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appalachiablue

(41,198 posts)
Tue Jun 6, 2023, 12:22 AM Jun 2023

WW2 Ghost Army Used Art to Deceive Nazis, D-Day, Rhineland - Artists, Designers, Engineers, Painters

How the Ghost Army of WW2 Used Art to Deceive the Nazis, Smithsonian Mag., July 5, 2022. Ed.

- Unsung for decades, the U.S. Army’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops drew on visual, sonic and radio deception to misdirect the Germans.

Bernie Bluestein was 19 years old when he spotted a vaguely worded notice of World War II, and the United States Army was seeking recruits for a new, non-combat camouflage unit that would draw on the art of deception to misdirect the enemy. All for serving his country but not exactly the “fighter-type person,” Bluestein enlisted in the enigmatic unit. He didn’t know it at the time, but the assignment would prove riskier than most non-combat roles: If the Nazis found out that members of the so-called “Ghost Army” were playing them for fools, they were likely to retaliate brutally.

“If I had known that before I got into the service, I probably would have made a different decision,” says Bluestein, now 98. A resident of Schaumburg, Illinois, he remains an avid artist, making everything from paintings to ceramics.

Known formally as the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, the unit carried out more than 20 deception campaigns during the final year of the war. Drawing on members’ artistic talent & technological savvy, the Ghost Army created elaborate illusions featuring inflatable tanks, jeeps & artillery; speakers that blasted prerecorded tracks of troops in action; and falsified radio dispatches. Their goal: to confuse and intimidate the Germans by offering a false sense of the Americans’ numbers and troop movements. In total, the 23rd saved the lives of an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 American servicemen.

Their successful missions included D-Day and Operation Viersen, a March 1945 hoax that convinced the Germans their enemies were planning to cross the Rhine River far north of where they actually attacked. Though the unit’s numbers were limited—it comprised 1,023 men & 82 officers—the soldiers’ visual, sonic & radio deceptions managed to convince the Germans that they faced enemy forces of up to 40,000 men. Despite the Ghost Army’s pivotal role in the Allied victory, few outside of the unit knew of its existence until decades after the war.

Smithsonian magazine published the first feature-length, public account of the group’s exploits in April 1985..The U.S. government declassified the unit’s official history around that same time, according to the Ghost Army Legacy Project, but soon reclassified the records & kept them under wraps until 1996.. Comprising artists, architects, set designers, painters, engineers & other highly skilled creatives, the 4-unit Ghost Army—the first of its kind in American history—was activated on Jan. 20, 1944..“This is a unit that used creativity & illusion to save lives and help win the war. ... That’s something highly worthy of honor,” says Rick Beyer, producer of the 2013 documentary The Ghost Army...Read More, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-ghost-army-of-wwii-used-art-to-deceive-the-nazis-180980336/



- "The Ghost Army" trailer, film available on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
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WW2 Ghost Army Used Art to Deceive Nazis, D-Day, Rhineland - Artists, Designers, Engineers, Painters (Original Post) appalachiablue Jun 2023 OP
I wonder if the Ukrainians in 2023 are using updated elements of the ghost army? wcmagumba Jun 2023 #1
Could be & some techniques have likely been used elsewhere following WW2. appalachiablue Jun 2023 #2
ARTISTS IN THE GHOST ARMY, film excerpt: appalachiablue Jun 2023 #3
Those sketches - they should be assembled and kept/exhibited somewhere. 3Hotdogs Jun 2023 #4
Absolutely, I know some are on view now in a travelling exhibit produced by appalachiablue Jun 2023 #5

wcmagumba

(2,893 posts)
1. I wonder if the Ukrainians in 2023 are using updated elements of the ghost army?
Tue Jun 6, 2023, 12:28 AM
Jun 2023

I did actually read somewhere the other day that UA does have some drones that give off the electronic indicators of fighter aircraft, so I guess that would qualify...sort of answers my own question...hmmm...

appalachiablue

(41,198 posts)
3. ARTISTS IN THE GHOST ARMY, film excerpt:
Tue Jun 6, 2023, 01:12 AM
Jun 2023


- Artists, The Ghost Army documentary, excerpt about artists who served in the 603rd Camouflage Engineers, the visual deception arm of the Ghost Army.

appalachiablue

(41,198 posts)
5. Absolutely, I know some are on view now in a travelling exhibit produced by
Tue Jun 6, 2023, 03:45 PM
Jun 2023

The National WWII Museum in NOLA, currently on view in Nevada. Hopefully many of these important artworks are in permanent collections in institutions or otherwise in safe hands. The National Archives may have some works as part of their massive Captured German Records holdings. Thanks for posting.

The current exhibit info, just posted here today.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/11633192

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