A document published yesterday, reveals the crucial role that Britain’s code-breaking experts played in the D-Day landings – the 1944 invasion of France. The story is practically the same as one that you would find in an international spy thriller, with espionage, propoganda and lies – but this is for real! The document shows how the British played a complicated game, which succeeded in convincing Hitler that the British and their Allies were going to make their D-Day landings in a different place to where they actually happened – on the Normandy coast. This deception proved to be crucial in helping with the success of the D-Day invasion and shortened the war, which saved countless lives. One of the unsung heroes in the background to the story is Juan Pujol Garcia, a Spanish businessman, who was one of the war’s incredible double agents. The Nazis believed that he was giving them true information. However, Pujol (who the British codenamed Garbo) worked for British Intelligence, as well. He wasn’t exactly a James Bond type figure. He was small, bald and boring. But he completely tricked the Germans. Normally, he would send genuine information, but too late for any action to be taken. However, Pujol reported to the Nazis that the D-Day landings in Normandy were only a small part of the invasion and the main attacks would happen further down the coast in Pas de Calais. So, thousands of German troops stayed in the Calais area, away from Normandy. The document shows that this information completely fooled the Germans. The Allies knew that the plan had worked because they had already cracked the code, which the Germans used for sending messages. Therefore, they were extremely confident before the mission, which gave them a huge advantage and ultimately meant that the D-Day invasion was successful. Listen to hear how the regular past simple verbs with an –ed ending are pronounced. How the regular past simple verbs with an –ed ending are pronounced
