Patton's Phantom Army Threatened Calais

After General George S. Patton was sidelined for slapping two hospitalized soldiers in Sicily, the Allies placed him at the head of the supposedly powerful First U.S. Army Group in England. FUSAG was actually a phantom formation designed to convince Germany that Patton would lead the main invasion at Calais and that the Normandy landings were merely a diversion. Double agents, false radio traffic, dummy equipment, and Patton’s formidable reputation sustained the deception, helping keep major German forces near Calais after D-Day.

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