Its members were fulltime deceivers capable of simulating two whole divisions, approximately 30,000 men. Apr 30, 2015 during world war ii, 1,100 men of the 23rd headquarters special troops, known as the ghost army, created phony convoys, phantom divisions, and makebelieve headquarters to fool the enemy about the strength and location of american units. The unit was made up of more than 1,100 men, who were on a mission to fool the enemy, fool the enemy in to believing they were other u. The 23rd headquarters special troops, aka the ghost army, used illusion and trickery to impersonate actual fighting units on or near the front. Nov 11, 2018 what he and other members of the clandestine, 1,100man 23rd headquarters special troops unit did was seemingly create their own army, but with lifesize inflatable tanks and planes, and hollow. The exhibit explores the story of the us armys 23rd headquarters special troops, known as the ghost army, who elevated battlefield deception to an art form during world war ii in order to fool adolf hitlers forces. A chapter exemplary innovation and devotion of a unique. Philip gerard profiles the virtually unknown 23rd headquarters special troops, an elite, thousandman ghost army that helped win the war in europe and fought in more campaigns than any other unit in the european. Army 23rd headquarters special troop, otherwise known as ghost army or phantom army. Officially known as the 23rd headquarters special troops, the ghost army was the tactic used by us authorities to deceive the german nazis into thinking that they had more men and equipment.
Philip gerard profiles the virtually unknown 23rd headquarters special troops, an elite, thousandman ghost army that helped win the war in europe and fought in more campaigns than any other unit in. Artists, actors, telegraphers, set designers, engineers, and sound technicians were recruited for this secret unitan atypical group of soldiers. But the two men, longtime friends, are linked in another way. Janeczko focuses his lens on world war ii and the operations carried out by the twentythird headquarters special troops, aka the ghost army.
Each deception required that they impersonate a different and vastly larger u. This ghost patch symbol was painted on the cover page of the official history of the 23rd headquarters special troops document written in 1945 by unit member captain fred fox. From normandy to the rhine, the 1100 men of the 23rd headquarters special troops, known as the ghost army, conjured up phony convoys, phantom divisions, and makebelieve headquarters to fool the enemy about the strength and location of american units. Apr 25, 2019 ben affleck will direct and star in an adaptation of rick beyer and elizabeth sayles 2015 book, the ghost army of world war ii, for universal. In his third book about deception during war, paul b. The soldiers of the secret 23rd special forces played a unique role in world war ii. When an army of artists fooled hitler history smithsonian. The 23rd headquarters special troops world war ii the mission and existence of the 23rd headquarters special troops was kept top secret until 1996. Blass and his cohort were members of the 23rd headquarters special troops, an elite force whose specialty was tactical deception. The authors cover the formation, deployment and actions of the 23rd headquarters special troops a group of artists, engineers, radio operators, sound men and combat troops. The bipartisan legislation encompasses both the 23rd headquarters special troops, and the 33 signal company special, which practiced sonic deception in italy. What he and other members of the clandestine, 1,100man 23rd headquarters special troops unit did was seemingly create their own army, but.
Ben affleck will direct and star in an adaptation of rick beyer and elizabeth sayles 2015 book, the ghost army of world war ii, for universal. The largest came near the end of the war, when, on march 1824, 1945, the 1,100man unit mimicked two divisionsmore than 30,000 troopsto deceive. With only 1100 men, the 23rd was repeatedly able to disguise itself as a much larger force. It was equipped with inflatable tanks, cannons, jeeps, trucks, and airplanes that the men would pump up with air compressors, and then camouflage imperfectly so. The ghost army many people have contacted me in the last. And they did it not with deadly weapons, but with their brains, talents. Irving mickey mckane nussbaum 23rd hq special troops 603. Also known as the ghost army, these troops brought a new perspective to warfare and were a key part of the allied victory.
