WWII Code Names

[Professor Brensec]

Imagine the task of keeping the D-Day landings a secret. It would have been impossible to ensure 'absolute' security with the millions of troops stationed in Britain and all the construction and planes and equipment. the blokes responsible for the 'Pattons Dummy Army' with false radio traffic and all.  :o

I think they did a magnificent job at keeping the Germans, and even the Allied men guessing!!  8)

Normally, in such a huge operation, it's standard practice not so much to 'blackout' all information but rather to control certain peices of 'misinformation' and to plant false leads etc. This way, at least, if the enemy does get lucky enough to stumble onto something, they won't know if it's genuine or not.  ???

That was the problem with making the "Man with no Name" (Major Martin, who was really an unfortunate vagrant who drowned in the Thames)  plan a success. Convincing the Germans that the information was genuine!  ;D

[Woodlouse2002]

[quote]
That was the problem with making the "Man with no Name" (Major Martin, who was really an unfortunate vagrant who drowned in the Thames)

[Professor Brensec]

I don't know mate. It's all gone a bit fuzzy now, actually. I saw the History channel Doco, but I may be confused with the old movie, with Clifton Webb as the Officer who came up with the scheme.  ;D

I know the bloke in the movie was a vagrant. I'm sure he'd drowned because the post mortem that the Germans would surely do, would have to reveal this. Anything out of the ordinary for an Army officer who was supposed to have been in a plane crash over water, would have blown the whole thing.  ;)

Anyway, whatever, it was a brilliant little peice of trickery!  ;D

[Smoke2much]

I saw the same doco as woody.  It was believed for many years that the body of a vagrant was used and I think that was the plan but they were suddenly "gifted" with tons of freshly drowned bodies and the plan changed.

And wasn't it all about "Husky" and not "Overlord"?

Will

[Professor Brensec]

[quote]I saw the same doco as woody.