User:ErrantX/Sandbox/List of Allied fictional units during World War II
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During the Second World War the Allied nations created a number of fictional army units, usually as part of a military deception. Most notable were those used in Operation Cascade (Dudley Clarke's 1943 order of battle deception aimed at inflating the size of Allied forces in North Africa) and in Operation Bodyguard (the strategic cover deception for the 1944 Normandy invasion).[1]
The created formations ranged in size from battalion to field army and were faked using documents, photographs, double agents, news reportage and physical subterfuge. Some of the units were either based on existing decommissioned formations (usually World War I formations) or created afresh. Many were used multiple times, Clarke in particular believed that reusing units in the long term would help establish their existence in the mind of the enemy.[1]
US Formations[edit]
The most notable fictional US formation was the 1st US Army Group (FUSAG); this field army was originally intended as the main invasion force for the Invasion of Normandy, however that was renamed to the 12th Army Group. FUSAG remained in existence on paper and was used during Fortitude South to divert Axis attention to the Pas de Calais area.[2]
Field armies and army groups[edit]
| Formation | Dates | Insignia | Subordinates | Operations | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st US Army Group (FUSAG) | 1943 – October 1944 | 
|
Fortitude South | Created for the planning of the invasion of Normandy the FUSAG later became redundant and was used to mislead Axis that the Allies intended a major invasion at Pas de Calais. Later utilised to threaten airborne landings in September 1944. | |
| 2nd US Army Group (SUSAG) | 1943–1944 | Originally intended to take the role of the FUSAG, but when the latter's job was taken over by the 12th Army Group the formation became redundant. | |||
| Twelfth Army | Activated as part of SHAEF, never used. | ||||
| Fourteenth Army | May 1944 – October 1944 | 
|
Fortitude South | A subordinate of FUSAG, supposedly landed in Liverpool and stationed in Little Waltham, Essex. Moved from FUSAG to SHAEF later in the year; double agents reported to the German's that it was largely comprised of US convicts. |
Corps[edit]
| Formation | Dates | Insignia | Subordinates | Operations | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IX Amphibious Corps | 1944 |
|
Wedlock | The notional amphibious component of the Ninth Fleet. Used to convey to the Japanese that the United States planned to attack the Kuriles rather than the Marianas.[2] | |
| XXX Corps | Fortitude South | Activated as part of SHAEF, never used.[2] | |||
| XXXI Corps | 1944 | 
|
|
Vendetta Ferdinand |
|
| XXXIII Corps | 1944 | 
|
Fortitude South | ||
| XXXV Airborne Corps | 1945 |
|
Pastel Two | Notional airborne component to Operation Olympic, was to have been depicted arriving in Okinawa during August and September of 1945 before landing on Kyūshū the day before the invasion.[2][3] | |
| XXXVII Corps | 1944 | Fortitude South | |||
| XXXVIII Corps | Fortitude South | Activated as part of SHAEF, never used.[2] | |||
| XXXIX Corps | Fortitude South | Activated as part of SHAEF, never used.[2] |
Divisions[edit]
| Formation | Dates | Insignia | Subordinates | Operations | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th Airborne Division | May - July 1944 | 
|
Vendetta | ||
| 9th Airborne Division | June - November 1944 | 
|
|
Fortitude South | |
| 11th Infantry Division | ? - October 1944 | 
|
Fortitude South | ||
| 14th Infantry Division | 
|
Activated as part of SHAEF, never used. | |||
| 17th Infantry Division | June - October 1944 | 
|
|
Fortitude South | |
| 18th Airborne Division | 
|
|
Dervish Pastel Two |
||
| 21st Airborne Division | June - November 1944 | 
|
|
Fortitude South | |
| 22nd Infantry Division | 
|
||||
| 48th Infantry Division | June - December 1944 | 
|
|
Fortitude South | |
| 50th Infantry Division | 
|
||||
| 55th Infantry Division | October 1943 - March 1945 | 
|
|
Fortitude North | |
| 59th Infantry Division | 
|
|
Fortitude South | ||
| 15th Armoured Division | 
|
Activated as part of SHAEF, never used. | |||
| 25th Armored Division | 
|
|
Fortitude South | ||
| 39th Armoured Division | 
|
Activated as part of SHAEF, never used. | |||
| 119th Infantry Division | 
|
|
Wedlock | ||
| 130th Infantry Division | 
|
|
Wedlock | ||
| 135th Airborne Division | 
|
|
|||
| 141th Infantry Division | 
|
|
Wedlock | ||
| 157th Infantry Division | 
|
|
Wedlock |
[edit]
| Formation | Dates | Operations | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ninth Fleet | 1944 |
Wedlock[4] |
|
| Task Force 23 | November 1942 |
Hotstuff |
Radio deception formation acting as a deception to cover the real Task Force 34.[4] |
| Task Force 69 | 1943 |
Wadham |
Created, under Rear Admiral Alan G. Kirk, as a fictional convoy to carry the US VII Corps from the United States to France in 1943.[4] |
British formations[edit]
British deception formations during the war largely fell into two camps. Firstly as part of Operation Fortitude, and its predecessors, on the Western front. But also those created by Dudley Clarke in the Middle East. In 1943 Clarke instituded a major order of battle deception, Operation Cascade, in which he created a pool of fictional units. The intention was to provide consistency in later deceptions (reusing the same units to convince the Germans of their existence) and to increase the apparent size of Allied forces in the area. It was a successful endeavour, and by the end of the war almost all of Clarke's units were accepted by the Axis as real.
