Operation Whale (''"Unternehmen Wal"'' or ''"Unternehmen Walfisch"'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

) was the name of two separate German Intelligence (

Abwehr The ''Abwehr'' (German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. A ...

) plans conceived in 1940.Wal & Walfisch have the same meaning in the German language. *''" Unternehmen Walfisch"'' was an aborted plan to land a seaplane on a lake in Ireland. Walfisch did not take place and planning was abandoned by July 1940. *''"Unternehmen Wal"'' was an aborted plan devised in November 1940 to establish contacts with Welsh and Scottish nationalist groups in Britain in preparation for

Operation Sea Lion Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle o ...

(''"Unternehmen Seelöwe"'' in German). :The agent that was to undertake the mission was one of the Abwehr's Irish "experts", Helmut Clissmann. He was to be transported to Britain by Geistersegler (ghost sailor) Christian Nissen aka. "Hein Mück" or "Agent Hein". Planning for Whale took place when all Irish operations were prohibited by Abwehr chief

Wilhelm Canaris Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1 January 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a German admiral and the chief of the '' Abwehr'' (the German military-intelligence service) from 1935 to 1944. Canaris was initially a supporter of Adolf Hitler, and the Nazi r ...

. In order to work around the direct order not to interfere in Irish affairs, Abwehr Section leader Kurt Haller sought permission for an operation which had the stated aim of seeking assistance from Welsh and Scots groups although the outright aim was to seek further contacts with Ireland. Wal did not take place and planning was abandoned by April 1941.

Notable Abwehr Operations involving Ireland

Operation Green (Ireland) Operation Green (german: link=no, Unternehmen Grün) often also referred to as Case Green () or Plan Green (), was a full-scale operations plan for a Nazi German invasion of Ireland planned by an unknown German officer known by the alias "Hadel" ...

Operation Lobster In 1940 the Germans decided to send agents and saboteurs to infiltrate Britain from Norway and northern France. This plan was given the codename Operation Lobster (german: Unternehmen Hummer). It remained in place despite the collapse of plans for ...

Operation Lobster I Operation Lobster I (''Unternehmen Hummer I'' in German) was an Abwehr plan to infiltrate three German agents into Ireland, in July 1940. It was part of a wider series of missions carried out within the framework of Operation Lobster during World ...

Operation Seagull (Ireland) Operation Seagull (''"Unternehmen Möwe"'' or ''"Seemöwe"'' in German) was an Abwehr II/ Brandenburger Regiment-sanctioned mission launched in September 1940. The object of the mission was to infiltrate the UK in preparation for Operation Sea L ...

Operation Seagull I Operation Seagull I (''"Unternehmen Möwe I"'' or ''"Seemöwe"'' in German) was an Abwehr II sanctioned mission devised in May 1942. The plan was the brainchild of Kurt Haller and an expert from Abwehr I-Wi (economic). The plan envisioned the use ...

Operation Seagull II Operation Seagull II (''"Unternehmen Möve II"'' or ''"SeeMöve"'' in German) was an Abwehr II. sanctioned mission planned in June 1942 as a refinement of Operation Seagull I. The plan envisioned in Seagull II was to use an Irish Abwehr agent (' ...

*Operation Whale *

Operation Dove (Ireland) Operation Dove (''"Unternehmen Taube"'' in German) also sometimes known as Operation Pigeon, was an ''Abwehr'' sanctioned mission devised in early 1940. The plan envisioned the transport of IRA Chief of Staff Seán Russell to Ireland, and on the a ...

Operation Osprey Operation Osprey (''"Unternehmen Fischadler"'' in German) was a plan conceived by the German Foreign Ministry and Abwehr II. mid-1942. The plan was an enlargement of Operation Whale (''"Unternehmen Wal"'' in German). Planning took place in the ...

Operation Sea Eagle Operation Sea Eagle (''"Unternehmen Seeadler"'' in German) sometimes referred to as Operation Dove II (''"Unternehmen Taube II"'' in German) was a German Foreign Ministry plan conceived in May 1941 after the collapse of planning around Operation Wh ...

Operation Mainau Operation Mainau (German: Unternehmen „Mainau“) was a German espionage mission during the Second World War. It was sanctioned and planned by the German secret service ('' Abwehr'') and executed successfully in May 1940. The mission plan involv ...

Operation Innkeeper Operation Innkeeper (''"Unternehmen Gastwirt"'' in German) was an aborted plan devised in Autumn 1941 to send two Irish Abwehr agents to London on a sabotage mission. One of the two agents was John Codd, an Irish national captured while servin ...

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References

Mark M. Hull Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

, ''Irish Secrets. German Espionage in Wartime Ireland 1939-1945'', 2003, *

Enno Stephan Enno Stephan (1927–2018) was a German journalist and historian. He was conscripted into the German military at the age of 15 during the Second World War and subsequently became a prisoner of war. He was sent to work at the Abbey of Fontenay in ...

, ''Spies in Ireland'', 1963, (reprint) * J Bowyer Bell, ''The Secret Army - The IRA'' 1997 3rd Edition, {{ISBN, 1-85371-813-0

Whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

Western European theatre of World War II

Independent Ireland in World War II Scotland in World War II Wales in World War II

Notable Abwehr Operations involving Ireland

See also

Footnotes

References