World War II Remembered
Field Trip Enhancement Program
In Plain Sight
D-Day Deception
Generously Sponsored by the
Dane G. Hansen Foundation
In Plain Sight
D-Day Deception
INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS
The best deception is attained by feeding
an opponent with falsehoods which he
wants to believe. Using code names such
as Bodyguard, Double-Cross, Fortitude,
and Quicksilver, General Dwight D.
Eisenhower commanded a series of covert
operations that fooled the Germans time
after time and played a crucial role in the
victorious Allied invasion of Europe. In
this program, students will examine
visual and textual data presented in
primary source documents to gain an
understanding of D-Day deception plans.
3
4
5-6
7
8
Background Briefing
Glossary
Briefing Organizer Conclusion
9-10
Sources
11+
Secret File topics 1-8
TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 9-10
TIME REQUIREMENT: 1 hour
OBJECTIVES
NATIONAL CURRICULUM STANDARDS
All lesson plans meet numerous national
Common Core State Standards for Literacy in
History/Social Studies, Science and Technical
Subjects, as well as National Curriculum
Standards for Social Studies.
• Students will gain knowledge of
several of the deception plans that
aided in the successful D-Day invasion.
• Students will evaluate primar y
sources to determine how a specific
operation helped deceive Hitler’s
forces of the where, when, and/or what
Allied forces would be used in the
OVERLORD invasion?
Common Core St Standards
Standards
RI - Reading Informative
Text
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This unit was produced in June 2014 by
the Eisenhower Foundation.
Lesson Plan
Mitzi Bankes Gose, writer
Emily Miller, editor
SL - Speaking and
Listening
9th-10th
1-4, 7, 9, 10
1, 4
RH - Reading History/
Social Studies
1, 2, 4, 7, 9,
10
WHST - Writing History/
Social Studies
1, 7
Natl. Curriculum Standards for Social Studies
Theme
Thanks to the Dane G. Hansen Foundation
for funding and the Eisenhower
Presidential Librar y, Museum and
Boyhood Home for support.
2
2: Time, Continuity, and
Change
Middle Grades,
8: Science, Technology,
and Society
Middle Grades,
High School
High School
Lesson Plan
INTRODUCTION
1.
Have this quote visible to all students: THE BEST DECEPTION IS
ATTAINED BY FEEDING AN OPPONENT WITH FALSEHOODS WHICH HE
WANTS TO BELIEVE.
2. The facilitator guides students through the Background Briefing
information.
(1 per student)
5 minutes
EXERCISES
3. In small groups, students are to analyze one of the Secret Files
containing primary and secondary sources on each topic. They are to
use this information to fill out a Briefing Organizer. Inform students
that each file also contains a Glossary of terms to aid students in their
understanding of the files’ contents.
4. Each student group orally presents their Briefing Organizer to the rest of
the students.
CONCLUSION
5. Use the Conclusion page to guide students through the success of the DDay deception plans, and to answer the question, “How does what you’ve
learned explain the quote: THE BEST DECEPTION IS ATTAINED BY
FEEDING AN OPPONENT WITH FALSEHOODS WHICH HE WANTS TO
BELIEVE?”
6. Show the video “How Did the Allies Keep D-Day a Secret?” This can be
found under under “Pivotal Moments: D-Day” on the Dwight D.
Eisenhower Memorial’s website, or at:
http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/experience/#/dday/206.
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20 minutes
20 minutes
5 minutes
THE BEST DECEPTION
IS ATTAINED BY
FEEDING AN OPPONENT
WITH FALSEHOODS
WHICH HE WANTS
TO BELIEVE.
