World war 2 secret code
One of the most amazing coincidences occured during World War 2 when the Allies were planning the invasion of Normandy on D-Day in 1944.
Every aspect of the invasion was a secret and were referred to only as code words. The code name for the operation itself was `Overlord,’ the code name for the naval operation was `Neptune,’ while the code names for the two beaches in France where the Allies planned to land were `Utah’ and `Omaha.’ The code name for the artificial harbors which were to be built on the beaches was `Mulberry.’
Amazingly, in the 33 days leading up to D-Day, each of these secret words appeared in the answer to a clue in the London Daily Telegraph newspaper. In fact the code word `Overlord’ appeared only four days before the invasion.
British M15 agents suspected that this was a coded warning to the Nazis, to warn them that the invasion was about to take place. They questioned the compiler of the crossword, who had of course devised the words.
He was school teacher Leonard Dawe, who had been compiling the crossword for 20 years and was completely innocent of collaborating with the enemy.
Even so, it took him a long time to convince M15 that his choice of words had been a coincidence.
In photo: the crossword puzzle containing the code words (click on the photograph to enlarge it.)
A newspaper stand during the American civil war or War Between the States
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