The Man Who Never Was by Ewen Montagu

Author:Ewen Montagu [Montagu, Ewen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781612515632
Publisher: Naval Institute Press

1. Major Martin sets out

2. Major Martin’s pass to Combined Operations Headquarters

3. Identity card

4. Theatre tickets

5. Letter from Lord Louis Mountbatten to Admiral Cunningham

6. Some of the ‘corroborative details’

7. The Blood-hound goes—and comes back

8. Pam

9. The bill for the engagement ring

10. Major Martin goes to war

7 Major Martin Gets Ready for War

* * *

WE HAD GONE steadily on with our preparations although final approval for the launching of the operation had not yet been obtained.

After considering Sir Archibald Nye’s letter, the Chiefs of Staff had given approval in principle; we now pressed for authority to start. There was bound to be a conflict of interest at this stage: the Chiefs of Staff were naturally reluctant to become committed to the Germans receiving the information contained in the letter as our strategy might be changed—if that had happened it would not have been for the first time! On the other hand, we simply had to get the letter to Spain by the beginning of May if the operation was to be of any value; we had to give the German Intelligence Service time to get the information, convince themselves of its genuineness by any check-up that they might want, and then to “appreciate” it and pass the result on to the Operational Staff. The latter would then need time to make their arrangements and to send their forces to the wrong places—and, if we wanted them not to fortify Sicily, it was no good waiting until those fortifications were complete.

The Chiefs of Staff accepted this necessity and gave their final approval, subject to reference to the Prime Minister, to whom the matter was submitted through General Ismay.

When the Prime Minister was told that there was some risk of pinpointing Sicily, if the operation went wrong, he replied (as I have already recorded), “I don’t see that that matters. Anybody but a damn’ fool would know it is Sicily.” We felt that he ought also to be informed that our efforts might be wasted, as there was always the chance that the body might be recovered by a Spaniard who was not co-operating with the Germans and the papers might be returned to us intact. The Prime Minister realised that that risk was not great either, and disposed of this point with a grin and a chuckle, saying, “I don’t see that that matters either. We can always try again”!

So we had received the all-clear, subject to General Eisenhower being informed of the plan. If he had had any objection, or any change of strategy had occurred before the body was actually launched, the operation could have been cancelled in the way I had provided in paragraph 8 of the “operation orders” to Lieutenant Jewell.

Meanwhile we had to undertake the least pleasant part of our work—we had to get the body ready for its mission.

We heartily disliked this task. In spite of the great service which we were confident that the body would render to its country, it went against the grain

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