Operation Long Jump
Encyclopedia
Operation Long Jump was the codename given to the unsuccessful World War II
German
plot to assassinate the "Big Three" Allied leaders, Joseph Stalin
, Winston Churchill
, and Franklin Roosevelt, at the 1943 Tehran Conference
.
The plot was approved by Adolf Hitler
and headed by Ernst Kaltenbrunner
. German intelligence had learned of the time and place of the conference in mid-October 1943, after breaking a US Navy code. Otto Skorzeny
was chosen by Kaltenbrunner to head the mission. Also involved was German agent Elyesa Bazna
(better known under the codename "Cicero"), who transmitted key data from Ankara
, Turkey
concerning the conference.
However, Soviet intelligence quickly uncovered the plot. The first tipoff came from Soviet agent Nikolai Kuznetsov
. Posing as Wehrmacht
Oberleutnant Paul Siebert from Nazi-occupied Ukraine, he got SS Sturmbannführer Hans Ulrich von Ortel - who was described as "talkative" and "a drinker" - to tell him about the operation while drunk.
Nineteen-year-old Soviet spy Gevork Vartanian
had recruited a small number of agents in Iran, where his father, also a spy, was posing as a wealthy merchant. It was Vartanian's group which located an advance party of six German radio operators who had dropped by parachute near Qum, 60 km (37.3 mi) from Tehran, and followed them to Tehran, where the German spy network provided a villa for them. They established that the Germans were in contact with Berlin via radio and recorded their communications; when decoded, these revealed that they planned to drop a second group of operatives led by Skorzeny for the actual assassination attempt. Skorzeny had already visited Tehran to reconnoiter and had been followed by Vartanian's group.
Following that, all German transmissions were intercepted by Soviet and British intelligence. However, one of the Germans radioed a message with a secret code indicating that they were under surveillance and the operation was called off. Skorzeny himself considered the intelligence coming from Tehran to be inadequate and did not believe the complex scheme could have worked.
Vartanian was awarded the Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union
in 1984 for his World War II
and Cold War
service.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
plot to assassinate the "Big Three" Allied leaders, Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, and Franklin Roosevelt, at the 1943 Tehran Conference
Tehran Conference
The Tehran Conference was the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill between November 28 and December 1, 1943, most of which was held at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran. It was the first World War II conference amongst the Big Three in which Stalin was present...
.
The plot was approved by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and headed by Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner was an Austrian-born senior official of Nazi Germany during World War II. Between January 1943 and May 1945, he held the offices of Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , President of Interpol and, as a Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS, he was the...
. German intelligence had learned of the time and place of the conference in mid-October 1943, after breaking a US Navy code. Otto Skorzeny
Otto Skorzeny
Otto Skorzeny was an SS-Obersturmbannführer in the German Waffen-SS during World War II. After fighting on the Eastern Front, he was chosen as the field commander to carry out the rescue mission that freed the deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from captivity...
was chosen by Kaltenbrunner to head the mission. Also involved was German agent Elyesa Bazna
Elyesa Bazna
Elyesa Bazna was a famous World War II secret agent. An Albanian from Kosovo who spied for the Germans during the Second World War, and was widely known by his code name Cicero...
(better known under the codename "Cicero"), who transmitted key data from Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
concerning the conference.
Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov
Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov was a Soviet intelligence agent and partisan who operated in Nazi-occupied Ukraine during World War II. He used several pseudonyms during his intelligence operations: e.g...
. Posing as Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
Oberleutnant Paul Siebert from Nazi-occupied Ukraine, he got SS Sturmbannführer Hans Ulrich von Ortel - who was described as "talkative" and "a drinker" - to tell him about the operation while drunk.
Nineteen-year-old Soviet spy Gevork Vartanian
Gevork Vartanian
Gevork Andreevich Vartanian ; ; born February 17, 1924 in Nor Nakhichevan . His father was an intelligence agent as well and was sent to Persia on 1930, where he worked for 23 years under a cover of a wealthy merchant. Gevork Vartanyan was not even 16 when he went into intelligence...
had recruited a small number of agents in Iran, where his father, also a spy, was posing as a wealthy merchant. It was Vartanian's group which located an advance party of six German radio operators who had dropped by parachute near Qum, 60 km (37.3 mi) from Tehran, and followed them to Tehran, where the German spy network provided a villa for them. They established that the Germans were in contact with Berlin via radio and recorded their communications; when decoded, these revealed that they planned to drop a second group of operatives led by Skorzeny for the actual assassination attempt. Skorzeny had already visited Tehran to reconnoiter and had been followed by Vartanian's group.
Following that, all German transmissions were intercepted by Soviet and British intelligence. However, one of the Germans radioed a message with a secret code indicating that they were under surveillance and the operation was called off. Skorzeny himself considered the intelligence coming from Tehran to be inadequate and did not believe the complex scheme could have worked.
Vartanian was awarded the Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
in 1984 for his World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
service.