What part did Operation Mincemeat have in World War 2?

Answer 1

The Allies (British, french, American etc.) had captured North Africa. They needed to retake Europe back from the Axis (German, Italian, Japanese etc.). They decided the best place to land the troops was on the island of Sicily, right outside of Europe. But Sicily was heavily guarded by the Axis. So the Allies planted one of their dead soldiers who had died of Pneumonia, on the outskirts of the Mediterranean Sea. They dressed him up as an officer and gave him fake papers attached to his life jacket. This made him look that he was carrying very important and probably very secret information. The Axis found the body washed ashore on the coasts of south Spain. They read the information and now thought that the great invasion was going to take place in Greece not on Sicily. The Allies then took Sicily. It was a huge success! It was also a vital part for taking Europe back.

The young man involved was not a soldier and never could have been. Research in British archives actually show that he was a near vagrant that after attempting to sign up for military service and being rejected for "mental instability" attempted suicide by consuming rat poison. Apparently he died in the hospital while recovering from this suicide attempt of pneumonia acquired in the hospital.