Strategic Deception: OPERATION FORTITUDE

Strategic Deception: OPERATION FORTITUDE
Author: Lt.-Col Michael J. Donovan
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 47
Release: 2014-08-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782897178

The Allied leaders decided to conduct the cross-channel invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europe in the first half of 1944 during the Tehran Conference held in November 1943. To support this invasion they also decided to implement a comprehensive deception campaign given the cover name BODYGUARD. The goal of BODYGUARD was to deceive Hitler and his senior military commanders about the location and timing of Allied offensive actions. Under the BODYGUARD umbrella, operation FORTITUDE was specifically designed to support the invasion of Normandy. FORTITUDE consisted of two primary operations. FORTITUDE-NORTH was designed to convince the Germans that the Allied invasion in 1944 would come through Norway and Sweden vice France. FORTITUDE-SOUTH was developed to convince Hitler and his staff that the primary invasion site in France would be Pas de Calais and other potential invasion sites, such as Normandy, were only diversions. The BODYGUARD and associated FORTITUDE operations were quite successful in fixing German forces, causing reserves to be committed piecemeal and basically paralyzing Hitler's decision making ability during the time of the Normandy landings and for weeks afterwards. The principles of current joint deception doctrine were applicable and utilized by the deception planners of General Eisenhower's staff long before the current Joint doctrine (Joint Publication 3-58, Joint Doctrine for Military Deception) was ever written.

Fortitude

Fortitude
Author: Roger Hesketh
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 1007
Release: 2002-05-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1590209486

This declassified WWII report offers a detailed look at the Allied campaign to deceive the Nazis about the immanent attack on Normandy. As the conflict in Europe wore on, the Germans braced for an amphibious assault on France. The only question was where and when the Allies would strike. This required an intricate misinformation campaign to throw the Nazis off the scent. The objective of Operation Fortitude was to persuade the enemy that the long-awaited landings would take place in the Pas-de-Calais, and that any attack in Normandy would be nothing more than a diversionary feint that could be safely ignored. Hundreds of bogus agent reports were manufactured, an entire US Army Group was invented, false radio signals transmitted, and inflatable tanks, dummy bombers built of balsa wood and canvas landing craft were positioned where they could be photographed by the Luftwaffe. The elaborate ruse suggested an imminent amphibious assault from Dover, across the shortest stretch of the English Channel. Operation Fortitude was an extraordinary success. In this volume, the classified official history of the entire operation, written by Roger Hesketh as head of the team of D-Day deception specialists, has been declassified and released.

D-Day Deception

D-Day Deception
Author: Mary Kathryn Barbier
Publisher: Stackpole Books
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2005-03-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 1461750849

Before landing in France on D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Allies executed an elaborate deception plan designed to prevent the Germans from concentrating forces in Normandy. The lesser-known first part, Fortitude North, suggested a threat to Norway. The more famous Fortitude South indicated that the invasion would occur at the Pas de Calais rather than Normandy, largely by creating a fictitious army group under Gen. George S. Patton. While historians have generally praised Operation Fortitude, Barbier takes a more nuanced view, arguing that the deception, while implemented well, affected the invasion's outcome only minimally. A much-needed reassessment of the deception operation that preceded the Allied invasion of Europe in World War II Involves double agents, fake equipment, phantom units, and famous commanders

The Art and Science of Military Deception

The Art and Science of Military Deception
Author: Hy Rothstein
Publisher: Artech House
Total Pages: 607
Release: 2013-09-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1608075516

It is said that deception among people in a civilized society is something to be loathed even though it seems to be part of human nature; but deception in war is a virtue. Properly designed and executed, stratagems reduce the horrific costs of war. This book is a comprehensive collection of classic articles on deception, hand-picked and expertly introduced by well-known experts on military deception. The purpose of this book is to set in motion a renaissance for using deception as an instrument of statecraft. The various sections are designed to cumulatively provide sufficient breadth and depth on the subject to satisfy both the novice as well as the expert. Packed with expert commentary, interesting background information, and original readings, this book provides the reader with sufficient knowledge to pursue General Eisenhower’s vision for the proper role of deception in support of the national interest.

Strategic Deception in the Second World War

Strategic Deception in the Second World War
Author: Michael Howard
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 294
Release: 1995
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780393312935

Told from confidential documents - some of which remain closed for the foreseeable future - here is the precisely detailed story of the British government's campaign of strategic deception of the German High Command. A volume in the British government's Official History of Intelligence in the Second World War, the book has been written by a master historian renowned for his narrative and analytical skills. Sir Michael Howard explains how the British were able to deceive the Germans about the strategic intentions of the Allies and make them greatly overestimate Allied resources. Here is the most authoritative account available of such classic deception operations as Operation Mincemeat, which preceded the invasion of Sicily; the nonexistent U.S. Army group that pinned down an entire German Army in the Pas de Calais until Montgomery's forces had achieved a secure foothold in Normandy; and the amazing trick played on the German intelligence authorities by the great double agent Garbo.

OPERATION FORTITUDE: The Closed Loop D-Day Deception Plan

OPERATION FORTITUDE: The Closed Loop D-Day Deception Plan
Author: Major Ernest S. Tavares Jr. USAF
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 67
Release: 2015-11-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 178625087X

Operation FORTITUDE, the D-Day deception plan, was a near perfect plan used by the Allies during World War II to deceive the Germans as to the time and place of the Normandy invasion. This short research paper studies the methods and techniques used by the Allies, specifically the British Security Services, in the near flawless execution of the deception plan. This paper also proposes that the plan was so well executed because it was a “closed loop” plan. That is to say that the British controlled not only the information going forward to the Germans, but they were also in the enviable position of being able to determine the exact extent of the Germans’ belief in the veracity of the information that they were given. This was due to two factors: the British had complete control of all German agents in England by the second year of the war, and the British were able to read encrypted German message traffic, often as fast as the intended recipients. In the final analysis, the Germans were completely outmaneuvered in the intelligence department during the Second World War. Through sloppy work on their part and the amazingly well manufactured deception story put forth by the Allies, the Germans were essentially blind while trying to defend the Normandy beaches. The research for this paper was conducted solely using open-source material. Many of these were secondary sources, though others were recently declassified operational documents from the British and United States historical records.

Operation Fortitude

Operation Fortitude
Author: Joshua Levine
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2011-11-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 0762777354

Operation Fortitude tells the thrilling tale of an ingenious decption that changed the course of the Second World War. The Story is one of intrigue, drama, and good fortune, practically a Hollywood script. It is the tale of double agents, fake radio transmissions and dummy invasion craft.

Strategic Military Deception

Strategic Military Deception
Author: Donald C. Daniel
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1483190064

Strategic Military Deception explains the nature of deception, its processes, and the elements and conditions when a person used and succeeds at deception. The main focus of the book is the discussion of strategic military deceptions. The book is mainly a collection of research that seeks to develop a common idea of deception's basic elements and its relationships. The first part of the book contains such topics as the application of game, communication, organization, and systems theories. The second part of the book deals with the testing and validation of some of the theories of deception through a series of historical case studies. By analyzing a series of cases, the book identifies some recurring patterns in a group of deception cases. There are also chapters that focus on the use of deception during World War II. The book will be a useful tool for military agents, game theorists, and psychoanalysts.