Friday, September 21, 2018

The Artistry of War

Thought for the day: All warfare is based on deception. [Sun Tze, 545 BC-470 BC]

[image source: wikipedia]

The thought for the day comes from an ancient book, The Art of War, which was written many centuries ago by Sun Tze, a Chinese general, military strategist, philosopher and writer. That particular passage continues: Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

Deception. It can win wars, and the more clever the deception, the more effectively it works. I reckon everybody's familiar with the classic tale of the Trojan Horse, but have you ever heard of World War II's Ghost Army?

Nope, they weren't literally a group of deceased spirits looking after the soldiers, but their behind-the-scenes top secret missions sure did save a lot of lives. I guess you could say they were... weapons of mass deception. (Sorry.) Their mission: to deceive the enemy, and their work was done in complete anonymity and without acknowledgement. In fact, their fellow soldiers didn't even know their unit existed, let alone what they did... until 1996, when the U.S. government declassified the existence of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops. AKA the Ghost Army. Some of their missions remain classified today.
[source: National Archives]

Looking at this photo, you might think these guys possessed some kind of super strength. But nope, they weren't super-strong. In fact, the 1100 men of this unit were recruited from places like art schools and ad agencies. What the government wanted... what they needed... were artists, illustrators, actors, sound specialists, and radio experts. People with good minds and an active sense of creativity. The ability to create illusions and to think outside the box. Because they used inflatable tanks, sound trucks, fake radio transmissions, and scripts that were worthy of a Cecil B. DeMille production.

[source: National Archives]

Staging more than twenty battlefield deceptions... that we know of... including the largest deception in military history, which they carried out on D-day, it's estimated that their ability to fool the Germans saved more than twenty thousand lives. With their hard work and ingenuity, their tactics made their small unit appear to be 30,000 strong.




[source: National Archives]

Here's one of their pieces of rubber artillery. Standard procedure was to inflate tanks, cannons, jeeps, trucks and airplanes and then camouflage them in such a way that German reconnaissance planes flying overhead could detect them. They created fake airfields, soldier bivouacs, (right down to laundry hanging on the clotheslines) motor pools, artillery batteries, and tank formations... all with a few hours notice.

On D-Day, their deception convinced the Germans that the attack was coming from Calais, which is about two hundred miles north of the actual attack site at Normandy.

[source: National Archives]





One of their fake planes.




[source: National Archives]











Even fake landing craft.






[source: National Archives]

Five hundred-pound speakers played an important part in their ruses, too. Prior to deploying to Europe, some Bell Labs engineers worked with a team from this unit to create state-of-the-art recordings of armored and infantry units at Fort Knox. Various mixtures of these sound effects would be blasted from these speakers to give the sonic deceptions they needed to create their auditory illusions.






They even transmitted what they called spoof radio. They conducted fake traffic nets, impersonating real operators from other units. Although Morse Code involves sending dots and dashes, each operator has a distinctive way of doing it, called his fist. These guys even knew how to impersonate an individual operators' fist, so the enemy wouldn't know the real operator... and his entire unit... were no longer in the area.



Lest you think I'm trying to romanticize war, I'm not. But what these guys did is remarkable, and now that part of their story has been told, I wanted to share it with you. What can I say? I'm a history nerd, and I thought this was a fascinating story. PBS did a documentary about them a few years, but I missed it. (Doggone it!) But here's a trailer for that show:


             Amazing story, isn't it? I wonder what else we don't know about World War II...?

                          Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

War is wretched beyond description, and only a fool or a fraud could sentimentalize its cruel reality. [John McCain]

Wars are poor chisels for carving out a peaceful tomorrow. [Martin Luther King, Jr.]

If we don't end war, war will end us. [H.G. Wells]

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. [Dwight D. Eisenhower]

Hate war... but love and appreciate those who fight and sacrifice in them for our benefit. [me]

60 comments:

  1. I saw an exhibition about 'faking' war materials and attacks back in England many, many years ago, and it was astonishing indeed. They showed pics of whole villages which had been camouflaged from the air to look like military bases. Thanks for sharing the articles. Hugs, Valerie

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    1. It is astonishing how much effort went into the deceptions. That must've been a fascinating exhibit.

      Hugs back atcha. Have a super weekend.

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  2. Sigh. They did an amazing job, but I deplore the necessity. I do hope that after the war they could use their creativity in other ways.
    Love ALL of the quotes you finished with.

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    1. Agreed. As one Vietnam veteran said on a PBS show some years back, "The lesson of war is... no more war." And yes, those fellas DID use their creativity after the war. Some became quite well-known for their artistic careers.

