Garbo was the British codename of Juan Pujol García, (1912 – 1988), a Spaniard who was taken on by the Germans during World War II to spy on the British, after an initial overture to British intelligence had been rejected. Because of his dislike for Franco, the Spanish dictator, he double-crossed the Germans, and went to work for the British. He thought that an Allied victory would result in the deposition of Franco. Garcia also fought in the Spanish Civil War, according to himself, on both sides without ever firing a shot! A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. ... 1912 is a leap year starting on Monday. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The name Franco may refer to: Francisco Franco, Dictator of Spain from 1936 to 1975 Francois Luambo Makiadi, a Congolese musician and founder of the band OK Jazz active from the 1950s to 1980s ...

Operating initially in Lisbon, he pretended to the Germans that he was in Britain. He fabricated reports about shipping movements, successfully convincing them. Eventually, he again made contact with British intelligence, and again offered his services. This time he was accepted. Lisbon (in Portuguese, Lisboa) is the capital and largest city of Portugal. ... Shipping is the transport of cargo between seaports by ships, typically large steel vessels powered by diesel engines or steam turbine plants. ...

Garbo reached Britain in the spring of 1942, and operated as a double agent under the aegis of the XX Committee. He purported to have recruited a large network of agents, including a number of influential people with 'inside' information. In order to foster this illusion, Garbo supplied the Germans with a certain amount of collateral information. The Germans then paid Garbo (or Arabel, as they called him) a large amount of money for this misinformation. 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... A double agent pretends to spy on a target organization on behalf of a controlling organization, but in fact is loyal to the target organization. ... The Double Cross System or XX System, was a World War II anti-espionage and deception operation of the British military intelligence arm, MI5. ...

Garbo has the distinction of being one of the few people during World War II to receive decorations from both sides, gaining both an Iron Cross from the Germans and an MBE from the British. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz) is a military decoration of Germany which was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March 1813. ... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions, in order of seniority: Knight or Dame Grand Cross...

Garbo was one of the key players in the events that led up to D-Day. His misinformation was part of Operation Fortitude, an effort that successfully convinced Adolf Hitler and many of the German high command to believe that the Allied invasion was going to occur at the Pas de Calais, 150 miles east of Normandy. Adolf Hitler had personally ordered troops to be moved there against Erwin Rommel's protest. According to popular rumour, when Garbo telephoned Berlin to report the situation on D-Day, the operator kept him waiting. This allowed him to bluff that he was trying to inform them that the landings where to take place in Normandy, and that it was the ineptitude of their own system that stopped him Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... Operation Fortitude was the collective codename for a number of the deception operations used by the Allied forces during World War II prior to and following the Normandy landings. ... Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Führer und Reichskanzler (leader and chancellor) of Germany from 1933 to his death. ... Pas-de-Calais is a département in northern France named after the strait which it borders. ... Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. ... Erwin Rommel Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel (November 15, 1891 – October 14, 1944) was one of the most distinguished German Field Marshals and commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps in World War II. He is also known by his nickname The Desert Fox (Wüstenfuchs). ...

After the war Pujol moved to Venezuela, where he lived in anonymity. He died in Caracas in 1988. Cerro Avila, Caracas. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...