The Ultimate Guide to WW2 Pranks, Subterfuge, Espionage & Dysfunction

From Operation Mincemeat's bizarre deception to secret agents altering history's course, explore the untold and extraordinary tales of World War II, where audacious pranks, covert operations, and daring espionage that added intriguing layers to the most destructive conflict in history.
Buy us a KoFi to help support the channel & team! 🎭
•ko-fi.com/thefront
Check out some of the music we use in our videos!🎶
•bit.ly/RelaxJackYT
Join other history buffs on our Discord!📚
• / discord
🎬Video Credits:
Narrator - Cam
Editors - Kshitiz, Shantanu koli
Writer - Brad, Nick, Isabella, Tristyn
Researcher - Daniel
Intro music - / 16bitrecordsofficial
#TheFront #History
For business inquiries and to learn about our team check out our website🌐:
•frontiermediaco.com
Chapters:
0:00 Allied Pranks on Germans
10:09 Treating Prisoners Good
20:18 Polish Code Breakers
30:48 British SS Soldiers
40:57 Hardest Code to Break
50:13 Tricking the US To join the War
58:35 WW2 Spy Units
1:17:49 Churchhill Gamble
1:29:47 3 Best Spies
1:39:00 7 Crazy WW2 Stories
1:48:07 Woman Spy Who Survived Everything
1:55:52 Operation Mincemeat
2:04:40 New Zealand Spy
2:11:39 German Pranks on the Allies
2:18:56 Falcon Destruction Unit

[@65gtotrips]

I’m 61 and consider myself a WWII buff of sorts as I love history; I’d never heard of the itching powder though…very interesting.

[@Brumbieman]

That one about the wooden airfield being bombed with wooden bombs is just hilarious. All that effort to fool the RAF and they not only identified it as a dummy wooden field, they actually bothered bombing it with wooden bombs just to troll them 🤣

[@thurmontilley2911]

My grandfather fought in WWI. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and went to France. His regiment was fighting in a village called Fismes, between Reims and Braisne. They fought the Germans and put up a good fight but they were outnumbered. 500+ Germans to just over 100+ PA. Army National Guard. He was wounded in 4 or 5 places and captured by the Germans. I believe it was around August 1918. He was attended to in a German hospital and stayed awake during an operation on his leg because he didn't trust the German doctors and didn't want his leg cut off. He was released around Christmas time in 1918. He eventually died from a blood clot that traveled up his wounded leg and to his heart in 1965. The village of Fesmes even built a small bridge and dedicated it to the PA. NATIONAL GUARD because they tried so hard to keep it from the Germans. I've visited the village and the bridge may years ago.

[@tbando2253]

Hushh now goyy

[@John-ih2bx]

@thurmontilley2911 Many thanks to your g/f.

[@napalmholocaust9093]

My grandfather met some of those American English speaking infiltrators at the bulge. I've never heard of them except from him. A few came around to the lines of foxholes and makeshift bunkers a few days before the push and went man to man around the woods, collecting gas masks. More than a few men refused, gramps did. I don't know the rate of refusal. They were saying some other guys in a nearby spot really needed them. Not sure how he knew it was b.s., maybe they gave nonexistent officers or something that didn't pan-out later, but they didn't stick around. They had a vehicle or a trailer or a cart with a few hundred in it already. Later the tanks came.. My grandfather knew, you could hear the cacophony of engines for days, they didn't come quietly. Him and his mates retreated when a tank crossed their line and stuck its muzzle into a nearby bunker and evaporated it. Infantry got his friend and they left him for 💀 and kept running. He didn't mention if he needed the mask, probably not or it would have been a point of the story, I assume. It was about masks after all. 2 or 3 days is what it took to regain that ground and the friend was still alive. He had been hit again in the head to make sure, but it glanced down his temple and went through his lower jaw, you can assume pistol cartridge. He survived and lived into his 80's with a steel jaw and terrible scars. His was a local boy, so I met him a few times as a child.

[@napalmholocaust9093]

To clarify, the wounded friend appeared to be fatally wounded when they left him. I can't remember what anymore, but it was bad. My grandfather got stars, he would've carried him if he thought the guy would live. It was probably rough being there deciding who to try and save as people around you are cut down and you're running from tanks and out-numbered. *also grammer correction, it is probably "he and his" not "him and his".