Mickeys unit as referred to below was transported from ny to stratfordonavon great brittain then on to luxembourg. There are many reasons that the us and allied troops won world war ii. Dahl served in the 603rd camouflage engineers, which was one of four units that made up the 23rd headquarters special troops also known as the ghost or phantom army. During world war ii, 1,100 men of the 23rd headquarters special troops, known as the ghost army, created phony convoys, phantom divisions, and makebelieve headquarters to fool the enemy about the strength and location of american units. New ben affleck movie will highlight the ghost army of wwii. The american 23rd headquarters special troops were given a unique mission during world war ii. Army 23rd headquarters special troops are somewhat known deployment of inflatable. Lets put on a show the 23 rd was officially activated on january 20, 1944, and the bulk of the unit headquarters special troops arrived in england in may, shortly before dday. The mission of the ghost army legacy project is to preserve and honor the legacy of these men. The unsung heroes of the 23rd headquarters special troops and the 33rd signal. The 23rd headquarters special troops anything wwii vi. Ghost army legacy project a nonprofit dedicated to honoring the. The units sole mission was to impersonate other us army units with the use of inflatable tanks, fake radio transmissions, sounds of trucks and the. As of march 12, 5 representatives and 20 senators support this legislation.
Named wwii purple heart for famous top secret 23rd hq. National forces 23rd hq special troops, the ghost army. The deceivers employed an array of inflatables tanks, trucks, jeeps, airplanes, sound trucks, phony radio transmissions and even playacting to fool the enemy. During wwii, us army planners set out to create a topsecret unit capable of conning the germans on the battlefields of europe. Ghost army legacy project a nonprofit dedicated to. He wrote the greatest stories never told book series and produced. Freed from their code of silence, many of the remaining members of the 23rd which included designer bill blass contributed testimony to ghost army of world war ii by veteran reporter jack kneece, who fills in their testimony with a careful weighing of the documentary evidence. The unsung heroes of the 23rd headquarters special troops and the 33rd signal company special saved thousands of lives and helped win the war, but their efforts were kept secret for fifty years and have yet to be officially recognized.
Jack kneece recounts the efforts of a covert american army unit made up of actors, writers, artists, and set designers whose main goal was to deceive and confuse the german army in world war ii. The 23rd impersonated other units including complete divisions through misleading radio communications, using loudspeakers to broadcast heavy vehicle traffic and. Army 23rd headquarters special troop, otherwise known as. I have been researching this army unit for a couple of years, since my father harold j. The exhibit explores the story of the us armys 23rd headquarters special troops, known as the ghost army, who elevated battlefield deception to an art form during world war ii. Reason being that ghost army was classified as top secret undercover operation. A chapter exemplary innovation and devotion of a unique force that served allied forces during the world war ii. The book details the work undertaken by the ghost army, a troop of american artists and actors who saved thousands of allied lives by duping the enemy.
Deception has been a part of warfare since the trojan horse. Ghost army of 23rd headquarters special troops dodged enemy. The ghost army was a united states army tactical deception unit during world war ii officially known as the 23rd headquarters special troops. Twentythird special troops fooled the nazis hardcover april 23, 2019. Most people associate them with the deceptive first army group and gen. Army 23rd headquarters special troops are somewhat known deployment of inflatable tanks and tents, electronic sound simulations of troop contingents and radio traffic, fake paratroopers or ruperts the details remained classified until 1996. Since the wwii us army 23rd headquarters special troops unit was a secret and covert group, there was no official military patch. The investigation is shrouded in secrecy, due to the highly confidential nature of the american unit headquartered nearby in the norman hedgerow country. Ghost army will tell the story follows the 23rd headquarters special troops, a unique unit comprised of actors, artists, performers, and other creatives recruited out of ad agencies and art schools. In 1943, ellsworth kelly, a member of the topsecret 23rd special troops, stands with a prototype of a fake jeep, made of burlap and wood. The epic account of world war iis greatest rescue mission. New museum exhibit reveals secrets of world war iis ghost army. The 23rd headquarters special troops was a force of only 1,000 men who, with skilled deceptions, often masqueraded as 34,000.
