| Author | Message | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 51 Registered: 5-2003 |
An English civilian dies in England, but is buried in Spain with full military honors. Because of this, thousands of lives are saved. Explain. | ||
| Abc (Abc)
Moderator Username: Abc Post Number: 123 Registered: 7-2006 |
Did this really happen? Is it relevant when it happened? As in historical era? Date within the year? Time of day? Those saved... Did they all live in the same geographical area? Were they all of the same nationality? Was a war avoided? | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1032 Registered: 1-2007 |
Is this a war story? WWI? WWII? Spanish Civil War? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 55 Registered: 5-2003 |
Did this really happen? Yes Is it relevant when it happened? Yes As in historical era? Yes Date within the year? Yes Time of day? No Those saved... Did they all live in the same geographical area? No Were they all of the same nationality? No Was a war avoided? No Is this a war story? Yes WWI? No WWII? Yes Spanish Civil War? No | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1035 Registered: 1-2007 |
The Civilian : H ? A? M? Was he a soldier or involved in the military? Had he requested to be buried in Spain? Did his family or the military arrange his funeral? Is the cause of his death relevant? Was he killed in action? Was the life saving benefit foreseen? and is this why he was buried there? | ||
| Arek_fu (Arek_fu)
New member Username: Arek_fu Post Number: 284 Registered: 12-2007 |
Is he well known? Is any mistake involved? Was he mistaken for another person? Would thousands of people have died if he had not died? If he had not been buried in Spain? If he had been buried in England? In a third country? | ||
| Blazingphoenix (Blazingphoenix)
New member Username: Blazingphoenix Post Number: 197 Registered: 2-2007 |
Was he born in Spain, but lived in England? | ||
| Beroean (Beroean)
Moderator Username: Beroean Post Number: 1475 Registered: 10-2001 |
Was the civilian a different identity from that of the person who most thought was buried (if you get what I mean)? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 56 Registered: 5-2003 |
The Civilian : H ? A? M? All three Was he a soldier or involved in the military? No Had he requested to be buried in Spain? No Did his family or the military arrange his funeral? No Is the cause of his death relevant? Yes Was he killed in action? No Was the life saving benefit foreseen? Yes and is this why he was buried there? Yes Is he well known? No Is any mistake involved? Yes Was he mistaken for another person? Yes Would thousands of people have died if he had not died? Yes If he had not been buried in Spain? Yes If he had been buried in England? Yes In a third country? Yes Note: If I wanted to split hairs, I could answer the last four questions with "possibly." Was he born in Spain, but lived in England? No Was the civilian a different identity from that of the person who most thought was buried (if you get what I mean)? Yes | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1039 Registered: 1-2007 |
How long after his death was he buried within days? a week? a month? longer? Was his dead body displayed publicly in some way? Was his funeral witnessed by many people? if so more than 100? 1000? 100000? 1 Million? Did his burial lead to a cessation of fighting? Did he resemble someone famous? Was he himself famous? Is the nationality of the lives saved all the same or is it people of many different nations? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 59 Registered: 5-2003 |
How long after his death was he buried within days? a week? a month? longer? Several weeks or months, but irrelevant Was his dead body displayed publicly in some way? No Was his funeral witnessed by many people? No if so more than 100? 1000? 100000? 1 Million? Did his burial lead to a cessation of fighting? No Did he resemble someone famous? No Was he himself famous? No Is the nationality of the lives saved all the same or is it people of many different nations? three or four nations, exact number irrelevant | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 60 Registered: 5-2003 |
Edit: The exact time between his death and burial is unknown; accounts differ. It was between several weeks and several months -- the EXACT length of time is irrelevant. I didn't mean to say that the length of time didn't matter at ALL; it could not have happened in less time than two weeks or more time than about six months, and that is relevant. | ||
| Grainbeer (Grainbeer)
New member Username: Grainbeer Post Number: 313 Registered: 4-2002 |
Was he a spy? Or mistaken for a spy? A politician, or mistaken for a politician? Ditto for: Editor Journalist Tycoon Prominent religious person Criminal Scientist Was he aware that his own death might have great implications? Did he die because of a violent action? Did he die from natural causes, like disease or age? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 68 Registered: 5-2003 |
Was he a spy? Or mistaken for a spy? A politician, or mistaken for a politician? Ditto for: Editor Journalist Tycoon Prominent religious person Criminal Scientist He was not mistaken for any of the above. What he really was is irrelevant. Was he aware that his own death might have great implications? no Did he die because of a violent action? no Did he die from natural causes, like disease or age? yes | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1048 Registered: 1-2007 |
