Operation Fortitude

The success of D-Day was made possible by those not even present on the Normandy beaches. General Patton spent D-Day on British shores commanding a phantom army. Spanish double-agent GARBO sent messages relaying supposed intelligence from his fictitious spy network. And R.V. Jones, the head of British Scientific Intelligence, masterminded the dropping of tinfoil confetti from Lancaster bombers, creating the impression that a flotilla of Allied ships was heading on a different course entirely. Even as the Normandy landings were happening, Hitler remained convinced they were a diversionary tactic to force him to move his troops. Without Operation Fortitude, the war might well have had a very different outcome.