ghost army

Visual deception

100

Real or fake: The Ghost Army used fully functional, heavy Sherman tanks as decoys.

Fake. they were made of inflatable rubber and canvas stretched over wooden frames.

200

Real or Fake: Soldiers drove real Jeeps in circles around the fake tanks to create realistic tread marks for enemy planes to see

REAL They paid close attention to these small details to make the "ghost" camps look lived-in.

300

Real or Fake: The inflatable tanks were so light that four men could lift one and turn it around by hand.

REAL. This often shocked French civilians who saw "tanks" being picked up like toys.

Sonic trickery

100

Real or Fake: The unit played recordings of tanks through massive speakers that could be heard 15 miles away

 REAL. These "sonic concerts" were used to mask the sound of real troops moving elsewhere

200

Real or Fake: The recordings were played off of massive vinyl records that had to be hand-cranked during battle.

FAKE. They used state-of-the-art wire recorders and magnetic tape developed by Bell Labs

300

Real or Fake: To sound realistic, they recorded the sounds of a real army digging trenches and swearing at each other.

FAKE. The recordings included the sounds of shovels hitting rocks and soldiers talking to make the audio "messy" and believable.

crews

100

Real or Fake: The Ghost Army was made up of over 50,000 soldiers.

FAKE. There were only about 1,100 men, though they made themselves look like 30,000

200

 Real or Fake: Many of the soldiers were recruited from art schools, theaters, and advertising agencies

REAL. The Army wanted "creatives" who understood how to sell an illusion.

300

Real or Fake: Famous fashion designer Bill Blass was a member of the Ghost Army.

REAL. He spent his war years camouflaging trucks and sketching the French countryside

mission locations

100

Real or Fake: The Ghost Army operated primarily in the jungles of Japan.

 FAKE. They operated on the Western Front in Europe

200

Real or Fake: The unit landed in France just weeks after the D-Day invasion.

REAL. They were moved in quickly to help the breakout across Europe.

300

Real or Fake: Their most famous mission involved faking a crossing of the Rhine River into Germany.

REAL. Operation Viersen is considered one of the greatest deceptions in military history.

tactics

100

Real or Fake: The unit’s secret was kept classified for over 50 years after the war.

REAL. Most of the soldiers' families didn't even know what they had done until the 1990s.

200

Real or Fake: The Ghost Army used trained parrots to scream military orders in the woods.

FAKE. As funny as that would be, they relied on speakers and radio "spoofing" instead.

300

Real or Fake: The Ghost Army is estimated to have saved between 15,000 and 30,000 American lives.

REAL. By drawing fire and attention away from real troops, they prevented countless casualties.