Fortitude, GARBO et le rempart de mensonges

Abstract

This article investigates the part that GARBO, a double agent, played in Fortitude, the great deception operation orchestrated by the Allies to mislead the Axis regarding the location of the D-Day landings of June 1944, and to keep German troops away from the Normandy beaches. This stratagem relied on many elements, in particular Double Cross, a network of German spies who were turned into double agents by the British, but whose true allegiances sometimes remained doubtful. To ensure that these men and women were trusted by their German superiors so that they could one day take part in a strategic deception plan, British intelligence officers had to give true information to the German secret services for years. A very complex organization was set up and extreme precautions were required. Lying was part and parcel of the state strategy, and it was a key element for the success of the Allied landings.