Between 1944 and 1945, a secret unit of 1,100 men conducted 20 battlefield deceptions across Europe, misdirecting German forces and saving an estimated 30,000 American lives. They were called the 'Ghost Army,' officially the 22nd Headquarters Special Troops, and their existence remained classified until 1996.
The Ghost Army consisted of artists, architects, actors, designers, and sound engineers recruited from advertising agencies and art schools. Many would become famous after the war—fashion designer Bill Blass, painter Ellsworth Kelly, photographer Art Kane, and illustrator Arthur Singer among them.
Their tools were inflatable tanks and vehicles made of rubber and canvas, fake patches worn to impersonate other divisions, and sonic deception equipment that broadcast the sounds of troop movements. They used the recordings of actual units, captured at the Third Army sonic laboratory, played through 500-pound speakers mounted on half-tracks.
Their biggest operation was Operation Viersen in March 1945, where they convinced the Germans that two divisions were crossing the Rhine at a point 10 miles from the actual crossing, holding German reserves in place while the real assault went in elsewhere.
The Ghost Army operated just miles from the front lines, often under artillery fire. They were unarmed except for their imaginations. Three men were killed and dozens wounded maintaining the deception.
The unit's existence was so secret that veterans could not tell their families for 50 years. Even the Congressional Medal of Honor Society did not learn of them until 2009.
The Ghost Army consisted of artists, architects, actors, designers, and sound engineers recruited from advertising agencies and art schools. Many would become famous after the war—fashion designer Bill Blass, painter Ellsworth Kelly, photographer Art Kane, and illustrator Arthur Singer among them.
Their tools were inflatable tanks and vehicles made of rubber and canvas, fake patches worn to impersonate other divisions, and sonic deception equipment that broadcast the sounds of troop movements. They used the recordings of actual units, captured at the Third Army sonic laboratory, played through 500-pound speakers mounted on half-tracks.
Their biggest operation was Operation Viersen in March 1945, where they convinced the Germans that two divisions were crossing the Rhine at a point 10 miles from the actual crossing, holding German reserves in place while the real assault went in elsewhere.
The Ghost Army operated just miles from the front lines, often under artillery fire. They were unarmed except for their imaginations. Three men were killed and dozens wounded maintaining the deception.
The unit's existence was so secret that veterans could not tell their families for 50 years. Even the Congressional Medal of Honor Society did not learn of them until 2009.