Englandspiel
Encyclopedia
, also called Unternehmen Nordpol (Operation North Pole), was an enormous counter intelligence operation launched by the German Intelligence Organisation (Abwehr
) during World War II
. German forces captured Allied
resistance agents operating in the Netherlands
and used the agents' codes to fool the Allies into continuing to provide the agents with information and supplies. About fifty Allied agents were identified, captured, and executed.
(SOE) was sending Dutch
intelligence agents into the occupied Netherlands during the war. As early as 1942, the operation was penetrated by the German counter-espionage under Major
Hermann Giskes of the Abwehr and continued under German control.
Apprehended radio operators continued broadcasting encrypted messages, but without the required "Security Checks" that should have alerted the SOE that they had been compromised. Further, SOE's head of codes Leo Marks
claims to have soon realised that unlike all other coded messages, the Dutch messages contained no errors which made them indecipherable. He reasoned that this was because they were not coded in the field, but by German cryptographers. Finally, he sent them a deliberate indecipherable of his own, which was replied to. He reasoned that no ordinary agent could have resurrected his message. However no action was taken.
It was reported that agents that were supposed to return from the Netherlands met with various calamities and so could not return. Further, in 1943, two Dutch agents did manage to escape from captivity, but their claims on returning to Britain were dismissed (and they were arrested for suspected counter-espionage) due to a fake message sent by Giskes that two German agents were being sent to the UK from Holland (The Secret War - Englandspiel, broadcast on Yesterday 21 Jun 2011.
The operation was not completely shut down until Giskes himself send a cynical clear text message to the SOE on 1 April 1944 complaining about the lack of recent business given that he had been servicing them for so long. Giskes' message also "promised a warm welcome to any further agents SOE wished to insert into Holland"
One reason for the inability of the SOE to realise that the ring was broken was inter department rivalry. This was between the individual country sections, between the country sections and the central code section, and most importantly between the SOE and the rival Secret Intelligence Service
("C") from which SOE had been created. Any failure would weaken political positions.
It has also been argued that SOE
had set up the operation for the single purpose of leading the Germans into believing that an invasion would take place in the Netherlands (rather than Normandy
). Similar allegations have been made about the fate of Francis Suttill
and the SOE "Prosper" network in France. However, the decision to land at Normandy had not been made until late into the Englandspiel saga.
Certainly Marks states in his book that he was ordered to deliberately withhold important cryptographic information from people investigating the Dutch operation at the time.
for serious flaws in the preparation of the missions, and for ignoring warnings that agents had been caught (notably the absence of the "security checks" - a change in the transmission protocol).
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
) during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. German forces captured Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
resistance agents operating in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and used the agents' codes to fool the Allies into continuing to provide the agents with information and supplies. About fifty Allied agents were identified, captured, and executed.
Details
The British Special Operations ExecutiveSpecial Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE) was sending Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
intelligence agents into the occupied Netherlands during the war. As early as 1942, the operation was penetrated by the German counter-espionage under Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Hermann Giskes of the Abwehr and continued under German control.
Apprehended radio operators continued broadcasting encrypted messages, but without the required "Security Checks" that should have alerted the SOE that they had been compromised. Further, SOE's head of codes Leo Marks
Leo Marks
Leopold Samuel Marks was an English cryptographer, screenwriter and playwright.-Early life:Born the son of an antiquarian bookseller in London, he was first introduced to cryptography when his father showed him a copy of Edgar Allan Poe's story, "The Gold-Bug"...
claims to have soon realised that unlike all other coded messages, the Dutch messages contained no errors which made them indecipherable. He reasoned that this was because they were not coded in the field, but by German cryptographers. Finally, he sent them a deliberate indecipherable of his own, which was replied to. He reasoned that no ordinary agent could have resurrected his message. However no action was taken.
It was reported that agents that were supposed to return from the Netherlands met with various calamities and so could not return. Further, in 1943, two Dutch agents did manage to escape from captivity, but their claims on returning to Britain were dismissed (and they were arrested for suspected counter-espionage) due to a fake message sent by Giskes that two German agents were being sent to the UK from Holland (The Secret War - Englandspiel, broadcast on Yesterday 21 Jun 2011.
