Normandy invasion – how the Allied pulled off a deception on the Germans

Those who have read Chandradhar Sharma Guleri’s classic Hindi short story, Usne kaha tha would recall how a German officer comes disguised as a British officer in the trench occupied by Indian soldiers fighting in British Army in Belgium in the WWI and sends the platoon into an ambush.

- SATISH KUMAR SHARMA

Lahna Singh, the protagonist, manages to uncover the truth, kill the masquerader and save his brethren but only at the cost of his own life.

Deception is a vital element in war tactics. "All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near", said the Chinese ancient Military strategist Sun Tzu in his book 'Art of War'. It is a fascinating story how the British used deception successfully during the Allied invasion of France.

The landings were planned for June 5, 1944 but were postponed to June 6 because of bad weather. As luck would have it, June 6 was also the birthday of Lucia, the wife of General Erwin Rommel, the German Commander in France and overall in-charge of German defences of the French coast, known as the Atlantic Wall. So, on the D-Day, Rommel had gone on a day's leave to Germany to give his wife a surprise.