Sometimes the key to success is a successful introduction to the opponent's field on the battlefield. This conclusion was often reached by commanders during World War II, trying to draw the enemy's attention to false or even non-existent units. In this way, you can force the enemy army to concentrate its forces in a completely different place, waste ammunition on the dummy, and at the same time save some of your own and, above all, lose less of your own soldiers. Such tactics during World War II were used mainly by the Allies, but also by, for example, Japan.
The most famous example of using false military units to mislead the enemy was the operation to convince the Germans that the landing of the Allies would not take place in Normandy but in the Strait of Kaletan. For this purpose, it was decided to create a fictional army that was to prepare for the landing. This army was named the First United States Army Group (FUSAG). It was to consist of the 1st Army of Canada and the 3rd US Army, which on paper were to have a total of 20 divisions, 5 of which were to be armored divisions. To make the existence of this millionth army even more credible, the famous General George Smith Patton was placed at its 'head'. All of this was happening as part of the wider Operation Fortitude South, which we'll talk about later.
Technically, the Allies prepared for the operation flawlessly. This is what Mirosław Derecki wrote about this logistics: “Hundreds of full-size models of tanks, planes and self-propelled guns, made of thin rubber, were ordered in the United States. After being delivered in covered trucks, in sealed crates, to the appropriate "concentration areas" in the South East of England, all these "combat vehicles" were inflated and positioned, "masked", at the site of their parent units' camp.
Numerous additional measures were also taken to reassure the Germans that the landing would actually take place in the Pas de Calais area. In the place where the fictional army was located, cars with walkie-talkies were launched into the field, the operators of which were to exchange reports and even argue about, in their opinion, insufficient supplies. In this way, the presence of countless soldiers was simulated. What's more, increased bombardments were also carried out in places where the alleged landing would take place.
It should be emphasized that a certain Polish "thread" was important in the entire operation. It was agent Brutus, i.e. Polish double agent Roman Czerniawski. At that time, he was so respected by the Germans that messages from him, after encoding with Enigma, were sent to the Abwehr command with the following annotation: "source - agent extremely important". And it was he who was assigned to the staff of General Patton and Eisenhower, which gave him the opportunity to "infiltrate" and then pass on to Germany extremely "important" information about the activities of FUSAG. Brutus' activities were further aided by unmasked German agents whom the Allies had already under their control.
The key report was given by Brutus on June 8, 1944, when he informed the Germans that in General Patton's headquarters in Dover he saw not only General Eisenhower but also Winston Churchill and King George VI himself. Even after the real invasion had begun, Brutus continued to send his reports, explaining why the Allies were still not in the Pas de Calais. He mentioned various unforeseen obstacles or disputes in the command. Roman Czerniawski had the opportunity to boast about his role back in the 1980s. In 1985 he gave an interview in London to Michel Leclerq, a journalist from the French "Paris Match".
The activity of the so-called "Army of the Ghosts", which was to take the Germans to the field. Although it is estimated that, thanks to its activities, from 15 to 30,000 fewer Allied soldiers died during the war, still a little more than a quarter of a century ago we would not have known about it at all. Right after the war, the "soldiers" of this army were forbidden to talk about its activities (the Americans probably intended to use the solutions applied in other fields as well), and the files concerning the Army were declassified only in 1996.
You can also indicate an event that could later become an inspiration for the establishment of this branch. Well, in 1942, during the Battle of El-Alamein, the Allies placed dummy artillery and tanks in front of Erwin Rommel's army. The Germans got confused and attacked the "enemy", and in the meantime, they were attacked by real troops. Later, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who served in the US Navy Reserve in Great Britain, who reportedly managed to interest even Theodore Roosevelt himself, became an advocate of such activity.
Only about 1,100 people in total “served” in this specific unit. However, they were not soldiers as such, because they were recruited from among people who, under normal circumstances, would rather not have joined the army. So they were primarily actors, but also painters, make-up artists, and even musicians. They usually came from Hollywood and art and film schools.
The first training "Ghosts" began in 1944. Later, however, they were to become famous - in military circles, of course, because no one outside had the right to know about it - by their specific participation in Operation "Fortitude". To a large extent, its aim was to confuse the Germans as to the landing sites of the allies, and then the directions of movement of the troops and the conducted combat operations. For example, their merit was the construction of a false floating port, which was to attract the attention of German defenders. However, their activity on land was much more interesting.
