Ghost Army, a World War II Master of Deception, Finally Wins Recognition

[douglas9]

The Ghost Army had one goal: Deceive Hitler’s forces and their allies.

Credited with fine-tuning the ancient art of deceptive warfare, the American military units of the Ghost Army used inflatable tanks and trucks to cloak the true size and location of American forces. They played ear-piercingly loud recorded sounds to mimic troop movement. They sent out misleading radio communications to scramble German intelligence.

The objective was to trick the Germans into thinking the Allies were in the neighborhood in force, so that actual units elsewhere had time to maneuver.

The Ghost Army, described as “a traveling roadshow of deception,” was composed of engineers and artists, designers and architects, radio operators and truck drivers. The work was so secretive that group members, who are credited with saving thousands of Allied lives, were unsung heroes for several decades after the war. But a grassroots effort in recent years culminated this week in the ultimate recognition from the U.S. government.

On Tuesday, President Biden signed a bill that grants the Congressional Gold Medal — Congress’s equivalent of the Presidential Medal of Freedom — to members of the Ghost Army for “their unique and highly distinguished service in conducting deception operations” during World War II.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/03/us/ghost-army-world-war-2.html

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Joe is on top of everything!

[3Hotdogs]

2. Then there was George Washington's ghost army.

It led to the last battle of the American Revolution, The Battle of Yorktown. 1781.

American soldiers were stationed at White Plains, N.Y. British troops occupied N.Y.C. Neither side had moved for a couple of weeks, just sending reconnaissance scouts.

Meanwhile, Washington had met with French General Rochambeau in Rhode Island. They agreed to join join forces at Yorktown and defeat British General Cornwallis.

Washington's troops left White Plains but left a small number of troops at White Planes, along with empty tents and equipment. It was about two weeks before British General Clinton learned that the army was no longer in White Plains.

The depiction allowed Washington to engage Cornwallis without Clinton being Abel to assist Cornwallis.

[rambler_american]

3. The best example of giving misinformation to the enemy

“The idea, very simply, was to get a dead body, equip the dead body with false papers, and then drop it somewhere the Germans would find it,” historian Ben Macintyre tells NPR’s Guy Raz. Macintyre is the author of the new book, Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory.

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127742365

[IronLionZion]

4. Misinformation can be very deadly

as we're still seeing it even today.

[Alpeduez21]

5. I read a book about this

The Man Who Never Was when I was a kid in the seventies. Fascinating

[krispos42]

11. I watched the movie a couple of months ago

I thought it was pretty good.

[Alpeduez21]

13. Thanks, that's kind of neat

I'll check it out.

[Alpeduez21]

6. There is also

The War Magician about David Mascelin (?) who was doing this stuff against Rommel in North Africa. Pretty neat stuff

[left-of-center2012]

7. I'm glad to see they're getting the Congressional gold medal

But they have been recognized for years in books movies magazine articles TV shows etc

[niyad]

8. Excellent.

[cutroot]

9. "Eye of the Needle". By Ken Follet 1978

Gives a fictional account of a nazi spy that uncovered the deception. It was also made into a movie. Quite a thriller.

[wnylib]

12. One of my favorite authors.

Yes, it is quite a thriller.

[liberalla]

10. Bookmarking. Very interesting! I want to learn more about this.

Thank you.

[denbot]

14. I've seen numerus photos of their work, but I had no idea of the scope.

Nor the tactical advantages they achieved. Bravo Zulu Joe Biden for recognizing these men and women, while some still live.