Dan Lewis
The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops: The Phantom Menace
by Dan Lewis - March 30, 2011 - 11:25 AM

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During World War II, Americans of many different backgrounds and professions were drafted into the armed forces. One unit in particular, the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops of the U.S. Army, had an odd membership. This group was made up mostly of artists, architects, designers, sound engineers, and other creative types — all of whom had an IQ of at least 119. And while other units were given standard issue weapons and benefited from the employ of tanks and artillery, the 23rd was given a much different order:

Fake it.

Sun Tzu, in The Art of War, famously observed that “all warfare is based on deception.” The U.S. military, via, the 23rd, took that literally. Using inflatable jeeps and tanks (such as the one pictured above), the 23rd was charged with convincing German troops that Allied firepower and numbers were greater than they truly were. The 23rd, known colloquially as the “Ghost Army,” would set up faux, inflatable battalions near German encampments (but away from the actual Allied forces) to try to throw off the enemy. These actors-as-soldiers would don different uniforms and insignias, with the hope of catching the eye of German intelligence — who, in turn, would report back (incorrect) estimates of manpower and location of Allied troops. And they even went with some high-tech subterfuge: according to NPR, the Ghost Army “mounted huge speakers onto trucks to project the sound of the recordings — such as troop or tank movement or the construction of a bridge.”

Their efforts were reportedly successful. For example, the 23rd set up a fake “mulberry harbor” — an artificial military harbor used to offload cargo and troops onto beaches, such as at Normandy a few weeks after D-Day — diverting German attention away from the true landing locations. But the biggest success? The Washington Post noted that at times, the Ghost Army convinced German adversaries that they numbered as many as 30,000 troops, even convincing some units to surrender out of fear of being greatly outmatched.

The U.S. Army may have used the tactic in other wars, as well, as the Ghost Army’s mission in World War II was kept classified until 1996 — and even today, many details are still kept secret.

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Comments (12)

  1. I wonder if the 23rd was involved at all with the D-Day deception plan, Bodyguard.

    posted by Brandon on 3-30-2011 at 12:14 pm

  2. On D-Day the 23rd (or another group like it) had the Germans convinced that the landing would take place in Norway, I believe. They did such a good job that for weeks after June 6, many Germans were still standing watch in Norway, waiting for the “flotilla” to come ashore.

    posted by Nick on 3-30-2011 at 12:43 pm

  3. A false airfield and planes formed part of the plot of the novel “Eye of the Needle.”

    posted by Geoff Casavant on 3-30-2011 at 12:45 pm

  4. The 23rd was just one set of deceptions for D-Day.

    Gen. George Patton was himself ordered to ‘fake it.’ The maverick commander, while actually under probation and without any real troops under him, traveled around southeast England during the spring of 1944 pretending to review and organize an invasion force that did not exist.

    The planned worked — The Germans were convinced that Patton was to be the invasion commander at Calais.

    We all know that the cross-Channel invasion aimed at Normandy, far to west, and that the U.S. battleground commander was Omar Bradley.

    posted by Ego Nemo on 3-30-2011 at 1:05 pm

  5. As I recall, the Germans could not believe Patton was on probation for doing what he did (something involving a women’s lib movement). They thought surely the Americans would put the fierce general in charge of the invasion.

    posted by Joey on 3-30-2011 at 1:32 pm

  6. Er, I was wrong – it was the slapping of the soldier bit that got him suspended. The German’s couldn’t believe that he’d truly be in trouble over slapping a soldier.

    posted by Joey on 3-30-2011 at 1:37 pm

  7. There’s actually a documentary about them — http://www.ghostarmy.org has clips, photos, etc. It’s really interesting, plus one of the clips has the highly amusing name “Working With a Bunch of Dummies” (cue rimshot).

    posted by Leah on 3-30-2011 at 1:53 pm

  8. Anyone else remember Stan Freeburg’s “United States of America, Volume I: The Early Years”?

    We enlisted the skinny kid with the pipe to paint a mural that made the British think they were outmatched at Yorktown and surrender, ending the war.

    General Cornwalis told his underlings that since the colonies were now independent, they were now foreigners and could apply for federal aid.

    posted by Wayne on 3-30-2011 at 2:24 pm

  9. Wayne: I so glad I’m not the only one familiar with the great Stan Freburg.

    posted by Joshua on 3-30-2011 at 2:33 pm

  10. After reading this, I had to see if I could find a book about the Ghost Army. Of course I found one at the local library! There is a book titled Undercover Tales of World War II by William B. Breuer that I’m going to have to reread as well. Stories of espionage and ingenuity…can’t go wrong there. Thanks for the post, now I know what I’ll be reading after I finish my current book.

    posted by wm on 3-31-2011 at 7:44 am

  11. Yeah! the U.S Army did a great job in their war with Germany. I’m a senior in high school and i graduate on June 3rd. When i grad. im going to enlist in the U.S Army. I’ve already talked to the recruiter and everything. i just hope that in my time we can make a difference.

    posted by Brandon Miller on 3-31-2011 at 9:46 am

  12. I feel that the U.S Army was really smart for creating the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops. I mean that by them putting fakes out on the fields to fool the enemy and make them surrender was an excellent idea.

    posted by Jack on 3-31-2011 at 3:08 pm

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