[@clive373]

That section about the British Free Corps was hilarious! I kept picturing the EDL in Nazi uniforms, with beer bellies, wandering about looking lost, and confused.

[@TheWarmachine375]

"It's just a prank, bro." - Allied Forces and Axis spies probably

[@sasha1mama]

Having listened to both Wendigoon and Ct. Dankula's pieces on Garbo, I'm quite convinced that that angry little Spaniard hard carried the Allies through WW2. He had the krauts so thoroughly wrapped around his finger that they awarded him the Iron Cross, Germany's equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor, for his "absolute indispensability" to their intelligence gathering efforts, even though he was feeding them a double cargoship-load of BS for four fricking years and irreparably screwed their operations up twice a hundred times. Garbo won that war for us, or near enough as makes no difference, and anybody who says otherwise is either uneducated or lying.

[@geraldc5165]

Excellent video. I find this kind of detailed obscure history fascinating.

[@TheWarmachine375]

1:39:02 Spike the Bulldog from Tom and Jerry during his World War II days.

[@John-ih2bx]

This video/production includes much interesting information, professionally done. Thank you.

[@TheDavidlloydjones]

My favourite "prank" involved the Turks, whose airforce flew Messerschmidts. Around the time of the Battle of Britain, Turkey asked the Germans for spare parrts for their planes, and MI15 of course intercepted the order. The Germans told Turkey they'd have to wait, we're a wee bit busy right now, but the British let them know they had all the Messerschmidt parts they could possibly want. Most of them only used once...

[@Ian-mj4pt]

Can't find any record of the turks using them during ww2 as most of them were allied aircraft they had. The turks were actively blocking the Germany from the middle east so why would Germany be doing business with them? Where did you get your information from?

[@johnryder1713]

The Navajo language, known for its difficult to translate as words seemed to be translated simply by intonations of the word, must have been more than confusing to the Japanese who tried reading it. Hence the use of the 'Windtalker' code talkers who must have been protected at all costs.

[@talpark8796]

🥱

[@richardbeal2451]

Fantastic video! Really interesting.

[@datcolsol]

Wonderful collection of presentations. I am sure some akin practices present

[@totalbamber]

Really wonderful. Helping people realise the sheer amount of stuff that goes into warfare. It's not just about that which makes the headlines.

[@rossington1680]

There is an argument that everything in a society is directed towards the ability to make war. Such as…. The interstate. Was made to easily move troops and land planes through out the country. Cell phones. Every part of a smart phone was first developed by the military or for the military. Planes. Obviously planes changed warfare before they changed society. Etc.

[@totalbamber]

@@rossington1680 not everyone is from the US. Some of our roads have existed for thousands of years - people needed to get from A to B, not to land planes on. Anyway, my comment was more based on the fact that the headline elements get remarked on and films made about them etc. There's so much which occurs in a war which so many people have absolutely no idea happened or existed. Subterfuge, intelligence, the smaller and non-reported activities.

[@TThomas-si7yn]

Excellent presentation, sir. Well done. Thank you for your attention to detail; and, more specifically, not dumbing anything down.

[@johnryder1713]

The German Greif commandos, groups of Germans who created chaos behind allied lines in the Battle of the Bulge were found out early enough but done enough damage. One method to get them to reveal themselves was by asking them only a question a true American would know, like 'Name President Roosevelts dog (Fala, a Scottish Terrier in case your interested) which I doubt everyone would know, so much so, it caused General Montgomery to be detailed by MPs!

[@Wardads1]

Tale about US MPs being rather pleased with themselves at stumping Ike before waving him on is a bit of a larrf.

[@johnryder1713]

@@Wardads1 Well I'd say they weren't laughing too hard after, haha

[@dougrobbins5367]

Montgomery directed his driver to ignore the ID checkpoint, and drive through. The MP's shot out the tires and took monty into custody, where he was reportedly roughed up a bit. There was plenty of hate for monty among americans at that time. Monty wanted the MP's to be court marshalled but Eisenhower refused. It was reported that Eisenhower was absolutely delighted by the episode.

[@johnryder1713]

@@dougrobbins5367 As one American put it, we got sick of Monty viewing us as colonials!

[@nukclear2741]

Another way was to ask them to say words like thunder. Cause words like that are somewhat difficult for native German speakers to say in English, and especially so given how the majority of the German sabotage units were rather inexperienced English speakers at times.

