The Spies Who Never Were: The True Story of the Nazi Spies Who Were Actually Allied Double Agents

by Hervie Haufler

After the fall of France in the mid-1940s, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler faced a British Empire that refused to negotiate for peace. Full-scale war loomed and Hitler ordered the Abwehr, Germany’s defense and intelligence organization, to carry out Operation Lena, a program to place information-gathering spies within Britain. Quickly, a network of secret agents spread within the United Kingdom and across the British Empire. A master of disguises, a professional safecracker, a scrubwoman, a diplomat’s daughter—they all reported news of the Allied defenses and strategies back to their German spymasters. One Yugoslav playboy codenamed “Tricycle” infiltrated the highest echelon of British society and is said to have been Ian Fleming’s model for James Bond.

The true irony, though, is that every last one of these German spies had been captured and “turned” by the British. As double agents, they sent a canny mix of truth and misinformation back to Hitler, all carefully controlled by the Allies. As one British report put it: “By means of the double agent system, we actually ran and controlled the German espionage system in this country.” In The Spies Who Never Were, World War II veteran cryptographer Hervie Haufler brings you the true story of these double agents and their deceptions. This richly woven, fascinating account lays out both the worldwide machinations and the personal clashes that went into “the greatest deception in the history of warfare.”

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Espionage, War, World War II, Historical, Military Fiction

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 3, 2006

Reviews

[JD · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more of an overview book into the British Double Cross spy network during World War 2 where they turned the tables in the intelligence war against Germany. The most prominent double agents are covered in this book, which is a bit short for a proper covering of this very important part of World War 2 history. This would be a great starting point for someone wanting to learn more about Double Cross, but nothing new if you are familiar with it.

[Suzie Quint · Rating 4 out of 5]

WWII wasn't all about the military. One of the big advantages the allies had was in the area of espionage. Amazing as it may seem, every single spy that the Germans believed were working for them in England was actually a double agent, feeding them the information the British wanted them to have. This book tells their stories: Garbo, Tricycle, Mutt & Jeff, and others. Without them, it's more than likely that the Nazis would have won war. For certain, D-day would have been a disaster because the troops waiting at Calais would have reinforced Normandy if Garbo hadn't convinced them that the main attack was yet to come. If you like espionage stories or WWII history, this is the real deal.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the second of two books written by my great-uncle that I read this summer, and although interesting, I much preferred the first. In many ways, that is because a great deal of this book draws on information already discussed in Codebreakers' Victory...I think if I had read it alone (or first), I would have enjoyed it more. Compared to the overall cryptography scene of World War II, this book focused on the double agents, and it truly is amazing to read about how they were used to confuse and blindside the enemy. Just thinking about the amount of brainpower required to pull it off is incredible! The Spies Who Never Were added more detail about individual spies' lives, but it got a little tricky to follow as some were introduced at one point, then described more later...overall the whole book was a bit harder to keep track of mentally while reading.

[Yibbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book about spies, double-crosses, and wildly successful deception, it was rather dry. There are a lot of details about travel and the processes used to transmit information. It also details the events that dictated particular lies and their timing. That means that much of the book is taken up with the general history of WW2. It’s informative, and I learned some interesting specifics about these men and women.
Parts were more interesting than others. The day to day details of double agents trying to keep multiple stories straight was fascinating, but overall the style was detached and dry.
It is delicately written but does reference the affairs of several of the agents.

[Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susie's review is a perfect synopsis of this amazing story. It's unbelievable, but true, that EVERY so-called German spy in England was really a double agent working for the Allies. The deception regarding The Normandy invasion was even more unbelievable, as the discovery of any one of the many tricks or agents would have meant certain failure. On the north coast of England, opposite Pas de Calais, the allies built false airfields with fake troop barracks, plywood airplanes, and other imitation military installations, all to convince Hitler that Calais would be the landing point. Because Hitler believed in his spies, it worked and the D-Day invasion succeeded. No longer would this type of deception be possible. Satellite technology and GPS make it impossible. This book covers a very important aspect of World War II history as, were it not for these double agents, we would probably be speaking German today.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. Easy to read. Well documented and the chapters weren't too long.

[Thinking one · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good accounting of WWII .

Very well researched. Shows the value of a well run intelligence operation. Reveals information that was kept hidden for many years.

[Joelle Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a certain lack of polishing in this book; I don't know how else to describe it. I felt like I was reading one of my brothers' research papers.

[Cecilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok book filled with stories about over 100 double agents who worked primarily for the British government during the 2nd World War. Interesting because I didn't know that, according to this author, all this particular group of spies who the Germans thought were working for them during the war were actually working for the British to give massive amounts of misinformation. There were also instances where scenes were staged to look like buildings or equipment had been bombed or attacked when in reality, it was all Hollywood type props and staging.

