37 Platripedia—Game Tips
The Crossword Catastrophy of WWII
During the height of World War II, nations were on the brink of devastation and information was the key to turning the tide of war. Secrets regarding weapons, military strategies and campaigns was carefully guarded and secured away from prying enemy eyes. A single leak of critical information could mean certain doom, and suspicions were high.
One of the most important of these campaigns was planned between Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. Operation Overlord was a bold campaign to invade northwestern Europe from the Normandy coastline—an invasion that would later be called D-Day. All the information regarding Operation Overlord, including the codename, was kept a secret in order to maximize the element of surprise.
So, when the word “Overlord” appeared in the daily crossword puzzle of the British “Daily Telegraph” it raised more than a few eyebrows among British counter-espionage agents. While the daily newspaper brought news on the wars progress from all over the globe, the crossword puzzle was seen as a welcome respite from the horrors of war. It was the last place anyone expected names of top secret military campaigns to pop up.
“Overlord” might have been overlooked as a coincidence. But then, other suspicious words started appearing in the crossword. “Utah” and “Omaha” were the names Allies had given to the beaches in Normandy, and also answers to the crossword puzzles. “Mulberry” was the name of the name of the harbor where the supply ships for the invasion would dock. “Neptune” was the codename for the naval support of the operation. Was the daily crossword somehow being used to reveal secret military information to the Germans about the upcoming invasion? That’s what MI5, Britain’s military intelligence, intended to find out.
The crossword compiler was a 54-year-old schoolteacher named Leonard Dawe, hardly a likely suspect for a German spy. Leonard was apprehended and brought in for questioning. He didn’t understand why the two military officers questioned him about his choice of crossword puzzle answers and how it could affect national security. After a few hours of interrogation, Leonard Dawe was released. MI5 was convinced the crossword puzzles were just a coincidence.
Since then, Leonard Dawe’s story has been revisited many times and to this day there is no evidence to suggest that his crossword puzzles were anything more than a coincidence. The incident could be attributed to both coincidence and the heightened tension and paranoia of the time.