What+were+the+major+Special+Forces+of+the+US+in+WWII?

= Back to Army Divisions and Operations =

//** 10th Mountain Division **//



===** The 10th Mountain Division was a rough-terrain patrol that operated in Italy, traveling through the Italian Appenies on skis. They were equipped for winter operations in mountainous regions, as well as mountain climbing ( **[] )**. They trained at Seneca Rocks, WV to prepare themselves for necessary ascents of mountains and cliff faces. After the war, 10th Mountain was disbanded. The veterans turned skiing into a largely recognized sport by building ski resorts like Aspen, Vail, and Sugarbush (Globalsecurity.org 10th Mountain Division). **===

//** Ghost Army **//




 * The Ghost Army was a nonexistent group that was meant to create false information gathered by aerial reconnaissance. They used an array of inflatable tanks and trucks and wooden planes to fool the Germans into concentrating their forces away from Normandy. This was vital to Operation Bodyguard and Operation Fortitude- without it, D-Day would have been a complete failure. In addition to physical deception, the Ghost Army used radio “messages” to fool the Germans. They would act as if they were discussing a plan or tactic and feed this to the Germans. The Ghost Army soon learned to mimic the radio operators and send messages that the Germans would “accidentally” receive and then act on. The Ghost Army carried out 20 deceptions during the course of the war. **** Until 1996, the Ghost Army was unknown and still a secret (Ghost Army Homepage). **

By Spencer Marshall