02373cam a2200325 i 4500 1634752346 TxAuBib 20241119120000.0 240210s2024||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 9781639367542 HRD 29.95 1639367543 HRD 29.95 (OCoLC)1420429473 TxAuBib rda Downing, Taylor. The army that never was [BOOK] : George S. Patton and the deception of Operation Fortitude / Taylor Downing. First Pegasus Books cloth edition. New York : Pegasus Books, 2024. 319 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-319). "On May 29th, 1944, General George S. Patton gave a speech in the southeast of England to the men of the U.S. Army where he spoke of the American desire to win and of how losing was hateful to Americans. As he rose to his crescendo, he said how much he 'pitied those sons of bitches we are going up against--by God, I do.' On that same day, General Omar Bradley gave a calmer speech in Somerset, England, to the men under his command about how much rested on the upcoming invasion of northern France and how vital their role was in achieving victory. Apart from the very different tones of the speeches reflecting the opposite character of the two army commanders, there was another big difference. Bradley was speaking to men who in a little over a week would be splashing ashore on the beaches of Normandy. Patton was addressing an army that didn't exist. The Army That Never Was tells the story of the biggest deception operation of World War II: the plan to mislead the Germans into thinking that the invasion of Europe would come at Pas-de-Calais instead of Normandy--by inventing an entirely fake army unit during Operation Fortitude.". 20241119. Operation Fortitude. Operation Bodyguard, 1944. World War, 1939-1945 Campaigns France Normandy. World War, 1939-1945 Deception. World War, 1939-1945 Military intelligence.