Secret Soldiers: The Story of World War II’s Heroic Army of Deception

432 Pages·2002·69.446 MB·English

by  Philip Gerard

THE STORY OF WORLD WAR
ll'S
ARMY
HEROIC OF DECEPTION
LDIERS
Gerard
Philip
:
U.S. $25.95
Can. $37.99
Secret Soldiers is the incredible story
of on extraordinary group of Ameri-
can artists, designers, and engineering
wizards who became America's unsung
heroes of the Second World War.
They were masters of the craft of illusion and
deception, and their greatest disappearing act
was to vanish from history. The men of the
23d Headquarters Special Troopswere recruited to
become phantom warriors in a ghost army to help
win the Battle of Europe. They fought in more cam-
paigns, from D-Day to the Rhine River, with more
Allied armies, than any other unit in the European
—
Theater of Operations yet not even their fellow
American soldierswere aware oftheir presence.
After Douglas Fairbanks Jr., USNR, completed a
tour of England and its special forces installations,
the Hollywood star convinced the Navy brass to
train an elite unit that eventually evolved into the
—
only Army force of its kind a top-secret band of
unknown heroes. These elite soldiers counted
among their number designer Bill Blass and
painter Ellsworth Kelly, and were inspired by Hilton
Howell Railey, the "P. T. Barnum of Deception."
The Special Troops' mission was twofold: to
deceive the German army into believing that the
Allies possessed more troops and materiel than
they actually did and, even mord heroically, to
draw enemy fire on their position to allow other
units to advance free of lethal resistance. Through
the artofcamouflage, sonic deception, and illusion
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A WALTON HALL (Sear Stratford-upon-Avon, I. ADVANCE PARTY ARRIVES AT GLASGOW VIA
15 May-l£ Jun 44 England. "Residue" stayed AIR 17 APRIL »44.
here through S July; HUTS.?.
stayed here through 7 Aug.) II. MAIM BODY ARRIVES IN ETO 15 MAY »44
B NORMANDY (Rubercy was ao orchard III. 3132 3IG. 3V. CO. (HEATER) ARRIVED
16 Jun-3 Aug just south of Trevieres, ETO 11 JUNE *44.
France. Residue" Joined
ELEPHANT here. ELEPHANT 1 ELEPHANT 1-4 July 44
had camped first in some 2 BRITTANY 9-1? Aug 44
fields near Xcraaaeville 3 BREST 20-27 Aug 44
•est of Trevieres.) 4 BFTTEMBOURG 14-22 Sap 44
5 tTLTZ 4-10 Oct 44
C LS FREMQNDRS (Orchard few miles north 6 DALIAS 2-10 Nov 44
3Aug-?3 Aug of Coutance. KEaTEE joined 7 ELSEKBORN 3-1? Nov 44
main body here.) Z CASANOVA 4-9 Nov 44
9 KOBLENZ 6-14 Dec 44
D TORCE en CHARNIS (Grounds of abandoned 10 KODAK 22-23 Dec 44
23 Aug-31 Aug chateau between Laval and 11 METZ I 28-31 Dec 44
Lallans.) 12 METZ II 6-9 Jan 1*5
13 LEGLISE 10-15 Jan 45
1 MAUBY 14. FLAXWE1LER 17-18 Jan 45
31 Aug-7 Sep (Hillside 25 miles west of 15 STEINSEL 27-29 Jan 45
Troyes.) 16 LANDONVILLE 28 Jan-2 Feb 45
17 WHIPSAW 1-4 Fab 45
t 3T GERMAIN (Napoleonic palace and mlli- 18 MEBZIC 13-14 Fab 45
7 Sep-20 Sep tary barracks near enough to 19 LOCBINVAR 1-11 Uar 45 "
Paris. Task force departed 20 BOUZONVILLS 11-13 Mar 45
for Bettembourg Operation 4, 21 VIERSSN 13-24 Mar 45
13 Sep. Rear Echelon came
up to Verdun 20 Sept. Sa-
tire command reassembled in fit
Luxembourg 25 Sep.)
LUXEMBOURG (In the Italian Legation.
25 Sep-13 Apr 45 Units in seminary and
school. On 26 Dec units
moved back to a caserne in ADMINISTRATION MOVES IN UNITED KINGDOM
Verdun while command re- INDICATED IN ROMAN NOS.
mained in Luxembourg. On
10 Jan U5 units moved up to
a caserne in Briey which was TACTICAL MOVES ON CONTINENT INDICATED
the rear base camp until 13 ^\' IN ARABIC NOS.
Apr.)
H IDAR-OBERSTEIN (In Hotel Herar.es. Units ADMINISTRATION MOVES ON CONTINENT
13 Apr- Jun scattered throughout Saar-
Palatinate-Moselle and out V
nearly to Czechoslovakia. DISPLACED PERSONS' CAMPS
All units eventually re-
grouped in fields outside
Oberstsin 21 May for POM mk BIVOUAC AREAS
staging.)
Excerpts from Operations Map, 23d Headquarters Special Troops by T-5
GeorgeA. Martin, B Co., 603d Engineers and battalion photographer. Martin
drewand handlettered the mapwhile in Europe. MAPCOURTESYOFROYEICH-
HORNANDGEORGEA.MARTIN.

SECRET
SOLDIERS
THE STORY OF WORLD WAR ITS
HEROIC ARMY OF DECEPTION
Gerard
Philip
§
DUTTON
SOUTH BOSTON
DUTTON
PublishedbythePenguinGroup
PenguinPutnamInc.,375HudsonStreet,NewYork,NewYork10014,U.S.A.
PenguinBooksLtd,80Strand,LondonWC2RORL,England
PenguinBooksAustraliaLtd,Ringwood,Victoria,Australia
PenguinBooksCanadaLtd, 10AlcornAvenue,Toronto,Ontario,CanadaM4V3B2
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PenguinBooksLtd,RegisteredOffices:Harmondsworth,Middlesex,England
PublishedbyDutton,amemberofPenguinPutnamInc.
Firstprinting,June2002
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright©PhilipGerard,2002
Allrightsreserved
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