Normandys Surprise

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Normandys Surprise

• Cadet T.A. Dean
• MS 402
• Spring 2005

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Overview

• Introduction
• General George Pattons fictitious army
• The Ultra operation
• Exploitation of the inclement weather
• Summary
• Conclusion

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Introduction

• The four main Allied powers of World War II were
  England, The United States of America, the Soviet
  Union, and France.
• The three main Axis powers of World War II were
  Germany, Italy, and Japan.
• The plan to invade on Normandy began in 1943.
• In the planning stages, the supreme commander of
  the Allied forces, General Dwight D. Eisenhower,
  incorporated the Principle of War of Surprise
  into the invasion on Normandy, Operation
  Overlord.

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Introduction

• The Allies achieved surprise with General
  Pattons fictitious army, the Ultra
  interceptions, and the exploitation of the
  inclement weather in the days preceding the
  invasion.
• These opportunities of surprise allowed the
  Allies to deceive the Axis powers and created
  ideal situations which set the stage for an
  Allied victory.

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Operation Overlord
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General George Pattons fictitious army

• Operation Quicksilver was devised to deceive the
  Axis powers.
• General Eisenhower assigned General George Patton
  to command the 1st U.S. Army Group.
• 1st U.S. Army Group was actually a fictitious
  army.

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General Dwight D. Eisenhower
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General George S. Patton
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General George Pattons fictitious army

• General Patton was one of the most respected
  American Generals recognized by the Axis powers.
• The phantom army was designed to deceive the Axis
  powers into thinking that an assault would occur
  at the Pas de Calais instead of Normandy.

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1st U.S. Army Group

• Dummy installations of plywood and canvas
• Inflatable tanks
• Fictitious vehicles
• Fictitious aircraft

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1st U.S. Army Group

• Located near Dover, England just across the
  English Channel from Pas de Calais.
• Allowed German aircraft to recon area to
  reinforce the existence of the fictitious army.
• The Axis powers believed that the 1st U.S. Army
  Group was a thirty division army, which was
  larger than General Montgomerys 21st Army Group.

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Results of the Fictitious Army

• Germans were distracted from the main invasion,
  Normandy.
• Germans Placed nineteen powerful enemy divisions
  with important panzer reserves in locations
  awaiting an invasion that would never occur.
• This deception definitely helped set the stage
  for an Allied victory.

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The Ultra operation

• Top secret British operation
• Located at Bletchley Park, 50 miles NW of London.
• Provided Allies with ability to intercept and
  decipher the Germans Enigma code.
• Enigma means puzzle.

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Bletchley Park
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Enigma

• Enigma was a complicated code that was sent
  through a complicated cipher machine and was
  considered the ultimate code.
• British broke the code with mathematicians and
  built their own Enigma machines.
• Ultra was used to relay false messages to
  unsuspecting Germans creating advantages for the
  Allies.

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Enigma Cipher Machine
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Ultras Contributions

• Hitlers V1 flying-bomb was discovered.
• Hitlers secret headquarters along the French
  coast to dispatch V1 flying-bomb was discovered.
• Majority of panzer tanks were left in Paris.
• Panzer division locations were unveiled.
• Operation Ultra was definitely a credit to the
  Allies and helped set the stage for an Allied
  victory.

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The Exploitation of the Weather

• Inclement weather caused increased winds, waves
  and excessive rain and put a hold on Operation
  Overlord.
• General Eisenhower postponed Operation Overlord
  for 24 hours.
• A break in the storm occurred allowing the Allies
  to strike on June 6, 1944.

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Landing on Omaha
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Results of Exploiting the Weather

• Achieved tactical surprise Germans didnt expect
  the Allies to assault during inclement weather
  conditions.
• German General Rommel was visiting his wife in
  Germany during the invasion.
• The commander of the Seventh Army and most of his
  corps were away from their headquarters to
  participate in a war game.

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Summary

• The principle of war of surprise was an
  important factor and directly related to the
  fantastic pre-invasion planning for Normandy.
• General Eisenhower decided to assign General
  Patton to the fictitious army to deceive the
  Germans.

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Summary

• The British cooperated with operation Ultra to
  intercept, break the Enigma code and deceive the
  Germans with false transmissions.
• General Eisenhower decided to advance on Normandy
  at a precise and unexpected moment to take
  advantage of the inclement weather and monument
  the element of surprise.

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Conclusion

• These factors were all ideal situations that set
  the stage for the Allied victory.