GARBO

The Spy Who Saved D-Day

National Archives

• Publisher: Dundurn Press
• Year: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781459712614
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World War II
• Index: History

Juan Pujol, a young Spanish antifascist, became agent GARBO, a master of deception and intrigue. His story contains all the hallmarks of classic spy adventure - enciphered messages, secret inks, items concealed in cakes - culminating in one of the greatest strategic deceptions in history. Through a ring of invented subagents, GARBO and his MI5 controllers succeeded in convincing the Germans that the DDay landings were only a diversionary tactic, thus safeguarding the Allied landings and hastening the end of the war in Europe.

Secret History Files is an exciting series from The National Archives that puts covert history in readers' hands. Dossiers previously classified as "Top Secret" are now available, with an explanatory introduction and background analysis by expert historians.

SUMMARY
OF

THE GARBO CASE

1941 - 1945

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PREFACE.

INTRODUCTION.

CHAPTER I.	Early history
CHAPTER II.	GARBO’s introduction to the Germans.
	February, 1941 - April, 1941
CHAPTER III.	GARBO’s Diplomatic passport and his recruitment by the Germans.
	May, 1941 - July, 1941
CHAPTER IV.	GARBO in Lisbon and his excursions to Madrid.
	July, 1941 - October, 1941
CHAPTER V.	GARBO’s offer of service is finally brought to the notice of M.I.5.
	November, 1941 - February, 1942
CHAPTER VI.	GARBO’s arrival in England.
	March, 1942 - April, 1942
CHAPTER VII.	GARBO’s control. (German)
CHAPTER VIII.	GARBO’s control. (British)
CHAPTER IX.	Most Secret Sources
CHAPTER X.	GARBO’s personal contribution to the work of the organization
CHAPTER XI.	GARBO’s first letters from London and the arrival of Mrs. GARBO in the United Kingdom
CHAPTER XII.	The early period of build up in England.
	The recruitment of new agents. Plan Dream.
	April, 1942 - September, 1942
CHAPTER XIII.	Organizational changes. Implementation of SOLO I. Operation TORCH. The launching of the ANSON. GARBO and the Ministry of Information. Agent No. 6 leaves for North Africa. GARBO’s “Red” documentation.
	September - December, 1942
CHAPTER XIV.	Post TORCH period. Death of Agent No. 2. The sailing of the INDEFATIGABLE to the Indian Ocean. Cancellation of Spanish cover addresses. Germans supply new ink, cover addresses and a cypher. The recruitment of Agent No. 7.
	December, 1942 - January, 1943
CHAPTER XV.	GARBO is ordered by the Germans to correspond on their behalf with CARELESS.
	January - February, 1943
CHAPTER XVI.	The Chislehurst Caves. (PLAN BODEGA) 1943
CHAPTER XVII.	Wireless communications started. The train timetable questionnaires. Agent No. 5 prepares to leave the U.K. Trouble with the courier. GARBO sends aircraft recognition book concealed in cake. The death of Agent No. 6. GARBO is given the latest M.S.S. cypher. The camouflage military wireless transmitting plan.
	January - June, 1943
CHAPTER XVIII.	German questionnaires. Canadian 1st Division goes overseas. GARBO’s letter of the 2.8.43.
	June - July, 1943
CHAPTER XIX.	Deception.
	August - September, 1943
CHAPTER XX.	The “blowing” of the GARBO cover addresses in Lisbon
CHAPTER XXI.	Transfer of Agent No. 5 to Canada. The notional dead cut-out. Agent No. 1 resigns. GARBO’s diary. Recruitment of 4(3). Implementation of Plan JAEL. Recruitment of Agent No. 3(3). THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ARYAN WORLD ORDER
CHAPTER XXII.	GARBO blackmailed by the courier
CHAPTER XXIII.	Plan BODYGUARD. Preparations for OVERLORD. Recruitment of the members of the BROTHERHOOD OF THE ARYAN WORLD ORDER. Strategic displacement of the agents in preparation for OVERLORD. Agent No. 7(3) transferred to Ceylon
CHAPTER XXIV.	FORTITUDE. A cover plan for Operation OVERLORD
CHAPTER XXIV. (A)	FORTITUDE (Continued.) PHASE I.
	Prior to D Day of OVERLORD
CHAPTER XXIV. (B)	FORTITUDE (Continued.) PHASE II.
	D Day - D + 45. 6.6.44 - 22.7.44
CHAPTER XXIV. (C)	FORTITUDE (Continued.) PHASE III.
	D + 45 - D + 66. 22.7.44 - 12.8.44
CHAPTER XXIV. (D)	FORTITUDE (Continued.) PHASE IV.
	D + 66 - D + 115. 12.8.44 - 30.9.44
CHAPTER XXIV. (E)	FORTITUDE (Continued.)
	Dispersal of the notional forces
CHAPTER XXIV (F)	FORTITUDE (Continued)
	Conclusions
CHAPTER XXV.	The German secret weapons.
	Summer, 1943 - Summer, 1944
CHAPTER XXVI.	The BUENAGA incident. GARBO goes into hiding
CHAPTER XXVII.	The escape of Agent No. 4 to Canada. The Canadian wireless station. GARBO’s plans for escape from England. The end of the war in Europe
CHAPTER XXVIII.	GARBO’s escape from England via Cuba and Venezuela to Spain. GARBO’s post war reunion with Federico KNAPPE and Carlos KUHLENTHAL in Spain
CONCLUSIONS.
APPENDIX I.	A chart of the notional characters of the GARBO network
APPENDIX II.	J(1) @ The courier
APPENDIX III.	J(2) @ GARBO’s aviator friend
APPENDIX IV.	J(3) @ GARBO’s friend at the Ministry of Information
APPENDIX V.	J(4) @ Censor at the Ministry of Information
APPENDIX VI.	J(5) @ The secretary at the Ministry of War
APPENDIX VII.	Agent No. 1
APPENDIX VIII.	Agent No. 2
APPENDIX IX.	Agent No. 2(1) @ The Widow
APPENDIX X.	Agent No. 3. (The brother of Agent No. 5.)
APPENDIX XI.	3(1) @ The N.C.O. in the R.A.F
APPENDIX XII.	3(2) @ The Lieutenant in the 49th Division
APPENDIX XIII.	Agent No. 3(3)
APPENDIX XIV.	Agent No. 4
APPENDIX XV.	4(1) @ The Operator
APPENDIX XVI.	4(2) @ The guard in the Chislehurst Caves
APPENDIX XVII.	4(3) @ The American N.C.O in Service of Supplies
APPENDIX XVIII.	Agent No. 5. (The brother of Agent No. 3.)
APPENDIX XIX.	Agent No. 5(1). (The cousin of Agent No. 5.)
APPENDIX XX.	Agent No. 6
APPENDIX XXI.	Agent No. 7
APPENDIX XXII.	7(1) @ Soldier in the 9th Armoured Division
APPENDIX XXIII.	Agent No. 7(2)
APPENDIX XXIV.	Agent No. 7(3)
APPENDIX XXV	Agent No. 7(4)
APPENDIX XXVI.	Agent No. 7(5)
APPENDIX XXVII.	Agent No. 7(6)
APPENDIX XXVIII.	Agent No. 7(7)
APPENDIX XXIX.	Mrs. GARBO
APPENDIX XXX.	Financial arrangements
APPENDIX XXXI.	Method of charging expenses
APPENDIX XXXII.	The wireless stations. London and Canada
APPENDIX XXXIII.	Cyphers and transmitting plans
APPENDIX XXXIV.	Security measures and handling
APPENDIX XXXV.	Cover addresses
APPENDIX XXXVI.	Secret inks
APPENDIX XXXVII.	Most Secret Source symbols for the GARBO network
APPENDIX XXXVIII.	FORTITUDE Order of Battle
APPENDIX XXXIX.	Photostat of an O.K.W. Intelligence Summary
APPENDIX XL.	Order of Battle Map. D - 30
APPENDIX XLI.	German publication on the insignias used by British formations
APPENDIX XLII.	Detention Order under Defence Regulation 18D. Letter of apology from Home Secretary to GARBO

