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Secret Soldiers : The Story of World War II's Heroic Army of Deception by Philip Gerard (2002, Hardcover)

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Product Identifiers

PublisherPenguin Publishing Group

ISBN-100525946640

ISBN-139780525946649

eBay Product ID (ePID)2185741

Product Key Features

Book TitleSecret Soldiers : the Story of World War Ii's Heroic Army of Deception

Number of Pages352 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2002

TopicMilitary / World War II, General

IllustratorYes

GenreHistory

AuthorPhilip Gerard

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height1.4 in

Item Weight25.2 Oz

Item Length9.3 in

Item Width6.3 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2002-017069

Dewey Edition21

Dewey Decimal940.54/1273

SynopsisThey were masters of the craft of illusion and deception, and their greatest disappearing act was to vanish from history. 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. 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 Operations-yet not even their fellow American soldiers were aware of their presence. After Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., USNR, completed a tour of England and its special forces installations, the Hollywood star convinced the Navy brass to train an elite unit that eventually evolved into the only Army force of its kind. These elite soldiers counted among their number designer Bill Blass and painter Ellsworth Kelly, and was inspired by Hilton Howell Railey, the "P.T. Barnum of Deception." The Special Troops' mission was two-fold: to deceive the German Army into believing that the Allies possessed more troops and material than they actually did and, even more heroically, to draw enemy fire on their position to allow other units to advance free of lethal resistance. Through the art of camouflage, sonic deception, and illusion this extraordinary troop of brave, ingenious men saved countless American lives-while sometimes losing their own. From the use of inflatable rubber tanks and howitzers to elaborate sound effects, fake radio transmissions, special effects artillery, and other elments of stagecraft, these shadow soldiers put their lives on the line for their brother soldiers and for their country-only to disappear from history and memory. Secret Soldierstells the astonishing story of this special troop whose mission was so top secret, information about it was only recently declassified. More than half a century later, these uniquely talented patriots can at long last take their place alongside the other honored veterans of World War II.

LC Classification NumberD769.25.G47 2002