Quotes About Operation Mincemeat

Early in March, in the midst of discussions over the form of Operation Mincemeat, Montagu mounted a full-scale assault on Bevan, accusing him of being incompetent, mendacious, inefficient, and "almost completely ignorant25 of the German Intelligence Service, how they work and what they are likely to believe.

As the intelligence historian Michael Handel writes in his assessment of Operation Mincemeat: "It is very unusual and very difficult17 for deception to create new concepts for an enemy. It is much easier and more effective to reinforce those which already exist.

One of the hazards of having a good idea is that intelligent people tend to realize it is a good idea and seek to play a part. Like most novelists, Montagu did not like the editing process. He did not like the way Operation Mincemeat was being watered down. He did not like senior officers pulling rank and tinkering with a project in which he had invested so much of his time, energy, and personality.

Miriam Rothschild's cousin Ewen Montagu had helped run Operation Mincemeat, which in April 1943 used the staged death of a British officer—complete with false identification and intelligence documents—to convince the Germans that the Allies were planning to invade Greece.)