Operation Ironside was a deception operation in the Second World War, 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