1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:02,520 Speaker 1: Hi, everybody, Happy Saturday. 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,480 Speaker 2: It's Chuck here, and I am picking out our select 3 00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 2: for this week, and I'm going with a more recent one, 4 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:10,600 Speaker 2: maybe controversial to do so, but it's our episode on 5 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,119 Speaker 2: Operation Min's Meat. And I am picking that one because 6 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 2: I don't think we're able to record this for that episode. 7 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 2: But the Broadway show Operation Min's Meat was literally inspired 8 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 2: by this episode. The one of the stars and the 9 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,799 Speaker 2: producers was all over Variety magazine and all over the 10 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 2: place in interview saying that her brother they were searching 11 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 2: for a show to do, to write and make into 12 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:36,320 Speaker 2: a Broadway show, and he said, Hey, you should check 13 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 2: out this episode of stuff. You should know Operation Min's Meat. 14 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 2: This is this really crazy story and I think there's 15 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 2: something there. And there was something there because not only 16 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 2: did they make it to a Broadway show, it's been 17 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 2: a pretty big hit and was nominated for Tony Awards 18 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 2: and I am going to get to go see it 19 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 2: in New York City next weekend, and I'm super excited 20 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 2: because I think I get to meet the cast. So anyway, 21 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 2: here we go, everyone, another little feather in our cap 22 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 2: Operation mince Meat colon How a corpse Fooled the Nazis. 23 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 2: Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio. 24 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:20,399 Speaker 3: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's 25 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 3: Charles W. Chuck Bryant, there's Jerry Rowland. This is Stuff 26 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 3: you Should Know. Chuck. Yo, I'm thirty nine years old 27 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 3: and I still can't say my own name correctly because 28 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:30,959 Speaker 3: of my stupid thick tongue. 29 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: Oh you're gonna be forty yeah soon. Crazy. 30 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 3: Yeah. 31 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: Used to make fun of me, and now you're old. 32 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 3: Well, you're still older than me. 33 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: I know that I can do about that. 34 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 3: It's cool though. Yeah, you're aging very well. Yeah, no, 35 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 3: you're aging really well. 36 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 2: But you mean the teeth falling out, the weight gain 37 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 2: and the gray beard. 38 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 3: I still say you're aging very well. 39 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: I appreciate it. 40 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, let's get your hair, take off your hat. 41 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: I still got good hair. 42 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 2: Boom, look at that the got hat head now beautiful. 43 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: Okay, people think I'm bald. Some people do? Oh? 44 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 3: Really like you're always wearing that hat, do you? 45 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: I don't know. 46 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 2: Suspicious people, yeah, like the drummer for the Chili Peppers. 47 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 3: Anthony Keatith Flee Nope, the guy from Jane's Addiction, Nope 48 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 3: I don't know them, not. 49 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,160 Speaker 2: John for SHUNTI Chad Smith, the guy that looks like 50 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 2: Will Ferrell, He's always Will Ferrell. 51 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: He's always got that hat on backwards. 52 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 3: And he's bald. Oh yeah, totally Brett, like Brett Michael's bald. 53 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 3: I remember he always wears a do ragh. He's super bald. 54 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 1: So I get why people are suspicious. 55 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 2: If you're a public figure that has a patented hat piece, 56 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 2: then it's probably because you're bald, but not in my case. 57 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 2: What a weird way to start the show, especially this show, 58 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 2: Operation mince meat yep, which is a ghoulish gallows humor 59 00:02:55,320 --> 00:03:00,839 Speaker 2: awesomely World War two British name for this, this operation. Yeah, 60 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:05,520 Speaker 2: this will live alongside our Nazi spies and Invading Florida. 61 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 3: Podcast and the History Girls covered this this very topic 62 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:09,639 Speaker 3: as well. Yeah. 63 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: Man, there's nothing I love more than little known history. 64 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 3: This is it. But this is great little known history. 65 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, and this shouldn't be middle known because it was 66 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 2: after the Trojan War, maybe the largest and most successful 67 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 2: military deception plan in history. 68 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 3: Well there was also have you seen that documentary Ghost 69 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 3: Army about Operation Fortitude. No, they used a bunch of 70 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 3: blow up tanks and planes, like inflatable tanks and planes 71 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 3: to make it look like there was a whole Allied 72 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 3: division over here. Yeah, so that we could invade Normandy moreas. 73 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: It's like a Looney Tune cartoon. 74 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 3: Awesome, but yes, this ranks up there with literally with 75 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 3: the Trojan Horse. It's that ingenious and that wonderful. 76 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: Yeah. 77 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 3: But so let's set the stage right, Okay, So in 78 00:03:54,240 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 3: early nineteen forty three, the war was very much undecided. Yeah, 79 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 3: it could have been anybody's. Like Europe was under the 80 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 3: control of Hitler, huge amounts of Europe. They called it 81 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 3: Fortress Europe because the Nazis were just had just overrun 82 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 3: the place, were dug in, and the Allies knew that 83 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 3: they needed to get into Europe to topple Hitler or else, 84 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 3: like they weren't going to win the war. Sure, so 85 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 3: Churchill suggested attacking Europe's under belly, which is maybe Italy, 86 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,799 Speaker 3: Greece under Sirdinia. He called it the underbelly, not very flattering, 87 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:36,480 Speaker 3: but he called it Europe's underbelly. So everybody, the Allies, 88 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 3: the Greeks, the Nazis, the Japanese, the people in Hawaii, 89 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 3: everybody knew. Yeah, they weren't American quite yet. Okay, everybody 90 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 3: knew that the Allies were going to attack somewhere in 91 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:54,680 Speaker 3: that area. 92 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, come up through the Mediterranean. Even Hitler feared this 93 00:04:58,839 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 2: the most. 94 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 3: Right, but key, right, And I mean everybody knew the 95 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 3: Allies were coming and they were going to come there. 96 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,840 Speaker 3: But this land mass, this area of land and see 97 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:10,359 Speaker 3: is large enough that you can't just be like, oh, 98 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 3: they're coming down there, we got it covered. 99 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll cover it all. 100 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,279 Speaker 3: You need to know kind of specifically where they were covering. 101 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:17,279 Speaker 3: And there were just a few places where they could 102 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:21,599 Speaker 3: have come. One was Greece, that was where Hitler always suspected, yeah, 103 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 3: one was Sardinia, right, yeah, and then another was Sicily. 104 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 1: Yeah. 105 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 3: And in nineteen forty three, I think January, the Allied 106 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 3: powers met in French Morocco and held a conference, the 107 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 3: Casablanca Conference, very sexy name, yeah, it really was, and 108 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:43,480 Speaker 3: they said, okay, we're going to invade Sicily this July. 109 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 3: We're going to call it Operation Husky. Now we have 110 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:49,800 Speaker 3: to do everything we can to not let the Nazis 111 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:54,240 Speaker 3: know that that's where we're going. And that actually hatched 112 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 3: eventually what's called Operation Mincemeat. 113 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know what, studying the stuff and I'm not 114 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 2: a big war buff, although I'm getting more so, but 115 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 2: reading up on this stuff, like the old wars are 116 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:09,720 Speaker 2: so much like the board game risk. 117 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, that it's startling. 