THE SECRET OF D-DAY

A detailed Summary of THE SECRET OF D-DAY

Gilles Perrault the author of The Secrete of D-Day refers to Operation Fortitude as the greatest Allies' triumph. It involved deception, the feeding of misleading information to the Nazis. It ensured the success of D-Day landings, which led the way to Hitler's defeat in the Second World War. Behind the amazing success of D-Day was the most sophisticated deception plot ever arranged. The objective was to persuade the enemy that the long expected landings would take place in the northern part of the French coast ( Pas-de-Calais). Making the attack in Normandy just a diversion that could be safely ignored.

Hitler had been aware that the American Allies would eventually mount a cross channel invasion. In 1942, American generals wanted to cross the channel and the British had refused the proposal. General Eisenhower declared that the British refusal "could well go down as the blackest day in history". Eisenhower later realized that such attack would have been a failure. By November1943, it became eminent that the Allies were going to launch an attack across the channel. Hitler appointed Field Marshal Erwin Romel, former commander of the Africa Corps, as a commander of the occupied threatened coast. The questions for Hitle

Clifton James was an actor who was chosen to play the role of his lifetime, Impersonating Montgomery. He was recruited because his resemblance to Montgomery, he had many long conversations with the general to familiarize himself with every aspect of Montgomery's actions. Clifton received a general's pay as long as he was playing the general's role. In late May, preceding D-Day Clifton disguised as Montgomery visited Spain, receiving full honors as a general. He was driven to a government house in an open car, so that the German agents could verify his presence in Spain. The fake general departed Spain by plane to Algiers. If Montgomery was making a tour to Africa, the assault across the channel could not be plan for the near future.

Six years after the war, Churchill wrote in his journal, "It would not be proper even now to describe all the methods employed to mislead the enemy". Even Allied commanders, who were question twenty years later, they were eager to give you facts about the Normandy invasion. But when asked about Operation Fortitude, they followed Churchill's comment as to not being proper to disclose the secrets. Before the Normandy invasion General Eisenhower had already calculated the price of landing on Omaha beach. The lives of ten thousand soldiers and he was prepared to loose double that figure in order to secure Omaha beach, he figured that the estimated eight hundred German defenders would run out of ammunition before reaching the estimated count.

Hundreds of bogus agent reports were fabricated, an entire US Army Group was invented. Inflatable tanks, dummy bombers and landscapes of landing crafts were positioned where they could be photographed. German pilots who were bold enough to fly over southeastern England were rewarded by the sight of a real fairytale landscape.

transmitter that could communicate with London by voice, instead of the usual Morse code. This was a revolutionary development and it only could be trusted to a man of his statue. The transmitter would provide a new level of security because enemy monitors could not pick up the signal. Donnet tried to get in contact with London with 250 messages and a gro

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Approximate Word count = 1471
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History