How did this activity look like? The roads were driven by dummy tanks put on jeeps, empty trucks pretending to transport soldiers, rubber, inflatable tanks were set up, and along with the transports huge sound equipment was carried, through which the roar of engines, and even the march of the infantry column, were carried. Rafał Geremek even mentions that surrounded by "overwhelming forces", the Germans in the port of Brest decided to capitulate. Such situations were actually quite problematic for the Spirits because they had to first notify the real troops so that they could capture the prisoners. In total, the Ghost Army was used in 21 battles.
Disinformation in the field was also taken care of. The "soldiers" wore the emblems of actual military units, the famous emblem of the ghost itself was secret. Radio messages were constantly imitated, which were to further confuse the Germans. The ghosts also often told the local French population about planned and implemented "actions" on the front, as the command hoped that the information would reach German agents through collaborators.
The Japanese also had some tricks in their arsenal. Although the Americans claimed in some post-war publications that they were of poor quality, we must not forget that these were statements from the point of view of the victors of the war. Certain Japanese initiatives, however, cannot be denied ingenuity. Even during or after the war, American soldiers in the reclaimed territories found fake tanks made of volcanic ash, which is so soft that it could be cut with a knife, or simply masked wooden replicas that were supposed to draw fire from American armored divisions. The Japanese also happened to build false anti-aircraft artillery positions and even cannons. To make it even more interesting: even Japanese "soldiers" - scarecrows, "armed" with bamboo weapons were found.
Japanese dummy airplanes were seen quite often. They were usually made of wood, bamboo, or even… straw. In this way, fighters and even bombers were constructed and placed at real or false airfields. Sometimes even additional military camouflage was added to them to further reassure the Americans that they were dealing with a real target. Various types of dummy airplanes have been discovered by Americans, for example at the airport in Okinawa. It was not uncommon for American pilots flying over them to send bursts of machine guns at them.
The Japanese also had some tricks in their arsenal. Although the Americans claimed in some post-war publications that they were of poor quality, we must not forget that these were statements from the point of view of the victors of the war. Certain Japanese initiatives, however, cannot be denied ingenuity. Even during or after the war, American soldiers in the reclaimed territories found fake tanks made of volcanic ash, which is so soft that it could be cut with a knife, or simply masked wooden replicas that were supposed to draw fire from American armored divisions. The Japanese also happened to build false anti-aircraft artillery positions and even cannons. To make it even more interesting: even Japanese "soldiers" - scarecrows, "armed" with bamboo weapons were found.
Japanese dummy airplanes were seen quite often. They were usually made of wood, bamboo, or even… straw. In this way, fighters and even bombers were constructed and placed at real or false airfields. Sometimes even additional military camouflage was added to them to further reassure the Americans that they were dealing with a real target. Various types of dummy airplanes have been discovered by Americans, for example at the airport in Okinawa. It was not uncommon for American pilots flying over them to send bursts of machine guns at them.
An extremely original Japanese idea was to paint the silhouettes of American bombers on the ground. Why American? The answer lies in the exact appearance of such paintings, visible from a certain ceiling. Well, they presented the American planes in such a way that you had the impression that smoke was coming from one of the engines. This was supposed to give the impression that the plane was hit, burning, and falling. The assumption was that American planes flying much higher above such a "bait" would take it for a real plane and go lower to see what happened, when they stabbed themselves in the fire of Japanese anti-aircraft artillery, this time real.
The Japanese were also very creative at sea, and sometimes they used real units to mislead the enemy. You can find information about a situation that happened in one of the Japanese ports: a damaged ship was thrown ashore there, to which, after many flights, both pilots and interpreters of aerial photographs got used to. The Japanese used it cleverly. They came to this place on a twinship with supply and towed the damaged one to another place. In addition, they put their shoulders around him to create an impression of concentration and movement in this place. And while the Japanese were unloading the shipments quietly, the Americans were losing bombs on an already destroyed ship and units of no strategic importance.
Bibliography:
- J. Barnett-Lawrence, Dummies on the British Home Front: Decoys that Protected the UK during World War II, B.A. Thesis, University of North Carolina, Asheville 2016.
- Dummy Targets, "Naval Aviation News", August 1, 1944.
- R. Geremek, Army of Ghosts. How Hollywood helped to defeat the Third Reich, "Newsweek", No. 41/2010.
- M. Derecki, From recent history: a giant bluff (II). Operation "Fortitude", "Kamena", no. 3/1986.
- P. Forbes, Dazzled and Deceived. Mimicry and Camouflage, Yale University Press, London 2009.
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