118 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,279 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's literally when you look at this stuff, it's 119 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 2: like moving troops to where you think people are gonna 120 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,040 Speaker 2: attack you, right, and rolling the dice a bit, and 121 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 2: if you're right, then great. If not, you're screwed. 122 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:25,239 Speaker 3: Very much though, which is why it's such a huge 123 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 3: shift that we're seeing now moving to unconventional warfare, because. 124 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:31,159 Speaker 1: That's scary stuff. 125 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:35,039 Speaker 3: Yeah. I think pretty much all war is scary. Yeah. 126 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,160 Speaker 2: Well, of course I'm not saying like Normandy was a 127 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 2: gay walker anything, because they knew what there was going on. 128 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:42,480 Speaker 3: Man, I watched Stavin Private Ryan again the other day. God, 129 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 3: it's crazy. That thing's almost a snuff film. It's not 130 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 3: as bad as We Were Soldiers, which is a snuff film, 131 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 3: but it's. 132 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: I never saw that one. The Mel Gibson w Yeah. 133 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 3: Dude, it's it's the most graphically violent mainstream movie ever made. 134 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: Really, yes, wow. 135 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, Like there's a part where they have a shot 136 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 3: a camera shot over this guy's shoulder, right, so his 137 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 3: helmets in the near foreground, and that guy takes a 138 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 3: hit to the head and like blood spray covers the 139 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 3: camera lens for the next like a little while. Wow, 140 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 3: his brains just cover the camera. It's disgusting. 141 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 1: Did you like Saving Private Ryan again? 142 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 3: Though? Yeah, it's a great movie, but it is like 143 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 3: really like violent. That's another thing about getting older is 144 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 3: that stuff affects you more and more. The more you 145 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 3: come to terms with your own mortality, the more valuable 146 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 3: life becomes. The more valuable even a character in a 147 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 3: movie's life becomes, you know what I mean. That stuff 148 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 3: gets to. 149 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 2: You, agreed. It's called growing up, my friend. 150 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 3: I'm becoming human in it grows all right. 151 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 2: So on September twenty ninth, nineteen thirty nine, there was 152 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 2: a director of British Naval Intelligence named Admiral John Godfrey, 153 00:07:55,400 --> 00:08:00,120 Speaker 2: and he distributed something called the Trout Memo and it 154 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 2: was written by his assistant Lieutenant Commander Ian Fleming. Familiar name, yeah, 155 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 2: creator of James Bond. 156 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 3: That's right, the guy. 157 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 2: And I think most people know that he served at 158 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 2: this point. Yeah, but if you didn't, that's a nice 159 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 2: little factoid for you. 160 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 3: So he wrote the Trout Memo, and they called it 161 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 3: the Trout Memo because they pointed out in the intro 162 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 3: that the trout fisherman fishes very patiently, but he changes 163 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 3: venue frequently. Yeah, and he changes his bait very frequently too, 164 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:32,679 Speaker 3: And so they wanted to they're charged with deception. They 165 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 3: wanted to come up with all these different ideas, all 166 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 3: this different bait and venue changes that they could come 167 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 3: up with. 168 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:39,839 Speaker 1: Yeah, and this was a time too. 169 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 2: We should point out that spying, spying is always vital, 170 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 2: but man, in World War Two, it was going on 171 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 2: all over the place in a huge, huge part. 172 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:50,440 Speaker 1: Of the war. 173 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 2: So we need to do one on the Enigma machine, 174 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:55,239 Speaker 2: by the way, at some point. 175 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 3: We do, because that's one of the unsung heroes in 176 00:08:57,520 --> 00:08:58,199 Speaker 3: this operation. 177 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:00,320 Speaker 1: Absolutely all right. 178 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 2: So with the Trout Memo, Ian Fleming wrote, well, co 179 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:08,720 Speaker 2: authored fifty one different operations suggestions, and number twenty eight 180 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:15,439 Speaker 2: was one called a suggestion parentheses, not a very nice one. 181 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 2: The following suggestion is used in a book by Basil Thompson. 182 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 3: I'm so pleased that you said Basil instead of Basil. Yeah. 183 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 2: In fact, that was a nineteen thirty seven dollars novel 184 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 2: The Milliner's Hat Mystery. 185 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 3: And he was actually a World War One spy. 186 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 2: Oh really, yeah, it's all coming together. 187 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 3: So he was a spy writer. That Ian Fleming, the 188 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 3: creator of James Bond Doug Crazy. So that's where this originates. 189 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 1: So here, Oh, that's right. 190 00:09:43,679 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 2: The following suggestion is used in a book by Basil 191 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 2: Thompson Colin A corpse dressed as an airman with dispatches 192 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 2: in his pockets could be dropped on the coast, supposedly 193 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 2: from a parachute that had failed. I understand there is 194 00:09:56,559 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 2: no difficulty in obtaining corpses at the Naval hospital, but 195 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:01,640 Speaker 2: of course it would have to be a fresh one. 196 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:05,960 Speaker 2: So the idea is, let's get a dead person, let's 197 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 2: dress him up like a soldier, give him some sensitive 198 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 2: documents that leak this invasion fraudulent, fraudulent, yeah, very important, 199 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:18,600 Speaker 2: that leak the invasion of Greece, which is not really happening. 200 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 2: And they're going to mount up troops there and we'll 201 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:23,920 Speaker 2: actually go in sicily, they're gonna find this body. They're 202 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:28,480 Speaker 2: gonna think they've stumbled upon this great happy accident, and 203 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 2: we're going to fool them. 204 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:32,160 Speaker 3: So yeah, that was the That was the whole idea. 205 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 3: That was the general basis of it. 206 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:37,719 Speaker 2: And Churchill loved the idea because apparently he liked what 207 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:42,200 Speaker 2: he called corkscrewthinkers because he knew Hitler thought in a 208 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 2: straight line. Yes, and by corkscrew thinkers, I think that 209 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 2: would be our equivalent of. 210 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:47,760 Speaker 1: Outside the box exactly. 211 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:48,440 Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. 212 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 2: Churchill was like, this is great, I love church Let's 213 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:53,520 Speaker 2: drink some scotch and do it. 214 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, let's look like a bulldog while Yeah. So the 215 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 3: the well, that idea was roughly outlined by Ian Fleming, 216 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,520 Speaker 3: and then the the Churchill's course crew thinkers, the XX 217 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 3: committee led by you and Montague and. 218 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:14,080 Speaker 1: Chumley. 219 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:16,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, which is his name is not spelled Chumley? 220 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:18,840 Speaker 1: No, how's it spelled? 221 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 3: Are you ready for this? 222 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 1: Yeah? 223 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:26,280 Speaker 3: Charles c h O l m O n d e 224 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:29,280 Speaker 3: l e y pronounced Chumley. Yeah. 225 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:32,080 Speaker 2: And apparently when he met people he would say, uh, 226 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 2: Lieutenant Charles Chumley c h O L m O n 227 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 2: d e l e y. 228 00:11:36,559 --> 00:11:38,959 Speaker 1: He would spell it out what he really Yeah? 229 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 3: Are you making fun of me? Or is that for real? 230 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:41,280 Speaker 2: No? 231 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: No, No, he was a very quirky guy. 232 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:45,720 Speaker 2: And that's how he described himself as toothpaste, as if 233 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:49,079 Speaker 2: it had been squeezed from the tube like he self 234 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:51,960 Speaker 2: described he would go hunting with a revolver, like bird hunting. 