Larry Loftis's Blog, page 2
May 20, 2018
Ian Fleming and the CIA
Seventy-seven years ago today, May 20, 1941, British Naval Intelligence officer Ian Fleming checked into the Palacio Hotel in Estoril, a sea-side resort just west of Lisbon. Fleming was on a stopover on his way to Washington with his boss, Admiral John Godfrey, to assist President Franklin D. Roosevelt in creating an intelligence agency. Godfrey, who was the Royal Navy's Intelligence Director, wanted FDR to organize a foreign intelligence branch under one department, and one man, General William "Wild Bill" Donovan, Roosevelt's former legal aide. When Godfrey and Fleming continued on to Washington, Godfrey met with FDR and Fleming met with various military counterparts. While the Admiral pushed for Donovan's selection, Fleming worked on a proposal for what the new American intelligence branch would look like, namely something akin to Britain's MI6. 
Both men were successful: FDR appointed Donovan on June 18, 1941 as the head of a new intelligence department with the title of "Co-Ordinator of Information," and Fleming essentially (as he put it) wrote the charter for this new organization. Donovan's agency was soon called the OSS—Office of Strategic Services—which later became known as the CIA, Central Intelligence Agency. Before Fleming left, Donovan thanked him with a special gift—a .38 Police Positive Colt revolver with the inscription, "For Special Services."When Fleming returned to Lisbon he had another, somewhat unusual meeting at Casino Estoril; he encountered an MI6 agent—Britain's highest level operative—which planted a seed for Fleming's soon to be famous James Bond. For details about who this man was, and what happened at the casino (recreated in Fleming's Casino Royale), see my international bestselling nonfiction thriller, INTO THE LION'S MOUTH: The True Story of Dusko Popov—World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond. And if you happen to visit Lisbon, the municipal Historical Society (located in the Casa Sommer in Cascais) now has an exhibit—based on my research—connecting Fleming to Popov. Below is part of that that display, including Fleming's and Popov's Palacio Hotel registrations. For more details, you must plunge INTO THE LION'S MOUTH. 
Both men were successful: FDR appointed Donovan on June 18, 1941 as the head of a new intelligence department with the title of "Co-Ordinator of Information," and Fleming essentially (as he put it) wrote the charter for this new organization. Donovan's agency was soon called the OSS—Office of Strategic Services—which later became known as the CIA, Central Intelligence Agency. Before Fleming left, Donovan thanked him with a special gift—a .38 Police Positive Colt revolver with the inscription, "For Special Services."When Fleming returned to Lisbon he had another, somewhat unusual meeting at Casino Estoril; he encountered an MI6 agent—Britain's highest level operative—which planted a seed for Fleming's soon to be famous James Bond. For details about who this man was, and what happened at the casino (recreated in Fleming's Casino Royale), see my international bestselling nonfiction thriller, INTO THE LION'S MOUTH: The True Story of Dusko Popov—World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond. And if you happen to visit Lisbon, the municipal Historical Society (located in the Casa Sommer in Cascais) now has an exhibit—based on my research—connecting Fleming to Popov. Below is part of that that display, including Fleming's and Popov's Palacio Hotel registrations. For more details, you must plunge INTO THE LION'S MOUTH.
May 11, 2018
WWII's Most Dangerous Job: SOE Courier
One in four. That's how many SOE agents in France were either executed, killed in action, or died during captivity. Had not many agents escaped their prisons or concentration camps, the number would be closer to one in three. But that's for all agents. For women, almost all of whom were employed as couriers, the fatality rate was much higher.Almost one in two.Of the thirty-eight female SOE agents operating in France, sixteen did not return. That's a death rate of 42 percent, which puts it in the realm of risk faced by Britain's Bomber Command. And this for "non-combat" personnel. 
TODAY in 1944, seven captured SOE agents—six couriers and a radio operator—left 84 Avenue Foch (Gestapo headquarters in Paris) handcuffed in pairs. They were put on a train bound for Germany. Six would never be seen again. Who these women were, and the extraordinary story of the sole survivor—World War II's most highly decorated woman—is the subject of my upcoming book to be published January 15, 2019 by Gallery/Simon & Schuster. Larry Loftis is the author of INTO THE LION'S MOUTH: The True Story of Dusko Popov—World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond (Berkley, 2016) and the upcoming nonfiction thriller about World War II's most highly decorated woman (Gallery/Simon & Schuster, January 15, 2019).