It was equipped with inflatable tanks, cannons, jeeps, trucks, and airplanes that the men would pump up with air compressors, and then camouflage imperfectly so that enemy air reconnaissance could see them. They had no special strength or skills beyond the ordinary soldier. The official roster of the 23rd headquarters, special troops battalion. Ghost army legacy project a nonprofit dedicated to honoring. The 1100man unit was given a unique mission within the allied army. Career journalist and newspaperman kneece chronicles the story of the 23rd headquarters special troops. The men of the 23rd headquarters special troops were recruited to become phantom warriors in a ghost army to help win the battle of eurpoe. Shortly after the dday invasion on june 6, 1944, two frenchmen on bicycles managed to cross the perimeter of the united states armys 23rd headquarters special troops and what they saw. Secret soldiers and millions of other books are available for instant access. Beginning in normandy two weeks after dday, the 23rd conducted 22 deception operations over a ninemonth period. Ghost army was disbanded in september 1945, without publicly acknowledging the service it rendered. They are both former members of the 603rd camouflage engineers, the visual deception wing of the 23rd headquarters special troops, the. Nevertheless, the 23 rd headquarters special troops is a glorious chapter in the history of us military.
Apr 07, 2015 the authors cover the formation, deployment and actions of the 23rd headquarters special troops a group of artists, engineers, radio operators, sound men and combat troops. When the axis intelligence community saw the data collected by nazi reconnaissance planes when they flew over the united states armys 23rd headquarters special troops base, they were convinced that this base housed 30,000 men who were ready for action. Later, it would be made of rubber and used to fool german troops on the battlefields of world war ii. One of the more obscure ones may be the 1,100 men of the 23rd headquarters special troops, aka the ghost army. Twentythird special troops fooled the nazis by paul. Inspired by a trick originally pulled by british forces in north africa, the 23rd headquarters special troopsbetter known as the ghost armyused inflatable rubber tanks and jeeps, sound. The veterans of the wwii ghost army look back the forward.
An account of the 23 headquarters special troops that were trained in military deception. A thousand strong, they fought in more campaigns, from d day to the rhine river, with more allied armies, than any other unit in the european theater of operationsyet not even their fellow american. This remarkable unit included actors, camouflage experts, sound engineers, painters, and set. This is a different type of world war ii history book. During world war ii, a handpicked group of american gis undertook a bizarre mission. From publishers weekly while the broader activities of the u. From a few months after dday, when they landed in france, until the end. Members of the 23rd headquarters special troops used special weapons like dummy planes, tanks, antiaircraft guns, and amplified recordings that created war sounds to fool the german high command. I just acquired a cased wwii purple heart named to a corporal who served in the top secret 23rd headquarters special troops ghost army.
Blass and his cohort were members of the 23rd headquarters special troops, an elite force whose specialty. Sep 25, 2007 the soldiers of the secret 23rd special forces played a unique role in world war ii. Rosters there is no master list of people who served in the 23rd headquarters special troops during wwii. Sep 07, 2018 ghost army was disbanded in september 1945, without publicly acknowledging the service it rendered. Arguably the most unique, creative and unusual military unit that ever existed during wwii was the u. May 20, 20 there are many reasons that the us and allied troops won world war ii. Information regarding 23rd hqs servers can be found here. Sep 21, 2015 23rd hq special troops, the ghost army a very rare view on the war thunder battlefields a rubber tank. Although this unit was never part of the army security agency, many of the missions it performed were eventually passed to asa units. While not scholarly, this book is a capable study of an elite military unit for. The special troops were composed of artists, designers, actors, meteorologists, sound technicians, and their true mission was not to fight, but to deceive the german. I understand this book was made into a documentary film.
The 23rd headquarters special troops, codenamed blarney, are credited with saving at least 15,000 american lives. Buy a cheap copy of ghost army of world war ii book by jack kneece. Secret soldiers book chicago public library bibliocommons. Authors beyer and sayles relate the dramatic story of the 23rd headquarters special troops, a ghost army tasked with deceiving axis troops in europe in. The ghost army was officially known as the 23rd headquarters special troops. Apr 29, 2015 the ghost army of world war ii is a beautifullyproduced print documentary of the 23rd headquarters special troops and the role they played in wwii. S twentythird special troops fooled the nazis by paul janeczko is a nonfiction book about allied deception efforts during world war ii. The 23rd headquarters special troops were composed of the 603rd engineer battalion, 406th combat engineer, and the 32nd sonic company. Ghost army of 23rd headquarters special troops dodged. Looking for info on the ghost army book, documentary, or tour, or rick.
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