Last year for Halloween, I wrote the blog, The Night Witches (click here to read the blog). It was then I decided to try and write an annual Halloween blog. So, this year I’d like to introduce you to the “Ghost Army,” a group of talented artists whose job it was to deceive and hide things from the enemy.
23rd Headquarters Special Troops – US Army: “Ghost Army” patch. Photo by anonymous (c. 2006). Institute of Heraldry. U.S. Department of Defense. PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
Prior to D-Day on 6 June 1944, Gen. Patton commanded the fictitious First United States Army Group (FUSAG). The FUSAG was created to convince the Germans that Patton was preparing for a cross-channel invasion at Pas de Calais. As part of the ruse, Patton commanded a group made up with dummy equipment. (Maybe that was his punishment for slapping a soldier or two.) However, known as “Operation Quicksilver,” Patton’s FUSAG was part of the larger deception scheme named “Operation Fortitude.” Along with the British network of double agents, FUSAG accomplished its mission and likely saved the lives of thousands of Allied soldiers (click here to read the blog, The Double Cross System).
Our blog today focuses on another secret group whose responsibilities were to deceive the Germans. However, most of their activities occurred after the invasion of Normandy. The unit and its mission were so secret the men were instructed to stay silent about their war time activities for fifty years and all files pertaining to the “Ghost Army” remained classified until 1986.
Image of Worcester Daily Telegram article written on the Ghost Army. Doesn’t appear to be classified back then does it? Photo by anonymous (c. August 1945).
So, we come back to our slide show after a four-week intermission (click here to read the blog, Stew and Sandy’s Summer Vacation in Paris). Hopefully you enjoyed a rather lengthy blog about our adventures in Paris. I tried to mix a travelogue with historical tidbits.
So, settle back once more and join us during our days in the U.K., specifically London and Glasgow. Make sure your drink is filled and buttered popcorn is plentiful.
The 1950s family slide show. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
Did You Know?
Did you know that on 16 July, France officially remembered the 80th anniversary of the Vel d’Hiv roundup? The country is frantically trying to collect eyewitness accounts of this tragic two-day event in which more than thirteen thousand Jews in Paris were arrested and ultimately deported⏤most of whom never returned. (click here to read the blog, The Roundup and Cycling Arena) The survivors of the roundup and in particular, those detained at the Vel d’Hiv are now in their mid-to-late 90s and there are few of them remaining. Previous roundups targeted primarily foreign-born Jewish men. However, by mid-1942, French-born Jewish men, women and children were targeted for arrest. (More than half of the Jews arrested over those two days were women and children with children accounting for four thousand of the detainees in the large cycling arena.)
The Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris (i.e., Holocaust Museum and Memorial) has launched an appeal to find the last witnesses and survivors. The historians know thousands of stories are permanently lost but they are constantly amazed how many witnesses show up to recount their stories. In most cases, it is the first time since the war that these people have talked about their experiences. Despite eighty years later, their memories are as fresh as if the events happened yesterday.
Joseph Schwartz was fifteen at the time of the roundup. He lost his entire family after the French police made the arrests. He said, “You leave your parents one day, everything is fine. They kiss you; they tell you, ‘Take care of yourself,’ and the day after, there is nobody left.” Looking back, Joseph is shocked that the French police were granted medals for resistance. He says, “Preserving the memory is always necessary for a nation. Hiding the dark days of a country brings nothing to the future of that country.”
Cover for volume two of “Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters? Roundups & Executions.” The cover image is the only known photograph taken during the Vel d’Hiv roundup in July 1942. Transport buses are lined up outside the Vélodrome d’Hiver. Photo by anonymous (c. July 1942).
Day Eight: Underground to London
Today was travel day on the Eurostar. We were leaving Paris and going to England via train under the English Channel. I’m glad we got to Gare du Nord earlier than normal. It took us more than one hour to go through six check points. We eventually settled into our seats for the two-and-a-half-hour trip. Believe it or not, the actual time in darkness is less than twenty minutes. We were really under the channel for probably only fifteen minutes⏤the train travels very fast. We pulled into London’s St. Pancras International rail station just in time for lunch.
Arriving at St. Pancras rail station⏤where were all these black taxis when we needed them? Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
A short cab ride away was our hotel, Dorset Square Hotel, facing the private Dorset Square. On the way, we were glad to see that the red double-decker buses did not go the way of the red telephone booths. The cabs remain black in color but probably twenty percent of them are electric and they are all quite roomy. After checking in and leaving our bags, off we went to find Harrods Department Store. Dinner that night was at The Rajdoot, a small Indian restaurant right around the corner from the hotel⏤it was an excellent culinary experience. (While traveling in England and eating Indian cuisine, we have never had anything less than a first-class meal.)
The iconic London double-decker bus. Photo by Sandy Ross (12 June 2022).One of the main entrances to Harrods department store. Photo by Sandy Ross (12 June 2022).
“Informative and entertaining, Stew Ross’ newest work evokes a difficult and frightening time in the history of the City of Light. The detailed descriptions of sites such as the Vél’ d’hiv’ or Gestapo headquarters reminds us of the choices people made during those years.”
Cynthia Bisson, PhD, Professor of History, Belmont University, French Resistant Expert
Paris Occupation History and Guide Book
This book presents three detailed walking tours and numerous metro station oriented short walks that identified significant occupation locations. Each location on the walk is fully explained. In addition, the author uses many sidebars to provide additional supporting information. The appendix provides a wealth of additional information and pictures that the novice and well read Occupation scholar will find helpful. Whether your first exposure to the Occupation or one of many books you have read, this book is a must read prior to visiting Paris. The format and size of the book make it easy to carry in your carry-on luggage. The book is the first of a three volume set. I can’t wait to see the information to be presented in Volumes 2 & 3.
Patrick from Albuquerque.