Field armies and army groups[edit]
| Formation | Dates | Insignia | Subordinates | Operations | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fourth Army | September 1943 – February 1945 |
British II Corps (Fortitude North & South) |
Existed in a number of compositions during the war. First established in Endinburgh for Operation Cockade (a threat to Norway) and later used for the same purpose during Fortitude North. Later formed part of FUSAG; based first in Sussex for Fortitude South II and then in Colchester for later FUSAG deceptions. Finally moved to Yorkshire in December 1944 as a fictional threat to Holland (Operation Trolleycar). Disbanded in February of the following year.[5][6] | |||
| Sixth Army | 1943–1945 | British II Corps (Cockade)[7] | Formed in London in 1943, making out Eastern Command to be a full Field Army. Never really used, but the Axis believed in its existence until the end of the war.[6][7] | |||
| Twelfth Army | 1943–1945 |
British III Corps |
Cascade |
Formed as part of Clarke's 1943 Operation Cascade, to represent a standing army threatening the Balkan region, first around "Force 545" and later Air Defence Headquarters (Egypt). Also took part in Operation Husky. In 1945 it was nominally moved to Burma ready for D-Division's Operation Fang, however a real Twelfth Army was created soon after so it was never used in this way.[6] | ||
Corps[edit]
| Formation | Dates | Insignia | Subordinates | Operations | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| II Corps | |||||
| III Corps | May 1943 - 1945 |
|
Cascade |
Originally a real Corps, evacuated at Dunkirk. It was reactivated in Iran in 1943, as part of the Twelfth Army, and used in various operations to threaten. Became HQ Land Forces in Greece, 1944.[8] | |
| VII Corps | ? - January 1945 |
|
Fortitude (North & South II) | Activated as part of Fortitude North, based in Dundee, it had previously been a real corps, formed to resist any invasion of Britain in late 1940. As with many other Fortitude North units, the VII Corps were moved to take part in Fortitude South II. Based in Kent with a different contingent of divisions (the 61st was a real formation, but understaffed).[8] | |
| XIV Corps | December 1943 - ? |
|
Cascade |
Activated 1943, in support of a deception plan for landings at Anzio, Italy (Operation Oakfield) - under the auspices of Cascade. Moved around the Mediterranean over the next two years. In 1945 was notionally based in Italy, training for mountain warfare in the Alps.[8] | |
| XVI Corps | Novermber 1943 - ? |
|
Fairlands |
Assigned to the Twelfth Army in Egypt, intended to represent a threat to Cephalonia and Zante.[8] | |
| XVIII Corps | 1941 - ? | Cyprus Defence Plan | Activated in Cyprus 1941, later became the XXV Corps as part of Cascade.[8] | ||
| XIX Corps | Autumn 1944 - December 1944 |
|
Formed in Salisbury, late 1944, as part of the First Allied Airborne Army. Disbanded in December under the story that it had been merely administrative in nature.[8] | ||
| XXI Corps | Tindall | A member of the British Fourth Army during Tindall.[8] | |||
| XXV Indian Corps |
|
Cyprus Defence Plan |
Formed in 1941 as part of early deceptions centered on Cyprus. It was later absorbed into the Cascade and Wantage deceptions.[8] | ||
| XXVI Airborne Corps |
Divisions[edit]
Brigades[edit]
| Formation | Dates | Insignia | Operations | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st SAS Brigade | January 1941 - 1945 | One of the first fictional units created by Dudley Clarke to play on Italian fears of Allied Airborne troops in Northern Africa.[9] Clarke chose the name Advanced Headquarters 'A' Force for his deception department to build the 1st SAS story. The formation became part of Operation Cascade in 1942, and joined the (also fictional) 4th Airborne Division in March 1943.[10][11] | ||
| 10th Armoured Brigade | 1942 | Cascade | Based in Cyprus.[11] | |
| 27th Armoured Brigade | October 1944 | Inclination | Created for Operation Inclination, a 1944 R Force radio deception in Belgium.[11][12] | |
| 33rd Armoured Brigade | [11] | |||
| 42nd Tank Brigade | [11] | |||
| 7th Air Landing Brigade | [11] | |||
| 103rd Special Service Brigade | [11] | |||
| 140th Special Service (Commando) Brigade | [11] |
References[edit]
- ^ a b Holt (2004)
- ^ a b c d e f Holt (2004), pg. 897–912
- ^ Huber (1988). p. 7 & 8.
{{cite book}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Hesketh (1999)
- ^ a b c Holt (2004), pg. 912–913
- ^ a b Harris (2000). p. 139.
{{cite book}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h Holt (2004), pg. 913–915
- ^ Holt (2004), pg. 22–23
- ^ Rankin (2008), pg. 279–280
- ^ a b c d e f g h Holt (2004), pg. 924–925
- ^ Holt (2004), pg. 824
Bibliography[edit]
- Hesketh, Roger (1999). Fortitude: The D-Day Deception Campaign. St Ermins Press. ISBN 0-316-85172-8.
- Harris, Tomás (2000). Garbo: The Spy Who Saved D-Day. Public Record Office. ISBN 1-873162-81-2.
- Holt, Thaddeus (2004). The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War. Scribner. ISBN 0-7432-5042-7.
- Huber, Dr Thomas M. (1988). PASTEL: Deception in the Invasion of Japan (PDF). Combat Studies Institute.
- Rankin, Nicholas (1 October 2008). Churchill's Wizards: The British Genius for Deception, 1914–1945. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-22195-5.