235 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 1: He's a weird guy. 236 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 2: I actually watched a quickie BuzzFeed video on this, huh 237 00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 2: and they pronounced it Charles Charle. 238 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:01,920 Speaker 3: Did they really? 239 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: Yeah? 240 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 3: Nice, I'm glad we did our research. Shout out to BuzzFeed. 241 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:10,480 Speaker 3: So you and Montague, right, yeah, the other guy. He 242 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:13,640 Speaker 3: is noteworthy in a number of ways too. Apparently he's 243 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:18,080 Speaker 3: just the greatest guy ever, most interesting man on the planet. 244 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:20,600 Speaker 3: And he actually wrote the book, the first book on 245 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 3: Operation Mincemeat, because he was one of the people who 246 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 3: came up with this and implemented it. 247 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 2: The man who was never there, the man who never 248 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:29,240 Speaker 2: was got right. 249 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:32,200 Speaker 3: So came a movie too, Yeah, of the same name, 250 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:36,960 Speaker 3: starring Montgomery Cliff, I believe, no, starring Cliff Clay Webb. 251 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 3: Cliff Claven Cliff Webb, but not Montgomery Cliff. Those two 252 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 3: are virtually interchangeable. So you and Montague was already notable 253 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 3: because at school he and his brother had created the 254 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:55,160 Speaker 3: rules for ping pong. 255 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:57,760 Speaker 1: No way yeah, I did not know that. 256 00:12:57,679 --> 00:13:03,319 Speaker 3: Among other things, and his brother, equally interesting, equally rambunctious, 257 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 3: went on to become a spy for the Soviets. 258 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 2: Oh wow, yes, so he turned yes against England, yes, wow, 259 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:16,240 Speaker 2: against everybody except for the Soviets. Well, Montague was a 260 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:20,160 Speaker 2: he was formerly a barrister and attorney, and this is 261 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:22,840 Speaker 2: why he actually did not go serve on a ship. 262 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:26,679 Speaker 2: And the other guy, Chumbley, never flew a plane. One 263 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 2: was air Force, one was a navy, And apparently Montague 264 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:35,240 Speaker 2: was as an attorney, was very good at just seeing 265 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:36,080 Speaker 2: all the angles. 266 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:38,840 Speaker 1: So they said, you, sir, are perfect for this job. 267 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:40,559 Speaker 3: Nice as why. 268 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:57,840 Speaker 4: Saish? 269 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:03,559 Speaker 3: All right, chuck, Yes, So we have the rough outline 270 00:14:03,559 --> 00:14:07,680 Speaker 3: that Ian Fleming came up with the XX Committee, led 271 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:09,800 Speaker 3: by you and Montague and Charles. 272 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 2: Chumley, part of I five, I believe. 273 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:15,760 Speaker 3: Okay, Yeah, said we're gonna take this particular idea and 274 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,880 Speaker 3: really run with it. And like you said, they were 275 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 3: going to. Well, the first thing they did was start 276 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,640 Speaker 3: setting about creating a backstory. 277 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:24,640 Speaker 1: Yeah. Well they had three months, so the clock is 278 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: ticking at this point. 279 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:27,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, because here's the thing. They set the invasion right 280 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 3: in January and they set the invasion for July. Now 281 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:36,880 Speaker 3: you needed enough time to plant this, this corpse, this 282 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 3: fake dead courier into Nazi hands, yea, and give the 283 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 3: with enough time so that the Nazis could digest it, 284 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 3: analyze it, decide it was truthful, and then react the 285 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 3: way you wanted them to, which meant that they had 286 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 3: no later than May or else this plan was out 287 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 3: the window. 288 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:00,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, you wanted them. The ultimate goal was to have 289 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:02,880 Speaker 2: the Nazis put their troops in the wrong place, and 290 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 2: that takes time. 291 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 3: Right, So they looked around and they decided that the 292 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:09,200 Speaker 3: best place to carry out this operation was Spain. And 293 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 3: Spain during World War Two was allegedly ostensibly neutral, Sure, 294 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 3: but they had a lot of Axis sympathies, a lot 295 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 3: of connections to Nazi Germany. And there was a particular 296 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:29,600 Speaker 3: Nazi agent, a spy working in a port called Whoevla. 297 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:35,960 Speaker 3: Whoevla right, sure, and his name was Adolf Klaus. And 298 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:40,080 Speaker 3: Adolf Klaus was known to be very methodical, pretty brutal, 299 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:42,920 Speaker 3: and ruthless, extremely gullible. 300 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, he was a straight line thinker. He was hitler. 301 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:47,760 Speaker 2: He wasn't one that could think outside the box and 302 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 2: think maybe this is an elaborate hoax. 303 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 3: That guy didn't even own a real corkscrew, you know, 304 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:55,320 Speaker 3: Like they targeted this guy cut the top off of 305 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 3: wine bottles. Yeah, they specifically targeted. 306 00:15:57,960 --> 00:15:58,880 Speaker 1: Him, which is amazing. 307 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 3: So they wanted this guy, who was fairly gullible but 308 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 3: also known as like a very respected Nazi agent in Spain, 309 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,000 Speaker 3: to be the one who came up with this corpse 310 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,120 Speaker 3: and cadaver. So before they ever had any corpse or 311 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 3: cadaver or anything like that, Montague and Chumley start setting 312 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:23,040 Speaker 3: about creating a backstory. And they created this guy named 313 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 3: Major Martin, William Martin, that's right. And they created Major 314 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:34,360 Speaker 3: William Martin, and they created this whole persona. And this 315 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:36,920 Speaker 3: wasn't the first time they'd done it. They'd actually they 316 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 3: had chops with this kind of stuff. So they had 317 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 3: created a fake spy network that made Nazi Germany think 318 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:49,240 Speaker 3: that they had a whole double double agent network in 319 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:53,040 Speaker 3: the UK. And all of them were fictitious, not real 320 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:57,960 Speaker 3: people that you and Montague and Charles Chumley had created. 321 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 3: These fake personas fed the Nazis misinformation through these people 322 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 3: that didn't really exist. So they took that understanding and 323 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:07,880 Speaker 3: that thinking of what it takes to create a fake persona, 324 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:10,639 Speaker 3: and they said about creating one for major William Martin. 325 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, And there's a great BBC documentary on this, and 326 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:16,919 Speaker 2: they interview a lot of the players, including a lot 327 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:18,919 Speaker 2: of the women who worked at mi I five in 328 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 2: the office, and they were all just so delighted that 329 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:25,280 Speaker 2: they all described this as like the most exciting adventure 330 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:27,640 Speaker 2: they'd ever had. I'm sure it was like something out 331 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:29,400 Speaker 2: of a spine novel and they were living it right, 332 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:32,919 Speaker 2: And so they all had great fun creating these characters, 333 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 2: these made up people. They wanted to give him a 334 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:41,359 Speaker 2: fiance because the idea is that they find this body 335 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,520 Speaker 2: with what not only these documents in a briefcase, the 336 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 2: important documents, but to make it believable, he had to 337 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 2: have believable what they called pocket litter or wallet litter, 338 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,479 Speaker 2: which is, if you find any person on the street, 339 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:55,720 Speaker 2: ask him to open their wallet, you're gonna be able 340 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 2: to tell a lot about them. Sure, so just stuff 341 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 2: to legitimize it. So they said, let's give them a fiance, say, 342 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:02,639 Speaker 2: and all the women in the office wanted to be 343 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:03,360 Speaker 2: the fiance. 344 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:04,400 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, so. 345 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:07,560 Speaker 2: They all submitted photographs. They picked this one Lady Jean 346 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:09,199 Speaker 2: Leslie secretary. 