Bodyguard Of Lies By Anthony Cave Brown

Bodyguard of Lies
Anthony Cave Brown’s book, Bodyguard of Lies, follows the development of the plans, as well as the many deceptions used for the invasion of Western Europe during the Second World War through roughly 947 informative pages. Brown’s title of the book undoubtedly came from Winston Churchill’s famous wartime quote, “In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” Bodyguard of Lies follows mainly the operations and events of Operation Bodyguard, as the larger strategic plan of Operation Neptune, the overall encompassing operation including Operation Overlord and Bodyguard. Bodyguard was designed to deceive the Germans and protect the true operation, Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings

With the creation of FUSAG or First United States Army Group came false radio traffic that could be easily picked up by German radio interception facilities. False buildings, landing craft, and inflatable vehicles followed with the radio traffic. Tremendous detail was given in the book for the physical deception. The physical deceptions and the use of the integrated radar network, the British allowed German reconnaissance aircraft to fly over FUSAG assembly locations on purpose. However, the Royal Air Force would not allow aircraft to fly and further south as to be sure to keep the Germans from discovering Operation Overlord. Vehicles would drive through fields during the night to create tank and vehicle tracks to make it seem that more vehicles were coming and going from the area. In addition to the physical intelligence being given, it was let slip to German agents that General George S. Patton Jr. was assigned to this Army. While in reality Patton was being used as part of the deception due to being recently involved in disciplinary action. The German’s assumed that the Americans would never sideline their best General added to confirming German intelligence that FUSAG was the true invasion

Brown even goes as far back as the early days of Ultra and how it was successfully being used by the British in North Africa and the victory of General Montgomery at the battle of El Alamein in the early 1940s, the destruction of the majority of U-boat operations in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean after the early Enigma machines were captured in Poland and taken by the British. There is just a tremendous amount of facts and interconnecting situations that Brown uses to combine the timeline into the landings in Normandy. The information is so comprehensive that it paints a very vivid picture as to all the events and operations and how they were important to D-Day and the days following the “Longest