Operation Quicksilver (WWII)
| Quicksilver | |
|---|---|
| Part of Operation Bodyguard / Operation Fortitude | |
 The D-Day naval deceptions made up one part of Operation Bodyguard. |
|
| Operational scope | Strategic Deception |
| Location |
South East England |
| Planned | 1944 |
| Planned by | London Controlling Section, Ops (B), R Force |
| Target | Pas de Calais |
| Date | January - July 1944 |
| Outcome | Credited with contributing to the strategic success of D-Day landings, as part of the overall Bodyguard plan. |
Operation Quicksilver was a Second World War military deception. Undertaken by the Allies in 1944, the operation threatened an invasion of France in the Pas de Calais region through the simulation of a large Field Army in South East England. Quicksilver formed part of the Operation Fortitude deception, itself part of the strategic Operation Bodyguard plan. The key element of Quicksilver was the creation in German minds that "First United States Army Group" (FUSAG) commanded by General George Patton supposedly would land in the Pas-de-Calais for the major invasion of Europe, after the landings in Normandy had lured the German defenders to that front. (FUSAG was a genuine army group headquarters which later became Omar Bradley's 12th Army Group, but was given a fictitious role and many non-existent divisions for purposes of deception.)
Juan Pujol García, known by the British code name Garbo and the German code name Arabel, was a double agent loyal to the Allies who played a crucial role in the deception by supplying Germany with detailed information from a network of non-existent sub-agents supporting the idea that the main invasion was to be in the Pas-de-Calais.
Quicksilver was a World War II deception operation conducted by the Allied Nations. It formed part of Operation Bodyguard, a broad strategic military deception intended to support the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in July 1944. Bodyguard was designed to confuse the Axis high command as to Allied intentions during the lead-up to the invasion. Operation Fortitude South was a sub-plan of Bodyguard which called for the fabrication of a non-existent field army in South East England, with the aim of threatening an invasion in the Pas de Calais region of France.
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