The operation was not completely shut down until Giskes himself send a cynical clear text message to the SOE on 1 April 1944 complaining about the lack of recent business given that he had been servicing them for so long. Giskes' message also "promised a warm welcome to any further agents SOE wished to insert into Holland"
One reason for the inability of the SOE to realise that the ring was broken was inter department rivalry. This was between the individual country sections, between the country sections and the central code section, and most importantly between the SOE and the rival Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
("C") from which SOE had been created. Any failure would weaken political positions.
It has also been argued that SOE
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
had set up the operation for the single purpose of leading the Germans into believing that an invasion would take place in the Netherlands (rather than Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
). Similar allegations have been made about the fate of Francis Suttill
Francis Suttill
Major Francis Alfred Suttill DSO was a British special agent who worked for the Special Operations Executive inside France. He organized and coordinated the Physician network, better known by his own code name Prosper...
and the SOE "Prosper" network in France. However, the decision to land at Normandy had not been made until late into the Englandspiel saga.
Certainly Marks states in his book that he was ordered to deliberately withhold important cryptographic information from people investigating the Dutch operation at the time.
Dates
During the Englandspiel the following people (amongst others) were dropped in the Netherlands:- 28-8-1940: Lodo van Hamel, brought to OegstgeestOegstgeestOegstgeest is a town and municipality in the province of South Holland in the western Netherlands. Its population was 22,576 in 2008.-Location :...
in Zuid-Holland; - 5-7-1941: Aart Alblas, dropped near NieuweschansNieuweschansBad Nieuweschans is a town in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Oldambt, about 12 km east of Winschoten. In April 2009 the municipality of Reiderland changed the name from Nieuweschans, to promote the town as a spa...
in GroningenGroningen (province)Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...
, 16-7-1942 arrested - 6-11-1941: Huub Lauwers and Thijs Taconis, dropped near OmmenOmmenOmmen is a municipality and a Hanseatic city in the Vecht valley of the Salland region, which is at the heart of the province of Overijssel in the eastern Netherlands. Historical records first name Ommen in the early 12th century and it was officially founded as a city in 1248...
in OverijsselOverijsselOverijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...
. Lauwers was arrested on 6-3-1942, Taconis on 9-3-1942; - 9-12-1941: Wim van der Reijden, brought to Scheveningen, arrested on 13-2-1942;
- 23-2-1942: Evert Radema and E.W. de Jonge, brought to Katwijk aan ZeeKatwijk aan ZeeKatwijk aan Zee is a seaside resort located on the North Sea at the mouth of the Oude Rijn. It is situated in the municipality of Katwijk and the province of South Holland.- History :...
, Radema was arrested on 29-5-1942, De Jonge on 22-5-1942; - 28-2-1942: Gerrit Dessing, dropped near ErmeloErmeloErmelo is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland in the Veluwe area with a population of over 26.000.-Etymology:...
in GelderlandGelderlandGelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
, returned via Brussel to England on 2-9-1943; - 27-3-1942: Nol Baatsen, dropped near Kallenkote, east of SteenwijkSteenwijkSteenwijk is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland. It is the largest town of the municipality.Steenwijk received city rights in 1327...
in Overijssel and immediately arrested; - 29-3-1942: Jan Molenaar and Leo Andringa, dropped near HoltenHoltenHolten is a small village in the municipality of Rijssen-Holten in the Dutch province of Overijssel, with approximately 10,000 inhabitants. Holten is located in an ample-forested area, just south of the Holterberg. This hill, which is about 65m high, is part of the "Sallandse Heuvelrug" National...