TODAY in 1944, seven captured SOE agents—six couriers and a radio operator—left 84 Avenue Foch (Gestapo headquarters in Paris) handcuffed in pairs. They were put on a train bound for Germany. Six would never be seen again. Who these women were, and the extraordinary story of the sole survivor—World War II's most highly decorated woman—is the subject of my upcoming book to be published January 15, 2019 by Gallery/Simon & Schuster. Larry Loftis is the author of INTO THE LION'S MOUTH: The True Story of Dusko Popov—World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond (Berkley, 2016) and the upcoming nonfiction thriller about World War II's most highly decorated woman (Gallery/Simon & Schuster, January 15, 2019).
May 3, 2018
WWII's Most Unusual Rescue
TODAY 1945, a contingent of international hostages held by Nazi SS guards was liberated at the most breathtaking of sites—the Hotel Pragser-Wildsee—in northern Italy near the Austrian border. 
It was a scenario even the most creative of Hollywood scribes could not have imagined. Days before liberation the hostages were actually rescued by a most unlikely cavalry: troops from Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's 14th Army. It began when Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, ordered the transfer of high-profile prisoners from areas soon to be overrun by the Red Army to a safer location near the Austrian-Italy border. The group, it turned out, was a Who's Who of political and military leaders, including: Léon Blum, former prime minister of France; Miklós Kállay, former prime minister of Hungary; Kurt Schuschnigg, former chancellor of Austria; Richard Schmitz, former mayor of Vienna; Friedrich Leopold, Prince of Prussia; Lt. General Alexandros Popagos—Commander in Chief of the Greek Army—and four of his generals; Russian General Ivan Bessonov; and four German officers who had fallen out of favor with Hitler—General Franz Halder, former Chief of the General Staff, General Alexander von Falkenhausen, former head of the military government of occupied Belgium, General Georg Thomas, one of the planners of Operation Barbarossa, and Colonel Bogislaw von Bonin, Chief of the Operational Branch of the Army General Staff.Also in the group was SOE Captain Peter Churchill, along with a dozen British officers. As the lorries lumbered toward Villabassa, Italy, one of the prisoners stole the wallet of an SS guard. Inside were ominous instructions from Heinrich Himmler's office: Execute all British officers and other military personnel at Villabassa. When the group arrived, Colonel von Bonin slipped into a post office and made a call to Kesselring's headquarters. Knowing that the Wehrmacht despised the Nazi SS thugs, von Bonin requested that a company of Germany's finest come to rescue them at once. Troops were promised to arrive at six o'clock the following evening.The next morning von Bonin called the captain of the SS guard aside and told him that soldiers from Kesselring's army were on their way, and that the Nazis would be wise to disappear pronto. They did.When Kesselring's troops arrived, the party moved up the mountain to the Hotel Pragser-Wildsee and von Bonin placed the soldiers in a protective ring around it. In a strange twist of loyalty, they were protecting the former prisoners against other Germans—namely, SS guards—who might wander by.
Captain Churchill and some of the British officers then piled into two cars and drove toward where they assumed the Americans were advancing. Some ten miles into the journey they came upon an American officer, Captain Attwood, with a small advance party, the main force being days behind. When Attwood and his men arrived at the hotel, another strange thing happened: Attwood didn't disarm the Wehrmacht soldiers. Thinking that the Germans would be needed if the SS returned, Attwood kept them in their perimeter post until Americans from the 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions arrived days later. It was a story for the ages.To read the entire story, along with Captain Peter Churchill's work and romance with his SOE courier, Odette Sansom, see Larry's next nonfiction thriller (title pending), which will be published by Gallery/Simon & Schuster January 15, 2019.