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  3. Interesting stuff, friend Sue, though sounds like Hollywood propaganda to me … But according to the few survivors of my family … they never benefitted from any ghost army nor did my grandmother and her 2 sisters … rest in peace Maria, Uta and Anna … and by the way, Sue … not all Germans were bad cuz they rescued my mumme Elsa, age 15 in 1945 … and not all Russians were bad as they let my father in law Emile leave prison camp after 5 years, and not all French were bad as they treated my uncle Paul in POV camp for TB … and not all English and Americans were bad as they were stationed in Europe after the war as peace keepers, they fed us kids with their army rations many a meal … Anyway … Much love, cat.

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    1. It does sound a bit Hollywood-ish, doesn't it? But it's absolutely true.

      And the rest of what you said is true, too. I don't believe ANY group of people is "all bad." At the heart of it all, we are all people, and we all have the same basic needs and the same basic feelings. It's tragic that everyone doesn't realize that and behave accordingly. Hopefully, some day they will.

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  4. So much time, effort and money spent on this when a better option would have been peace talks, if only the "enemy" weren't out to get you. And of course we were "their" enemies as much as they were "ours".

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    1. Peace is always preferable to war, but I honestly don't know if WWII was the kind of war that could've been resolved with peace talks. But I reckon we'll never know...

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  5. Sometimes deception sure can be the key to winning. Remarkable what they did indeed. Probably all kinds of things that we don't know and never will.

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    1. I think what they did is pretty doggone remarkable, too. And you're right. Some things about the war will probably never be declassified.

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  6. Inflatable tanks and more. That was really clever. I'm going to have to read up on the ghost army.

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    1. Cool. I'm glad I piqued your interest. I think what these guys did is fascinating.

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  7. Necessity being the mother of invention here! Like you, I am not in favour of conflict but am in favour of being respectful to those who have experienced it.

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    1. Well said, dear Lisa. (Why am I not surprised...?) Have a super weekend.

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  8. I never heard of all of these deceptive war plans and gear. Interesting. I just think of Scarlett O'Hara in the beginning of GWTW "War, War, War....sick of war talk...just wants to party her pretty little head off".
    Have a good weekend

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    1. Maybe Scarlett had the right idea. Not sure, but after all, "tomorrah is anothah day"... I can think about it then. :)

      You have a super weekend, too.

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  9. This is the very first time I've ever heard of a Ghost Army. It's almost unbelievable, but since it has been documented, I've learned my something new for today. Advertising and marketing are deceptive in many ways as they lure customers in to buy their products. I'll never forget the time one of my children told me that if I wanted clean clothes I should use Tide. Ha ! He'd been watching tv and saw the commercial and was convinced that he didn't have clean clothes unless I used Tide. Ha. It was a lesson in not believing every thing you see or hear for him. The best war movie I've ever watch was the Band of Brothers. We owe a lot to all those brave men and women too who proudly served our country !

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    1. I'm happy to provide you with your "something new" for the day. Now, anything else new you learn today will be like the cherry on top!

      Oh, yeah, admen don't worry about telling the truth; they just want to sell their products. Reminds me of a book I read back in high school: Vance Packard's "Hidden Persuaders." Word nuances can be manipulated to control what people think they know.

      I loved "Band of Brothers," too. :)

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  10. Wow I never heard of this group before. Amazing! What a fascinating story. I hope this documentary will air again sometime, would love to see it.
    Thanks for sharing this bit of history. I'm a history nerd too! :)

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    1. Cool. (We nerds have to stick together!) I wouldn't be surprised if that PBS documentary is available through one of the streaming services. Maybe even on Youtube...

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  11. Oh man, this is SO fascinating. 'Thinking this needs to be made into a full-length motion picture. (Then, oh wait. I guess they did.) Despite my hometown's rep - developing The Bomb - I was never into History. It took my son (another history nerd) to spark my interest. I've shared it on my Facebook page and can't wait to get his reaction!

    PS - Given my mindset on Monday, I couldn't resist sharing a favorite scene from Hot Flashes/Cold Lemonade on my blog:
    https://mevely317.blogspot.com/2018/09/i-am-i-said-aka-currently.html#comment-form

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. I'm glad you found this interesting, too. (Even if you AREN'T a history nerd...) I'm actually an all-around nerd, come to think of it. :)

      Cool. I'm looking forward to seeing what scene that is.

      You have a super weekend, too!

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  12. What an interesting story, Susan, and I totally agree with your reply to Cat’s heartbreaking and beautiful comment.

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    1. Thank you. I'm not at all surprised that you and I are in agreement.

      Have a wonderful weekend.

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    2. What a cool story! Whatever it takes to save lives and beat back evil works for me.

      I'm no fan of war, but I have the utmost respect for the people who put themselves in harm's way for others.

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    3. I'm glad you liked it. It's fascinating to me that their tricks were so effective.

      Agreed. Me, too.

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  13. I'd never heard of this before--it was FASCINATING!!

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  14. Wow, never heard about this before. Now this is real news! And it's rather sad that I'm only reading about it now. I always learn so much from reading your intelligent posts. True history puts all the celebrity gossip to shame...