347 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 3: Okay, that's the lady on the beach. 348 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:13,960 Speaker 2: Yes, picture of her in a bathing suit on the beach, 349 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,240 Speaker 2: So this was going to be planted on his body. 350 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,600 Speaker 2: They all wanted to write the love letters back and forth, 351 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,720 Speaker 2: but they picked a woman named Hester Leggert, the head 352 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 2: secretary of m I five, and she wrote even though 353 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:28,760 Speaker 2: she was a spinster, she wrote all these like heartfelt 354 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 2: love letters. 355 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,360 Speaker 3: The first couple drafts were really dirty, and they were like, 356 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 3: you kind of tone this down a little bit. 357 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:36,879 Speaker 1: You're like, is that what you think happens in a relationship. 358 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:39,439 Speaker 3: He's like, no, not me, the fictitious lady. 359 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:42,199 Speaker 1: So everyone's really excited. In the office. 360 00:18:43,359 --> 00:18:46,679 Speaker 2: Chumley is wearing what would eventually be the uniform of 361 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,040 Speaker 2: Martin every day to give it that worn in look awesome. 362 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,439 Speaker 2: Monta Hue actually ended up having an affair with the 363 00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:59,440 Speaker 2: secretary who gave him the photo as the fiance. Okay, 364 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:02,639 Speaker 2: they had a real life affair as Bill and Pam. 365 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 2: Pam is the made up fiance. It got a little weird, weird, 366 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,160 Speaker 2: like they wrote each other love letters, had a real 367 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:12,119 Speaker 2: life affair, calling each other Bill and Pam. 368 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,719 Speaker 1: Huh, so there was some like strange role playing going on. 369 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:18,719 Speaker 2: I'm sure he was married at the time. His family 370 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 2: had been shipped to America, so he was not doing 371 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:24,480 Speaker 2: the right thing there, jeez, he was. He was allous 372 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 2: in that department. 373 00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 3: Well, you know also Roald Dahl, the guy who wrote 374 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:30,760 Speaker 3: James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and Chocolate Factory. 375 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,879 Speaker 3: He was a spy for the British. He was in 376 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,680 Speaker 3: the British military and his whole job was to basically 377 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 3: bed the wives of American officials here in Washington. Really, yeah, 378 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 3: did he do so? Oh? Yeah? 379 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:44,920 Speaker 1: Oh wow? 380 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,119 Speaker 3: Oh he made his way through Washington society. Wow, apparently 381 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:49,119 Speaker 3: with great zeal. 382 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:52,040 Speaker 1: All right, so they're cooking up this backstory. 383 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 2: They get other great things for the wallet letter, like 384 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:00,280 Speaker 2: theater ticket stubs and an overdraft letter from his bank, 385 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,919 Speaker 2: and just these things that make it seem like super realistic. 386 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:07,560 Speaker 3: Right, and what else? I think they gave him a 387 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:10,320 Speaker 3: Saint Christopher Metal. Maybe they wanted to strongly imply that 388 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:14,720 Speaker 3: he was Roman Catholic and that'll come up very It'll 389 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:17,240 Speaker 3: become very important in a minute, right, yes, very much. 390 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:19,520 Speaker 3: So they've got this backstory, and apparently like this. They 391 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 3: were working feverishly on this stuff, having the weirdo affair, 392 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 3: wearing the uniform, all that stuff before they'd even gotten 393 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 3: final approval, just because they didn't want to stop work 394 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:32,680 Speaker 3: and then have to pick it up feverishly. They wanted 395 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:35,880 Speaker 3: this to keep going. So they finally got final approval 396 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,840 Speaker 3: from Admiral Godfrey to carry out this thing for real. 397 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:43,600 Speaker 3: And when they got final approval, they said, okay, we 398 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 3: need a body, and they figured no problem they were 399 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:52,879 Speaker 3: looking at first. They needed somebody who had relatives that 400 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:55,560 Speaker 3: didn't care what happened to the body after death and 401 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 3: could keep their mouths shut. They needed a body that 402 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:03,520 Speaker 3: was of military age, sure didn't have any signs of 403 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:12,800 Speaker 3: visible trauma or right, and that that preferably they would 404 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 3: have died of pneumonia. And the reason that they wanted 405 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:17,360 Speaker 3: him to die of pneumonia is because they they were 406 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 3: going to make it look like this guy had been 407 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 3: in a plane crash, but it survived the plane crash, 408 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:25,240 Speaker 3: but it drowned at sea. And if he had pneumonia, 409 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:27,359 Speaker 3: then his fluids would be filled with lungs, so that 410 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:32,560 Speaker 3: when the Spanish conducted an autopsy on him, yes, exactly, 411 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:35,919 Speaker 3: so that when the Spanish conducted their autopsy, they'd be like, 412 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:38,040 Speaker 3: this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I've 413 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 3: never seen fluid filled with lungs, but that's how much 414 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,800 Speaker 3: fluid there is. The problem is is they didn't get 415 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:47,359 Speaker 3: their hands on a guy with pneumonia, and they didn't 416 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 3: even know exactly where to get a person at first. 417 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 3: It wasn't until they turned the guy who ran the 418 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:56,880 Speaker 3: morgue at Saint Pancras Hospital, which is the worst hospital 419 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:02,120 Speaker 3: name of all time. They turned him and got him 420 00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:04,280 Speaker 3: to assist them that they finally got their hands on 421 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:04,760 Speaker 3: a body. 422 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:05,120 Speaker 1: Yeah. 423 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:08,640 Speaker 2: His name was Sir Bentley Purchase, which is a great name, 424 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,639 Speaker 2: British name, and it was a He was a corner 425 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 2: of the largest mortuary at sam Pancras, terrible, and he 426 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:18,119 Speaker 2: had apparently a wicked sense of humor. It was pretty 427 00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:20,760 Speaker 2: complicated to give directions to his office. So when he 428 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 2: gave Montahu the directions, he said, or you could just 429 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,560 Speaker 2: get run over by a buttz nice man. 430 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,199 Speaker 3: The British during wartime where they're having a blast, their 431 00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:29,919 Speaker 3: sense of humor was wonderful. 432 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,160 Speaker 2: So they got Bentley purchased and he said, I've got 433 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:34,720 Speaker 2: a dude. 434 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:38,480 Speaker 1: His name is Glendore Michael. 435 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, that is not how that's spelled either. No, it 436 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:46,640 Speaker 3: is g l y n d w R super Welsh. Yeah, 437 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 3: he was a Welshman born in nineteen oh nine. He 438 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:51,880 Speaker 3: is the son of a coal miner. His father killed 439 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:57,200 Speaker 3: himself by stabbing himself in the throat. I hadn't read that. 440 00:22:57,119 --> 00:22:59,679 Speaker 2: That is a world man, and it didn't say like 441 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:02,440 Speaker 2: your throat said, he stabbed himself in the throat, right, 442 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 2: which is weird and sad. 443 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 3: Geez. 444 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:07,160 Speaker 2: So his dad died when he was a teenager, mother 445 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 2: died when he was thirty alcoholic, had a rough go 446 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:15,119 Speaker 2: because of the depression, and was basically basically killed himself 447 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:16,200 Speaker 2: by ingesting rat poison. 