It was a scenario even the most creative of Hollywood scribes could not have imagined. Days before liberation the hostages were actually rescued by a most unlikely cavalry: troops from Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's 14th Army. It began when Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, ordered the transfer of high-profile prisoners from areas soon to be overrun by the Red Army to a safer location near the Austrian-Italy border. The group, it turned out, was a Who's Who of political and military leaders, including: Léon Blum, former prime minister of France; Miklós Kállay, former prime minister of Hungary; Kurt Schuschnigg, former chancellor of Austria; Richard Schmitz, former mayor of Vienna; Friedrich Leopold, Prince of Prussia; Lt. General Alexandros Popagos—Commander in Chief of the Greek Army—and four of his generals; Russian General Ivan Bessonov; and four German officers who had fallen out of favor with Hitler—General Franz Halder, former Chief of the General Staff, General Alexander von Falkenhausen, former head of the military government of occupied Belgium, General Georg Thomas, one of the planners of Operation Barbarossa, and Colonel Bogislaw von Bonin, Chief of the Operational Branch of the Army General Staff.Also in the group was SOE Captain Peter Churchill, along with a dozen British officers. As the lorries lumbered toward Villabassa, Italy, one of the prisoners stole the wallet of an SS guard. Inside were ominous instructions from Heinrich Himmler's office: Execute all British officers and other military personnel at Villabassa. When the group arrived, Colonel von Bonin slipped into a post office and made a call to Kesselring's headquarters. Knowing that the Wehrmacht despised the Nazi SS thugs, von Bonin requested that a company of Germany's finest come to rescue them at once. Troops were promised to arrive at six o'clock the following evening.The next morning von Bonin called the captain of the SS guard aside and told him that soldiers from Kesselring's army were on their way, and that the Nazis would be wise to disappear pronto. They did.When Kesselring's troops arrived, the party moved up the mountain to the Hotel Pragser-Wildsee and von Bonin placed the soldiers in a protective ring around it. In a strange twist of loyalty, they were protecting the former prisoners against other Germans—namely, SS guards—who might wander by.Captain Churchill and some of the British officers then piled into two cars and drove toward where they assumed the Americans were advancing. Some ten miles into the journey they came upon an American officer, Captain Attwood, with a small advance party, the main force being days behind. When Attwood and his men arrived at the hotel, another strange thing happened: Attwood didn't disarm the Wehrmacht soldiers. Thinking that the Germans would be needed if the SS returned, Attwood kept them in their perimeter post until Americans from the 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions arrived days later. It was a story for the ages.To read the entire story, along with Captain Peter Churchill's work and romance with his SOE courier, Odette Sansom, see Larry's next nonfiction thriller (title pending), which will be published by Gallery/Simon & Schuster January 15, 2019.
April 28, 2018
Stealing the Enemy Blind
TODAY 1944, MI6 London received an unusual delivery—a diplomatic bag originating from Lisbon containing cash. A lot of cash. Fifty thousand dollars (about $700,000 today), to be precise.
From a German spy.The money was for Britain's greatest operative, double agent Dusko Popov (code- named TRICYCLE), and had been sent by Abwehr agent Johann Jebsen (whom the British had code-named ARTIST). Popov, who had been recruited by Jebsen to spy for Germany, had for three and a half years so convinced the Germans of his indispensability that he now demanded an outrageous sum—$150,000 (roughly $2.1 million today)—or he was quitting. It was an unnecessary gamble and an eye-watering bluff, but Popov always pushed to the precipice, never bothering to run most of his ideas and decisions past his British handlers.
Popov's demand was absurd; $150,000 was in all likelihood more than the aggregate payments made to all German spies. Yet, the loss of agent IVAN's (Popov's German code name) work was unthinkable. His most recent reports—particularly about the impending Allied invasion of France—Jebsen had said, were considered "as good as sure" in Berlin. The Abwehr agreed to the demand—$75,000 up front, $75,000 upon receipt of Popov's May report. Funds were sent to Jebsen in Lisbon and Johnny deducted $25,000—$20,000 of which he was sending to agent PAULA (Dusko's brother Ivo, British double agent DREADNOUGHT) per Dusko's request, and $5,000 which Jebsen was retaining as a commission.Since Dusko was now in England, Johnny delivered the funds to an MI6 contact in Lisbon, who forwarded the funds to London. The following day, April 30, Jebsen disappeared.Larry Loftis is the author of INTO THE LION'S MOUTH: The True Story of Dusko Popov—World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond (Berkley, 2016) and the upcoming nonfiction thriller, THE COURIER: The True Story of World War II's Most Highly Decorated Woman (Gallery/Simon & Schuster, January 15, 2019).
