In 1943, British Naval Intelligence and MI5 devised a cunning plan to fool German command into thinking that the Allies planned to invade Greece and Sardinia instead of the actual objective; Sicily. All the plan required was a floating corpse and a fake identity.
Called Operation Mincemeat, the Allies planned to trick the Germans into believing they had, by accident, intercepted “top secret” documents giving details of the Allied invasion plans. To do this, they decided they needed a dead body. With the help of a pathologist, Naval Intelligence obtained the corpse of one Glyndwr Michael, a drifter who had died after ingesting rat poison. Michael was given the new identity of Major William “Bill” Martin and an extensive false identity that could be gleaned from items placed on his body. The documents and backstory created for Major Martin included love letters and a fiancé, a receipt for the purchase of an engagement ring, theater tickets, bank statements, and clothing purchase receipts.
