Ghost Army of World War II (Audible Audio Edition) Jack Kneece Paul Woodson Tantor Audio Books
Download As PDF : Ghost Army of World War II (Audible Audio Edition) Jack Kneece Paul Woodson Tantor Audio Books
In 1941, the US began to form a hand-picked army to fight in Europe. What made it different is that its troops were composed of artists, actors, meteorologists, and sound technicians, and their true mission was not to fight, but to deceive the German Army. Information about the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops was classified top secret until 1996. Following the declassification, Jack Kneece interviewed many of the key personnel involved in this elaborate ruse, including fashion designer Bill Blass. Until the bombing of Pearl Harbor, many Americans were opposed to becoming involved in the war in Europe, and the military was ill-prepared to fight, with only 130,000 enlisted troops and equipment left over from World War I. One solution was to create a special force that gave the illusion of 30,000 heavily armed men. In fact, there were only 1,000. German soldiers referred to them as the "Phantom Army" because one moment they were in one place, and the next, they were attacking their flanks or from the rear. This small army duped the Germans successfully in 21 separate operations during World War II, many of which took place within a few hundred yards of the front lines.
Ghost Army of World War II (Audible Audio Edition) Jack Kneece Paul Woodson Tantor Audio Books
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. At times it is a bit "slow going" due to the depth of the details. It's very interesting to learn how this military unit contributed to the over-all success of numerous Allied missions. It helps the reader gain insight into the hardships and suffering of all the participants. I think most of us have a feeling that the D-Day invasions brought an end to the war, when they were actually just the beginning of our involvement. It's unfortunate that due to the secretive nature of there missions, the members of the Ghost Army could not be acknowledged until so many years later. As a Vietnam veteran, it gives me a clearer understanding of the tactics and sacrifices of a previous generation of warriors.Product details
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Ghost Army of World War II (Audible Audio Edition) Jack Kneece Paul Woodson Tantor Audio Books Reviews
I knew the Brits had used similar deception, but it was crude compared to what the US Army did...and it was secret for almost 50 years after the war was over.
Amazing read!
I read only the first 40 pages, and I was very disappointed. There was no data on how effective was the whole effort. It seems that the army for publicity allowed some public characters to create publicity. It was not what I expected.
Sent as a gift to my brother. Since he was in Korea, felt he might like this.
Way to say the same thing over and over and over again. Felt like reading in a vicious circle...
I have been researching this Army unit for a couple of years, since my father (Harold J. Dahl) served in the 603rd Camouflage Engineers, which was one of four units that made up the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops - also known as the Ghost or Phantom Army. I was very excited to find this book, purchased it immediately, and began reading the day it arrived. Within minutes doubts were growing in my mind, and by the end of the second chapter I could see it was going nowhere fast.
This book obviously had no editor. There is repetition of facts and names at a rate that no editor could stand. I found one sentence repeated almost verbatim three times in four pages!
It seems the author talked with a handful of surviving members of the 23rd (there are many more he never tracked down) and wrote down their ramblings verbatim. It looks to me like he found out that Bill Blass was in the 23rd, talked to him, then contacted the people he still kept in touch with and left it at that. There are many more (my father not among them, alas) still living who could have contributed material to help beef up the content of this book.
There is just about no effort made to pull together facts from disparate sources, to bring in information from Army files, or do any real analysis or interpretation of the formation, training, mission, or experience of the unit. I also found passages that are nearly identical to articles written 20 years ago - most readers will not detect this, of course, but it jumped out at me because I have read so much on this group.
The only (and I mean only) piece of new factual information I got from this book was that the 23rd had a role in the Battle of the Bulge. They were impersonating an entire division when the Nazis began that attack. Since their artillery and tanks were rubber decoys (all they had were rifles and sidearms), they had to break camp and leave immediately. And so the Nazis got far less resistance in the early days of the attack than they expected. The 23rd's deception was so good that the divisions on either side thought the real soldiers were there and had turned and run. Typically, there is little in the way of analysis or interpretation on why this happened, how it effected the battle, or any of a dozen interesting and illuminating questions that could have been explored. It is just stated in a page or so, and then the author returns to the pandering and fluff that fills the remainder of the book.
You should only purchase this book if you are a collector of information on the Ghost Army, or know someone personally who is mentioned in the book (and there are not that many). Another author is working on a book about this unit, and it has to be better than this work.
The subject is fascinating. But the seeming lack of organization makes it hard to follow. He jumps around so much in time and space and subject that you get confused.
I'm absolutely intrigued by the Ghost Army, only having recently learned about it's existence in WWII. I became intrigued when I saw a news story about the author one evening. The Pentagon owes these men and women some medals before they die of old age, and I suspect many of them already have.
That having been said, I found the book to be rather repetitive. I found myself skipping chapters ahead and reading much of the same information again.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. At times it is a bit "slow going" due to the depth of the details. It's very interesting to learn how this military unit contributed to the over-all success of numerous Allied missions. It helps the reader gain insight into the hardships and suffering of all the participants. I think most of us have a feeling that the D-Day invasions brought an end to the war, when they were actually just the beginning of our involvement. It's unfortunate that due to the secretive nature of there missions, the members of the Ghost Army could not be acknowledged until so many years later. As a Vietnam veteran, it gives me a clearer understanding of the tactics and sacrifices of a previous generation of warriors.
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