From a German spy.The money was for Britain's greatest operative, double agent Dusko Popov (code- named TRICYCLE), and had been sent by Abwehr agent Johann Jebsen (whom the British had code-named ARTIST). Popov, who had been recruited by Jebsen to spy for Germany, had for three and a half years so convinced the Germans of his indispensability that he now demanded an outrageous sum—$150,000 (roughly $2.1 million today)—or he was quitting. It was an unnecessary gamble and an eye-watering bluff, but Popov always pushed to the precipice, never bothering to run most of his ideas and decisions past his British handlers.Popov's demand was absurd; $150,000 was in all likelihood more than the aggregate payments made to all German spies. Yet, the loss of agent IVAN's (Popov's German code name) work was unthinkable. His most recent reports—particularly about the impending Allied invasion of France—Jebsen had said, were considered "as good as sure" in Berlin. The Abwehr agreed to the demand—$75,000 up front, $75,000 upon receipt of Popov's May report. Funds were sent to Jebsen in Lisbon and Johnny deducted $25,000—$20,000 of which he was sending to agent PAULA (Dusko's brother Ivo, British double agent DREADNOUGHT) per Dusko's request, and $5,000 which Jebsen was retaining as a commission.Since Dusko was now in England, Johnny delivered the funds to an MI6 contact in Lisbon, who forwarded the funds to London. The following day, April 30, Jebsen disappeared.Larry Loftis is the author of INTO THE LION'S MOUTH: The True Story of Dusko Popov—World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond (Berkley, 2016) and the upcoming nonfiction thriller, THE COURIER: The True Story of World War II's Most Highly Decorated Woman (Gallery/Simon & Schuster, January 15, 2019).
April 20, 2018
The Secret and Scary Delivery of SOE Agents
ON THIS DAY 1942, HMS Unbroken (P42) commander Alastair Mars delivered SOE agent and SPINDLE circuit organizer Peter Churchill (code named RAOUL) to the shores of Antibes, France. It was a dangerous route that Churchill had opened with his first visit on January 1, slipping ashore from 800 yards out in a flimsy canoe. 
Because of heavy German and Vichy French patrols, however, the submarine dropped Peter off thistime about 900 yards off shore. Paddling on a pitch-dark, moonless night, Peter made it ashore to pick up another agent who would be returning to London. It was a tricky assignment, not only because of the difficulty navigating the canoe to find Unbroken, which would have submerged for some time, but because the canoe was so flimsy that Peter feared his large companion would step through the floor of the paper-thin craft. 
They did find the sub, but only to come face to face with what every submariner fears: being rammed. No sooner than Peter and the other agent had climbed down the bridge hatch, the sub's klaxon sounded. A French destroyer was bearing directly at them, full-speed, with all lights extinguished. Commander Mars ordered the crash-dive and the Unbroken vanished beneath the water as the destroyer passed overhead. 
Peter's landings would open the way for ongoing delivery of SOE agents by a felucca (a small sailboat) being run by Jan Buchowski (a 21 year-old Polish sea captain) from Gibraltar. One of these agents, Odette Sansom, would become Peter's courier and right-hand assistant. 
But the dangers for these brave sailors and agents was just beginning. Mars and Buchowski would be killed during the war, and Churchill and Sansom would soon wish they were dead.More to come ...Larry Loftis is the international bestselling author of Into the Lion's Mouth, the true story of WWII double agent Dusko Popov, and the upcoming WWII nonfiction thriller, The Courier.
Because of heavy German and Vichy French patrols, however, the submarine dropped Peter off thistime about 900 yards off shore. Paddling on a pitch-dark, moonless night, Peter made it ashore to pick up another agent who would be returning to London. It was a tricky assignment, not only because of the difficulty navigating the canoe to find Unbroken, which would have submerged for some time, but because the canoe was so flimsy that Peter feared his large companion would step through the floor of the paper-thin craft. They did find the sub, but only to come face to face with what every submariner fears: being rammed. No sooner than Peter and the other agent had climbed down the bridge hatch, the sub's klaxon sounded. A French destroyer was bearing directly at them, full-speed, with all lights extinguished. Commander Mars ordered the crash-dive and the Unbroken vanished beneath the water as the destroyer passed overhead. Peter's landings would open the way for ongoing delivery of SOE agents by a felucca (a small sailboat) being run by Jan Buchowski (a 21 year-old Polish sea captain) from Gibraltar. One of these agents, Odette Sansom, would become Peter's courier and right-hand assistant. But the dangers for these brave sailors and agents was just beginning. Mars and Buchowski would be killed during the war, and Churchill and Sansom would soon wish they were dead.More to come ...Larry Loftis is the international bestselling author of Into the Lion's Mouth, the true story of WWII double agent Dusko Popov, and the upcoming WWII nonfiction thriller, The Courier.
April 3, 2018
WWII's third most elusive war criminal?
ON THIS DAY, April 4, 1949, one of Germany's most elusive war criminals was finally captured. Sturmbannführer Fritz Sühren, Commandant of the notorious Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, was arrested by Major Rees, Public Safety Officer of the 115th Detachment, Military Government of Germany, in Grafenan, Germany. 
