Chapter 260 The French Doomsday (30)

Just as Churchill, with a sigh, was writing a letter to Roosevelt seeking assistance, in the Berlin Palace, Reinhard walked into Wilhelm's office.

"Your Highness, the person you wanted to see has arrived."

Following him was a man with a somewhat comical appearance, a short, bald-headed man.

Wilhelm warmly welcomed him, extending his hand. "Mr. García, I've been waiting for you."

García nervously reached out his hand, feeling somewhat bewildered. "Your Highness, I'm just an ordinary civilian. I don't know why Your Highness..."

He was a common Spanish man, and earlier in the day, a group of strangers had barged into his home, forcibly taken him, loaded him onto a car, then onto a plane, bringing him here.

Wilhelm smiled slightly. "Mr. García, I have a job opportunity that I believe you'll find very interesting. The compensation is generous, with a monthly salary exceeding your current annual income."

Although García remained confused, he couldn't resist the lure of money. Curiously, he asked, "May I inquire about the nature of the job?"

Wilhelm picked up a newspaper from his desk and handed it to García. "Mr. García, this is today's Deutsche Morgenpost. Can you deduce any military intelligence from this newspaper?"

"Ah?!" García was even more puzzled now. "What military intelligence?" He wasn't a spy, how could he discern military information?

Wilhelm's expression suddenly became serious. "Mr. García, I don't have time for idle chatter. You have five minutes. If you can't figure something out, you might spend the rest of your life in prison. The countdown starts now!"

"!!" García stood there with his mouth open for a long while. Suddenly regaining his composure, he hastily opened the newspaper, wondering why he had become entangled in such a bizarre situation. He had been living a peaceful life; how did he end up facing the threat of imprisonment?

Nervously flipping through the entire newspaper several times, he finally tremblingly spoke, "General Guderian will launch an attack on Givet tonight. A large batch of military supplies is being transported along the 321st railway line. Tonight, a group of military high-ranking officials will gather at the Germania Hotel." Finishing his words, he anxiously looked at Wilhelm, sweating profusely.

Wilhelm noticed a hint of surprise on Reinhard's face and applauded. "Very well done. It seems Mr. García is qualified for the job."

García heaved a sigh of relief, almost collapsing to the ground. It appeared that he wouldn't be going to jail. He cautiously inquired, "Your Highness, can I go back now?" This day had been utterly bewildering.

However, Wilhelm shook his head. "I mentioned a job, didn't I? You've passed the interview. Now, start working. Reinhard, the Intelligence Department is adding a new division called the 'Strategic Deception and Camouflage Bureau', and Mr. García here will be in charge."

In simpler terms, this bureau was the Strategic Deception Bureau.

And this Mr. García's full name was Juan Pujol García, a legendary spy of World War II.

How legendary?

During World War II, he served as a double agent, working for both the British and the Germans: under the codename "Garbo" for the British and "Alaric" for the Germans. Throughout the war, García was one of the very few individuals decorated by both warring nations, possibly the only one. He received the Order of the British Empire from the British side and the Iron Cross from the Germans.

Born on February 14, 1912, in Catalonia, Spain, the same Catalonia that was currently always causing trouble, using fireworks as makeshift guns. His father owned a dye factory, and his mother was an overly devout Catholic. García was a troublemaker, not attentive in school, but with a well-off family, he could afford to be adventurous.

At the age of 16, García, after quarreling with his schoolteacher, quit school and started an apprenticeship in a hardware store. Yet, he wasn't one to lead an ordinary life; he tried his hand at entrepreneurship, occasionally wrote novels, adding some color to his life.

Perhaps finding life not exciting enough, when World War II broke out, García decided to become a spy.

So, he approached British government officials in Spain three times, explaining his intentions. However, García had no spy skills whatsoever, making the skeptical Brits unable to determine if the fervent Spaniard before them was mad or foolish. In the end, the British gave him a straightforward response: get lost.

This made García angry. Thinking that they looked down on him, he decided to "defect" to the Germans. So, he went to the German embassy, spun a tale, and fooled the Germans.

Clearly, the Germans were more approachable than the British. Delighted with the information, they trained García and provided him with invisible ink, a codebook, and initial operating funds, tasking him with recruiting spies and establishing an intelligence network in Britain.

García set off, but instead of going to London, he went to Lisbon, Portugal. There, he collected information from publicly available publications, synthesized and analyzed it to produce intelligence. Although this intelligence was fabricated, it had high credibility. The materials he used included a British train schedule, a British tourist guide, reference books in public libraries, newspapers, magazines, and newsreels he saw at the cinema.

When García, using the train schedule, noticed increased activity on a certain railway line, he speculated that military supplies might be transported on that route. By combining maps and tourist guides, he deduced the destination of these supplies. Newsreels reported areas where battles were taking place, and their content corroborated his deductions. Thus, a "critical intelligence" report was compiled.

