Supreme Commander Eisenhower directed General Patton to “command” the First US Army Group (FUSAG), an entirely fictional formation whose purpose was to fool the Germans into thinking the Allies were aiming their invasion at the Pas de Calais, the nearest point between France and Great Britain.

Patton threw himself into the FUSAG deception-Operation Fortitude-with gusto, allowing himself be sighted all over eastern England. Meanwhile FUSAG “headquarters” generated volumes of radio traffic, indicating to the eavesdropping Germans that the army group was an enormous formation of tanks and troops.

To aid in the deception, hundreds of specially made inflatable tanks and trucks were left in plain sight for german recon flights to spot. This and a myriad of other illusions and deceptions firmly convinced the Germans the invasion would come at Calais.

COMES A Soldier’s Whisper remembering history, one day at a time.

Photo/Text Source: America In WWII February 2014 Article

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