in Overijssel; Molenaar was injured and committed suicide (pill), Andringa was arrested on 28-4-1942; - 29-3-1942: Gosse Ras and Han Jordaan, dropped near Holten in Overijssel, Ras was arrested on 1-5-1942, Jordaan two days later;
- 5-4-1942: Henk Sebes and Barend Kloos, dropped near Harskamp, EdeEde, Netherlands' is a municipality and a town in the center of the Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland.- Population centres :Community :* Bennekom: 14.749* De Klomp: 508* Deelen: 50* Ede : 67.812* Ederveen: 3.167* Harskamp: 3.464...
in Gelderland, Sebes was arrested on 8-5-1942, Kloos on 29-4-1942; - 18-4-1942: Jan de Haas (as a replacement for Molenaar), brought to CastricumCastricumCastricum is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.Castricum is a tourist attraction in the province North Holland...
, arrested on 28-4-1942; - 29-5-1942: Herman Parleviet and Toon van Steen, dropped near Kallenkote, east of Steenwijk in Overijssel and arrested immediately;
- 22-6-1942: Jan van Rietschoten and Jo Buizer, dropped near Holten in Overijssel and arrested immediately;
- 26-6-1942: George Jambroes and Jozef Bukkens, dropped near Kallenkote, east of Steenwijk in Overijssel and arrested immediately;
- 23-7-1942: Gerard Jan van Hemert, dropped near Holten in Overijssel and arrested immediately;
- 24-9-1942: Karel Beukema toe Water and Cees Fortuyn Droogleever, dropped near BallooBalloo (Netherlands)Balloo is a small village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Aa en Hunze, and lies about 2 km northwest of Rolde.The village has a population of around 150.-Transportation:...
in DrentheDrentheDrenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a...
and arrested immediately; - 24-9-1942: Mooy and Jongelie, dropped and immediately arrested;
- 1-10-1942: Aart van Giessen, dropped and immediately arrested;
- 21-10-1942: Meindert Koolstra, dropped near Ermelo in Gelderland and arrested immediately;
- 23-10-1942: Jan Hofstede and Christiaan Pouwels, dropped near Holten in Overijssel and immediately arrested;
- 28-11-1942: de Kruijff and Charle Ruseler, dropped and immediately arrested;
- 29-11-1942: John Ubbink and Herman Overes, dropped and immediately arrested;
- 13-2-1943: Trix Terwindt, dropped and immediately arrested;
- 16-2-1943: Van de Nor, Kees Hulsteijn and Braggaar, dropped and immediately arrested;
- 18-2-1943: Gerrit van Os and Jan Kist, dropped near VoorthuizenVoorthuizenVoorthuizen is a village in the municipality of Barneveld, in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It currently is home to the Seaforth Highlanders of Holland pipe and drum band, a unit founded in 1999 to commemorate the liberation of the village in 1945 by the Seaforth Highlanders of British...
in Gelderland and immediately arrested; - 18-2-1943: Wim van der Wilden and his cousin Piet van der Wilden, dropped and immediately arrested;
- 9-3-1943: Pieter Dourlein, dropped near Ermelo in Gelderland and immediately arrested;
- 21-4-1943: Klaas Wegner, Freek Rouwers and Ivo Uytvanck, dropped and immediately arrested;
- 21-5-1943: Oscar de Brey, Anton Mink and Laurens Punt, dropped and immediately arrested;
- 07-10-1944: Harmen Koopmans and G. Ensink, dropped at DokkumDokkumDokkum is a Dutch fortified town in the municipality of Dongeradeel in the province of Friesland. It has 13,145 inhabitants . The fortifications of Dokkum are well preserved and are known as the bolwerken . - History :...
and immediately arrested. Koopmans killed at De Woeste Hoeve near ApeldoornApeldoornApeldoorn is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland, about 60 miles south east of Amsterdam, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a regional centre and has 155,000 . The municipality of Apeldoorn, including villages like Beekbergen, Loenen and Hoenderloo, has over 155,000...
.
Aftermath
After the war reproaches were made to the SOESpecial Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
for serious flaws in the preparation of the missions, and for ignoring warnings that agents had been caught (notably the absence of the "security checks" - a change in the transmission protocol).