PREFACE

Until the extraordinary events of World War No. 2 had eclipsed World War No. 1, vague stories were still being told about German espionage activities in Spain during the first of these two wars. Invariably they were stories which tended to show that the Spaniards were helping the Germans either to refuel submarines or to spy against our activities in Gibraltar and the Mediterranean. We do not know the truth about these stories because, unfortunately, there are no records. It is perhaps significant that, whereas nearly all novelists have always represented the British Secret Service as actively engaged in offensive espionage abroad, and in particular in neutral countries, the stories which emerge from wars are always of the advantages which the enemy gained through their espionage activities in these same neutral countries. Had records existed about the Secret Services engaged in World War No. 1 we would perhaps have discovered that secrets, as closely guarded as the subject of the present case, were responsible for placing the enemy in this favourable light and it must be hoped that we will be allowed to continue to deceive the world, and in particular the enemy, in the belief that the Germans derived incalculable advantages from their very preferential treatment in Franco-Spain during World War No. 2, which we were denied.

There are few, if any foreigners, who have penetrated deeply into Spain who have not been completely captivated by her great culture and the profound qualities of her people. The Spaniards, in spite of this, have only reciprocated their admiration for two races, the British and the German, whose difference both racially and culturally is as fundamental as is the similarity between themselves and the French and the Italians, whom they detest.

If we know little about the life of the German community in Spain, our knowledge of them is perhaps greater than that of the larger and more prosperous British Colony there. We are told that German residents in Spain rallied to the appeal of their Fatherland during the 1914 - 18 war and it is probable that they then served with the German Intelligence Service in Spain rather than with their armies in France. With the approach of the Spanish Civil War there can be little doubt that nearly all Germans resident in Spain were ordered by their Government to support, if not serve, the Falangist insurgent, Franco.

