Happy Memorial Day! The NYT reviews a new PBS documentary, "The Ghost Army":
This documentary chronicles the efforts of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, 1,100 men whose job was to create a fake army that would be deployed in Europe to try to confuse the Germans. The intent was to create the illusion of troop strength or to make it seem as if an offensive would be launched in one place, when the true attack point was different. And sometimes, more dangerously, the hope was that the fake army would draw fire, sparing troops elsewhere.
The unit, the program relates, was full of artists and designers who tried to envision what a scene would look like from a German reconnaissance plane and, just as important, what it would sound like. They came up with inflatable tanks and artillery pieces that appeared remarkably real (though deflation was a constant concern — a limp gun barrel on an artillery piece was something of a giveaway). One veteran of the unit, Arthur Shilstone, describes a moment when four soldiers picked up one of those tanks effortlessly while two French civilians looked on dumbfounded.
“I finally said, ‘The Americans are very strong,’ ” he recalls.The unit also recorded sounds of troop and vehicle movements, which were blared from speakers in the back of trucks to create an auditory illusion. And it broadcast fake radio traffic for the benefit of German eavesdroppers. Considerable attention was paid to detail. Insignia were changed to mimic those of real units, and radio traffic was tailored to the illusion that was being created.
