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Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Operation Hardboiled

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Operation Hardboiled

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This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page.

The result was: scheduled for Wikipedia:Today's featured article/February 26, 2015 by  — Crisco 1492 (talk) 13:57, 29 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Royal Marines, the unit chosen for Hardboiled, training in deep snow during March 1942

Operation Hardboiled was a Second World War military deception. Undertaken by the Allies in 1942, it was the first attempt at deception by the London Controlling Section (LCS) and was designed to convince the Axis powers that the Allies would soon invade German-occupied Norway. The LCS had recently been established to plan deception across all theatres, but had struggled to convince the unenthusiastic military establishment. The LCS had little guidance in strategic deception, an activity pioneered by Dudley Clarke the previous year, and was unaware of the extensive double agent system controlled by MI5. As a result, Hardboiled was planned as a real operation rather than a fictional one (training pictured). Clarke had already found this approach to be wasteful in both time and resources, preferring to present a "story" via agents and wireless traffic. Resistance to the operation by the chosen units meant that much of the preparation was not completed. Hitler ordered the reinforcement of Scandinavia in March and April 1942, before Hardboiled was shelved in May. It is unclear to what extent the operation contributed to his decision. (Full article...)