meant to persuade the Germans that the Allies would stage an invasion
near Bordeaux along the Bay of Biscay. The operation consisted entirely
of deceptive messages, without any supporting physical evidence, unlike
other deception operations intended to draw German defences away from
the planned Normandy landings. Bordeaux was an important military port
during the war and had already been a target of commando raids in 1942.
Planned by the London Controlling Section, Ironside was communicated to
the Germans by double agents in May and June 1944. Rumours of an
impending two-division assault were communicated by Agent Bronx, a
Peruvian socialite, with help from other agents, including Tate and
Garbo. Historians have found no indication that the Germans believed an
invasion in the area to be imminent, probably because Bordeaux was
beyond air cover from the UK and there were no detectable naval
activities in the region. Nevertheless, the operation may have succeeded
in delaying one Panzer division from moving north to defend in Normandy.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ironside>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1198:
Lotario de Conti was elected as Pope Innocent III; he later
worked to restore papal power in Rome.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Innocent_III>
1697:
Scottish student Thomas Aikenhead became the last person in
Britain to be executed for blasphemy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Aikenhead>
1904:
Blackstone Library, the first branch of the Chicago Public
Library system, was dedicated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackstone_Library>
1977:
Three bombs attributed to Armenian nationalists exploded across
Moscow, killing seven people and injuring 37.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Moscow_bombings>
2003:
Turkish Airlines Flight 634 crashed in extensive fog during
final approach to Diyarbakır Airport in Turkey, leaving only five
survivors out of 80 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Airlines_Flight_634>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sitting pretty:
1. (idiomatic) Having a comfortable or certain supply of money or
resources.
2. (idiomatic) In a favorable situation, especially a situation in which
one possesses an advantage.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sitting_pretty>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Teach the child to respect that which is not respectable and you
teach the child the first requirement of slavery: submission to unjust
authority.
--Gerry Spence
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gerry_Spence>
_______________________________________________
Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list.
To unsubscribe, visit:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l
Questions or comments? Contact dal-feedback@wikimedia.org