To What Extent Did Mi5’s System Of Deception Aid i

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The Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II is undoubtedly one of the most decisive and profound battles of the twentieth century. The resounding effects and success of the invasion played a significant role in Germany’s demise and eventual defeat. Although there were a number of underpinning factors which contributed to the overall success of the Allies during the war, the role of intelligence, and in particular MI5’s system of deception, has to be considered as having a significant impact and effect upon the outcome of the D-Day landings. The success of Operation Bodyguard (the deception scheme of June 1944) was achieved as a result of invaluable experience, gained through earlier operations and campaigns such as Operation Mincemeat and Operation Cockade, as well as the establishment of the double-cross system. The use of double-agents, and in particular, agent GARBO, controlled and managed by MI5, provides insight into how the British intelligence agencies were able to outsmart its German counterpart, the Abwehr. The espionage system adopted by the Germans in the United Kingdom was unsuccessful because ‘in time of war espionage in an enemy country is doomed to failure because the dice are hopelessly loaded against the spy.’ To understand how the British intelligence agencies were able to outwit their enemies it is essential that the characteristics and aims of deception, as a military and intelligence strategy, are clearly defined. Thaddeus Holt states that deception ‘consists of “[p]lanned measures for revealing or conveying to the enemy true information (or false information which could be evaluated as true) regarding our strategic plans, strength, dispositions, operations or tactics, with the purpose of causing him to reach false estimates and to act thereon.”’ The underpinning and vital element of a successful deception campaign is ‘action’. For
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