Operation Titanic
[1] The most complex portion of Bodyguard involved a wide-ranging strategic deception, organised by the London Controlling Section (LCS), in southern England called Fortitude South.[3] As D-Day approached, Allied planners moved on to tactical deceptions (roughly under the umbrella of Fortitude) to help cover the progress of the real invasion forces.Altogether this could create the effect of troops engaged in a firefight for up to six hours, with each plane able to drop material sufficient to simulate a platoon-sized group.[6] Titanic was divided into four operations (I to IV), consisting of various combinations of dummy paratroopers, noisemakers, chaff (codenamed Window) and SAS personnel.He first approached the head of 1st SAS Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Mayne, who refused to take part in an intelligence operation, having had a bad experience implementing deception plans while in North Africa.[9] To deceive the Germans into thinking there was a large parachute landing in progress, the SAS teams played 30 minute pre-recorded sounds of men shouting and weapons fire including mortars.[9][10] A further fifty dummies were dropped, as Titanic III, in the Calvados region near Maltot and the woods to the north of Baron-sur-Odon to draw German reserves away to the west of Caen.At 02:00 on 6 June 1944, German units reported the landing of parachutists east of Caen and in the Coutances, Valognes and Saint-Lô areas and hearing ships' engines out at sea.[14] However, Generalfeldmarshall Gerd von Rundstedt ordered the 12th SS Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend to deal with a supposed parachute landing on the coast near Lisieux which was found to consist solely of dummies from Titanic III.[14] The combination of Taxable and Titanic I appears to have been interpreted as intended by the German command with communications indicating they felt it had been defeated and turned back.
Operation FranticOperation BodyguardTactical DeceptionLondon Controlling SectionOps (B)Allied Expeditionary Air ForceNazi GermanyUnited KingdomNo. 138 Squadron RAFNo. 161 Squadron RAFNo. 90 Squadron RAFNo. 149 Squadron RAFSpecial Air ServiceOperation OverlordAtlantic WallBodyguardFortitudeZeppelinTaxable, Glimmer & Big DrumCombined Bomber OffensivePointblankTransport PlanPostage AbleTarbrushFabiusCaen canal and Orne river bridgesMerville BatteryMallardAmerican SectorAlbanyBostonChicagoDetroitElmiraNormandy landingsPointe du HocGambitPort-en-BessinAmericanOperation ChastityBritishMulberryBrécourt ManorGraignesLa Haye-du-PuitsSaint-LôCarentanHill 30CherbourgBrévilleVillers-BocageLe Mesnil-PatryNormandy massacresArdenne AbbeyDouvresMartletWindsorCharnwoodJupiter2nd OdonAtlanticGoodwoodVerrières RidgeSpringBluecoatTotalizeHill 140LüttichTractableHill 262ChamboisFalaiseSaint-MaloMantes-GassicourtLa RochelleUshantLa CainePierres NoiresAudierne BayJedburghDingsonSamwestCooneyBulbasketHoundsworthLoytonKiplingDragoonWallace & HardyCemeteriesmilitary deceptionsAllied NationsSecond World WarRoyal Air Forcedummy parachutistsdrop zonesNo. 3 Group RAFOperations Glimmer and Taxablemilitary deceptionFortitude SouthPas-de-CalaisD-Day naval deceptionsDavid Strangeways21st Army GroupSupreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Forcehessian (burlap)Douglas Fairbanks Jr.Peter Flemingfilm reelmagnetic wireSeine-MaritimeMancheNo. 138No. 161Handley Page HalifaxesLockheed HudsonsNo. 90No. 149Short StirlingsMerville Gun BatteryM. R. D. FootSAS brigadePaddy MayneCaptainLieutenantmortars