80 MILES: 31 DAYS: 10 CODES

01 -31 January 2023

Calling all Secret Agents... Operation Bletchley: The Balkans is your codebreaking challenge. Your mission is to go undercover to arrange supply drops, organise attacks and gather intelligence in our fight against the Nazis. But beware! The Germans and Serb Chetniks know the mountains well, so you’ll need to go on foot to avoid detection. It's an 80 mile trip - do you have what it takes to accomplish your mission and deliver the final message before time runs out?

Your mission begins on 1 January and you must complete, and deliver the final message by midnight on 31 January 2023. 

With three levels of codes to choose from; junior, codebreaker and cypher expert, get the whole family together this New Year - you have 31 days Agent. Sign up now. 

How it works

Operation Bletchley: The Balkans is a codebreaking event that you can take part in anywhere in the world. Here’s how it works...

1. Sign up for just £15 and link your phone or fitness tracker to your fundraising page (you can also record your miles manually if you prefer)
2. Start walking at your own pace (from 1 January 2023)
3. Receive updates and codes to crack after every eight miles completed - three levels are available - Junior, Codebreaker or Cypher Expert
4. Codes will be delivered straight to your inbox and you can select your level then
5. Solve the codes to decipher the hidden message
6. Complete the journey and deliver the message by the midnight on 31 January 2023.

Your mission

It’s New Year’s Day, 1944, and Yugoslavia is in the midst of a civil war. The Serb Chetniks, led by Colonel Draža Mihailovic, are suspected of collaborating with the Nazis and their fascist brothers from Italy and Bulgaria. Their targets? The Bosnian Muslims, Catholic Croats, and Tito’s Yugoslav communist partisans.

But with this last group, there is hope. Since their king was exiled to London, Tito has built a force of 220,000 resistance fighters. And last summer, they fought off a major German-led offensive that led to the deposition of Mussolini in Italy. The tide, it seems, is turning.

Last September, Brigadier Fitzroy Maclean led the Maclean Mission (MACMIS) to train Tito’s fighters and uncover the extent of Russian influence over the partisans. But since Maclean left Yugoslavia to brief Churchill at the Tehran Conference, we need a new pair of boots on the ground to liaise with Bletchley Park and Tito’s partisans. That’s where you come in.

You’ll go undercover to arrange supply drops, organise attacks and gather intelligence in our fight against the Nazis. But beware! The Germans and Serb Chetniks know the mountains well, so you’ll need to go on foot to avoid detection.

Register Now

The difference your generosity can make

Operation Bletchley was created to raise money to support soldiers, veterans and their families, through ABF The Soldiers' Charity. There is no obligation to fundraise, but we hope you'll use your place to raise as much as possible:

£50 - could help cover travel costs so a veteran can attend a job interview.

£75 - could go towards the cost of a temporary wheelchair ramp, allowing an injured soldier to enter and leave their home.

£250 - could contribute towards the care home fees of a frail elderly veteran who requires continuous care.

£1,000 - could help pay for home adaptations so that a veteran’s young disabled child can live in a safe and accessible environment.

ABF The Soldiers' Charity is the Army's National Charity, here for soldiers, past and present, and their families for life.

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