Operation Sparrow was an audacious secret mission during World War II that may have saved thousands of lives. Author Jason Bell joins us to introduce the mission as chronicled in his book “Operation Sparrow: The Incredible True Story of the Spies Who Tricked Hitler and Won the War.”
Operation Sparrow was a subset of the larger Operation Bodyguard, which included several plans designed to deceived German leadership about the site of the eventual European invasion. Sparrow was either genius or suicidal. Or both. Three commandos would parachute into Hungary and allow themselves to be captured, risking torture and potential execution. Their mission was to tell their interrogators a series of lies and half-truths to convince Hitler that the invasion would come through Hungary rather than landing in France.
Unknown to the three men who accepted the mission, Hitler had issued orders that all commandos were to be executed after interrogation. However, because the three were seen by their captors as “too dangerous to keep alive but too valuable to kill”, Germans officers constantly shifted them around so the prisoners would become someone else’s problem. This may have saved their lives.
Key to the success of the mission was the fact that Hungarian leadership had been in communication with the allies about switching sides. The Sparrows were to help the surrender come to pass. However, before they could do so, Hitler occupied Hungary under the guise of “protecting them from the invasion”.
Jason also describes the incredible actions that took place at Castle Colditz, the Sparrows’ last stop before being liberated. Colditz was the location where high value or particularly troublesome prisoners were sent. The prisoners built a glider in the castle attic and were prepared to launch it when the allied forces approached. The Sparrows, along with their British counterparts convinced the Nazi leadership to surrender the castle and weapons instead of fighting approaching US troops.
Operation Sparrow succeeded by forcing the Nazis to split their forces, leaving them unable to properly counter the Normandy invasion when it came.