Thomas M. Hatfield, PhD
Background Briefing
Everyone knew there would have to be an
Allied invasion to liberate western Europe
from Nazi control; that fact could not be kept a
surprise. But where, when, and what forces
had to be secret if there would be any hope for
success. The Allied forces were greatly
outnumbered—some reports say 10:1—by
Hitler’s Nazi armies who had already built a
great “Atlantic Wall” of military obstacles and
reinforcements all along the Atlantic coast
line. It was obvious to Hitler that the most
advantageous invasion site for the Allies
would be Pas de Calais, France because of its
proximity to Dover, England. If the Calais
ports were taken, they would provide Allied
troops a place to quickly deport soldiers and
supplies, and access the established French
highways to make a straight-line to Hitler’s
Germany.
a thick evening London fog. It
was supposed to be a week before an
announcement was made of the new
commander’s identity and location, but
Eisenhower soon learned that a German spy
had already notified his Nazi controllers!
When Ike demanded to know how this
information was leaked, he was not only
informed that it was done on purpose by one of
the Allies’ double-agents, he was also briefed
on many covert operations and groups that
were already in place or being proposed to
help with Overlord. As Supreme Commander,
Ike was now tasked with being the single
guiding head of the various plans of deception.
All responsibility came to his desk.
In groups, you are each going to learn
about different aspects of these covert
operations and then deliver a briefing to
General Eisenhower. You will inform Ike of
how your deception will help deceive Hitler of
the where, when, and what forces will be used
in the invasion. To do this, you will be given a
file containing primary and secondary sources
to analyze and use to fill out a briefing
organizer.
Knowing all this, the Allied forces began
strategizing how to successfully invade. A
complex web of deception plans was created to
simultaneously be carried out and mislead
Hitler’s Nazi forces. Bodyguard was the
codename chosen for the overall strategy to
protect the invasion. Operation Bodyguard
included many deception plans to keep the
Nazi forces spread out and guessing where
and when the Allies would invade western
Europe.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower was already
serving as the Supreme Commander of Allied
Forces in North Africa when he was secretly
chosen to serve as the Supreme Commander of
the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe.
Under this title, he would lead the invasion,
codenamed “Overlord,” to liberate Europe
from Hitler. Ike reported to his new London
office on January 15, 1944, under the cover of
1
Dover,
England
2
Pas-de-Calais,
France
3 Beaches of
Normandy,
France
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Glossary
As you analyze the primary and secondary sources in your file, you may
need to refer to this glossary to better understand the terms and titles used.
23rd Headquarters Special Troops = A United States Army tactical deception unit whose
mission was to impersonate other U.S. Army units to deceive the enemy. It is unofficially often
called “The Ghost Army.”
Abwher = the German military intelligence division.
BODYGUARD (Operation or Plan Bodyguard) = The code name for the overall strategy to
protect Operation OVERLORD. BODYGUARD contained a number of cover and deception
operations.
“By Special Means” = the term used by insiders to mean “purposefully leaking information
through an enemy agent.”
BI-A = Counterespionage arm of MI-5, responsible for handling double-agents.
BIGOT = This was stamped on documents to designate them as the highest security
classification. They contained information about the key secrets of Operation Neptune.
COSSAC = Chief of Staff to Supreme Allied Commander. This was renamed SHAEF after the
appointment of Dwight D. Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
Double Cross System = The operation of turning captured German spies into double agents
working for the Allies. They were controlled by a group called the Twenty Committee. In
Roman numerals, twenty is XX, so the use of these double-agents was labeled the “double-cross
system.” Also, to double-cross someone means to cheat or deceive them.
Enigma = The German encoding machine, thought by the Abwher to be undecipherable.
FORTITUDE (Operation Fortitude) = A major part of Operation BODYGUARD, this was the
code name of a deception plan aimed at misleading the German high command about the
OVERLORD invasion, especially, NEPTUNE. It was broken into several sub-plans.
FUSAG = The First United States Army Group. A skeleton army purportedly preparing for the
Allied invasion at Pas de Calais. It pretended to be up to fifty army divisions.
General Harold R. Bull = Head of the Operations Division at SHAEF. He exercised day-to-day
control of the deception plan.
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Ghost army or phantom army = General terms used for small tactical groups that use deception
techniques to fool the enemy into thinking they are a much larger unit than they really are and
in a different location than the real army is. “The Ghost Army” is the unofficial name often used
for the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops.
Joint Security Control (JSC, American) and
London Controlling Section (LCS, British). They were both responsible for devising and
coordinating strategic cover and deception schemes.