448 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 3: So that is not necessarily resolved whether it was suicide. Yeah, 449 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:26,880 Speaker 3: so the Bentley purchase wrote down that he he killed himself. Yeah, 450 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,159 Speaker 3: it was ruled a suicide, okay, But the way that 451 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:32,560 Speaker 3: he ate the rat poison, it was on a crust 452 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:35,920 Speaker 3: of bread, so he was hungry, they wondered. So he 453 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 3: may have been so destitute that he ate a crust 454 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:40,800 Speaker 3: of bread that he found in an abandoned warehouse and 455 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 3: it was smeared with rat poison and that's what he 456 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:43,199 Speaker 3: died of. 457 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:43,639 Speaker 1: Wow. 458 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 3: But they found him in this cold January night in 459 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:52,479 Speaker 3: nineteen forty three, in this abandoned warehouse in London, and 460 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:54,920 Speaker 3: he had just eaten some rat poison. But he survived 461 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,360 Speaker 3: for two more days. Yeah, And so Bentley purchased got 462 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:01,200 Speaker 3: his hands on him and said, I think I found 463 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:02,640 Speaker 3: your guy. Dudes. 464 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, and they did. 465 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:08,080 Speaker 2: There were some issues, of one of which is they 466 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:10,160 Speaker 2: needed a photo of the guy for an ID. 467 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 1: He didn't have any photos. 468 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:13,120 Speaker 3: Oh god. 469 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:14,240 Speaker 1: And every time they took. 470 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:16,840 Speaker 2: A picture of the dead guy's face, they were like, 471 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 2: he looks like a dead guy. 472 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, really, so they scoured his eyes up. 473 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:24,520 Speaker 2: So they scoured London looking for a look alike and 474 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,480 Speaker 2: eventually found a guy at a fellow intelligence officer who 475 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:30,800 Speaker 2: looked just like him. Awes, so they used his face. Awesome, 476 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 2: the ID. It's all coming together, Yes it is. 477 00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:35,720 Speaker 3: I'm sure. They were like, Wow, Providence is really smiling 478 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:36,320 Speaker 3: on this. Yeah. 479 00:24:36,359 --> 00:24:39,040 Speaker 1: And if you're feeling bad for Glendor, just hang tight. 480 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:43,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, I still think you can feel bad for Glendor. Well, sure, 481 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:46,560 Speaker 3: talk about a rough life, yeah, yeah, geez do you 482 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 3: remember that one Sara Night Live where Robert Duvall was 483 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 3: like super special guest who wasn't even hosting or mentioned. No, 484 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,679 Speaker 3: he just showed up on this game show called Who's 485 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:58,879 Speaker 3: More Grizzled? No Way, and he talks about like it 486 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:01,480 Speaker 3: was him and uh gar Brooks, how did I miss that? 487 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 3: And he talks about how one one cole Winners, his 488 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 3: wife died and he had to keep her out in 489 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:10,640 Speaker 3: the barn until the ground thowed so we could bury 490 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:14,679 Speaker 3: her out back. What. Yeah, it was just weird, like 491 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:16,800 Speaker 3: that wasn't even really funny. It was more just like, wow, 492 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:19,639 Speaker 3: that really is hard. But the whole game show was 493 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:23,560 Speaker 3: Who's More Grizzled? Any won? Of course because it's Robert duval. 494 00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:26,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, he's more grizzled than Garth Brooks or Chris. 495 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:31,480 Speaker 3: Yeah even yeah, yeah, poor Garth. 496 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:33,680 Speaker 1: Not poor Darth Brooks. What are you talking about? 497 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:35,360 Speaker 3: I'm talking about the Chris Gaines thing. 498 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:38,000 Speaker 2: He chose to do it. He's a wealthy man. Yeah, 499 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 2: I don't feel too bad for. 500 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 3: Him, but I think that was evidence that he was 501 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:42,320 Speaker 3: surrounded by yes men at the time. 502 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:44,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe that was a weird thing though. 503 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, he faked a soul patch. 504 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: Oh that wasn't even real. 505 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:51,879 Speaker 3: No. I mean, even if it was real, it was 506 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:52,840 Speaker 3: part of his character. 507 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:55,560 Speaker 1: It's like, sure, I thought you meant it was sharpie. 508 00:25:56,119 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 3: Maybe Okay, the hair was definitely colored with sharpie. 509 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 2: All right, So where where are we here? We've got 510 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:07,480 Speaker 2: a body. We finally got the photograph of them. 511 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:09,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, which is that's amazing. I didn't know that part. 512 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:10,440 Speaker 1: Yeah. 513 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:16,360 Speaker 3: And there's another thing we found this awesome. A military 514 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:17,320 Speaker 3: analysis of it. 515 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: So that was kind of cool. 516 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:21,440 Speaker 3: Somebody wrote a military analysis of this. I don't remember who, 517 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:22,880 Speaker 3: so I can't give them a shout out, but we'll 518 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:25,160 Speaker 3: put it on our podcast page. But they point out 519 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:28,359 Speaker 3: that one of the reasons this was so successful, this 520 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:33,439 Speaker 3: operation was one these guys at XCES commit XX Committee 521 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:37,920 Speaker 3: just had free run to break the law, bend morality, 522 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:42,359 Speaker 3: do all sorts of stuff. They just were able to 523 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:44,359 Speaker 3: go do their thing. But the other thing was is 524 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 3: that they really kept this a lid on this stuff 525 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:50,840 Speaker 3: and it was all disseminated on a need to know basis. 526 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:54,280 Speaker 3: So when they had this guy, they had him, they 527 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,240 Speaker 3: had They got Glenn dr kept him on ice for 528 00:26:57,280 --> 00:26:59,879 Speaker 3: three months as they finished his backstory. They're running up 529 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:04,080 Speaker 3: against like go time, and then I think in February 530 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:07,800 Speaker 3: or March April maybe I'm not sure of the date. 531 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:10,159 Speaker 1: Do you know that what happened. 532 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:12,880 Speaker 3: When they finally carried out Operation mince Meat. 533 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:15,600 Speaker 2: Let's just say spring, because I know that they kept 534 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:17,200 Speaker 2: him on ice for a few months. 535 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:19,639 Speaker 3: Yeah. And they so they're up to the point where 536 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,480 Speaker 3: the decomp is about to give away that this guy 537 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:24,640 Speaker 3: didn't just recently die. 538 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:27,679 Speaker 2: Yeah, and that was a big fear that the Spanish 539 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:30,640 Speaker 2: corners would be able to tell too, okay, which will 540 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 2: come up in a minute, Okay. 541 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:35,520 Speaker 3: And they're also getting to the point where they're reaching 542 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:37,920 Speaker 3: the end of the amount of time that they need 543 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:40,679 Speaker 3: to give the Nazis to absorb this Mints information. Sure, 544 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:44,399 Speaker 3: so they finally they get the guy's persona in place, 545 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 3: they have the body, and now it's time to actually 546 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:48,840 Speaker 3: carry out the operation. And like I was saying, they 547 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:50,560 Speaker 3: kept a lid on all this, so it was a 548 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 3: need to know basis. So they got their hands on 549 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 3: a subcommander who could keep his mouth shut, and they 550 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:59,920 Speaker 3: gave him a metal cylinder with the corpse of glendor 551 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,240 Speaker 3: Michael now Major William Martin Yeah. 552 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,080 Speaker 2: When you say subcommander, you mean submarine, Yes, not a 553 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:08,520 Speaker 2: commander below regular commander. 554 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:12,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, that submarine commander. Yeah. They gave him the cylinder 555 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:14,960 Speaker 3: and they said, we're going to tell you what's in here. 556 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:18,920 Speaker 3: Do not tell anybody else. So apparently the people staffing 557 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,879 Speaker 3: this sub I thought this was some sort of weather bowy. 558 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:27,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, it was marked optical instruments. But you're right. He 559 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 2: was the only one on board supposedly that knew that 560 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:30,199 Speaker 2: there was a body inside. 561 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 3: Yep. And they put a life jacket on him, stuffed 562 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:34,080 Speaker 3: him in the cylinder, put him on the sub and 563 00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:37,480 Speaker 3: took him over to Spain under us on a submarine. 