![]() ![]() From the beaches of Normandy to the River Rhine, they conjured inflatable tanks and vehicles, faux artillery pieces, a phony general or two, vehicle noises and fake radio traffic-ruses to convince enemy commanders they were facing tens of thousands of American soldiers massing for attacks.Ĭreated in 1944, the Ghost Army stage-managed more than 22 deceptions as allied troops fought their way from the English Channel to the German border. ![]() The French cyclists had caught a glimpse of the backstage work of 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, aka the Ghost Army, an American unit of 1,023 artists and other specialists chosen for their abilities to create realistic and convincing decoys. “After that, (the GIs) learned to keep civilians out of the area, or else it would blow their cover,” said Crean, who came to Reno in March for the opening of Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II at the Nevada Museum of Art. “These Americans are really strong,” one of the Frenchman was heard to remark. Peter Crean, the vice president of education at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. The two witnesses were impressed, said retired U.S. An American sentry approached, but the Frenchmen were mesmerized by what was behind him: four GIs effortlessly lifting and moving what appeared to be a 40-ton tank. ![]() One day in 1944, two French refugees cycling in a rural part of Luxembourg spotted what looked like trucks, trailers and M4 Sherman tanks draped in netting beneath sheltering trees. ![]()
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