M.I.5 = British Secret Service section responsible for security within Great Britain (similar to
the FBI in the U.S.).
M.I.6 = British Secret Service section responsible for security outside of Great Britain.
Notional = The term used by the British to describe a simulated, or dummy, unit or position.
Office of Strategic Services (OSS) = The U.S. intelligence and covert action agency during World
War II.
Operation NEPTUNE = This was the code name for the naval aspect of the D-Day invasion onto
Normandy’s beaches.
Operation OVERLORD = The code name for the entire Allied invasion at Normandy, France. This
included navy, air, and ground forces. Commonly called D-Day, it occurred June 6, 1944.
Operation QUICKSILVER = The codename for a number of deceptions to support the fabrication
of FUSAG. It was subdivided into six sub plans numbered I through VI.
Operation ULTRA = The British code name for the systematic breaking of the German’s secret
codes and communications.
Ops (B) = An Allied (SHAEF) military deception planning department in charge of the
operations and intelligence for Operation BODYGUARD. It was also referred to as the Committee
of Special Means (CSM).
ULTRA = The code name for the Allied (but handled mostly by the British) cryptographic
intelligence, which was derived from breaking the code of the German Enigma machine and
decoding the messages.
SHAEF = Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the
Commander of SHAEF in Europe.
Strategic deception = Involves attempting to fool the enemy on a grand scale over a time period
of months or years.
Tactical deception = Concerns events that take place in a more localized area—generally within
the same country or within the boundaries of one army group—and over a time period of a few
hours to a few weeks.
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Briefing Organizer
Secret File title/topic:
Description of this deception plan:
How will it help deceive Hitler of the where, when, and/or what forces
will be used in the OVERLORD invasion?
THE BEST DECEPTION is ATTAINED BY FEEDING AN OPPONENT WITH FALSEHOODS WHICH HE WANTS TO BELIEVE.
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CONCLUSION
As D-Day neared, the deception was absolute and
on June 6, 1944, the Overlord invasion of the Normandy beaches
came as a complete surprise. The Nazis mounted fierce resistance with
the forces they had at Normandy, but it could have been much worse had the
deception plans not worked. Furthermore, instead of sending his full force of
reinforcements to the Normandy invasion, Hitler ordered the largest of his troops (the
15th Army) to stay at Calais because of his certainty that Normandy was just a
diversion for FUSAG to strike at Calais on a later date. Hitler was successfully led to
believe that the invasion wouldn't come until mid-June or even mid-August. The brave
and clever men of these many Allied deceptions left a trail of clues that fooled the
Germans so well that they still feared the “real invasion” was coming at Calais well into
August, 1944 — two months after the Allies had successfully stormed the beaches of
Normandy and were on their way to Berlin, Germany. Hitler would never again regain
control of the war.
Watch the video “How Did the Allies Keep D-Day a Secret?” This can be
found under under “Pivotal Moments: D-Day” on the Dwight D. Eisenhower
Memorial’s website, or at:
http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/experience/#/dday/206.
How does what you have learned in this lesson explain this quote?
THE BEST DECEPTION is ATTAINED BY FEEDING AN OPPONENT WITH FALSEHOODS WHICH HE WANTS TO BELIEVE
LEARN MORE: Once the Allies were firmly established in France, the time
for strategic deception in Europe had ended. Tactical deception was then
needed to defeat the Germans in battle. Shortly after the Allies landed in
Normandy, the first operation of the 23rd Special Troops took place. This
unit took part in over twenty major operations, fulfilling battlefield
deceptions that helped win the war. Their skill in luring in the enemy and
then disappearing at the last minute earned them the name “The Ghost Army.”
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Sources
The following are recommended sources of content and primary sources.
Eisenhower Presidential Library (National Archives), Abilene, Kansas
Dwight D. Eisenhower; Papers, Pre-Presidential, 1916-52. Principal File. Box 60.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. Presidential Papers, 1916-1952. Principal File. Box 109.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. Pre-Presidential Papers, 1916-1952. Box 22.