Was his dead body used in some way by the authorities/military? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 69 Registered: 5-2003 |
Was his dead body used in some way by the authorities/military? yes | ||
| Woubit (Woubit)
Moderator Username: Woubit Post Number: 235 Registered: 5-2007 |
Does this have anything to do with Gibraltar? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 70 Registered: 5-2003 |
Does this have anything to do with Gibraltar? Good thought, but no | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1049 Registered: 1-2007 |
When they were using the body were they pretending that he was still alive? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 71 Registered: 5-2003 |
When they were using the body were they pretending that he was still alive? no | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1051 Registered: 1-2007 |
Was there use of the body intended to fool the enemy in some way? or to fool the public? | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1052 Registered: 1-2007 |
BY THERE I MEANT THEIR OF COURSE | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 72 Registered: 5-2003 |
Was there use of the body intended to fool the enemy in some way? yes or to fool the public? no | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1056 Registered: 1-2007 |
Was he put in a sentry post while he was dead to make it look like there was a guard in place? Or any other sort of decoy? Was he buried in uniform even though he wasn't a soldier? Was his corpse placed behind enemy lines in order to gain some advantage? When he was buried did the military pretend that he had been a soldier? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 76 Registered: 5-2003 |
Was he put in a sentry post while he was dead to make it look like there was a guard in place? No Or any other sort of decoy? Yes Was he buried in uniform even though he wasn't a soldier? Yes Was his corpse placed behind enemy lines in order to gain some advantage? Yope When he was buried did the military pretend that he had been a soldier? Yes | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1060 Registered: 1-2007 |
Was his body left behind enemy lines? Were the enemy supposed to think he was a spy? Was this done to protect battle plans? strategies? Are the D-Day landings relevant? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 79 Registered: 5-2003 |
Was his body left behind enemy lines? yope Were the enemy supposed to think he was a spy? no Was this done to protect battle plans? yes strategies? no Are the D-Day landings relevant? no | ||
| Blazingphoenix (Blazingphoenix)
New member Username: Blazingphoenix Post Number: 204 Registered: 2-2007 |
Did they bury a civilian as one of their commanders that the enemy was trying to kill? So that the enemy would go "Yay, we won" and call off their attack? | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1065 Registered: 1-2007 |
Was his body discovered by the enemy? Did this convince them that a certain action was going to occur that didn't? Did the body have false intelligence on it? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 80 Registered: 5-2003 |
Did they bury a civilian as one of their commanders that the enemy was trying to kill? no So that the enemy would go "Yay, we won" and call off their attack? no Was his body discovered by the enemy? yope Did this convince them that a certain action was going to occur that didn't? yes Did the body have false intelligence on it? yes Spoiler Operation Mincemeat was a decoy plan carried out several months before the Allied invasion of Sicily. A corpse, dressed as a British intelligence officer, was left by a submarine to drift onto a Spanish beach. The Spanish, sympathizing with the Germans, allowed them to copy what appeared to be vital information, before burying the corpse and informing the British. The man had died of pneumonia, so appeared to have drowned after a plane crash, and he had been frozen so that he appeared only to be dead a few days. Ironically, there really was a plane crash about this time, which only improved the deception. The information led the Germans to believe that the Allies would assault Greece and Sardinia rather than the most obvious target, Sicily. The body had copious evidence to make it look authentic -- including ticket stubs, bills, ID, letters, and photographs from a nonexistent father and fiance -- and the Germans fell for it hook, line and sinker. They actually removed units FROM Sicily and sent them to Greece, and also withdrew two full armored divisions from Russia on the eve of an important battle. And when the Allies hit Sicily, Hitler continued to believe it was a feint until too late. | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1066 Registered: 1-2007 |
Nice puzzle | ||
| Beroean (Beroean)
Moderator Username: Beroean Post Number: 1483 Registered: 10-2001 |
It rings a bell. I seem to recall watching an old British film/movie about this. | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 87 Registered: 5-2003 |
The Man Who Never Was, based on an excellent book of the same name. It was written by the officer who helmed the operation. |