During this period, García, relying on his imagination, constructed a spy network consisting of 28 fictional spies. These individuals had diverse identities and backgrounds, including a Welsh Aryan supremacist, a frequently intoxicated Royal Air Force officer, a linguist, and a disgruntled discharged soldier. The only thing they had in common was that they were all fabricated and played by García himself. To confuse the Germans, García occasionally fabricated information that his imaginary agents couldn't provide, such as describing the death of a Liverpool intelligence officer due to illness. To authenticate this information, he placed an obituary in the local newspaper. The Germans, believing the story, sent him a condolence payment to pass on to the deceased officer's widow.

At this time, the British realized that someone was consistently providing intelligence to the Germans. They had intercepted several reports from García earlier, captured through radio interception methods by the British intelligence at Bletchley Park. Due to the high authenticity of these reports, British counterintelligence MI5 took notice of García. A large-scale operation was initiated to capture García and his spy network. However, since he wasn't in Britain but rather in Portugal, MI5 couldn't locate him, despite their exhaustive efforts.

During their dilemma, García proactively contacted the U.S. diplomat Demorest stationed in Portugal. Demorest believed García had innate spy talent, and his abilities would be beneficial for the intelligence work of the Allies. Consequently, he recommended García to the British.

When the two sides met, the British were astonished to find out that this individual providing intelligence to the Germans was the same madman they had rejected three times before.

Moreover, the British were surprised to discover that when García fabricated a British escort fleet, the Germans dispatched numerous submarines and aircraft to search and attack this non-existent fleet. This revelation made the British truly appreciate García's value, and he was recruited into MI5, becoming a double agent.

Due to his excellent acting skills, the British used the codename "Garbo" adopting the name of the American actor Greta Garbo for him.

In late 1942, during the Allied North African landings, García provided intelligence stating that the Allies were deploying a fleet, including transport ships and warships, with a camouflage color characteristic of the Mediterranean. Although the intelligence was valuable, by the time it reached the German intelligence, the landing had already commenced. García was told, "We regret that the intelligence arrived too late, but your report is excellent!" The Germans expressed special appreciation for him.

In 1943, German intelligence decided to establish direct radio contact with García between Madrid and England.

In January 1944, the Germans informed García that the Allies were preparing a large-scale landing operation on the European continent, and they expected him to closely monitor relevant developments. The German judgment was accurate, as the United States and Britain were indeed preparing for the Normandy landings. However, what the Germans didn't know was that this landing operation also included a significant intelligence deception, with García being a crucial part of it. From January 1944 until the days and nights of the Normandy landings, over 500 pieces of intelligence were forwarded directly from García to Berlin through Madrid at almost four times a day.

In this carefully orchestrated deception, García was tasked with "persuading" the Germans to believe that the landing site was elsewhere. One of the locations he pointed to was Calais. García didn't disappoint, and his intelligence even led Hitler to believe that the Allies were most likely to land in Calais. The Allied plan went further; to delay the German counterattack, they hoped García would convince the Germans that even if the Allies landed in Normandy, it would be a feint.

On June 5, the day before the landing operation, García informed the Germans that he had urgent intelligence to be sent at 3 a.m. on June 6. The content was that all signs indicated the Allied landing forces were about to set off for Normandy. Unfortunately, the German intelligence officers forgot to receive this report, and it was only received after the commencement of the landing operation. This incident, however, unintentionally increased García's credibility. García also pretended to be angry when venting his frustration to the Germans: "I won't accept any apologies or excuses. If it weren't for my ideals, I would have refused this job long ago!" In reality, even if the Germans had received this intelligence on time, it would have been too late.

On June 9, the fourth day after the start of the Normandy landings, García sent a crucial piece of intelligence. The report, very lengthy, detailed the contents of his meetings with his imaginary agents and requested the intelligence to be delivered directly to the highest German commander. This intelligence pointed out that the Allied Normandy landing was diversionary, intended to ensure the success of the impending Calais landing. Perhaps based on previous assessments or perhaps due to excessive trust in García, Hitler accepted this suggestion. As a result, during a crucial period of the Normandy campaign, German forces were heavily deployed in Calais. Some historians argue that if German forces could have been redirected to assist at that time, the Allies, struggling in Normandy, would have suffered heavy casualties or even faced defeat, potentially prolonging World War II.

Ironically, during the entire Normandy landing operation, García's reputation was further strengthened among the Germans. On July 29, 1944, he was very unexpectedly informed that, due to his outstanding contributions, the Germans awarded him the Iron Cross, considering him an extraordinarily rare individual deserving of this honor. García modestly and sincerely replied that his work didn't truly deserve such a title. Almost simultaneously, the British secretly awarded him the Order of the British Empire.

After the Normandy campaign, as Germany retreated, García found it difficult to continue sending false information without raising suspicion. Under the arrangement of his superior Mills, García was "discovered and arrested" by the British. García also publicly issued a statement, admitting to being a German spy and confessing to his unlawful activities. After García's arrest, the Germans felt a tremendous loss and deliberately sent $340,000 to continue supporting the so-called intelligence network he had established.

After the war, García first went to the United States, then traveled to Latin American countries such as Cuba and Mexico, finally settling in Venezuela, where he passed away in 1988.