SHAEF, Office of Secretary, General Staff Records, 1943-45. Box No. 60.
SHAEF, Office of Secretary, General Staff Records, 1943-45. Box No. 56.
SHAEF, Office of Secretary, General Staff Records, 1943-45. Box No. 28.
SHAEF, Office of Secretary, General Staff Records, 1943-45. Box No. 120.
SHAEF; Selected Records, 1943-45. Box No. 41.
Smith, Walter Bedell; Collection of World War II Documents, 1941-45. Box 50.
Smith, Walter Bedell; Collection of WWII Documents, 1941-45. Box No. 33.
Books
Ambrose, Stephen. Ike’s Spies. New York: Doubleday, 1984.
Blumenson, Martin. The Patton Papers: 1940-1945. Boston: Houghton Mifflan Co., 1957.
Breuer, William. Hoodwinking Hitler: The Normandy Deception. Westport: Praeger, 1993.
Brown, Anthony. Bodyguard of Lies. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press, 2007.
Cruickshank, Charles. Deception in World War II. Oxford University Press, 1980.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Own Story of the War. New York: Arco,1946.
Gawne, Jonathan. Ghosts of the ETO: American Tactical Deception Units in the European Theater 1944-1945. Havertown, Pennsylvania: Casemate, 2002.
Holt, Thaddeus. The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2007.
Levine, Joshua. Operation Fortitude: The Story of the Spy Operation that Saved D-Day. London: Collins, 2011.
Macintyre, Ben. Double Cross. New York: Crown, 2012.
Pujol, Juan and Nigel West. Operation Garbo. Biteback Publishing, 2011.
Rawson, Andrew. Eyes Only: The Top Secret Correspondence Between Marshall and Eisenhower. Gloucestershire: The History Press, 2012.
Smith, Walter Bedell. Eisenhower’s Six Great Decisions: Europe 1944-1945. London: Longmans, 1956.
.
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Sources Continued
Websites or Online Sources
“Agent Garbo.” MI5: The Security Service. Crown. June 24, 2014. <https://
www.mi5.gov.uk/home/mi5-history/world-war-ii/agent-garbo.html>.
Archives.gov
“Bletchley Park: Home of the Codebreakers.” Cultural Institute. Bletchley Park Trust.
August 24, 2014. <https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/exhibit/bletchley
park-home-of-the-codebreakers/wRANFg9s?hl=en-GB>.
Bletchleypark.org.uk
Commons.wikimedia.org
“The Crucial Deception.” The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin. Military History Institute - Articles & Publications. August 3, 2014. <http://www.cah.utexas.edu/museums/
military_artpub.php?articles=militaryarticles_hatfield_fortitude4>.
“D-Day Deception.” History.Com. A&E Networks. August 15, 2014. <http:www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day/videos/d-day-deception>.
Eisenhower.archives.gov
“D-Day: Three Unique Perspectives: Patton on D-Day.” General George Patton Museum. The Patton Museum Foundation. July 9, 2014. <www.generalpatton.org/D-Day/D-day_index.asp>.
Docsteach.org
ghostarmy.org
Hatfield, Thomas M., PhD. “The Crucial Deception.” The University of Texas at Austin.
Briscoe Center for American History. Military History Institute. 2006. Web.
August18, 2014. <www.cah.utexas.edu/museums/military_artpub.php?
articles=militaryarticles_hatfield_fortitude>.
Lindsley, George A. and Margaret E. with Herbert A. and Mary Cynthia Bradley.
“Always Out Front: The Bradley Story.” Unpublished Word. 1999. Web. August 10, 2014. <http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/Bradley/index.html>.
Murphy, Brian John. “Patton’s Ghost Army.” America In WWII. 310 Publishing. August 5, 2014. <www.americainwwii.com/articles/pattons-ghost-army/>.
Murray, Williamson. “World War II: Ultra — The Misunderstood Allied Secret Weapon.” MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History. 2002. HistoryNet.com. 2006. <www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-ultra-the-
misunderstood-allied-secret-weapon.htm>.
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