But that meant nothing, at least from his prior record of incarceration. At the end of the war, on May 1, 1945, Sühren had driven his convertible Mercedes to American lines and surrendered. In the car with him was his "insurance," SOE agent Odette Sansom, courier to the SPINDLE circuit. Because the commandant believed that Odette was married to the nephew of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, he had kept her alive for months, half-starving her in a pitch black bunker (per Gestapo orders). By handing her over, he thought that he'd get credit to offset his Ravensbrück atrocities. No harm, no foul, right? Wrong. Sühren was incarcerated at the Neuengamme Detention Center and quickly learned that the crimes he authorized and supervised—starvation, beatings, medical experiments, and murder—would soon be on his mantle and the hangman's noose would not be far behind. So he did the only logical thing. He escaped. Slipping out with another German inmate, Hans Pflaum, Sühren immediately went to ground. In mid-November 1946 he was seen in Hamburg but managed to disappear before authorities were alerted. Settling in the small village of Eppenschlag with the alias of "Herbert Pakusch," he worked in a brewery and assumed a relatively normal life. In October 1948, however, a former Ravensbrück secretary recognized him and notified the police. Once again, though, the slippery German went into hiding before he could be arrested. Not until April 4, 1949 was he captured in Grafenan. Would he escape again? Stay tuned.
But that meant nothing, at least from his prior record of incarceration. At the end of the war, on May 1, 1945, Sühren had driven his convertible Mercedes to American lines and surrendered. In the car with him was his "insurance," SOE agent Odette Sansom, courier to the SPINDLE circuit. Because the commandant believed that Odette was married to the nephew of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, he had kept her alive for months, half-starving her in a pitch black bunker (per Gestapo orders). By handing her over, he thought that he'd get credit to offset his Ravensbrück atrocities. No harm, no foul, right? Wrong. Sühren was incarcerated at the Neuengamme Detention Center and quickly learned that the crimes he authorized and supervised—starvation, beatings, medical experiments, and murder—would soon be on his mantle and the hangman's noose would not be far behind. So he did the only logical thing. He escaped. Slipping out with another German inmate, Hans Pflaum, Sühren immediately went to ground. In mid-November 1946 he was seen in Hamburg but managed to disappear before authorities were alerted. Settling in the small village of Eppenschlag with the alias of "Herbert Pakusch," he worked in a brewery and assumed a relatively normal life. In October 1948, however, a former Ravensbrück secretary recognized him and notified the police. Once again, though, the slippery German went into hiding before he could be arrested. Not until April 4, 1949 was he captured in Grafenan. Would he escape again? Stay tuned.
March 15, 2018
MI5 and the Bondish Agent
Guy Liddell, head of MI5's B Section (counter-espionage overseeing double agents), was the only British intelligence officer allowed to keep an official war diary. On this day, March 15, 1941, he made a journal entry which hinted at frustration over a new playboy now in his stable."Skoot [the initial code name for double agent Dusko Popov] left for Lisbon this morning taking with him notes on his questionnaire and the Ministry of Supply circular for which he was asked and certain particulars of mine fields put forward by N.I.D. [naval intelligence, where one Ian Fleming worked]. All these notes were written in secret ink on innocuous correspondence from Friedl (his girl friend) ...."
Liddell, ever watchful, had noticed that Popov (now working for MI5 and MI6) wasted no time wooing (and seducing) his new MI5 sub-agent, the lovely Friedl Gaertner, codenamed GELATINE. After their introduction on February 28, the espionage co-workers wined and dined at London's finest in a hurried, romantic frenzy. MI5 records show that Popov and Gaertner enjoyed each other's company the night they met, and again on March 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10. All in faithful obligation to His Majesty's Secret Service, mind you. What Liddell would soon learn was that Friedl was only the first entry in Popov's notoriously active black book. Love letters from various women—some in England, some abroad—would be culled by British censors and find their way to Liddell's desk. Guy made nothing of Popov's romantic affairs, knowing full well that in Lisbon and Madrid the Germans would likely send agent provocateurs his way. They did, and Popov enjoyed their company while ever maintaining His Majesty's secrets.SHARE this post on Twitter or Facebook with the links below.
February 28, 2018
Operation Grand Duke
Seventy-five years ago this month, German military intelligence (Abwehr) began Operation Grand Duke in Southern France. French Resistance and British SOE circuits, the Germans noticed, were popping up in Marseille, Cannes, Lyon, and other cities like a malignant rash. Left unchecked, these spies and saboteurs would wreak havoc on German troops, trains, and intelligence operations. Abwehr Colonel Oscar Reile, who was stationed in Paris, needed a ruthless bloodhound to find and crush these underground enemy groups. 
