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Two notable large scale examples: Before , the Germans would likely have taken Moscow, consolidated Europe and won the war. Before D-Day , Operation Quicksilver created a fictional "First United States Army Group" (FUSAG) commanded by General George Patton that supposedly would invade France at the Pas-de-Calais. American troops used false signals, decoy installations and phony equipment to deceive German observation aircraft and radio intercept operators. This had the desired effect of misleading the German High Command as to the location of the primary invasion, and of keeping reserves away from the actual landings. Erwin Rommel was the primary target of the psychological aspects of this operation: convinced that Patton would lead the invasion, Rommel was caught off-guard and unwilling to react strongly, as Patton's illusionary FUSAG had not "yet" landed. Only when he could verify that signals traffic from it had evaporated could he shake off doubt and react. Confidence and speed was reduced enough that the German response to the beachhead was weak: had Rommel reacted strongly with all he had to the initial invasion, he might have won. These two cases alone demonstrate the extreme importance of military deception in outcomes of major historical battles. |
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