Operation Fortitude
Fortitude was intended to convince the Germans of a greater Allied military strength than existed, and that this would be deployed to invade both Norway and Pas de Calais. Fortitude employed similar techniques to a 1943 operation, Cockade; fictional field armies, faked operations to prepare the ground for invasion and leaked information about the Allied order of battle and war plans.
Fortitude North centred around the fictional British Fourth Army, based in Edinburgh. The Fourth Army had first been activated the previous year, as part of Cockade, to threaten Norway and tie down the German divisions stationed there. The Allies faked the existence of the army via fake radio traffic (Operation Skye) and leaks through double agents.
Political negotiations with neutral Sweden, under the name Operation Graffham, to obtain concessions that would be useful during an invasion of Norway were used to add credence to the masquerade. Sweden still maintained economic ties with Germany and it was hoped that political and economic pressure would filter through to Axis intelligence networks.
Fortitude South employed similar deception in the south of England, threatening an invasion at Pas de Calais by the fictional 1st U.S. Army Group (FUSAG). France was the crux of the Bodyguard plan; as the most logical choice for an invasion the Allied high command had to mislead the German defences in a very small geographical area. The Pas de Calais offered a number of advantages over the chosen invasion site, such as the shortest crossing of the English Channel and the quickest route into Germany. As a result German command, particularly Rommel, took steps to heavily fortify that area of coastline. It was decided, by the Allies, to amplify this belief of a Calais landing.
Montgomery, commanding the Allied landing forces, knew that the crucial aspect of any invasion was the ability to grow a beachhead into a full front. He also had only limited divisions at his command, 37 compared to around 60 German formations. Fortitude South's main aims were to give the impression of a much larger invasion force (the FUSAG) in the South-East of England, to achieve tactical surprise in the Normandy landings and, once the invasion had occurred, to mislead the Germans into thinking it a diversionary tactic with Calais the real objective.
Read more about this topic: Operation Bodyguard
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