Tricking The Nazis
Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was confident that his men would be able to defeat the Allies if they invaded France. However, in order to do so, the German military needed to know precisely where the troops intended to launch their invasion. The Allies, on the other hand, began a campaign of disinformation in 1943. Fake radios and inflatable tanks were used to trick the Germans into believing that both British and American forces were planning to land at the Port of Calais, which they were not. Because of rumors of another bogus attack, the Germans kept the majority of their troops stationed in the Pas de Calais and in Norway. As a result, when D-Day arrived, Normandy was left defenseless and undefended.
Tricking The Nazis
Meteorologists Helped Plan D-Day
The Normandy landings and the subsequent invasion of France were referred to as “Operation Neptune.” General Dwight D. Eisenhower led the attack and consulted with meteorologists throughout the operation. They came to the conclusion that the best weather would be experienced on June 5th, 6th, and 7th. In the beginning, Eisenhower planned to start the operation on June 5th, but the weather did not cooperate as predicted. Eisenhower decided to wait 24 hours because of extremely strong winds. Despite the fact that the weather wasn’t as clear as they had hoped, the attack began on June 6th. Most notably, if the Germans had chosen to wait for a more pleasant day, they would have been better prepared.
Meteorologists Helped Plan D-Day
