D-Day and Double Agents


D-Day is one of most important events of World War II.

The Context
France and part of Europe are invaded. England still fights the Germans but the situation is complex. The decision is made to launch a great operation to end the war. England became the training grounds for the allied troops waiting to be deployed.

Why Normandy?
The beach looks like the British coast, so it allows the soldiers who were present on British soil to train in similar conditions. Also, the Germans expect an attack in the North (Nord-Pas-de-Calais), closer to the UK.

The process
The start of the operation happens on June 4th, 1944 with Eisenhower’s “Ok, let’s go”. The troops land, taking the Germans by surprise. In spite of heavy loses, the beach is taken on June 6th.

Consequences
The Germans, unprepared for this attack, lose ground which allows the allies to fight back and in August 1944, Paris is freed!

The spies, a key element for the allies
Meanwhile, a man by the name of Juan Pujol Garcià, worked in the shadows beginning in 1939. He creates a plan that will change the course of the war.

Juan is a Spanish man, marked by the Spanish civil war. He promised himself to fight against any forms of dictatorship. After a denial from the British, he decides alone to become double agent working with, but also against, the Germans. To do so, he deploys a fake network of spies (24 shadow agents). Thanks to hundreds of messages to the Abwehr, he manages to become the Reich’s solo man of trust. That trust will allow him to convince the Germans that the D-Day in Normandy is a decoy and that a far-reaching operation will happen in Calais. As a response, the most powerful German unit, lead by the General Rommel will turn around right before it gets in range of fire of the allies. That extraordinary maneuver creates the success of the entire operation, without it, the allies would have been ensnared between 2 legions of German troops.