In March 1943 he called into his office at the Lutetia Hotel the perfect man for the job: Sergeant Hugo Bleicher. A secret policeman within the Geheime Feldpolizei, Bleicher had made a name for himself eighteen months earlier by discovering and dismantling INTERALLIE, the largest enemy spy network operating in France. In less than a year, Bleicher had arrested over sixty French, Polish, and British spies, and became somewhat of a celebrity in Abwehr, S.D., and Gestapo circles. 
Reile requested and received permission to bring Bleicher under the Abwehr umbrella, with Hugo reporting directly to him. The colonel explained Operation Grand Duke and told Bleicher he had full autonomy throughout France, and would receive appropriate support and manpower whenever needed. "Show us what you can do," he told Hugo.The first target, Reile said, was a man named Marsac, a French Resistance leader operating out of Marseille. With the tenacity of a bulldog and the cunning of Sherlock Holmes, Bleicher went to work. He did not disappoint. Stay tuned for details.
In March 1943 he called into his office at the Lutetia Hotel the perfect man for the job: Sergeant Hugo Bleicher. A secret policeman within the Geheime Feldpolizei, Bleicher had made a name for himself eighteen months earlier by discovering and dismantling INTERALLIE, the largest enemy spy network operating in France. In less than a year, Bleicher had arrested over sixty French, Polish, and British spies, and became somewhat of a celebrity in Abwehr, S.D., and Gestapo circles. Reile requested and received permission to bring Bleicher under the Abwehr umbrella, with Hugo reporting directly to him. The colonel explained Operation Grand Duke and told Bleicher he had full autonomy throughout France, and would receive appropriate support and manpower whenever needed. "Show us what you can do," he told Hugo.The first target, Reile said, was a man named Marsac, a French Resistance leader operating out of Marseille. With the tenacity of a bulldog and the cunning of Sherlock Holmes, Bleicher went to work. He did not disappoint. Stay tuned for details.
February 13, 2018
New Book Deal, Hollywood, Smithsonian, and More
If you have not signed up for my monthly Spies Like Us newsletter, please do so from my website (LarryLoftis.com) on the top right corner. This month's newsletter notes that Into the Lion's Mouth became an international bestseller, announces my new book deal, provides my 2018 events, and notes that Hollywood and the Smithsonian are upcoming news. 
Here's a larger view of the new book deal with Gallery/Simon & Schuster. The new title, just decided yesterday, is: COVER OF DARKNESS: A World War II Spy Story of Courage, Love, and Triumph of the Human Spirit.
Thriller blogger/review site The Real Book Spy provided a great synopsis. Click on the image to go to the article. 
Here's a larger view of the new book deal with Gallery/Simon & Schuster. The new title, just decided yesterday, is: COVER OF DARKNESS: A World War II Spy Story of Courage, Love, and Triumph of the Human Spirit.Thriller blogger/review site The Real Book Spy provided a great synopsis. Click on the image to go to the article.
May 25, 2017
DOUBLE DUTY: Duping the Enemy with Double Doubles
SEVENTY-THREE YEARS AGO TODAY, 26 May 1944, British Intelligence pulled off one of World War II's most amazing stunts. Using two doubles—double agent Dusko Popov and body double Lieutenant M. E. Clifton James—the British reinforced what Popov had been telling his German supervisor in Lisbon, namely that the Allied invasion of France would come no earlier than July. It began one morning in May when Clifton James—an office clerk with the Royal Army Pay Corps in Leicester—answered his phone. "Lieutenant James speaking." "Oh, James, this is Colonel David Niven speaking from the Army Kinematograph section." James paused. Surely this was a joke. David Niven, the actor? Granted, word had spread that Niven had left Hollywood to serve his country, but why would he be calling a lowly lieutenant in the Pay Corps? "We've heard a lot about the shows you've been putting on for the troops," Niven said. "Would you be interested in making some Army films?" James thought a moment and then recalled entertaining soldiers a few months earlier at London's Comedy Theatre. Somehow Niven must have heard. "Yes, sir, I most certainly should." Niven stated that a Colonel Lester would be in Leicester in two days and asked if James could meet him for lunch at the Grand Hotel. James agreed. "And be sure to bring along some photos," Niven added. 
