The Abwehr Double Agent Who Ran the German Spy Network in Britain

Juan Pujol Garcia — code-named 'Garbo' by the British and 'Arabel' by the Germans — was a Spanish citizen who managed to convince the Germans he was a fanatical Nazi, then convinced the British he was a valuable spy, then simultaneously played both sides for over two years. He created an entire fictional network of 27 sub-agents that didn't exist — he wrote all their reports himself, complete with different handwriting styles and personality quirks. The Germans never questioned any of them. He fabricated detailed reports about Allied operations, naval movements, and industrial production. He was so effective that the Germans awarded him the Iron Cross, Second Class — while the British simultaneously awarded him the Order of the British Empire. He remains the only person in history to have received both the Iron Cross and an OBE. The misinformation he fed to the Germans about the D-Day invasion location — specifically, that Normandy was a diversion and the real attack would come at Calais — was instrumental in keeping 15 German divisions at Pas-de-Calais for seven critical weeks after the actual invasion began.