The Fake Army That Fooled Hitler

REDACTED: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana

Wondery | Ballen Studios

True Crime, History

4.3 • 668 Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As World War II raged on, America deployed its strangest weapon yet: a fake army. Known as the Ghost Army, this group of artists, architects, and actors used inflatable tanks and sound effects to deceive Hitler’s forces about the size and location of Allied troops on the attack. The Ghost Army's top-secret deception saved thousands of lives - but their story stayed buried for decades.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Love unsettling stories.
0:02.4	Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to redacted, declassified mysteries, early and ad-free,
0:07.8	as well as another twisted tale from Ballin Studios and Wondry called Wartime Stories,
0:12.8	also hosted by me, Early and Ad-Free on Wondry Plus.
0:16.7	Start your free trial today.
0:18.7	This episode contains depictions of violence and is not suitable for everyone.
0:24.0	Please be advised.
0:31.9	On March 22, 1945, the air buzzed with frantic activity along the Rhine River, outside the city of
0:39.6	Kreefeld, Germany, not far from the Dutch border.
0:43.1	Tanks and trucks rolled into position.
0:45.9	Hammers pounded.
0:47.4	Low voices relayed orders over the radio.
0:51.3	U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Clifford Simmons studied the chaos.
0:55.0	As operations officer of this unit, it was his job to make sure everything ran flawlessly.
1:01.0	It had been nine grueling months since the D-Day invasion, and the Allies now faced their final hurdle,
1:08.0	crossing the Rhine River and seizing Nazi Germany's industrial heartland.
1:13.3	Allied generals anticipated that what remained of the German army would mount a fierce
1:17.7	defense in a last stand to keep control of their homeland.
1:23.0	As Simonson shouted for his men to move one of the tanks into a new position, he heard the distant
1:28.2	drone of an aircraft. Instantly he snapped his head up. A German reconnaissance plane was now
1:34.2	circling overhead, dipping low for a better look. Simonson then ordered his men to stop moving.
1:41.0	His heart raced as he watched the plane. He hoped the Germans would see exactly what he wanted them to, a massive Allied force preparing
	...

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