Tag: Raphaëlle Crevet

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The Double Cross System

This week we celebrate the successful Allied invasion of Europe on the Normandy beaches of northern France. On 6 June (Thursday), it will be the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the beginning of the Allied push into Germany.

I will be giving a one-hour on-line presentation this Thursday for Bonjour Paris (see below). I decided to reprint our 2018 blog on Operation Double Cross that happens to be my presentation topic. Our discussion will expand the story of Operation Double Cross. I hope you can join us on Thursday.

Join Stew Ross for a Discussion on 

France Today

“REMEMBERING D-DAY: 

Operation Double Cross”

Thursday, 6 June 2024

11:30 – 12:30 (EST) 

Click here to watch the trailer for the presentation.

An inflatable “dummy” M4 Sherman tank. Photo by anonymous (c. 1943). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
An inflatable “dummy” M4 Sherman tank. Photo by anonymous (c. 1943). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.

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BONJOUR PARIS  is a digital publication dedicated to all things Paris.  Visit the web-site here.

Undoubtedly, many of you have heard the story of the fake army which was used to deceive Hitler and his generals into planning for a cross channel invasion (across the Strait of Dover to Pas de Calais). It is true but the story is somewhat more complex and as wartime documents seven decades old are declassified, historians are only now able to fill in missing gaps and answer why Hitler reacted the way he did to the Normandy invasion.

Did You Know?

Did you know that 1st Lt. Paul Chaufty was a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot who was flying an armed reconnaissance mission on 13 August 1944 when he was shot down over the French villages of Ciral and Saint-Ellier-les-Bois? It was the day Allied armies were liberating Ciral. Lt. Chaufty bailed out of the plane, but his parachute never opened, and he fell to his death in a field. A mile away, the plane crashed.

Marie Bastien was fourteen at the time and watched the young pilot’s plane come down. The following day, her father found the body and brought Chaufty’s remains back to the farm where he was buried wrapped in his parachute. Four days later, the pilot’s remains were removed and buried in a temporary military cemetery before final relocation to the Fairview Cemetery in Carthage, New York.

Marie never forgot her experience watching Lt. Chaufty fall to his death. She vowed to keep his memory alive and over the years, discussed this with her daughter who eventually reached out to Lt. Chaufty’s family. One week ago, Marie, her daughter, and members of the Chaufty family stood in the village of Saint-Ellier-les-Bois as a plaque honoring Paul Chaufty was unveiled.

Thanks to one woman’s tenacity, a brave American’s legacy will not be forgotten.

 

Locals erected a makeshift American flag marking the site where Chaufty's plane crashed in near the village of St. Elliers Les Bois, France. (NBC News)
Locals erected a makeshift American flag marking the site where Chaufty’s plane crashed in near the village of St. Elliers Les Bois, France. (NBC News)

Deception strategies were used by the Allies and Germans against one another throughout World War II. However, by 1942, the Americans and British held the upper hand: intelligence was gained through the top secret Ultra program by decrypting German messages using the Nazi military Enigma machine at Bletchley Park. Deception methods created primarily by British intelligence were becoming increasingly complex and successful. As Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin agreed in late 1943 on plans for an invasion of Europe, the Allies came up with the largest deception plan to date to be used against the Nazis.

Bletchley Park. Photo by Magnus Manske (2005). PD-GNU Free Documentation. Wikimedia Commons.
Bletchley Park. Photo by Magnus Manske (2005). PD-GNU Free Documentation. Wikimedia Commons.
Four rotor German naval Enigma. Photo by Magnus Manske (2005). Bletchley Park. PD-GNU Free Documentation. Wikimedia Commons
Four rotor German naval Enigma. Photo by Magnus Manske (2005). Bletchley Park. PD-GNU Free Documentation. Wikimedia Commons

Operation Bodyguard and Fortitude

Operation Bodyguard was the American and British-led umbrella deception plan to mislead the Germans into thinking the inevitable invasion of Europe would take place at a location other than the real invasion site. Additionally, the plan was to deceive Hitler about the actual date, time, and size of the assault force. It was formulated in 1943 once the Allies agreed to a 1944 invasion date.

There were many directives under Operation Bodyguard including Operation Cockade, Plan Jael, Operation Quicksilver, and the Torrent Plan. However, the largest and most successful was Operation Fortitude. Read More The Double Cross System

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Stew and Sandy’s Summer Vacation in Paris

How many of you remember as a kid attending the home slide shows your parents put on for family, friends, and neighbors? If you’re a baby boomer like us, you’ll likely recall your father pulling the screen out of the front hall closet, extending the legs, and then unrolling the white screen to attach to the hook on the vertical arm. Then he unboxes the slide projector, places it on one of those small fold-up tables, and plugs it in. Next comes the multiple box trays with slides that have been carefully inserted into their slots in an order in which father wants to narrate. (The carousel slide tray was the next generation of new technology.) A test drive had to be performed before the guests arrive. The projector is turned on and carefully calibrated to ensure it is at the proper distance from the screen and in focus.

The 1950s family slide show. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
The 1950s family slide show. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).

So, the screen show is all set, Mom has made the hors-d’œuvres (we call them appetizers since it’s easier to spell), and Dad has set up the bar. Now all that is needed are the guests. At the appointed hour, everyone arrives. After the chit-chat, Dad calls everyone to the living room. Everybody settles back, begins to knock down their third martini or whiskey sour, and lights up their favorite smoke. (Remember, back then, everyone smoked.) Dad turns on the projector with its familiar fan sound and exhaust fumes that compete with the smoke from the cigarettes and pipes. The first slide goes up on the screen and through the haze of smoke, the title of the evening’s entertainment is displayed:

Stew and Sandy’s Summer Vacation in Paris

So, kids, fill up your bowl with popcorn, settle into your favorite recliner, make sure your glass is full, and get ready for your slide show.

An ancient slide projector. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). RG-VC/iStockphoto.
An ancient slide projector. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). RG-VC/iStockphoto.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the last living World War II Medal of Honor recipient died on 29 June 2022? Hershel “Woody” Williams (1923−2022) was ninety-eight when he passed away at the VA Medical Center in Huntington, West Virginia. (The hospital was named for him.) Woody joined the Marines in 1943 and became a demolition operator. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, he volunteered to clear an area riddled by Japanese machine gun fire that hindered the advancement of troops. Read More Stew and Sandy’s Summer Vacation in Paris