United States Army deception formations of World War II

Patches of the notional 6th, 9th, 18th, 21st & 135th Airborne Divisions

The United States Army created a large number of notional deception formations that were used in a number of World War II deception operations. The most notable fictional US formation was the First U.S. Army Group (FUSAG); this field army was originally intended as the main invasion force for the Invasion of Normandy, however that was renamed to the 12th Army Group. FUSAG remained in existence on paper and was used during Operation Fortitude South to divert Axis attention to the Pas de Calais area.

The imaginary formations ranged in size from battalion to field army and were faked using documents, photographs, double agents, news reportage and physical subterfuge. Some of the units were either based on existing decommissioned formations (usually World War I formations) or created afresh. Many were used multiple times, Clarke in particular believed that reusing units in the long term would help establish their existence in the mind of the enemy.

Field armies and army groups

Formation	Dates	Insignia	Subordinates	Operations	Description
1st US Army Group (FUSAG)	1943 – October 1944		First Canadian Army Third US Army Ninth US Army Fourteenth US Army British Fourth Army First Allied Airborne Army (August 1944–)	Fortitude South	Created for the planning of the invasion of Normandy the FUSAG later became redundant and was used to mislead Axis that the Allies intended a major invasion at Pas de Calais. Later utilised to threaten airborne landings in September 1944.
2nd US Army Group (SUSAG)	1943–1944				Originally intended to take the role of the FUSAG, but when the latter's job was taken over by the 12th Army Group the formation became redundant.
Twelfth Army					Activated as part of SHAEF, never used.
Fourteenth Army	May 1944 – October 1944		XXXIII Corps XXXVII Corps 9th Airborne Division 21st Airborne Division	Fortitude South	A subordinate of FUSAG, supposedly landed in Liverpool and stationed in Little Waltham, Essex. Moved from FUSAG to SHAEF later in the year; double agents reported to the Germans that it was largely US convicts.

Corps

Formation	Dates	Insignia	Subordinates	Operations	Description
IX Amphibious Corps	1944		108th Infantry Division 119th Infantry Division 130th Infantry Division 141st Infantry Division 157th Infantry Division	Wedlock	The notional amphibious component of the Ninth Fleet. Used to convey to the Japanese that the United States planned to attack the Kuriles rather than the Marianas.
XXX Corps				Fortitude South	Activated as part of SHAEF, never used.
XXXI Corps	1944		91st Infantry Division French 1st Armored Division Algerian 7th Infantry Division Algerian 8th Infantry Division British 42nd Infantry Division (Vendetta)	Vendetta Ferdinand
XXXIII Corps	1944		11th Infantry Division 48th Infantry Division 25th Armored Division	Fortitude South
XXXV Airborne Corps	1945		11th Airborne Division 18th Airborne Division	Pastel Two	Formed part of Operation Pastel Two, the planned deception for Operation Olympic, but never formally used. The final version of Operation Pastel incorporated notional airborne landings, using dummy parachutists in the interior of Kyūshū. XXXV Airborne Corps was designated as carrying out this task. Had Operation Pastel been carried out, the first elements of the Corps, quartering parties of the notional 18th Airborne Division, would have been depicted as reaching Okinawa on August 15, 1945. Following this glider pilots were to have been depicted as reaching Okinawa around August 20, 1945, followed by the troops of the real 11th and 18th Airborne Divisions, starting to arrive in Okinawa on September 1, 1945. On the same day the notional corps headquarters would have been activated.
XXXVII Corps	1944		17th Infantry Division 59th Infantry Division	Fortitude South
XXXVIII Corps				Fortitude South	Activated as part of SHAEF, never used.
XXXIX Corps				Fortitude South	Activated as part of SHAEF, never used.

