(#15) Operation Greif Led To A Great Deal Of Grief
In December 1944, as part of the massive German counterattack that precipitated the Battle of the Bulge, a secret German Panzer brigade under the command of Otto Skorzeny prepared to spread chaos behind American lines. Operation Greif (Griffin, in German) successfully infiltrated a small number of English-speaking Germans in US uniforms behind American lines at the beginning of the offensive. These commandos switched road signs, misdirected regiments, and quickly made it back behind German lines.
Confusion took hold when four Germans were captured and one of them claimed their true mission was to make it to Paris and assassinate General Eisenhower. From that point on, American troops challenged unfamiliar soldiers with questions about baseball, state capitals, and Frank Sinatra. The military immediately placed these four, and twelve other similarly uniformed captured Germans, on trial for espionage (wearing a foreign uniform in combat was forbidden by the Geneva Convention) and executing them. Skorzeny would be acquitted after WWII.
(#11) Operation Pastorius Brought German Saboteurs To The United States
Early on the morning of June 13, 1942, young Coastguardsman John Cullen patrolled a stretch of beach near Amagansett, Long Island. Suddenly, a man came out of the fog, startling Cullen, who asked him to identify himself. The man claimed he and his group were fishermen. When the group refused Cullen's offer to come to the Coast Guard station, and after he heard one of them speaking German, Cullen was sure he was onto a plot. The leader of the group introduced himself, gave Cullen a wad of money, and warned him to forget the whole thing.
Cullen ran back to the Coast Guard station and reported the encounter. Within minutes a patrol had returned, the strangers were gone, but explosives, uniforms, and liquor were found buried on the beach. By noon, the FBI was aware of the plot and actively searching for the Germans. Two of the Germans, George Dasch and Ernst Burger, had no intention of carrying out Operation Pastorius, their mission of industrial sabotage. In New York City, Dasch attempted to turn the group in by phone, but the FBI agent who took the call thought it was a prank and hung up. Dasch then went to DC and was shuffled from FBI office to office until, in exasperation, he dumped $84,000 on a skeptical agent's desk.
The spies were quickly apprehended. J. Edgar Hoover publicly crowed about the arrests but didn't reveal the true circumstances behind the incident. President Roosevelt learned details from military tribunal transcripts. Nevertheless, he affirmed six death sentences, life for Burger, and 30 years for Dasch. Despite the fact that some of the condemned were naturalized American citizens and had committed no crimes, six saboteurs were executed. Dasch and Burger were eventually deported to Germany by Harry Truman.
(#8) Operation Jubilee Was Anything But Jubilant
Almost two years before D-Day, the Allies launched an attack on the northern French coastline, at the port town of Dieppe. While this was meant as a raid and not an invasion, the mission was a disaster and an embarrassment. More than 6,000 British and Canadian soldiers attempted to seize and hold Dieppe, destroy German military positions, and practice a large scale amphibious invasion in what was known as Operation Jubilee.
Unfortunately, German troops were prepared for the assault and deployed extensive defensive positions in anticipation. None of the Allied objectives were met, and 10 hours after the initial landing, Operation Jubilee was aborted. More than 1,000 Allied troops were slain or wounded, almost 2,000 men were captured, and it wasn't until June 1944 that a similar attack was attempted. Still, many lessons learned at Dieppe were incorporated into the successful implementation of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy.
(#13) The Great Raid, Secret Philippine Rescue Operation
As the Japanese were driven out of the Philippines in late 1944, they began executing Allied POWs. Allied authorities feared the Japanese would kill all 513 hundred prisoners when they abandoned Cabanatuan, one of the largest prison camps in the Philippines. In January 1945, approximately 100 Army Rangers marched 30 miles behind enemy lines, linked up with Filipino guerrillas, and carefully scouted the heavily fortified compound for several days.
At sunset on January 30, 1945, the Rangers and guerillas crawled over the flat terrain surrounding the camp. The attackers quickly destroyed the Japanese guard towers and bunkers. The more than 500 prisoners made it safely back to American lines.
(#5) Operation Vengeance Literally Avenged Pearl Harbor
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, brilliant commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy, masterminded the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. In April 1943, Yamamoto was conducting a morale building tour of Japanese positions in the Solomon Islands when American intelligence, having broken Japanese code, figured out his itinerary. Presented with an opportunity to get the man responsible for Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt personally ordered the subtly named Operation Vengeance.
The mission required a 1,000-mile round trip, perfect timing, and the element of surprise, all of which Americans were able to pull off. On the morning of April 18, 1943, 18 American P-38 Lightning planes were in position to intercept the Japanese admiral. Over Bougainville Island, the Americans attacked Yamamoto's bomber and fighter escort. In the ensuing dogfight, Yamamoto's plane was sent crashing into the jungle.
(#6) Operation Cherry Blossoms At Night And Japanese Biological Warfare
The Imperial Japanese Military routinely experimented with and utilized biological warfare during WWII. Its infamous Unit 731, commanded by Major Shiro Ishii, conducted ghastly experiments involving hypothermia, induced heart attacks, and infectious diseases on Chinese civilians and American POWs. As a result, the Japanese developed biological weapons such as bombs that could spread plague, cholera, and anthrax. These weapons were used repeatedly against Chinese cities and killed thousands of non-combatants.
Japan was hesitant to use biological weapons against the US, but as defeat loomed and the Japanese war effort became increasingly desperate, Ishii planned a massive biological attack on Southern California. Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night would direct five long distance submarines to the vicinity of San Diego. The subs would launch specially designed dive bombers carrying plague-infected fleas. The pilots of these planes would crash at the earliest opportunity, hoping to induce a plague pandemic.
Although the plan was approved in March 1945, logistics prevented it from being implemented before Japan's surrender. Ishii used his extensive knowledge of biological warfare to avoid war crimes prosecution, he passed in 1959.
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About This Tool
The espionage has never stopped, even in peaceful eras. From a spy who never appeared to a team of Nazis posing as American soldiers, many thrilling and bizarre secret operations that occurred during World War II are beyond our knowledge in history books. They were the heroes who contributed silently behind the first line of World War II, using their wisdom and courage to fight for victory.
During World War II, both the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers planned several secret operations. Many of these actions were taken risky, even unbelievable. The random tool shares the stories of 15 crazy secret WWII pperations.
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