When we think of World War II, it is easiest for us to visualize the great wars in the scenarios that are etched on our retinas by movies, TV series and video games. The two most famous European invasion operations may be Overlord and Garden Market, but beyond the grand theaters there were numerous smaller-scale actions to recapture Europe.

Actions taken by intelligence agencies are less conspicuous than major conflicts, but certainly more fascinating to many. And among all this, one story that is not true is that of the soldier who became General Montgomery’s double to confuse the Nazis about the Normandy landing site. Curious thing? It was a painful duo, but after the war the actor benefited greatly from it.

Mix D-Day. If the Normandy landings turned out this way, it was due to a series of coincidences, but also to very good planning on the part of the Allies. The Nazis knew something like this would happen and built the Atlantic Wall; This wall, a massive protective barrier, was in fact under-fortified throughout much of the area. Moreover, control of the different Panzer tank divisions was in the hands of too many people; Hitler had direct control of some of the most important ones and they could not act without his orders.

But beyond attacking at the right time and with precision, the allies had various plans to confuse the Nazis about the landing point. This is why Operation Protect was conducted; It was an umbrella for different smaller operations with the same goal: to deceive the Nazis. One of these was Operation Citadel, in which the Allies deployed dummy tanks, planes and barges to simulate the invasion taking place elsewhere. Another was the use of double agents to confuse the Nazis about the time and point of the landing. And another…

copper head. If some Allied intelligence operations were going to stir up trouble from the shadows, Copperhead had a different idea: to expose one of the leaders of the British army. This was a decoy operation aimed at ‘walking’ Bernard Montgomery at different points in the Mediterranean in order to draw Hitler’s attention to this point and forget about the landing in the Atlantic.

Dudley Clarke was a British officer who specialized in these deception operations and came up with an idea after watching the movie ‘Five Graves for Cairo’. In the 1943 film, a British soldier who survived the war against the African Corps in the Sahara adopted the identity of a hotel waiter who served as Rommel’s center of operations. It has its twists and turns and is dated, but I recommend it. Clarke wondered… what if we could sneak a double of one of our most important figures into the Germans?

key piece. Bernard Montgomery was a key player in the British Army during the Second World War. He served on the Western Front and commanded the British Eighth Army during the Eastern Desert Campaign, among other operations. If anyone was ever copied, it had to be him. And the logic was perfect.

Being such an important name for the British, Montgomery would definitely be directly involved in the event of an invasion. Wherever Montgomery was there would be invading British forces, but of course there was a problem: the Nazis also had an intelligence service and Montgomery would be watched. Idea? Have Montgomery go on tour, but not the real one (who has to continue fulfilling his role in the army), but a stunt double.

The real Montgomery on the left. Right, Clifton

Casting. The only way to fool the Germans was for Montgomery to be in two places at once. And of course they started looking for a stunt double. Clarke came up with a few names, but none fit the profile. So it was 1944, but the Germans knew very well what Montgomery was like, and he couldn’t be too tall or too short. He does not have physical characteristics that the real general does not have.

But everything changed when a member of the team saw a photo of Clifton James in the News Chronicle. James was an Australian born in 1898 and served as a teenager in the British Royal Fusiliers in the First World War. When the conflict ended he was bitten by the acting bug and took on roles until the outbreak of World War II. Without hesitation he enlisted in the Royal Army Pay Corps. And… it was perfect. More or less.

A flawed method duo. Clifton physically resembled Montgomery and was called in to screen test for a new movie. The point is that this was not for a movie, but a strategy for the actor to attend a meeting where he was to be assigned the new role of Montgomery’s double.

He was far from perfect: he lost his finger during the First World War and had to wear a prosthesis, he smoked and liked to drink – too much. The real Montgomery had 10 fingers, didn’t drink, and hated tobacco, so it was crucial that Clifton had his elbow up, not damaged by smoking or…alcohol. Montgomery gave the actor his blessing (against all odds) and spent several days following Bernard, studying all his movements. He had to be a convincing Montgomery, not just to the Nazis, but to everyone who encountered him: people had to think he was the real ‘Monty’.

Oh, the genie… Operation Copperhead couldn’t have started off worse. On May 26, 1944 (D-Day was June 6), Clifton, now disguised as Montgomery, flew from a British base to Gibraltar. The Germans were watching the entire area from the Spanish border, so they were sure to see General Montgomery himself land. However, the plane did not land when it was supposed to. Why? James is said to have secretly bought and finished a bottle of gin on the plane. He was disabled and they couldn’t let the Germans see him like that, so the plane made several circuits until he recovered from his drunkenness.

Wait, if Monty doesn’t smoke…

A few days later, things did not go so well in Algeria. The fake Montgomery was displayed around the airport and simulated meetings with other generals to discuss an apparent operation against the south of France. The problem was that the operation was complicated by rumors that Clifton had been seen staggering and smoking on the city streets. The Allies hid Clifton and maintained the illusion that Montgomery was still in North Africa. Finally D-Day came, the real Montgomery landed in Normandy, and… Clifton returned to serve in the Pay Corps.

Without further ado. He worked out 10 pounds a day (the same as the real Montgomery earned during the operation) and was under the condition not to speak of it to anyone for the duration of the war. The actor’s adventure thus ended without him returning to the role of soldier, and despite these rumors of behavior unbecoming of the real general, Clifton made an effort in his characterization. But most importantly: did he manage to fool anyone?

Operation Citadel and double agents are known to have been of great benefit to the Allies, but Copperhead’s utility is less clear and remains a matter of debate. And not because the Germans caught Clifton drunk, but because the Germans themselves stated that they believed moving Montgomery around Europe was part of a deception operation (they didn’t know he was a stuntman, but they did know something was wrong) and other parts of Operation Protection, Copperhead’ It was already effective in confusing the Nazis without adding much to the confusion.

‘I was Monty’s twin’. Life immediately after the war was not easy for Clifton. He couldn’t find a job easily and had no money, so he had to apply for unemployment benefits to support his family. But Montgomery was the role of his life and in 1954 Clifton published a book called ‘I Was Monty’s Twin’.

This book was adapted into a movie of the same name in 1958, in which James played both himself and Montgomery. Clifton died at his home in Worthing at the age of 65, and according to various sources his operation fulfilled a role of which, although not decisive, he should have been proud.

The challenge, both in terms of service and challenge, was to interpret someone like Montgomery in a crucial situation such as the beginnings of the biggest operation of the Second World War.

Pictures | Colborne Express, Grenavitar

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