6 Insane Stories of a Magician Who Helped Win WWII | Part 6

#1.

 

Operation Bertram

"Sure," you're probably saying by this point, "even if all of this is true, any magician worth his weight in galleons can paint up some fake bomb damage or conceal a harbor or dazzle-blind some bombers." How about building a fake army, complete with tanks, ammunition and all the other trappings of a war zone? Not so smug anymore, are we?

By October 1942, the Axis forces were stalled and losing steam. The dream of conquering Egypt was slipping away as supplies dwindled and the British gained ground. Everyone knew a showdown was coming and the Allies would be the aggressors. What no one knew was when or where the Allies would make their move. That was where Jasper Maskelyne and the A-Force came in.

The job sounded deceptively simple. All they had to do was trick the Afrika Korps into thinking their attack was coming from the south, when it was actually coming from the north. So in the north, the Magic Gang disguised 1,000 tanks by making them look like trucks, and in the south, the tricky tricksters concocted an army of inflatable dummy tanks 2,000 strong. So far, so good, right?



Now, in case you're thinking 2,000 rubber tanks sounds a bit like Jasp was phoning it in, we're not done. Not by a long shot. Because battle prep isn't just about getting tanks situated -- it's about radio chatter, supply dumps, construction sounds, storage buildings, ammunition piles and railway lines -- all of which were manufactured for the deception.



But even that sounds too easy. They were actually amassed for the deception. In other words, the A-Force created a phantom war prep zone over the course of several weeks, adding dummy guns to the pile of other dummy guns, increasing the radio chatter to make it sound like this for real was about to go down and accelerating the fake sounds of construction as if people were actually building more war stuff, when none was getting built in the first place.


Some dummies were more convincing than others.

But the icing was when they created a dummy water pipeline that never seemed to be quite done. That one detail convinced Rommel that the Allies wouldn't be ready for battle anytime soon. And it was why the actual invasion beginning on Oct. 23 was a complete surprise and total success.

Now, let's be clear: The above fake army deception really happened. It's a historical fact and is one of the more awesome stories of the war. Even Maskelyne's doubters say the above is true ... as long as you take out the "Jasper Maskelyne" parts.

In this case, they say another camouflage expert by the name of Anthony Ayrton was the genius behind the plan -- a man who wasn't around to demand credit because he died before the war ended, in 1943. Which allegedly meant Maskelyne was free to steal the credit and add to the gigantic monument he was building to himself made entirely out of bullshit.


A fake tank

And that's where I have to leave it. One way or another, Jasper Maskelyne was a fascinating man, and there is no question he helped the war effort. But the real details have been blurred by secrecy, lost documents, exaggerated war stories and the fact that time has killed off almost everyone who would know for certain.

But I admit: I want to believe it's all true. The idea that one man and his gang of rogue theater rats tricked the Nazis through Bugs Bunny-style tomfoolery? Who doesn't want to believe that?


Hope you enjoyed :)

See you soon,

Tomas