Divisions

Formation	Dates	Insignia	Subordinates	Operations	Description
6th Airborne Division	May - July 1944		517th Regimental Combat Team 460th Field Artillery Battalion 550th Airborne Battalion	'Operation Vendetta', 1944.	This notional formation was 'built up' around real units, the 517th Regimental Combat Team, 1st Battalion, 551st Parachute Infantry Regiment & the 550th Airborne Infantry Battalion which were depicted as operating under a single command when in fact they were operating separately. Supposedly arrived in Sicily from the United States in May 1944. It was notionally attached to the Seventh United States Army and was to be dropped on the town of Paulhan in France to support a fictional invasion of the Narbonne region. It was disposed of by announcing in July 1944 that the division had been disbanded.
9th Airborne Division	June - November 1944		523rd Parachute Infantry Regiment 196th Glider Infantry Regiment 199th Glider Infantry Regiment	Fortitude South
11th Infantry Division	? - October 1944		178th Infantry Regiment 352nd Infantry Regiment 392nd Infantry Regiment	Fortitude South
14th Infantry Division					Activated as part of SHAEF, never used.
17th Infantry Division	June - October 1944		293rd Infantry Regiment 336th Infantry Regiment 375th Infantry Regiment	Fortitude South
18th Airborne Division			566th Parachute Infantry Regiment 567th Gilder Infantry Regiment 570th Gilder Infantry Regiment	Dervish Pastel Two
21st Airborne Division	June - November 1944		521st Parachute Infantry Regiment 277th Glider Infantry Regiment 278th Glider Infantry Regiment	Fortitude South	The division was initially depicted as being under the direct command of US 14th Army with its headquarters located in Fulbeck, Lincolnshire in June 1944. In the Pas de Calais landings it and the 9th Airborne Division were to be dropped behind the XXXVII Corps beachheads. In August 1944 it was notionally transferred to the direct command of First United States Army Group, where it assisted in the training of the U.S. 48th Infantry Division in air landing techniques. In the aftermath of Fortitude South, the notional U.S. 9th and 21st Airborne Divisions, the notional British 2nd Airborne Division, and the real United States 17th Airborne Division were used to depict an airborne threat to the Kiel-Bremen area, supporting Operation Market Garden. In November 1944 it was announced that the division had been merged with the 9th Airborne Division to form the 13th Airborne Division, a real unit that was about to be deployed to France.
22nd Infantry Division
48th Infantry Division	June - December 1944		80th Infantry Regiment 95th Infantry Regiment 146th Infantry Regiment	Fortitude South
50th Infantry Division
55th Infantry Division	October 1943 - March 1945		78th Infantry Regiment 83rd Infantry Regiment 96th Infantry Regiment	Fortitude North
59th Infantry Division			94th Infantry Regiment 139th Infantry Regiment 171st Infantry Regiment	Fortitude South
15th Armoured Division					Activated as part of SHAEF, never used.
25th Armored Division			72nd Tank Battalion 73rd Tank Battalion 74th Tank Battalion 498th Armored Infantry Battalion 499th Armored Infantry Battalion 500th Armored Infantry Battalion	Fortitude South
39th Armoured Division					Activated as part of SHAEF, never used.
119th Infantry Division			488th Infantry Regiment 489th Infantry Regiment 491st Infantry Regiment 639th Field Artillery Battalion 640th Field Artillery Battalion 641st Field Artillery Battalion 649th Field Artillery Battalion	Wedlock
130th Infantry Division			492nd Infantry Regiment 493rd Infantry Regiment 494th Infantry Regiment 642nd Field Artillery Battalion 643rd Field Artillery Battalion 644th Field Artillery Battalion 650th Field Artillery Battalion	Wedlock
135th Airborne Division			551st Parachute Infantry Regiment 524th Glider Infantry Regiment 525th Glider Infantry Regiment
141th Infantry Division			495th Infantry Regiment 496th Infantry Regiment 497th Infantry Regiment 645th Field Artillery Battalion 646th Field Artillery Battalion 647th Field Artillery Battalion 651st Field Artillery Battalion	Wedlock
157th Infantry Division			557th Infantry Regiment 558th Infantry Regiment 565th Infantry Regiment 944th Field Artillery Battalion 946th Field Artillery Battalion 952rd Field Artillery Battalion 956th Field Artillery Battalion	Wedlock

Ghost divisions

• 18th Airborne Division
• 21st Airborne Division
• 22nd Infantry Division
• 46th Infantry Division
• 48th Infantry Division
• 50th Infantry Division

References

Bibliography

• Hesketh, Roger (1999). Fortitude: The D-Day Deception Campaign. St Ermins Press. ISBN 0-316-85172-8. 
• Harris, Tomás (2000). Garbo: The Spy Who Saved D-Day. Public Record Office. ISBN 1-873162-81-2. 
• Holt, Thaddeus (2004). The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War. Scribner. ISBN 0-7432-5042-7. 
• Huber, Dr Thomas M. (1988). PASTEL: Deception in the Invasion of Japan. Combat Studies Institute. http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/pastel.pdf. 
• Rankin, Nicholas (1 October 2008). Churchill's Wizards: The British Genius for Deception, 1914–1945. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-22195-5.