[@Grimpy970]

The bass on my headphones popped a little every time you mentioned the word 'party'. That led me to realize that you have a very good voice. You could easily have your voice sampled for electronic music- might make a pretty penny doing it! I realize this is coming out of nowhere, but it's something I noticed. It's up to you if ya want to do something like that. I personally think you could find success

[@samuelgarrod8327]

😂

[@jafojafo5412]

Trent park recordings revealed that war crimes were committed far more frequently by all levels of troops from troops to generals. This was the first use of active bugging in history.

[@johnryder1713]

The Mulberry mobile harbors, an immense concrete jigsaw produced around Britain save many lives in the time after D-Day, but had to be assembled and kept in top secret before they could be used

[@SomeLostInesh]

Thanks 😊

[@andrewedwards2211]

The intro is superb

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

It was an informative 👍🏻 video shared by an excellent ( the front) channel .

[@MrW582]

The story about the polish mathematicians made me real sad and angry, they gave their all to break code and even after being tortured by the Germans they refused to talk even giving their life to stay silent and yet we are led to believe that it was all Alan Turing and never a mention of the polish sacrifice the poles dont even get any recognition for help winning the battle of Britain if not for the poles we would have been overrun in 1940! So you could say without the brave lads of the polish squadrons, the war would have been completely lost. It was only because Britain wasn't taken over the war was able to be won. Hugh respect to the brave war time heros of poland god bless 🙏🏼🕊

[@jimmartin2548]

Did I just hear you call the Bob Semple a failure?! How dare you sir…How dare you

[@user-gr3ej6yv4k]

AWESOME

[@salvadormuro7346]

Two hours?? Let’s gooo

[@danpetrescu4915]

thankful , briton forgot pols and write the history

[@VishalSingh-nx1dn]

Read about battle of Haifa 1918, also a Thermopylae

[@1okanaganguy]

Thank you, Poland

[@kidsoxoxox]

WW1 German infantrymen periodically used a particularly disgusting and vile psychological weapon on Australian troops in the trenches. What can only be described as a land fired improvised depth charge type drum full of human excrement and set to explode approximately over the Australian lines. A flying, exploding overflowing latrine, thunderbox, septic tank. One ANZAC digger complained bitterly of this obscene weapon decades after the war and being covered in the 'stuff' whilst hearing roars of laughter and catcalls on the other side. A truly nightmarish experience worthy of a Monty python or Blackadder sketch. To add insult to injury, his female family and friends were also rolling with laughter when he recounted it in the 1970s/80s. No sewers in the trenches so why not throw it over the other side.

[@RupertSound]

Ian Fleming was also inspired by Dusan Popov the Croatian Yougoslav businessman and an incredible spy to create the James Bond persona. It was Popov who bet the Casino Royale

[@bradyelich2745]

I do believe Ian had said this same thing about many people he worked with. Ian and Willy (Sir William Stephenson) were in France together and Willy went for a 'walk' around the docks, Ian stayed at the safe house. After Willy's walk, Ian said there were several missing German officers. Sir William made 27 Atlantic crossings to met with Winston. Sir William wrote two autobiographies, but he lied about where he was born, whom his parents were. He really is Intrepid, his code name. To this day, historians are trying to figure out the facts. The CIA webpage has a special paragraph mentioning SWS. I read it myself. Dusan Popov was not the head of the Western Hemisphere Operations of the BSC, appointed by Winston himself. And you can see my surname. And Dieppe was a raid to capture a Enigma machine, nothing else. Ian was there on a ship. They got close but at great cost, not just to the Canadians, but the Royal Navy and Airforce. The last picture is of Will Bill granting the Medal for Merit , at that time the highest U.S. civilian award, the first non-American to be so honoured, to Sir William Stephenson. Sir William Stephenson, right or wrong, created the 20th century spy agencies.

[@huntergray3985]

2:22:00 Come on! We know who ate all the pigeons. Haven't you heard of _Pigeons au vinaigre d'échalote_ ?

[@MrOddball63]

Not sure how Terrance Airey would feel about having his name over Otto Skorzeny's picture.

[@brokens1097]

If only every accusation request was a simple requisition.

[@jmanj3917]

3:38 True...lol

[@tombogan03884]

Operation Postmaster: I don't see the big deal. It's not as if the British Navy hasn't been doing the same thing since Drake. LOL

[@hardcode57]

Janet Gow: 'Gow' rhymes with 'now' not 'go'.

