logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2022
29m 26s

Operation Mincemeat: The Deception that ...

History Hit
About this episode

It’s 1943. The Allies are determined to break Hitler’s grip on occupied Europe and plan an all-out assault on Sicily, but they face an impossible challenge - how to protect a massive invasion force from a potential massacre. It falls to two remarkable intelligence officers, Ewen Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley to dream the most inspired and improbable disinformation strategy of the war - centred on the most unlikely of secret agents: a dead man.


In today's episode, Matt Lewis sits in for Dan to discover the behind the scenes history of the new movie Operation Mincemeat with director John Madden and historian Ben McIntyre on whose book the film is based. A fascinating listen whether you've seen the movie or not!


Operation Mincemeat is in cinemas across the UK now.


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.


We need your help! If you would like to tell us what you want to hear as part of Dan Snow's History Hit then complete our podcast survey by clicking here. Once completed you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 voucher to spend in the History Hit shop.

Up next
Jul 8
Why Do Empires Fall?
For centuries, the Roman Empire commanded unparalleled control over the world around it. It expanded its borders through trade and conquest, sucking resources from the periphery into its thriving centre - Rome. And then, suddenly, everything changed. The Empire entered a state of ... Show More
42m 14s
Jul 6
Pirates: Piracy in the South China Seas
Zheng Yi Sao was a pirate leader so formidable that she made Blackbeard and Captain Morgan look like amateurs. From humble beginnings as a sex worker in Canton, she rose to command a vast pirate fleet that wrought havoc in the South China Sea. She took on the Qing Dynasty, the Po ... Show More
38m 48s
Jul 3
The Rise & Fall of Sparta
Today, we trace the rise and fall of ancient Greece’s most formidable warrior society - Sparta. This society's militaristic culture and battlefield feats are the stuff of legend - but how much of its story is based on cold, hard fact?Joining us is Dr Andrew Bayliss, a professor o ... Show More
46m 16s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2022
Operation Mincemeat: WW2 espionage on film
In 1943, British agents concocted a daring plot to trick Hitler, involving a dead body, fake love letters and a false identity. Speaking with Emily Briffett, author and historian Ben Macintyre discusses the real history behind Operation Mincemeat, a new film adapted from his 2010 ... Show More
34m 15s
Apr 2023
America's Top Secrets: Manhattan Project to Drone Warfare
Much of American history has been redacted. Since the World War 2, the number of secrets the US government has kept has grown exponentially. There are some things they think are too dangerous for the public to know. Matthew Connelly, author of the Declassification Engine, takes D ... Show More
40m 1s
May 2022
182. Operation Barbarossa
What military parallels does Putin's invasion of Ukraine have with Hitler's attempt to invade the Soviet Union? On today's pod Tom and Dominic are joined by historian - and brother of Tom - James Holland to discuss Operation Barbarossa and the Nazi invasion of 1941, whether it wa ... Show More
1 h
Aug 2022
Welcome to American History Hit
Join Don Wildman twice a week for your hit of American history, as he explores the past to help us understand the United States of today. We’ll hear how codebreakers uncovered secret Japanese plans for the Battle of Midway, visit Chief Powhatan as he prepares for war with the Bri ... Show More
3m 12s
Jul 2020
Operation Mincemeat
July 10, 1943. 150,000 British and American soldiers storm the beaches of Sicily in the first Allied invasion of Nazi-controlled Europe. But the Nazis…aren’t really there to put up a fight. Hitler thought the invasion was coming for Greece. The Nazis have been tricked by two Brit ... Show More
26m 4s
Sep 2023
Sabotage & Secret Weapons: The WW2 Dirty Tricks Department
What is a bat bomb? Why would you cover a fox in radioactive paint? And who are the masterminds behind the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA? In this episode, Don is joined by John Lisle to discuss the creations of the Research and Development branch at the O ... Show More
36m 1s
Jun 2023
5 Assassinations That Changed History
Assassins have been plotting, murdering, and executing for thousands of years—from the famed Ides of March to forgotten British Prime Ministers. Their reach across history is inconceivable. But what motivates an assassin, and have their murderous ways ever helped them achieve the ... Show More
41m 49s
Sep 2023
Hitler: The Battle of Stalingrad (Part 22)
The myth of the Nazi war machine is blown apart in one of the pivotal battles of World War 2. Serious questions arise as to Hitler’s leadership, encouraging a growing German resistance. As Allied forces eye Sicily, a paranoid Führer retreats further into himself. His war of conqu ... Show More
56m 18s
Nov 2023
Love, Lust & Fighting in World War II
It can be hard to comprehend the magnitude of historical events, with World War Two a prime example of this. By 1945, some 3 million British people had served. As such, the rich diversity of masculinity and sexuality of those men is often reduced or hidden from the history books. ... Show More
42m 1s
May 2023
WW2: Last Letters of Resistance Fighters
It's 1943, you're part of the French resistance, and you've been sentenced to death. You're allowed to write one last letter before you're shot by the Nazis. Who do you write to? Friends? Family? Fellow comrades? How do you know if they'll even get it?Of the 10,000 or so executio ... Show More
1h 8m