564 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:40,080 Speaker 2: Well, let's back up for one second, okay, because we 565 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:45,120 Speaker 2: forgot to cover the main letter in the briefcase really important. 566 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,480 Speaker 2: This was the all of operation mince Meat. It did 567 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:51,920 Speaker 2: not hinge on theater ticket stubs or banked overdraft letters. 568 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:53,160 Speaker 3: That's merely pocket litter. 569 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:55,640 Speaker 1: It hinged on a letter. 570 00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 2: Hinting strongly that the invade was going to come up 571 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:03,360 Speaker 2: through Greece Sardinia. 572 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:05,680 Speaker 3: Right. And that was the other thing too. It wasn't 573 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:09,720 Speaker 3: like official document invasion is going to come through Greece. 574 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,760 Speaker 3: It was a letter from one general or admiral to 575 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:15,360 Speaker 3: another high ranking guy, I. 576 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:16,320 Speaker 1: Think General Nye. 577 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,360 Speaker 2: They composed a bunch of different letters themselves, and finally 578 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:23,240 Speaker 2: they said, why don't you write it in your own words, 579 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:24,640 Speaker 2: in your own language. 580 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:27,040 Speaker 3: In your own handwriting everything. So it really was written 581 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:31,640 Speaker 3: by this high ranking US military official or British military 582 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:36,400 Speaker 3: official who wrote this fake letter. 583 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:39,120 Speaker 2: And he made a joke about sardines, a terrible joke, 584 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 2: which was the little hint that was just clever enough 585 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 2: to work. 586 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:47,800 Speaker 3: Right, And so in it it basically says we're coming 587 00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:50,120 Speaker 3: up with the you know, we're going to strike through Greece, 588 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:54,040 Speaker 3: that's where the invasion of Europe's going to be. But 589 00:29:54,720 --> 00:30:00,000 Speaker 3: we're also going to tell everybody that Sicily is the cover. Right. 590 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,760 Speaker 3: And this was a stroke of genius because in this 591 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:06,280 Speaker 3: false letter, not only does it show that they're coming 592 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:10,520 Speaker 3: through Greece, which they weren't, but it says that Sicily's 593 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:13,120 Speaker 3: the cover, which would make the Nazis think that if 594 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:16,800 Speaker 3: anyone ever did actually leak the real invasion plan of Sicily, 595 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 3: the Nazis would think that that was misinformation. Dude, it 596 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:24,280 Speaker 3: was so ingenious, that's crazy genius. And I think about 597 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:26,920 Speaker 3: here now, Chuck, we get to the point where we 598 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:30,400 Speaker 3: should talk about the Enigma machine and the role it played, right. 599 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:35,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, basically we all know that the Enigma machine 600 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:41,280 Speaker 2: was the code breaking machine invented in the UK to decipher. 601 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:43,680 Speaker 3: Well, the Enigma machine wrote the code. 602 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:46,160 Speaker 1: I think, oh it wrote the code. Yeah, and it 603 00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:48,440 Speaker 1: deciphered code though they'd gotten. 604 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 3: They deciphered it at Bletchley Park. But I think the 605 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:55,280 Speaker 3: Enigma machine was the actual code writing the encrypting machine. 606 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:56,840 Speaker 3: I could be wrong, but. 607 00:30:56,840 --> 00:30:58,720 Speaker 2: Okay, well, so we definitely need to do a podcast 608 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:01,320 Speaker 2: on that, right, because we're mixed up already. 609 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:01,760 Speaker 3: To get it straight. 610 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:03,400 Speaker 1: But at any rate, the long and short of it 611 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:05,960 Speaker 1: is in Beckley Park? Was it Beckley Park? 612 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:07,160 Speaker 3: I always say Bletchley? 613 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:08,520 Speaker 1: Oh? It was there? An Ellen there? 614 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 3: I draw the whole ugly word out. 615 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:13,080 Speaker 1: They basically had they could. 616 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:17,080 Speaker 2: It was like reading the Nazis email essentially, like on 617 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:20,400 Speaker 2: a daily basis, on an hourly basis, they knew exactly 618 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:22,719 Speaker 2: what was going on, so they would know if they 619 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:25,240 Speaker 2: were buying this whole thing as it happened in real time. 620 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:28,480 Speaker 3: But even before that, they were able to craft this 621 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:33,440 Speaker 3: this misinformation based on the Nazis assumption. So everybody wants 622 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:38,880 Speaker 3: to hear that their assumptions that their beliefs are correct. 623 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:39,440 Speaker 1: Yeah. 624 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 3: People are more apt to buy that things that confirm 625 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:45,000 Speaker 3: their suspicions of their beliefs already. Right. 626 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:46,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, Hitler was worried about Sicily. 627 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:50,160 Speaker 3: He was, so he already thought that Greece was going 628 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:51,280 Speaker 3: to be where we invaded. 629 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:51,960 Speaker 1: Yeah. 630 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:55,240 Speaker 3: And then secondly he was he we knew that he 631 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:58,400 Speaker 3: had heard rumors that Mussolini was going to be toppled soon, 632 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:02,960 Speaker 3: so he was reticent to commit troops to Italy Sicily. Right. 633 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:07,240 Speaker 3: So this this revelation that came in the form of 634 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:13,080 Speaker 3: this letter, this false letter, completely supported everything that Hitler 635 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,120 Speaker 3: and the Third Reich believed as far as this European 636 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,040 Speaker 3: invasion was going to go. And we're able to do 637 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:20,640 Speaker 3: that thanks to the smarties at Buttchley Park, right. 638 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, and this letter too is here's another little tidbit. 639 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:27,560 Speaker 2: They put a single eyelash in the fold of the letter, 640 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:31,400 Speaker 2: so they would know when they eventually got this letter back, 641 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:34,240 Speaker 2: if there was no eyelash, they would know that the 642 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:38,080 Speaker 2: Nazi said in fact opened it. And because the idea 643 00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:39,880 Speaker 2: was they would open it and reseal it and act 644 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:42,600 Speaker 2: like we never saw it. But there wasn't that eyelash 645 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 2: and they'd know. So rudimentary, but it worked. 646 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:49,560 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, so should we take another break. Let's take a. 647 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:52,920 Speaker 4: Break as why sks? 648 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:14,840 Speaker 3: Okay, So, Chuck, we are at sea aboard a submarine. 649 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:17,560 Speaker 2: Chili down here and dark it is, and you're not 650 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:21,080 Speaker 2: supposed to be smoking cigars. No you're not, despite Gene 651 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:22,520 Speaker 2: Hackman doing it and Crimson died. 652 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:27,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, what a bad idea. So we're off the coast 653 00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:31,320 Speaker 3: of Spain. We're off the coast of Huevla. Not an 654 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:34,240 Speaker 3: easy word to say, but it's important Spain. And again 655 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:37,560 Speaker 3: this is where Nazi agent ate off Klaus. 656 00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:39,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, they kind of want to float the body right 657 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:41,880 Speaker 2: up to this guy's backyard basically. 658 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:43,960 Speaker 3: So they did. He was released from this canister. I 659 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:49,600 Speaker 3: read somewhere else that the canister itself was fired on 660 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:53,520 Speaker 3: with submar submachine guns on a sub so you could 661 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:56,600 Speaker 3: just call the machine guns there. Yeah, and it was 662 00:33:56,640 --> 00:34:01,920 Speaker 3: sunk and the body drifted off toward Oh. 663 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:02,600 Speaker 1: I thought they just dumped the body. 664 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:06,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm not sure, because I found a book on 665 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:08,879 Speaker 3: Google Books. It was like from two thousand and seven 666 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,160 Speaker 3: and it was a history book, gotcha, And it made 667 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:15,480 Speaker 3: it sound like the sub, the people working on the 668 00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:17,960 Speaker 3: sub all knew what was going on. But that's in 669 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:21,160 Speaker 3: stark contrast to everything else who's seen. Yeah, so they 670 00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 3: may or may not have sunk the weatherby who knows, 671 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:28,880 Speaker 3: but either way, Major Martin was released into the current 672 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:31,960 Speaker 3: that took him right to Huevla and he went. I 673 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:34,120 Speaker 3: think he was found by a fisherman that same day. 674 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, And at this point the Brits started sending telegrams 675 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:43,719 Speaker 2: about a very important missing person frantic. Yeah, like they 676 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:47,479 Speaker 2: wanted these to get intercepted obviously, and that worked as well. 677 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:49,880 Speaker 2: This is all really going exactly as they had planned. 