Operation Seagull I
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Operation Seagull I (''"Unternehmen Möwe I"'' or ''"Seemöwe"'' in
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
) was an
Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...
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 of an Abwehr agent to sabotage the North Scottish power station at Fort William. The agent chosen by Haller for Seagull I was an Irish
POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...
, which helped form the details of the mission. In detail – the agent would parachute into the vicinity of
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
where he would form a three-man operational sabotage group from his Irish friends based in the area. The target was to be the electric power station at Fort William and the hydroelectric production facility at
Kinlochleven Kinlochleven () () is a coastal village located in Lochaber, in the Scottish Highlands and lies at the eastern end of Loch Leven. To the north lie the Mamores ridge; to the south lie the mountains flanking Glen Coe. The village was formed fro ...
. Seagull I was later refined in June 1942 to operate in tandem with Operation Seagull II with both operations being controlled by radio. It was also planned for each
sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...
team in Ireland and Scotland to liaise with each other via radio contact.


Military context

Operation Seagull I planning began after the failure of
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 serving ...
(''"Unternehmen Gastwirt"'' in
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
). It appears that Abwehr hoped the training of seemingly compliant Irish POW's who had previous military experience with the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
would lead to success. Operation Seagull I was planned in tandem with Operation Seagull II; its genesis can be seen in the context of 1940 – 1941 Abwehr accomplishments in recruiting agents from Irish National POWs held at Stalag XX A (301) also known as "
Friesack Camp Friesack Camp or Camp Friesack was a special World War II prisoner of war camp where a group of Irishmen serving in the British Army volunteered for recruitment and selection by ''Abwehr II'' and the German Army. The camp was designated Stalag X ...
". While the overall focus of the Abwehr was intelligence gathering, there was a great deal of latitude at the regional planning level in the Abwehr's structure. This led to a series of missions, such as the Seagull series, which with the benefit of hindsight appear to be entirely flawed.


Agents involved

The agent selected for Seagull I was Andrew Walsh aka "Agent Vickers". Walsh was a native of Fethard in
County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. He had been captured by the German Army sometime during the period 1940 – April 1941, most likely as part of the British Expeditionary Force active in France and he had been detained in Stalag XX A (301). At this camp he came into contact with fellow Irishmen, possibly including IRA volunteer Frank Ryan during his recruitment efforts for the Abwehr. Walsh was recruited by the Abwehr around early 1941 for training and preparation for the Seagull I mission. His training for this mission included an advanced radio course at the Abwehr school in
Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...
, Germany. Following the completion of their training, both agents – Walsh for Seagull I and James Brady for Seagull II – were to fly to occupied
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
and prepare for their dropzone flight aboard a
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 ''Condor'', also known as ''Kurier'' (German language, German for ''courier'') to the Allies of World War II, Allies, is an all-metal four-engined monoplane designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wul ...
'Condor'. Shortly before takeoff from Germany to Norway, Haller received a call from Abwehr II HQ in Berlin and was ordered to return to Berlin with both of the agents immediately. On arrival it was explained that prior to their takeoff to Norway, Walsh had confided to fellow POW Thomas Cushing that he planned to turn himself in to the police on landing in Britain. Both Walsh and Cushing were arrested by the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
.It is likely that the communal flat where the Irish POWs were housed was under SD surveillance. It is also possible that Cushing informed on Walsh. All of the Irish POWs, except for
John Codd John Codd (born 1912) was an Irish-born British Army corporal during World War II, who went on to serve in the German Intelligence service (Abwehr) and the Sicherheitsdienst, the foreign intelligence arm of the SS. Early life Codd was born in M ...
, were to see internment in penal batteries, or concentration camps after this. For a description of the competing suggestions about what happened to them all, including Walsh & Brady see Mark M Hull 'Irish Secrets' page 355.
After this, Operation Seagull I was permanently cancelled.


Involvement of the IRA

There was no involvement or prior knowledge of Operation Seagull by the IRA in Ireland, although it is possible that Frank Ryan, an IRA volunteer located/stranded in Germany, was aware of the mission.


Footnotes


Further information/sources

* Mark M. Hull, ''Irish Secrets. German Espionage in Wartime Ireland 1939-1945'', 2003, {{ISBN, 978-0-7165-2756-5


Notable Abwehr Operations involving Ireland

*
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 (). It remained in place despite the collapse of plans for the invasion of Britain ...
*
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 Wor ...
*
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 Lio ...
* Operation Seagull II *
Operation Whale Operation Whale (''"Unternehmen Wal"'' or ''"Unternehmen Walfisch"'' in German) was the name of two separate German Intelligence (Abwehr) plans conceived in 1940.Wal & Walfisch have the same meaning in the German language. *''" Unternehmen Walfisc ...
*
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 ...
*
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 th ...
*
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 W ...
*
Plan Kathleen Plan Kathleen, sometimes referred to as the Artus Plan, was a military plan for the invasion of Northern Ireland by Nazi Germany, sanctioned in 1940 by Stephen Hayes (Irish republican), Stephen Hayes, Acting Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), I ...
*
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 involve ...
*
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 serving ...


See also

*
Operation Green (Ireland) Operation Green () 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" in support of Operation Sea Lio ...
* IRA Abwehr World War II- Main article on IRA Nazi links
Seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...
Seagull I Western European theatre of World War II
Seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...
Scotland in World War II Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II