Lester was charming, James recalled, but said nothing about filming. After small talk about war and theater, the colonel took the photos and left. Days later, James received a letter from Niven stating that James had been given the post and should report at once to Lester's office in London. At the second meeting, Lester was blunt. "James, I'm afraid I've got rather a shock for you," he said. "You are not going to make any films." Lester lit a cigarette and then asked, "Are you patriotic?" Silly question. Of course he was patriotic, James replied. The colonel handed him a paper and and asked James to read it carefully and sign it. It was the Official Secrets Act. James read the admonition about secrecy—and the penalties for failing to keep it—and signed. Lester tucked the paper away and came clean. His name was not Lester, Colonel T. A. "Tar" Robertson said, and their meeting had nothing to do with films. James was needed for an urgent assignment, he explained, acting as a body double for Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. What Robertson didn't tell James was that he ran MI5's B1A section, which controlled Britain's double agents. He also didn't inform James that one of Tar's operatives—double agent Dusko Popov—would be working the other side, surreptitiously leading a German agent to stumble across a "chance" sighting of Monty in Gibraltar.
The following day, MI5 and MI6 assumed, the German would wire Berlin of the sighting. The backhanded news would reinforce Popov's declaration to the Abwehr's Lisbon chief, Major Ludovico von Karsthoff, that an invasion would not be coming any time soon. After all, Monty would surely be leading the attack and wouldn't be hobnobbing in Gibraltar just days prior. Robertson told James that he'd be flown to Gibraltar to meet the Governor in about ten days, and that—in uniform and with carefully scripted meetings and dialogue—he would beField Marshal Bernard Montgomery. In the meantime, he should memorize everything about Monty—walk, gestures, facial expressions, and habits. The Germans had an informant doing repairs on the Government House, Robinson explained, and the plan was for MI6's Major Frank Foley to arrange for James to be seen by him. The success of D-Day, Robertson said without disclosing a potential date, would be greatly assisted if James could put on a convincing performance. James memorized Monty's persona and the scripted lines and was off to Gibraltar with Foley. On the 26th, it was showtime. The official cars pulled in to the Government House amid cheering British troops. "Good old Monty," they shouted. James exited the car, saluted, and saw General Sir Ralph Eastwood, Governor of Gibraltar, waiting for him. "Hullo, Monty, it's good to see you again." "How are you, Rusty? You're looking very fit." They continued the scripted talk until they reached the governor's office. Sir Ralph closed the door and turned James around, admiring him. "I wouldn't have believed it possible," he said. "You're simply splendid. I can't get over it. YouareMonty. I've known him for years, but you're so much like him that for a few moments I thought he had changed the plan and decided to come here himself." An aide escorted James to his suite and he relaxed for half an hour, taking in a view of the grounds. Not long thereafter, Foley stopped by to escort him back to the governor's office. "Twelve minutes from now," Sir Ralph said, "you and I will take a walk in the gardens at the back of the house." The governor explained that they would pass some scaffolding where the enemy informant was working. In addition, he said, two Spanish financiers would enter the gardens at roughly the same time—arriving to see the governor and his wife—and he would introduce them to James. They were suspected informants as well. At the designated time, James and the governor entered the courtyard, passed the scaffolding, and spotted the Spaniards as they entered on the opposite side. "Don't be nervous, James," Sir Ralph whispered. "It's a tricky moment—just keep your head." James nodded and began to banter about the War Cabinet and Plan 303. The Spaniards approached and Sir Ralph introduced them to "Monty," saying that he and Mrs. Eastwood would be with them shortly. Above the men, on the second floor exterior corridor—unknown to any of the group below—Dusko Popov was showing the courtyard to an Abwehr agent. Major Foley, quietly orchestrating the symphony, apparently provided them entrance. Popov feigned shock, announcing to his German guest their incredible good fortune. Here, in the flesh, was none other than Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery! Popov and Eastwood then went about their business and James stayed out of sight until he could be escorted back to the airport. The bait was set and MI5 and MI6 were ecstatic. Within twenty-four hours, they were sure, Berlin would believe that Monty was in Gibraltar. The misinformation, coupled with the reports of Abwehr agents IVAN (Popov), ARABEL (Juan Pujol), and ARMAND (Roman Czerniawski) (British double agents TRICYCLE, GARBO, and BRUTUS, respectively), would surely convince the Germans that the Allied invasion was at least a month away. The British were correct, and the Germans were caught off-guard on D-Day. The double doubles, it turned out, was a double-cross for the ages. Larry Loftis is the author of the International Bestseller,INTO THE LION'S MOUTH: The True Story of Dusko Popov—World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond(Berkley, June 14, 2016).