[@brandonstanley9125]

The nukes were probably pretty annoying.

[@jasperfromming6633]

1:48:50 please correct my math but if she was born in 1912 and her father died when she was 8 wouldn't it have been 1920?

[@Dog_One]

That AI generated thumbnail is ludicrous 😮

[@gertjevanpoppel7270]

In the part of operation postmaster there is a few times the wrong map used. There are 2 santa isabel islands. One on the west coast of Africa and the other one by the Solomon Islands Both islands are shown in this video... wich is confusing as they are half a world apart 😢 But i presume the santa isabel island on the west coast of Africa is the correct one 😀

[@dirtyharrydefeatsislamblmt6900]

Poles got this going and its overshadowed sometimes

[@yopaullowe]

What a waste...and we keep falling for it.

[@johnharris2337]

The treatment by the Australian government of Nancy Wake was appalling, many countries honored her with awards for her contribution and bravery, it took decades for Australia to do the same.

[@BumMcFluff]

They were just keeping the tradition of being utterly useless alive.

[@glps6167]

Sweden's "traditional allies" - Sweden pursued a policy of neutrality since 1815

[@shannonkohl68]

Ironic that the BFC members were pretty much living the life that the Allied propaganda had suggested to the German grunts.

[@waynethomas3638]

if you know about these tales then they are not unknown

[@frederikbjerre427]

Ty for blurring the jokes

[@johnathandaviddunster38]

Whoppee cushions join the chat ...😅😅

[@gary_stavropoulos]

Japan declared war two after the attack not before.

[@alphaomega938]

Maybe if the allies were serious about anything post war like the axis things wouldn’t be complete shit in allied nations today

[@REDVETTExxx]

Ugh… yeah AMERICA AKA THE MARSHALL PLAN rebiult Europe And who do u think rebiult japan And gave it a constitution??? And now… Germany and Japan are doing as every Allied country. So.. what are u talking about?? Only the USSR sucked…

[@danpetrescu4915]

Pop out 3 children ?

[@davidmason1203]

IT wasn't Lord HO HO! It was Lord HAW HAW Pronounced like the word Raw!

[@mikeschnobrich1807]

The Polish broke the Soviet code. Wouldn't it be reasonable to assume so did the Germans?

[@indianajones4321]

It’s just a prank bro

[@BigM94sqd]

William Joyce Lord Haw-Haw,

[@pierheadjump]

⚓️ Thanks guys 🌈 plenty of production credits here, team o’ writers, editor. > HUGE CORRECTION < 🌈 British military intelligence is M I 9…. NOT M I 19.. ♨️

[@BumMcFluff]

Also, Lord Ho Ho? Never heard Haw Haw pronounced that way before.

[@daniellarge9784]

His nickname is pronounced Lord Haw Haw not Lord Ho Ho. He was more Satan than Santa. After the war he was tried for treason and duly executed even though he was Irish and was not a subject of the King, making the treason charge moot. Nevertheless such legal niceties were not always followed.

[@Diarmoosen]

Ew ai thumbnail but otherwise good video I think 😌

[@DeeSchnutzinger-Mauph]

Is it just me or does the thumbnail look like it was AI generated?

[@nesca647]

Just look at the planes, and you'll see it is

[@conzmoleman]

really low ratio of subs to views to likes

[@t.a.7970]

"Usage"...gross.

[@requiscatinpace7392]

7:33 German comedian?? Is that real? I didn’t realise Germans laughed.

[@samuelgarrod8327]

Pranks? That is rather disrespectful.

[@Choppytehbear1337]

The thumbnail is AI generated.

[@MrMickthemonster]

No shit Sherlock .

[@MrMickthemonster]

It's not even good A.I

[@cobaingrohlnovo]

So what nerd

[@tbando2253]

@@cobaingrohlnovou nerd

[@tbando2253]

Shushhhhhhhh

[@escapefelicity2913]

get rid of the fuking background noise

[@Psycro]

you don't know how top ronounce "hastily" and thats pathetic.

[@terencecottrell795]

What a weird accent this narrator has! He would be suspect passing himself off as English! His vowels are particularly strange!

[@wayneallen9192]

My best guess is it's a South African accent...

[@ericminton6084]

you do realize the allies captured a current cypher and machine when they captured a U-boat, right?

[@brianshook3289]

Great stuff!