The Ghost Army was an United States Army tactical deception unit during World War II, officially known as the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops. The 1,100-man unit, comprised of mostly artists, architects, actors, set designers, and engineers recruited from art schools, advertising agencies and other occupations that encouraged creative thinking.
Ghost soldiers were encouraged to use their brains and talent to mislead, deceive, and befuddle the German Army.
They were equipped with inflatable tanks, cannons, jeeps, trucks, and airplanes that the men would inflate with air compressors, and then camouflage imperfectly so that enemy air reconnaissance could see them. They would create dummy airfields, troop bivouacs(complete with fake laundry hanging out on clotheslines), motor pools, artillery batteries, and tank formations in a few hours.
They put on a "traveling road show" with sound trucks, fake radio transmissions, scripts and pretence. They broadcasted the sounds of men and artillery to make the Germans think it was upwards of a two-division 30,000-man force. The unit's elaborate ruses helped deflect German units from the locations of larger allied combat units
They staged more than 20 battlefield deceptions, often operating very close to the front lines. Their story was kept secret for more than 40 years after the war, and elements of it remain classified. #psyops #ww2 #blowupdolls #ghostarmy #zerofoxtrot #stayzero