- [Voiceover] At the height of the Second World War,

the Allied Forces were planning a secret mission

to invade Nazi-occupied Sicily.

In order to confuse the Germans,

they devised an audacious and utterly bizarre plan,

a plan which hinged on the ultimate success

of one man,

a man who was already dead.

On April 30th, 1943, a Spanish fisherman

discovered the body of a British soldier

off the coast of Spain.

The dead soldier had a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist.

The Nazis got a hold of the body

and examined the man and his possessions.

What they uncovered astounded them.

The dead soldier carried letters

which described critical details

of the Allies' plan to invade Greece.

Nazi officials, including Hitler himself,

were convinced they had stumbled upon

the greatest military intercept of the Second World War.

The only issue for the Nazis was the dead soldier

and all of the details outlining the pending invasion

were a fantastical ruse designed to foil the German army.

The idea was conceived by a group

within British intelligence

which included Ian Fleming.

Yep, the guy who wrote James Bond.

To pull it off, the team had procured the body

of a 34-year old man who had died the month before.

They gave the guy a uniform, a fake passport,

theater tickets, a picture of a girlfriend,

and even loose tobacco to make him appear real.

They drove from London to Scotland,

and they put it on a submarine.

Two days later, the body was placed

in the ocean where it was later found.

Hitler was so convinced that he moved

the bulk of his forces to Greece

in preparation for the pending invasion,

an invasion that never came.

So when the allies landed in Sicily

they encountered a whole lot less resistance,

occupied Southern Italy,

and ultimately changed the course of the war,

thanks to one dead man and a crazy plan.

(marching music)