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Человек, которого не было (The Man Who Never Was)

XESXOR9/2/20262 min read
#osint#custom#easy#na

Человек, которого не было (The Man Who Never Was)

Platform: hl_hacker | Category: OSINT | Type: Challenge | Difficulty: Easy | OS: NA | Author: XESXOR | Date: 2025-12-23 | Status: Solved Techniques: NA

Summary

Человек, которого не было — hl_hacker

Description

В 1943 году британцы провели операцию дезинформации, использовав тело человека, которому приписали личность офицера Королевской морской пехоты. Позднее выяснилось, что настоящее имя этого человека было иным. Ваша задача: определить настоящее имя загадочного офицера. Оформить ответ в виде: CODEBY{Name_Surname}

Analysis

Key hints in the task:

  • 1943 — World War II period
  • British disinformation operation — points to MI5/MI6
  • Body with a fake officer identity — classic deception operations technique
  • Royal Marines — Royal Marines
  • Task title — "The Man Who Never Was" — direct reference to the 1956 film "The Man Who Never Was" ‍​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‍

Solution

Step 1: Identifying the Operation

The description immediately points to Operation Mincemeat — one of the most famous disinformation operations of World War II.

Step 2: Operation Details

In April 1943, British intelligence dropped a body from a submarine off the coast of Spain. The corpse was dressed in a Royal Marines officer uniform and equipped with documents identifying him as Major William Martin.

He carried fake secret documents indicating Allied plans to invade Greece and Sardinia (instead of the real target — Sicily). The Germans believed the disinformation and redeployed their troops. ‍​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‍

Step 3: True Identity

For a long time, the identity of the person whose body was used remained a secret. Only in 1996 did historian Roger Morgan establish that it was Glyndwr Michael — a homeless Welshman who died from rat poison (phosphorus) poisoning in London.

Glyndwr Michael was born in 1909 in Wales. After his parents' death, he became homeless and died on January 24, 1943. His body was used for the operation because the cause of death (poisoning) left no obvious traces during autopsy. ‍​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‍

Step 4: Forming the Flag

Answer format: CODEBY{Name_Surname}

First name: Glyndwr Last name: Michael

Additional Information

  • Film: "The Man Who Never Was" (1956) — British film about the operation
  • Book: Ewen Montagu "The Man Who Never Was" (1953) — the author was one of the operation's organizers
  • Modern book: Ben Macintyre "Operation Mincemeat" (2010)
  • Memorial: On Glyndwr Michael's grave in Spain (Huelva), a plaque with his real name is installed

References