World War II has provided an endless number of true stories in recent years, as “greatest-generation” appreciation has come into vogue, and we have perhaps grown to expect a certain rhythm in these accounts. A mission accomplished amid much bravery and loss. Memories of horror and heroism carried silently for decades.
“The Ghost Army,” on Tuesday on PBS, reminds us that in a conflict as sweeping as the Second World War, not every story fits that template. What about missions that brought few direct confrontations with the enemy and offered only fragmentary ways to measure success?
National Archives
Bill Blass, of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, who became a fashion designer.
This documentary chronicles the efforts of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, 1,100 men whose job was to create a fake army that would be deployed in Europe to try to confuse the Germans. The intent was to create the illusion of troop strength or to make it seem as if an offensive would be launched in one place, when the true attack point was different. And sometimes, more dangerously, the hope was that the fake army would draw fire, sparing troops elsewhere.
The unit, the program relates, was full of artists and designers who tried to envision what a scene would look like from a German reconnaissance plane and, just as important, what it would sound like. They came up with inflatable tanks and artillery pieces that appeared remarkably real (though deflation was a constant concern — a limp gun barrel on an artillery piece was something of a giveaway). One veteran of the unit, Arthur Shilstone, describes a moment when four soldiers picked up one of those tanks effortlessly while two French civilians looked on dumbfounded.
“I finally said, ‘The Americans are very strong,’ ” he recalls.
The unit also recorded sounds of troop and vehicle movements, which were blared from speakers in the back of trucks to create an auditory illusion. And it broadcast fake radio traffic for the benefit of German eavesdroppers. Considerable attention was paid to detail. Insignia were changed to mimic those of real units, and radio traffic was tailored to the illusion that was being created.
“One of the things that the 23rd did was it studied its own army’s transmissions,” says Jonathan Gawne, author of “Ghosts of the ETO: American Tactical Deception Units in the European Theater, 1944-1945.” “So they knew, if they were simulating an infantry regiment moving across an area, how many times a day would the regiments send messages to battalion, would battalion send messages to regiments.”
The program also details an unusual legacy of the 23rd: the paintings and drawings that the artists made during their down time. Some members went on to careers in art and design, including Bill Blass, of fashion fame.
The 23rd was deployed at battles in France, Luxembourg and elsewhere, ultimately finding itself at the final crossing of the Rhine in March 1945, near the war’s end. Throughout their mission, members of the unit knew they were having an effect only when they drew fire. The more amorphous hoped-for result, sowing seeds of confusion, was harder to pin down.
So veterans of this part of the war have had to content themselves with a less cut-and-dried memory of their contributions than many carried away from the conflict.
“One mother or one new bride was spared the agony of putting a gold star in their front window,” Stan Nance, a sergeant in the radio unit, says. “That’s what the 23rd Headquarters was all about.”
The Ghost Army
On PBS stations on Tuesday night (check local listings).
Written, directed and produced by Rick Beyer; edited by Jon Neuburger; Dillard Morrison, director or photography; original music by Matt Mariano; narrated by Peter Coyote.
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