9. The Triple Agent Who Tricked the Nazis
Popov played a key role in a sub-plan of Bodyguard, known as Operation Fortitude, which created a fictitious First US Army Group (FUSAG) in southeast England, commanded by General George S. Patton. Popov sent made up details about FUSAG’s units, strength, and organization. The Germans swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. Popov and Operation Fortitude paid off in a big way. After D-Day, the Germans were convinced that the Normandy landings were not the main event, but only the first in a series of landings. So instead of rush all available reinforcements to contest the Allies in Normandy, the Germans kept powerful formations in the Pas de Calais, to defend it from the “main invasion” by the fictitious FUSAG. Popov’s British handlers had hoped to convince the Germans to keep the Pas de Calais formations in place for two weeks after D-Day. Things worked out better than their wildest hopes.
Instead of two weeks, the Germans held back their formations for seven weeks. By the time the Pas de Calais defenders were released, it was too late. The Allies took advantage of the breather to build a powerful beachhead in Normandy, before breaking out to liberate France and Western Europe. After Paris was liberated, Popov was sent there to establish a British network of spies. After the war, Yugoslavia turned communist, and there was no future for the playboy Popov back in his home country. So he stayed in the West, where he prospered as a businessman. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his wartime exploits – a nice accompaniment to the medals given him by the Germans during the conflict – and eventually became a British citizen. A playboy to the end, Popov died in 1981, after years of heavy smoking and drinking, and many, many, women.
