Operation Double Cross is very famous for what the British did during world War 2. As well as the fake army and dead wash up. Did the Axis successfully do any such trickery on the Allies? Also, were there any famous Allied spies that were caught?
Thank you
During 1942 in the Netherlands, the Abwehr captured several Dutch resistance agents, and using their codenames and radios, convinced the British to send in some 50 more agents who were immediately captured upon landing. I believe that it was commonly referred to as "Englandspiel" if you were interested in further research.
Seventeen agents were also captured in France, with the Gestapo having prior knowledge of the majority of jumps, and also, eight trusted spy circuits in Belgium were all run by the Germans.
In regards to famous Allied spies caught, Violette Szabo was a SOE agent who was captured during an intense firefight with the Wehrmacht, and was later transferred to Ravensbruck Concentration camp, where she was executed shortly before the end of the war. She gained quite a deal of fame following the war, and was awarded the George Cross 9the civilian version of the Victoria Cross), as well as a Croix de Guerre.
Sources: M.R.D Foot, "What Use was the SOE?" Royal Unted Services intitues Journal Vol. 148, no.1 (2003) 76-83. A.A Hoehling, "Women Who Spied" (Lanham 1993), 115-142.
As an aside Professor Foot has some amazing content on espionage in WWII and I would highly recommend reading his material if you are interested in further research