Germany sent to Spain the famous Condor Legion to assist Franco in his fight to overthrow the Spanish Republican Government. Germany, when accused of having sent armed forces to fight with Franco, denied the charge and insisted that the Condor Legion was a small body of technicians or specialists. Although the exact composition of the Condor Legion is still obscure there can be little doubt that the German statement was to some extent truthful. The Legion was certainly composed of Intelligence officers of various descriptions and there can be little doubt that nearly all departments of the large machinery which eventually came under the control of Himmler during this war were there represented.

Neither did they all leave Spain after Franco’s victory, and it is not therefore surprising that the large Abwehr network which continued to operate in Spain during the world war, which followed only a few months on the termination of the Spanish Civil War, should have been composed to some extent of those officers who had gained experience of Spain and its nationals during their three years of service in Spain during her civil war.

Franco now in full control, his opponents either exterminated or in concentration camps and prisons, awaiting their inevitable fate at his hands, promised to reward the Germans for their assistance with his co-operation. The records and facilities of the Spanish Foreign Office under Serrano Suner were made available to them. Spanish Police records and officers of the Seguridad were instructed to facilitate the Germans in all they required, passports to Spanish nationals were issued on German recommendation, or refused on their instructions. The Spanish press and radio services were under German control. The Spanish General Staff was collaborating to the maximum. The use of Spanish diplomatic bags was theirs for the asking. The Spanish Blue Division was fighting side by side with their German ally and Franco had made a public declaration that he would, if necessary, send a million men to defend Berlin. Yet Spain remained neutral. It should not have been difficult for a strong and numerous Intelligence Service to have exploited such a uniquely favourable position with great success; in fact it is difficult to understand how they could have failed to do so.

If there were thousands of young Spaniards who, still impassioned by the Civil War, were prepared to take up arms to fight side by side with their German spiritual leaders, surely there must have been plenty of openings to recruit amongst these fanatics, men whose loyalty need have been the last factor for consideration.

Their selection, therefore, was strange for, apart from a few low grade agents, they succeeded in recruiting the following Spaniards to operate on their behalf in this country:-

PIERNAVIEJA DEL POZO.	A Spanish athlete. A Falangist of long standing. A playboy whose behaviour here was so irresponsible that he was summoned back to Spain and temporarily imprisoned in 1941.
ALCAZAR DE VELASCO.	A high ranking Falangist official, fanatically pro-German, who was both dishonest and illiterate. He paid his last visit to this country in 1941. He found it easier to invent his reports than to trouble to seek genuine information.
MENDEZ DOMINGUEZ.	A Falangist journalist, who although recruited decided on arrival here in 1941 to abandon his mission.
LUIS CALVO.	A Falangist journalist who, intimidated by ALCAZAR DE VELASCO accepted an espionage mission which he carried out half-heartedly prior to his arrest by this Department in 1942.
JOSE BRUGADA.	Spanish Press Attache at the London Embassy. An ex-Intelligence officer in the services of Franco during the Civil War who likewise was intimidated by ALCAZAR DE VELASCO into accepting an espionage mission. He, however, preferred to operate until in 1943 his case collapsed due to the incompetence of ALCAZAR DE VELASCO
JAIME RIBAS.	A Catalan, who provoked the Germans to recruit him so that he might get to this country to assist the Catalan underground movement.

Through counter-Intelligence investigations it has now become abundantly clear that all their efforts produced only one great Spanish source of information in this country which operated from 1941 until the cessation of hostilities. This source comprised a very large network of agents, the leader of which was a Spaniard, who reported to the German Intelligence Service in Madrid by wireless and by secret letters sent by courier via Lisbon. The network had out stations in North Africa, Canada and Ceylon and was composed of no less than 28 members, of which several were in direct communication with the Germans in secret writing. So important did this source become that it unquestionably influenced the strategy of the German High Command at the time of the Allied landing in the Cherbourg peninsula. A strategy which Jodl, since the German collapse, has himself described as fatal, though he is still unsuspecting of the planning and organization which inspired it and thus hastened the destruction of Hitlerite Germany.

In 1941 when the Germans were all powerful in Spain, the British Embassy in Madrid was being stoned, France had collapsed and the German invasion of England was imminent, little were the Germans to know that the small meek young Spaniard who then approached them and volunteered to go to London to engage in espionage on their behalf would turn out to be an important British agent. Still less were they to discover that the network which they instructed him to build up in the United Kingdom was to be composed of 27 characters who were nothing more than a figment of the imagination.

The summary of the story of this espionage network of imaginary characters, the GARBO NETWORK, the subject of this report is, if unorthodox, a record of the extent to which it is possible to deceive one’s opponent, through what is probably the oldest weapon of deception in war, the double-cross agent.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Publisher’s Note
• Introduction
• Summary of the Garbo Case 1941–1945
• Summary of the Garbo Case 1941–1945: Appendices
• Index