There is a little-known but true sabotage incident in the United States that occurred during World War II. In June of 1942, the Nazis put a plan in motion to infiltrate and attack America via the East Coast beginning with two four-man teams. Codenamed Operation Pastorius by German military intelligence, the plan was ambitious from the get-go. However, what was initially designed to sabotage and disable key military targets turned into an embarrassing series of events.
Terrorism did not make its first appearance on our shores on 9/11. Had Operation Pastorius been successful, serious damage could have been done at a strategic moment, not only to the American infrastructure but also to the morale of a nation dragged reluctantly into what they regarded as a foreign war.
What Was Operation Pastorius?
The primary goal of Operation Pastorius was to cripple the production of military equipment and supplies, which the U.S. had been furnishing to countries fighting the war against the Nazis. A German submarine would drop eight saboteurs off the coasts of New York and Florida under the cloak of night.
