Entertainment For Lively Minds
The most enthralling and moving documentary I've seen in ages - BBC's Operation Mincemeat
Just wanted to give a hearty recommendation to The Massive about the cracking BBC doc Operation Mincemeat. Presented by historian Ben Macintyre and based on his book of the same name, it describes the ingenious plan devised by MI5 (and one Ian Fleming) to speed up an Allied victory in WW2 by a successful invasion of Sicily made possible by fooling the Nazis that the Allies planned on invading via Greece and to make German forces mobilize there instead.
To do this involved placing the corpse of a supposedly drowned British airman into the Mediterranean with fake documents planted on him detailing the hoax invasion plan of Greece in the hope they'd reach Nazi sympathizers who'd immediately inform Hitler of the imminent invasion . This story was also the basis of a book and a 50's movie called The Man Who Never was. But what makes this doc truly moving and human is the relatively recent info that's come to light regarding the story of the corpse used - a Welsh manic depressive tramp called Glyndwr Michael, who died a horrible lonely suicide by eating rat poison in a derelict King's Cross warehouse. MI5 transformed Michael into fictional Royal Marine hero William Martin, and the brilliant deception begins..
Not sure how long this is left to view on BBC Iplayer, but please check this fascinating excellently made doc out while you can before it gets made into an ultimately disappointing movie
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00wllmb/Operation_Mincemeat/
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Missed the last ten minutes
due to my two-year-old waking up and screaming the place down. Must remember to watch the last bit, because you're right, it was good stuff. I thought some of the dramatic inserts were a little superflous, but overall it was cracking stuff.
It takes Recycling to a New level
Seriously though, a cracking programme, touching ,miniscule in life, but reinvented in death, puzzling Himmler's attitude, suspicious of he whole thing, but if it was good enough for Hitler prepared to turn a blind eye.When you think of the cost to the Germans, it was some gesture.
It was enjoyable but I could have done without
the dollied up actresses and the idea that this was somehow a new story. It was common currency of the war comics of my youth along with the wooded horse, colditz glider etc. But then good stories are always worth retelling.
The story is an incredible one,
and better told in the book, by the same author. Didn't think he came over all that well on t.v, though I heard him give a reading and he spoke very well. The only issue I have with the whole changing the war 'shtick' is that no mention was made to the unholy alliance between emigree Mafia dons and the US army which ensured a pretty cosy passage for US troops in Sicily and Southern Italy, though this may not have applied so much to British troops & probably beyond the brief the author set himself, but would have added some context. However, clearly the Germans did move troops over to Greece for a reason.
Great book
And I enjoyed McIntyre's previous and in many ways similar effort, Agent Zigzag, even more.
Agreed on Agent Zigzag
A page-turner of absolutely the highest order. I'm 20 or so pages into Operation Mincemeat and I have to say the pages aren't turning quite so quickly. This has reminded me to allocate a proper chunk of time this weekend to it.
Yep, agreed
on Agent Zig Zag, real boy's own stuff though he was quite the little rascal. Whilst we're all doing a fine job promoting the work of the boy Mcintyre, might I also recommend a collection he brought out the last year called The Last Word; a book to dip into or read cover to cover, very witty regardless.
I enjoyed it
but thought it was padded out and that it would have been better at half an hour.