678 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:53,120 Speaker 3: So they sent the British Council in Spain in Huevla, 679 00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:58,080 Speaker 3: or in Spain to Huevla and said, you need this 680 00:34:58,120 --> 00:34:59,920 Speaker 3: is really important. You need to get your hands on 681 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:02,040 Speaker 3: the briefcase, find out what happened to this guy and 682 00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:03,640 Speaker 3: get your hands on his briefcase. 683 00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:06,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, and Klaus is going briefcase right hmm. 684 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:11,120 Speaker 3: As Monocle popped out and the British Council in Spain 685 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:13,160 Speaker 3: didn't even know what was going on. Yeah, they thought 686 00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:16,279 Speaker 3: like this is like they were. They saw everything from 687 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:18,960 Speaker 3: the same aspect of reality that the Nazis saw. Need 688 00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:21,799 Speaker 3: to know basis exactly. So the British Council are trying 689 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:26,000 Speaker 3: to get this briefcase kind of frantically, and the Spaniards 690 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:28,959 Speaker 3: were like, uh, you know what, we are just going 691 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,839 Speaker 3: to keep this on lockdown for now as we investigate 692 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:35,080 Speaker 3: the whole thing. But we got it covered. Remember we're neutral, 693 00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:39,320 Speaker 3: so your briefcase is safe. The British consul said, well, okay, 694 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:42,000 Speaker 3: one thing, this is very important. Uh, this guy was 695 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:45,680 Speaker 3: Roman Catholic. You can check out the metal in his pocket. Yeah, 696 00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:50,800 Speaker 3: so please don't dissect him. It's against Roman Catholic beliefs 697 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:55,160 Speaker 3: and traditions to dissect our autopsy body. I hadn't heard before, 698 00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:56,920 Speaker 3: but apparently in the forties that was the case, and 699 00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:00,839 Speaker 3: Spain was way down with that super Roman Catholic and said, oh, yes, 700 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:03,000 Speaker 3: of course we won't do that. So apparently that's how 701 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:06,359 Speaker 3: they got around the fact that Glendor hadn't died of pneumonia. 702 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:07,240 Speaker 1: Yeah. 703 00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:08,880 Speaker 2: And the other way they got around it was they 704 00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:13,640 Speaker 2: had a plant in the office who talked to the 705 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:17,120 Speaker 2: corners and was like, guys, it's hot and this body 706 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:19,880 Speaker 2: is going to start riding real soon. So how thorough 707 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:21,880 Speaker 2: do you really want to make this? And they said, 708 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:25,920 Speaker 2: you're right, Let's go have some wine. Some what do 709 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:26,640 Speaker 2: they call it over there? 710 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:30,160 Speaker 3: Wine? No, what's the fruity sangria. 711 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:32,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, let's go have some sangria and knock off early. 712 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:38,680 Speaker 2: And that's exactly what happened thanks to the plant. So 713 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:41,080 Speaker 2: this is going on. There was a small wrinkle at 714 00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:44,440 Speaker 2: this point. The briefcase went to Madrid. Spain wasn't going 715 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:47,839 Speaker 2: to hand it over to anyone, but the Brits were 716 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:49,520 Speaker 2: trying to get it in the hands of the Nazis. 717 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:51,839 Speaker 2: And they're actually having trouble getting it into the hands 718 00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:56,040 Speaker 2: of the Nazis until a guy named Carlo Koulantal, he 719 00:36:56,160 --> 00:37:00,279 Speaker 2: was Hitler's most trusted guy in Spain. He got wind 720 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:03,560 Speaker 2: of it and kind of took over for Klaus. Was like, 721 00:37:03,719 --> 00:37:08,080 Speaker 2: I'm going to get this briefcase, and he did. Nine 722 00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:11,279 Speaker 2: days later, after the body washed ashore, the letter ended 723 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:15,840 Speaker 2: up in the hands of the German. The German, you know, 724 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:16,600 Speaker 2: it worked his way. 725 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:18,560 Speaker 3: Up the chain, Yeah, to Hitler himself. 726 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:20,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, I went to Gebels first and Gebels, even in 727 00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:23,520 Speaker 2: his diary they found later had suspicions about it. 728 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:25,680 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, because he was a corkscrew. 729 00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:28,319 Speaker 2: Thinker and he was like, wait a minute, this is 730 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:31,560 Speaker 2: pretty convenient. Yeah, this is really fishy here. But he 731 00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:33,239 Speaker 2: apparently he never said anything to Hiller. 732 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:35,480 Speaker 3: He got distracted. 733 00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:38,759 Speaker 2: He wrote about in his diary, but the documentary said 734 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:41,400 Speaker 2: his thinking was, well, if Hitler believes it, then that's 735 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:42,080 Speaker 2: good enough for me. 736 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:44,320 Speaker 3: Huh, that seems like bad idea. 737 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:45,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, and. 738 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:52,360 Speaker 2: Homeboy Carlo Kuhlenthal, there was always a lot of speculation 739 00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:54,640 Speaker 2: on why he just ran with it and didn't ask 740 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:57,160 Speaker 2: more questions because that was his job. And it turns 741 00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:01,400 Speaker 2: out his grandmother was Jewish and he was very paranoid 742 00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:02,600 Speaker 2: about this being found out. 743 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:04,680 Speaker 1: So he thought, this is it. 744 00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:07,440 Speaker 2: I've come upon the greatest find of the war and 745 00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:10,879 Speaker 2: it's all mine. So yeah, no one will ask any 746 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:12,279 Speaker 2: questions about me after this. 747 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:16,560 Speaker 3: Huh. Wow, that worked out really really well. 748 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:17,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, very convenient. 749 00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:21,280 Speaker 3: And thanks to the Enigma machine they knew the Brits 750 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:23,720 Speaker 3: knew pretty quickly that this was working. And I guess 751 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:30,560 Speaker 3: Montague and Chumley sent Admiral God for you a transmission 752 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:34,480 Speaker 3: that said Operation mince Meat swallowed Rod Bline and Sinker. 753 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, that when the it's so cool seeing these old 754 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:41,880 Speaker 2: like apparently you're not supposed to say elderly anymore, by 755 00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:44,520 Speaker 2: the way, we got an email. I knew that or seniors. 756 00:38:44,920 --> 00:38:46,560 Speaker 2: You're supposed to call them older adults. 757 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:49,879 Speaker 3: Seniors. I didn't know that that was the thing. 758 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:51,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, older adults. 759 00:38:51,239 --> 00:38:54,040 Speaker 2: So they're interviewing these older adults, these British ladies that 760 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:56,359 Speaker 2: are in their eighties now, and they were just all 761 00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:58,840 Speaker 2: so still excited, they said when they because you know, 762 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:01,799 Speaker 2: with the Enigma machine, they were reading their emails and 763 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:03,640 Speaker 2: they were like they knew they were buying it. They're 764 00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:07,520 Speaker 2: buying it, and everyone was just like flipped when that 765 00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:10,280 Speaker 2: came through the office. It was just like party time basically. 766 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:16,120 Speaker 3: So the Operation mints Me really really worked really well, 767 00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:20,840 Speaker 3: so much so that apparently Hitler moved a panzer division, 768 00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:26,520 Speaker 3: which totals about ninety thousand troops from Sicily to Greece. 