Lester was charming, James recalled, but said nothing about filming. After small talk about war and theater, the colonel took the photos and left. Days later, James received a letter from Niven stating that James had been given the post and should report at once to Lester's office in London. At the second meeting, Lester was blunt. "James, I'm afraid I've got rather a shock for you," he said. "You are not going to make any films." Lester lit a cigarette and then asked, "Are you patriotic?" Silly question. Of course he was patriotic, James replied. The colonel handed him a paper and and asked James to read it carefully and sign it. It was the Official Secrets Act. James read the admonition about secrecy—and the penalties for failing to keep it—and signed. Lester tucked the paper away and came clean. His name was not Lester, Colonel T. A. "Tar" Robertson said, and their meeting had nothing to do with films. James was needed for an urgent assignment, he explained, acting as a body double for Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. What Robertson didn't tell James was that he ran MI5's B1A section, which controlled Britain's double agents. He also didn't inform James that one of Tar's operatives—double agent Dusko Popov—would be working the other side, surreptitiously leading a German agent to stumble across a "chance" sighting of Monty in Gibraltar. The following day, MI5 and MI6 assumed, the German would wire Berlin of the sighting. The backhanded news would reinforce Popov's declaration to the Abwehr's Lisbon chief, Major Ludovico von Karsthoff, that an invasion would not be coming any time soon. After all, Monty would surely be leading the attack and wouldn't be hobnobbing in Gibraltar just days prior. Robertson told James that he'd be flown to Gibraltar to meet the Governor in about ten days, and that—in uniform and with carefully scripted meetings and dialogue—he would beField Marshal Bernard Montgomery. In the meantime, he should memorize everything about Monty—walk, gestures, facial expressions, and habits. The Germans had an informant doing repairs on the Government House, Robinson explained, and the plan was for MI6's Major Frank Foley to arrange for James to be seen by him. The success of D-Day, Robertson said without disclosing a potential date, would be greatly assisted if James could put on a convincing performance. James memorized Monty's persona and the scripted lines and was off to Gibraltar with Foley. On the 26th, it was showtime. The official cars pulled in to the Government House amid cheering British troops. "Good old Monty," they shouted. James exited the car, saluted, and saw General Sir Ralph Eastwood, Governor of Gibraltar, waiting for him. "Hullo, Monty, it's good to see you again." "How are you, Rusty? You're looking very fit." They continued the scripted talk until they reached the governor's office. Sir Ralph closed the door and turned James around, admiring him. "I wouldn't have believed it possible," he said. "You're simply splendid. I can't get over it. YouareMonty. I've known him for years, but you're so much like him that for a few moments I thought he had changed the plan and decided to come here himself." An aide escorted James to his suite and he relaxed for half an hour, taking in a view of the grounds. Not long thereafter, Foley stopped by to escort him back to the governor's office. "Twelve minutes from now," Sir Ralph said, "you and I will take a walk in the gardens at the back of the house." The governor explained that they would pass some scaffolding where the enemy informant was working. In addition, he said, two Spanish financiers would enter the gardens at roughly the same time—arriving to see the governor and his wife—and he would introduce them to James. They were suspected informants as well. At the designated time, James and the governor entered the courtyard, passed the scaffolding, and spotted the Spaniards as they entered on the opposite side. "Don't be nervous, James," Sir Ralph whispered. "It's a tricky moment—just keep your head." James nodded and began to banter about the War Cabinet and Plan 303. The Spaniards approached and Sir Ralph introduced them to "Monty," saying that he and Mrs. Eastwood would be with them shortly. Above the men, on the second floor exterior corridor—unknown to any of the group below—Dusko Popov was showing the courtyard to an Abwehr agent. Major Foley, quietly orchestrating the symphony, apparently provided them entrance. Popov feigned shock, announcing to his German guest their incredible good fortune. Here, in the flesh, was none other than Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery! Popov and Eastwood then went about their business and James stayed out of sight until he could be escorted back to the airport. The bait was set and MI5 and MI6 were ecstatic. Within twenty-four hours, they were sure, Berlin would believe that Monty was in Gibraltar. The misinformation, coupled with the reports of Abwehr agents IVAN (Popov), ARABEL (Juan Pujol), and ARMAND (Roman Czerniawski) (British double agents TRICYCLE, GARBO, and BRUTUS, respectively), would surely convince the Germans that the Allied invasion was at least a month away. The British were correct, and the Germans were caught off-guard on D-Day. The double doubles, it turned out, was a double-cross for the ages. Larry Loftis is the author of the International Bestseller,INTO THE LION'S MOUTH: The True Story of Dusko Popov—World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond(Berkley, June 14, 2016).
