| Special Forces Operations in April 1943 |
| April 1943 |
| Operation Mincemeat |
| MI5, Abwehr |
| In 1939, Rear Admiral John Godfrey circulates the “Trout Memo,” outlining deception strategies to mislead the Axis during WWII. One idea suggests using a corpse with fake documents, later inspiring Operation Mincemeat. Early experiments with corpses and misleading documents in 1942 show promise, leading British planners to consider a larger deception. With the decision to invade Sicily in 1943, Allied leaders aim to mislead German forces into expecting an attack elsewhere. Charles Cholmondeley and Ewen Montagu develop Operation Mincemeat, involving the use of a corpse with false plans suggesting an invasion of Greece and Sardinia. Glyndwr Michael, a homeless man who recently died, is selected as the body, and given the fake identity of “Major William Martin.” In April 1943, Michael’s body is released off the coast of Spain, where it is discovered by local authorities. German intelligence obtains the documents and passes them to Hitler, who believes them to be genuine. As a result, German forces are diverted away from Sicily, contributing to the success of the Allied invasion. The operation’s success is confirmed by intercepted German communications, and it plays a key role in misleading the Axis, reducing resistance for the Allies during the invasion of Sicily. |
| April 29th, 1943 – May 15th, 1945 |
| Operation Checkmate |
| Commandos |
| Seven men from No. 14 (Arctic) Commando of which one attachment from No. 12 Commando, two Cockle Mk.2 Canoes, one Coble and one Motor Torpedo Boat. Their mission is to attack German shipping in the harbour of Haugesund, Norway. The Commandos are transported across the by Motor Torpedo Boat. On arrival in Norwegian waters, they set up their patrol base on the island of Bokn, before the Motor Torpedo Boat leaves them. The intention is that the Motor Torpedo Boat returns later and transports them back to the Great Britain. The commandos prepare their canoes. Lieutenant Godwin and Able Seaman Burgess make one crew and the other crew consists of Able Seamen Mayor and West. They use the coble to move within striking distance of their targets and then use the canoes to get in closer and plant their Limpet mines. They manage to sink the minesweeper, M 5207. The two canoes then return to the location where the coble had been. However, it been moved by the three remaining soldiers, with the assistance of Norwegian civilians, to a safer location further inland. Not finding the coble, the two canoes then move westward, towards the Urter islands, where they waited for the Motor Torpedo Boat. The coble moves further inland to make contact with the canoeists but are eventually forced to abandon the coble. The three men are captured on May 14th, 1943, after an extensive search by the German Army, police, and Norwegian civilians. The day after, the four men on Urter are also captured. They are held at the Grini concentration camp and interrogated, before they are handed over to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and transported to concentration camp Sachsenhausen in Germany. Here six of them are executed under the Kommando Befehl, one of them dies earlier of typhus. |