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    1. Most of us never heard of them, because even when their existence was declassified, it didn't make a splash in the media. Too much gossip to write about, I guess. :)

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  15. I do not know why I know about this group but I do.
    All the quotes were amazing yours especially and I miss John McCain. We are losing Jeff Flake now too.

    cheers parsnip and badger

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    1. Maybe you were lucky enough to see the documentary on PBS?

      Cheers back atcha!

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  16. I've never heard of the Ghost Army before, either! See, we need artists and creative thinkers EVERYWHERE. Just another reason to support the arts!

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  17. That is so clever, and not something I've heard of before. The famous deception I recall was Major Martin, saving many lives in the invasion of Sicily.

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    1. I bet there were lots of clever ruses pulled off during WWII that will never be declassified. I remember reading about the Major Martin ploy, though. Very clever. I think it was called something odd... maybe Operation Mincemeat?

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  18. Dear Susan, My father was in WW2 and told many interesting stories about what transpired in his involvement, but he died when I was 10 and I never heard of some of these deceptive misdirections that furthered freedom. Thank you for this.

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    1. Dear Geo, I'm sorry you lost your dad at such a young age, but I'm happy to hear he shared some of his stories with you. Few fathers (or husbands) do.

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  19. There was a British book (1953) and film (1956) called The Man Who Never Was. It's the true story of how the German's were deceived into believing fake documents found on a body recovered from the sea. This helped with the invasion of Sicily. Most people agree that it's fortunate that Hollywood didn't that film because the British would probably not have been mentioned! They certainly seemed to take all the credit for deciphering the Enigma Machine...
    CLICK HERE for Bazza’s Arcadian Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

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    1. Ah, HA! That's why I knew what Ian was talking about when he mentioned Major Martin in his comment. I saw the movie! Clifton Webb, right? I'd like to think Hollywood would've handled the story in a fair and accurate manner, too, but alas, you're probably right.

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    2. Yes Clifton Webb. Hollywood often evokes a wry smile when telling British stories or portraying unintentionally hilarious Brit stereotypes. I don't think we mind really.

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    3. Good thing, because I don't think it's too likely that Hollywood is gonna change. :)

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  20. This is my first time hearing about the Ghost Army, and wow, fascinating! I always seem to learn something new when I visit your blog...

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  21. Interestingly, a lot of the deceptions mentioned above were in the books I recently read (Black Out & All Clear).

    My favorite Sun Tzu quote: The Military is a Tao of deception.

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  22. That is so interesting! Thanks for sharing - I'd never heard about the Ghost Army before. And I love this quote --> "Hate war... but love and appreciate those who fight and sacrifice in them for our benefit." Whoever said that is a wise woman :-)

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    1. Me? A "wise woman?" Gee, thanks. I'm much more accustomed to being called a "smart ass." :)

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  23. This is interesting. And sad that most wars are so unnecessary. We went to visit the ANZAC graveyard site in Turkey and after reading all the plaques I literally had tears running down my cheeks. So young and dies tragically so unnecessary.

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    1. Military cemeteries have the same effect on me. Far too many young lives have been cut short on the battlefield.

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  24. Very interesting post! I had no idea fake things were used during the war to fool the enemy.

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    1. Thanks. I'm glad the fake stuff captured your real interest. :)

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  25. Hi Susan - yes I know about our British ideas along similar lines - and have the book Churchill's Wizards - which details more ... I haven't read it properly ... having seen a tv programme on these deceptions - but it's at home in store. Loved reading about them ... life now - not so sure ... but goodness I sincerely hope we don't need to have more wars ... take care - cheers Hilary

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    1. Hi-ya, Hilary. While researching the Ghost Army, I saw one tiny comment on one site about the original idea of using this trick came from the British, and the battle in which they used it was even mentioned by name, but when I looked up that battle to find more information, there wasn't a single word about the trickery, so I'm glad to know the British did, indeed, engage in this sort of thing. That sounds like a book I should read. :)

      Agreed. The most vital lesson of war is no more war.

      Cheers back atcha.

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    2. The book is really interesting ... check out another comment I made re how to get the comments to appear ...

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  26. I know that similar things were done in the UK and there were masses of false tanks and planes which the Germans could see whilst the real things were camouflaged.

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    1. That sort of deception during wartime is fascinating to me. I suspect a lot more of it went on than any of us realize.

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  27. Hey Susan, just wanted to stop by and wish you a great weekend: Your blog is one of the best on the net :-)

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    1. Well, thank you, Dylan! That's a very sweet thing of you to say, and I darned near missed it. For whatever reason, Blogger no longer sends comments to me via email, so any comments made on earlier blogs stand a good chance of falling through the cracks. I'm very happy this one didn't! You have a fantabulous weekend, too. :)

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  28. I have heard about the Ghost Army before. It is amazing what they were able to accomplish.

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