15. World War II’s Most Influential Spy
Much of the success of Operation Bodyguard is owed to one man: Juan Pujol Garcia (1912 – 1988), an adventurer who pulled off a feat of deception that has no parallels in history. Pujol was an eccentric Spaniard who, out of a sheer desire for adventure and excitement, hoaxed the Nazis with fictional espionage. The hoax grew into the greatest double-cross operation of World War II and played a significant role in ensuring Allied victory on D-Day and in the subsequent Normandy Campaign.
Pujol hated fascists, and when World War II began, he took it upon himself to help the Allies “for the good of humanity”. However, when he offered his services to British intelligence, he was rejected. Undeterred, he posed as Spanish government officer who sympathized with the Nazi cause and offered his services to the Germans. They accepted the offer and ordered him to Britain, where he was to recruit a spy network. Instead, Pujol went to Lisbon, and from there, simply wrote made-up reports.
