Operation Fortitude: The Fake Army Group

Before D-Day, the Allies created an entirely fictional army group — FUSAG (First United States Army Group) — supposedly commanded by General George Patton and stationed in southeast England. They built a completely fake staging area with inflatable tanks, wooden aircraft, and canvas landing craft complete with fake smoke to simulate cooking fires. Radio operators sent fabricated communications that German intelligence intercepted. Even after D-Day, the deception was so convincing that Hitler held back 15 divisions at Pas-de-Calais for seven weeks, waiting for the 'real' invasion led by Patton that never came — it was all a deception.