This book also reminded me that much of what we see and hear today, particularly with social media and instant news coverage, is questionable as far as truth, authenticity, and reality are concerned. Also with regard to war or active battle areas of the world, much goes on that we NEVER know or hear about.

Probably much in this book was only allowed to be made public after much vetting and complex decision-making by British authorities.

[Fastidiously Facetious · Rating 3 out of 5]

This overview of allied double agents in the WWII European theater was interesting, and the author clearly tried to tell many stories succinctly. The problem with trying to cover so much ground is that it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the different names and dates and activities. It’s hard to take them all as a single story. Kudos to the author, though, for all the research that went into this, and for the restraint the author must have used to not get bogged down in all the details. Despite that, it wasn’t as fast a read as I was hoping it would be. With such a sensational title and topic, I thought it would move quicker, but it was an effort to get through it.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Important Book about WWII

I enjoyed reading this book, although the contents were slow going. This is a factual book on the 2nd WW and the group of people who were double agents and helped win that war. Many of the things they accomplished were nothing short of amazing. It’s not a book I would normally read as there wasn’t any action to keep it moving along. However if you can read it a little at a time, I’m sure you will find these people were hero’s who helped shorten a terrible war.

[Maryann Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

5 Stars, indeed! As an avid reader of WWII history, this is now one of favorites. I just finished "Ghost Army," and I suggest that you read that one, also. This book tells of the people from other countries that pretended to be spies for Germany and turned double agents giving Germany false information and with the ghost army's help (they're not mentioned by that name in this book) made up 2 fake armies, deceiving the Germans into thinking those armies were there. Great book!

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

The format didn't work for me. The first third of the book was a summary of each of the spies individually, and then the rest of the book detailed the roles each played in the war and their deception. Problem was, I had no idea who anybody was at that point, so the book read as a summary of events. I couldn't get invested.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and entertaining read. Covered the better known “double-dealers” and more than a few of the lesser known (who often contributed more). I’ll re-read it when in the mood for another well done WWII history.👌 Excellent narration. Thank God for heroes!

And if you served YOU ARE ONE! Thank you.

[Tilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really informative but I found I much preferred the first half (information about the spies themselves and their roles). I found it less engaging in the second half. 3 stars just because I didn’t find myself fully engaging towards the end, but it was still an interesting, informative and enjoyable listen!

[Tim Lightfoot · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating story of the British double-agent network that completely hoodwinked the Nazis. A great factual telling that could have been helped by a little more concise storytelling. The sheer number of names- and code names- is a lot to keep straight, but the author does a good job. Overall I highly recommend for anyone interested in WWII.

[Kevin Reeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating story about the allied spies

Interesting tales and learning the escapades of those involved in the ultimate double cross. Gets muddled trying to read through at times but definitely informative.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book

A very interesting book that introduces readers to the British double agents of World War II and, in explaining their exploits, illustrates the important role that intelligence and counterintelligence played during that war.

[Ian Schulze · Rating 4 out of 5]

It starts a bit slowly for my taste but it was necessary to lay out each of the principal characters. The action picks up, and rightly so, with the deceptions around D-day. Overall I'd recommend it. It's obviously well researched.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read about Britain's brilliant ownership of Nazi spies in the UK during WWII. Britain succeeded in identifying and turning the entire collection of Nazi agents within its borders, allowing for astonishing manipulation of the German military.

[François Wevers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly excellent, to take from Winston Churchill famous quote: « Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few » this is exactly what that book is about.

[Brian Pangburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

An angle of WW2 that was different and new for me. Highly recommended even for those folks like me who have read dozens of WW2 books.

[David Lotz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting true story to shine light on overlooked details of WW2

[Chahula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very broad coverage of WWII's double agents. Interesting, but lacking the suspense of other spy accounts. This particular edition is chock full of spelling and punctuation errors.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at the role these double agents played in the winning of World War II. We owe them all a great debt of gratitude.

[Silvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️

[Austin Listi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history and the story is really fascinating! However, this could have been written so much better! It was a tough read.

[Arnold Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, and a nice follow on from a lot of films that cover similar stories. I would have loved if it had gone into slightly more research depth. Qualitative research would have added a lot.

But it is well written, easy to read, and full of interesting nuggets. I enjoyed it.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 1930s, Hitler never expected to fight Britain in WWII. Ancestors of the royal family had been German royalty (as well as most European countries); their capitalist country was opposed to the Communists of the Soviet Union, and many of the British aristocracy were pro-German. By 1940, this had changed when Hitler decided he needed to neutralize a threat from the West before concentrating on the defeat of Russia.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read! The author does an excellent job of entertaining the reader with tales of heroism, even from some questionable characters, while also paying tribute to the sacrifices that were made. Excellent book.