Garbo

Garbo, Garbo, Garbo,
my favourite historic rogue.
A con-man a la mode.

To the German Abwehr he was agent Aleric.
Spy-master of the network they called Arabal.

A network made of mist.

In the Spanish civil war he learnt to hate
Fascists and Communists alike.
When the war began he reached out to Britain,
he reached out to the USA.

For humanities sake

He offers to be a spy.

Both turn Juan away.

Hey

He says

I'll do it on my own

He invents a new persona.
A fanatical pro-Nazi Spanish civil servant,
bait for the Abwehr's eyes.

They tell him to go to Britain.
He goes to Lisbon instead.
He invented a network of agents.
Figments from the top of his head.
He then feeds the Abwehr bogus intel,
all from public source,
cinema listings,
train timetables, 
newsreels and a thumb eared tourist guide.

The Abwehr eat it up.

To cover his arse he makes up some more.
Sub-agents who might get things a little wrong, 
a bit of blame to pass along.
Make the true things seem so strong.

Then,
to prove his loyalties to the allies
he plays his master-stroke.
He invents an important convoy.
He lets radio chatter goose chase prove his point.
Off to London he flies.

And down the rabbit hole.

Arabal grows ever larger.
Through agent Tricycle every imaginary agent is paid.
Financing British intelligence ops 
and some extra gin and cake.

Passing intel so carefully aimed.
Sourced from an army of phantoms
born from a playful mind.
Over suburban cups of tea and occasional gin
he profoundly changes his time.

His time, yours and mine.

Fundamental to Fortitude,
the great big Normandy lie.
Slowly building a certainty
that we were aiming,
for the Pas-de-Calais.

Hitler so trusted agent Aleric,
so trusted network Alabas,
he over-ruled his finest general,
Erwin Rommel,
he trusts Garbo and so 
the Panza groups hold fast.

The Pas-de-Calais is defended.
The Normandy bridgehead lasts.

Thousands of lives were saved
on those the days of days.
By a wonderful con-mans bullshit.
By Juan Pujol Garcia's nefarious dreams.

for Juan Pujol Garcia, 14/2/1912 to 10/10/1988.
Awarded the Iron cross by Hitler 29/7/1944 ( a month after the invasion ).
On 25/11/1944 he received, quietly from George VI, the MBE.