This was a wonderful read. I loved reading some of the bonkers messages the agents sent to their German case officers, and hearing about their various exploits. They disclose information gained from conversations with the man himself on subjects such as Fidel Castro, JFK, Bobby Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and more!!!! Yet another well researched and written book. I did not realize this was the last in a trilogy (Agent Zig Zag & Operation Mincemeat being the other two), which would explain that there were many familiar names of high-ranking officials from both sides of the conflict being mentioned throughout all three books. Crowdy, Terry (20 December 2011). Deceiving Hitler: Double-Cross and Deception in World War II. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-135-9.

Double-Cross System - Wikipedia Double-Cross System - Wikipedia

While Macintyre adroitly focuses on the day-today machinations of this band of seeming misfits, what makes them even more fascinating is the personal life each leads in secret. A couple are bon vivants who seem tailor-made for lives of espionage; another is a middle-age woman whose attachment to her dog threatens to unravel her cover and story at virtually every turn. These, as we learn, are exactly the kind of people whom the rest of us least suspect of gleaning and transmitting secrets that could impact and affect the course of wars. All seem at one point capable of turning from a double spy to a triple spy (or even a quadruple spy), yet ultimately each makes the decisions and takes the actions required to mislead the Germans on June 6, 1944, and none should be viewed as anything less than heroic, their contributions impossible to overestimate.

Ben Macintyre writes this historical series of events with humour and drama for Double Cross was a magnificent and ingeniously stage managed inspiration by Tar Robertson and others in MI5 and M16 that could so easily have gone horribly wrong. That none for the many double agents and others who knew about the deception betrayed them to the Germans was remarkable. I am a big fan of the mighty Ben Macintyre, so it was only a matter of time before I'd read Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies. In addition to the double agents, the author does look at some of the other methods the Allies used to reinforce what they where sending their German controllers. This includes the famous rubber vehicles and planes, false radio traffic, using General Patton as a decoy etc. After arriving at the destination, Alex and Bree are tied to chairs. DCAK reveals himself to be the man Alex knew as Anthony in addition to Neil Stephens, the reporter. The mysterious woman from Baltimore is revealed to be his sister, who had been posing as Sandy. After angering DCAK, who reveals he had killed Bell, Bree manages to escape her bounds and shoot and kill Sandy. DCAK escapes with Alex in pursuit, leading to a chase through a Mexican-food restaurant. Alex catches and stabs DCAK, who survives. However, Kyle Craig appears, revealing he and DCAK are mutual fans. Alex is nearly killed by Kyle before Bree arrives and shoots and apparently kills him. Craig, who is not dead, attempts to shoot Bree but purposefully misses. He is able to flee. At the hospital, Alex realizes DCAK and his sister are really Aaron and Sarah Dennison. Aaron curses at Alex, vowing revenge, which Alex dismisses. The book ends with Alex taking Damon to Massachusetts to go to Cushing Academy, when Alex receives a message stating there has been a murder in Georgetown, setting up the events for Cross Country.

Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies - Ben Macintyre Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies - Ben Macintyre

Playboys, loyalists and people whose lives had otherwise been irreversibly impacted by the spreading German occupancy eventually found themselves as members of a team whose primary responsibility was to lead the Nazi leadership into thinking that the D-Day assault would take place in any number of places other than Normandy, whose proximity to Britain's coastline made it an obvious choice. Among the misdirected targets were the Mediterranean, Norway and the northern coast of France. Tar Robertson created a bodyguard of liars - the "Double Cross System" coordinated by the Twenty (XX) Committee. They specialised in turning German spies into double agents. Every single German agent in Britain was under his control, enabling huge and co-ordinated lies to be told. The task of Operation Fortitude was to bottle up German troops in the Pas de Calais and keep them there - this ability depended on Robertson's spies. These included a bisexual Peruvian playgirl, a tiny Polish fighter pilot, a mercurial Frenchwoman who adored her dog, a Serbian seducer and an eccentric Spaniard with marital problems. These spies never met, but together they created false trails, gave false information and often created totally false networks of sub-spies, including a group of entirely fictional Welsh fascists - all of which the Germans swallowed completely. In some cases, very extensive lies were not even noticed by the Germans, whereas the Allies had much confidential information (courtesy of Bletchly Park) even before the Germans themselves were aware of it. It is astounding to realise the control the Allies had over information sent to the Germans and the inventive ways to which this was put to use. When I was younger I idolized Mobsters, and admired the “family” part of the Mafia. I liked the Hollywood idea of the Mafia, the glamour of it. It took growing up to realize that they were really just thugs and brutal murderers. I still find them interesting, but more in the way I find serial killers interesting. No longer admiring any part of that nonsense. MI5, החל טאר רוברטסון לצייר לו בדמיונו דרכים חדשות להילחם בריגול הגרמני ולהשתמש במרגלי האויב לטובת בעלות הברית. מחשבותיו נסבו יותר ויותר על יונים. The author notes that this story wouldn't have been able to be written at all if the British secret services hadn't fairly recently decided to open up the files for this time period. The spies themselves pretty much expected that their stories would never be known.Czerniawski’s abundant self-assurance made Mathilde feel instantly secure. “Every time he spoke of the war his eyes flashed. He would not accept that Poland had been defeated. He radiated a kind of confidence and the enthusiasm of youth, an intelligence and willpower which would alternately give place to the airs of a spoilt, affectionate child.” They met again the next night, and the next. “A great bond of friendship was swiftly forged.” Both would later deny they had ever been lovers with such vehemence that the denials were almost certainly untrue. John C. Campbell, "A Retrospective on John Masterman's The Double-Cross System", International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence 18: 320–353, 2005.