Unmasking the Ghost Army: How Creativity and Deception Saved Tens of Thousands of Lives in WWII

The Ghost Army, a group of American military personnel who served during World War II, was responsible for some of the most creative and effective April Fool’s Day pranks in history. Their knack for illusion allowed them to save tens of thousands of lives through their deceptive tactics.

Sun Tzu famously said, “All warfare is based on deception,” and this couldn’t have been truer when it came to the Ghost Army. Two American military planners devised a clever ruse as they prepared to invade Nazi-occupied France. They selected troops based on their creative talents and intelligence to flood Nazi intelligence with disinformation, creating whole divisions out of theater props and staged media.

The unit consisted of roughly 1,100 men, including fashion designer Bill Blass, painter Ellsworth Kelly, and photographer Art Kane. These soldiers were sworn to secrecy about their work with canvas, paint, cameras, radios, and sound effects records. Despite this secrecy, the unit carried out over 20 major operations during the liberation of France, Belgium, and Germany.

One remarkable story of their bravery occurred on Sept. 14, 1944 when urgent orders were received while they were camped outside Paris. Gen. George Patton’s Third Army was fighting to take the fortress city of Metz with just 500 troops holding a weak flank along the Moselle River. The Ghost Army transformed those 500 into a formidable force of 8,000 using inflatable tanks and ersatz heavy weapons while maintaining the deception against German patrols for a week until reinforcements arrived.

Despite their crucial role in the war effort, the exploits of the Ghost Army remained classified for 50 years leading to their service being largely unrecognized until recently. This year Congress formally honored them with a Congressional Gold Medal on March 21st ensuring that their remarkable story of outfoxing Nazi intelligence is remembered and celebrated finally!