D-Day Deception Operation Fortitude and the Normandy Invasion

*A much-needed reassessment of the deception operation that preceded the Allied invasion of Europe in World War II*Involves double agents, fake equipment, phantom units, and famous commanders: Before landing in France on D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Allies executed an elaborate deception plan designed to prevent the Germans from concentrating forces in Normandy. The lesser-known first part, Fortitude North, suggested a threat to Norway. The more famous Fortitude South indicated that the invasion would occur at the Pas de Calais rather than Normandy, largely by creating a fictitious army group under Gen. George S. Patton. While historians have generally praised Operation Fortitude, Barbier takes a more nuanced view, arguing that the deception, while implemented well, affected the invasion's outcome only minimally.

Mary Kathryn Barbier is a professor of history at Mississippi State University. She is also the author of Kursk and coauthor of Strategy and Tactics.