769 00:39:26,880 --> 00:39:31,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, and and all the artillery and armaments and everything 770 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:32,920 Speaker 2: not just soldiers, so. 771 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:35,719 Speaker 3: Long Sicily were going to Greece, and then up came 772 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:39,320 Speaker 3: the Allies through Sicily, one hundred and sixty thousand Allied 773 00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:43,480 Speaker 3: troops stormed sicily, and only seven thousand lives were lost, 774 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:47,320 Speaker 3: which is still a lot of people who died. But apparently, 775 00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:49,719 Speaker 3: as far as military historians are concerned, and I think 776 00:39:49,719 --> 00:39:53,120 Speaker 3: the military at the time, that was a way fewer 777 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:57,520 Speaker 3: lives lost than they expected had they had Hitler not 778 00:39:57,800 --> 00:39:59,160 Speaker 3: swallowed Operation mince Me. 779 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:02,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, they expect did ten thousand casualties in the first 780 00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:05,680 Speaker 2: three days and three hundred boats sunk in the first 781 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:09,160 Speaker 2: two days, and it ended up being fourteen hundred in 782 00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:13,160 Speaker 2: that first week soldiers and about a dozen ships in 783 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:15,080 Speaker 2: that first week, So that's not bad. 784 00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:15,759 Speaker 3: Yeah. 785 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:18,359 Speaker 1: And not only that, but it had another effect. 786 00:40:18,239 --> 00:40:21,840 Speaker 3: Big one the Soviets. Yeah. So this is not something 787 00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:24,480 Speaker 3: that they teach in American history classes in US high 788 00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:31,799 Speaker 3: schools that much. The Operation Husky, it was that penetration 789 00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:35,880 Speaker 3: of Europe's under belly, right, Yeah. And suddenly Hitler said, 790 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:40,040 Speaker 3: I'm about to storm Russia, but I really need these 791 00:40:40,080 --> 00:40:42,920 Speaker 3: troops down here in Europe because I got big problems. Yeah. 792 00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:47,239 Speaker 3: And that allowed basically Russia to topple the Nazi regime. 793 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:49,960 Speaker 1: And Mussolini get toppled by the Brits. 794 00:40:50,239 --> 00:40:50,560 Speaker 3: Yeah. 795 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:53,759 Speaker 2: It completely changed the face of the war. Yeah, this 796 00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:56,320 Speaker 2: one idea cooked up by me and Fleming in part. 797 00:40:57,120 --> 00:40:57,760 Speaker 1: Isn't it crazy? 798 00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:03,840 Speaker 3: It's pretty awesome. Other stuff, there's a book called Operation 799 00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:06,440 Speaker 3: mince Meat by a guy named Brett McIntyre. All right, 800 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:08,640 Speaker 3: it came out in twenty ten. That's a very good, 801 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:13,880 Speaker 3: well cited book that we inadvertently cited here there. And 802 00:41:13,920 --> 00:41:16,120 Speaker 3: then there's The Man Who Never Was, which was written 803 00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:19,760 Speaker 3: by you and Montague, which is not just about Operation 804 00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:22,319 Speaker 3: mince Meat but also about basically how to carry out 805 00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:23,920 Speaker 3: deception plans. 806 00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:24,759 Speaker 1: All right. 807 00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:29,960 Speaker 2: Remember earlier when I said, don't feel too bad for Glendor, Michael, Yes, 808 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:34,000 Speaker 2: even you said, well, the dude died, possibly of suicide 809 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:35,840 Speaker 2: because he was penniless and going nowhere. 810 00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:37,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, so I feel bad about that. 811 00:41:37,840 --> 00:41:43,200 Speaker 2: But fifty years after he was buried, in nineteen ninety seven, 812 00:41:44,920 --> 00:41:49,240 Speaker 2: the British government added they basically buried him with military honors. 813 00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:50,600 Speaker 3: The Spanish did, oh this. 814 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:53,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, he was buried in Spain, but the British it 815 00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:55,000 Speaker 2: came from the Brits, I think to do so. 816 00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:58,800 Speaker 3: His headstone came from the Brits. But the Spanish buried 817 00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:01,360 Speaker 3: him with like the twenty one gun salute and everything. 818 00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:04,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, says Glendor Michael served as Major William Martin, r M. 819 00:42:05,239 --> 00:42:05,920 Speaker 2: Royal Marine. 820 00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:07,000 Speaker 1: Pretty cool. 821 00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:08,640 Speaker 3: Yeah, so this. 822 00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:14,239 Speaker 2: Alcoholic drifter who never served in the military, never served 823 00:42:14,239 --> 00:42:17,360 Speaker 2: in the military, buried with full military honors. Yeah, and 824 00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:20,719 Speaker 2: completely changed the face of the war thanks to being 825 00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:21,240 Speaker 2: a body. 826 00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:23,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, that fit the fit the bill. 827 00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:25,720 Speaker 3: And if you like ghoulish photos, is a very famous 828 00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:28,960 Speaker 3: photo of him being propped up in his life jacket 829 00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:31,920 Speaker 3: and uniform as they were basically loading him into the 830 00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:36,520 Speaker 3: cylinder that you can see by searching. I'm sure Major 831 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:40,520 Speaker 3: Charles Martin, that's right, Charles Martin. No, William Martin, William Martin, 832 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:41,719 Speaker 3: something like that. 833 00:42:41,840 --> 00:42:43,239 Speaker 2: I still want to know what was going on with 834 00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:45,440 Speaker 2: that weird role playing there with the dude. 835 00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:45,919 Speaker 3: That's odd. 836 00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:47,360 Speaker 1: Dyll and Pam Yeah. 837 00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:50,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, because they interviewed the lady and she was just like. 838 00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:51,240 Speaker 1: Oh, it was all very exciting. 839 00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:58,759 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a great British lady accent older person, yeah yeah, 840 00:42:58,800 --> 00:43:03,160 Speaker 3: older adulder adult yeah yeah, boldie. If you want to 841 00:43:03,239 --> 00:43:05,000 Speaker 3: get or no, if you want to know more about 842 00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:08,120 Speaker 3: Operation Mincemeat, just type that word into your favorite search 843 00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:11,759 Speaker 3: engine or go check out the stuff you missed in 844 00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:14,560 Speaker 3: History Class episode and I said, stuff you missed in 845 00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:16,200 Speaker 3: history class. It's time for listener mail. 846 00:43:18,239 --> 00:43:19,880 Speaker 1: I'm gonna call this bread crust. 847 00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:24,200 Speaker 2: We had that discussion about the crust and the n pieces, 848 00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:25,719 Speaker 2: So this is. 849 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:27,319 Speaker 1: From a dad. 850 00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:29,520 Speaker 2: Dear Chuck and Josh, your discussion of the inslice of 851 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:32,319 Speaker 2: bread and the body language episode brought a ridiculous grin 852 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:36,520 Speaker 2: to my face as I walked around my neighborhood. Don't worry, though, 853 00:43:36,520 --> 00:43:39,279 Speaker 2: my neighbors have thought me to be eccentric for years. Now, 854 00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:41,280 Speaker 2: look at that guy smiling. 855 00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:43,480 Speaker 3: What a weirdo. We must be a pinko. 856 00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:46,560 Speaker 2: When our daughters were still tiny, my wife and I 857 00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:49,560 Speaker 2: realized we were doomed to eighteenish years of eating bread 858 00:43:49,600 --> 00:43:51,560 Speaker 2: crust pieces ourselves if we. 859 00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:55,320 Speaker 1: Didn't figure something out and quickly our solution. 860 00:43:55,480 --> 00:44:00,160 Speaker 2: We started calling those pieces the lucky piece, and boy 861 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:03,200 Speaker 2: did we rook our innocent, trusting toddlers. Turns out your 862 00:44:03,239 --> 00:44:06,640 Speaker 2: supposition is correct, Juck. At least for children under eleven 863 00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:09,839 Speaker 2: years old, even if they're honor students, is mine where 864 00:44:09,880 --> 00:44:12,240 Speaker 2: they will fight you for the right to eat that savory, 865 00:44:12,280 --> 00:44:14,319 Speaker 2: oh soo desirable piece of luck. 866 00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:17,920 Speaker 3: Nice idea younger adults. 867 00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:20,320 Speaker 2: Rock on, guys, and please keep my goofy grins coming. 868 00:44:20,680 --> 00:44:24,960 Speaker 2: That is from Ted sEH, I n e with a little. 869 00:44:26,920 --> 00:44:28,960 Speaker 3: Quin a coin a coiny? 870 00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:31,359 Speaker 1: Is that an accent a doo? No, I don't know. 871 00:44:31,719 --> 00:44:33,320 Speaker 3: I didn't take French legom. 872 00:44:33,719 --> 00:44:35,920 Speaker 1: What do you call that a lagom accent lagom? 873 00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:36,279 Speaker 4: Yeah? 874 00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:39,319 Speaker 1: So thanks Ted, I'll just call you coin. 875 00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:43,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks Ted quin que. 876 00:44:44,239 --> 00:44:47,319 Speaker 3: Let's say coin there. Yeah, thanks a lot, ted. Ted 877 00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:51,400 Speaker 3: contacted us on Twitter, so he wanted to send us 878 00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:52,919 Speaker 3: this email. So there you go, Ted. 879 00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:53,280 Speaker 1: Wow. 880 00:44:54,239 --> 00:44:55,960 Speaker 3: If you want to get in touch with us, you 881 00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:59,200 Speaker 3: can send us an email to Stuff podcast at iHeartRadio 882 00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:05,399 Speaker 3: dot com. Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. 883 00:45:05,880 --> 00:45:09,080 Speaker 2: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 884 00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:12,200 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,