inaction with Canaris. All this led to the fact that he decided to rely on the will, fate, and began to hope that, in spite of all suspicions, the document is still authentic.
As a result, the Reichsfirer, Heinrich Himmler, and the head of the RSHA 6 administration, Waller Schellenberg, made a wise decision: they were silent. Otherwise, how to explain that they, the great masters of espionage from the RSHA, could not detect the catch in time and did not keep Hitler from making the wrong decision at the right time.
The result was the landing of Allied forces in Sicily, which marked the beginning of the liberation of Italy. Canaris was then removed from the leadership of the Abwehr. Yes, and the department itself was dissolved by order of the Fuhrer. All intelligence was concentrated in the hands of the SS. In February 1945, Canaris was arrested, and it was Walter Schellenberg who was ordered to arrest. Canaris was executed in April.
After the war, there were enthusiastic statements from the British about how they were able to hold the famous masters of espionage in Germany. They wrote that the result exceeded even their wildest expectations, allowing them to disperse German defenses throughout European territory. And one of the developers of the operation "Minsmith" wrote a book, which was called: "The man who was not" ...
That's the whole history of the operation, which was across the throat of German intelligence. And translated "Minsmith" from English is very simple - "Minced meat."
Information