D-Day naval deceptions
Taxable, Glimmer and Big Drum were tactical military deceptions conducted on 6 June 1944 in support of the Allied landings in Normandy. Small boats, along with aircraft from RAF Bomber Command, simulated invasion fleets approaching Cap d’Antifer, Pas-de-Calais and Normandy. Big Drum was positioned on the western flank of the real invasion force.
About D-Day naval deceptions in brief
Taxable, Glimmer and Big Drum were tactical military deceptions conducted on 6 June 1944 in support of the Allied landings in Normandy. The operations formed the naval component of Operation Bodyguard, a wider series of tactical and strategic deceptions surrounding the invasion. Small boats, along with aircraft from RAF Bomber Command, simulated invasion fleets approaching Cap d’Antifer, Pas-de-Calais and Normandy. Big Drum was positioned on the western flank of the real invasion force to try to confuse German forces about the scale of the landings. These operations complemented Operation Titanic, which was intended to confuse the Germans about the D-Day airborne forces. It is unclear whether the operations were successful, due to the complexity of their execution, poor weather, and lack of response from German forces. But it is possible that they contributed to the overall confusion of D- Day as part of the wider Bodyguard plan. The Allied scientists had worked on techniques for obscuring the size and disposition of an invasion force.
German defences relied on the Seetakt radar system. To deceive the radar system they proposed dropping clouds of aluminium foil at two mile intervals. The clouds would appear as a continuous blip, similar to one created by an approaching fleet, on German screens. Once German forces were drawn to the coast, it was planned that RAF would attempt to contain them in this region, and away from the actual invasion site, by bombing them by bombing bridges and roads. The operation would have given the impression of a large coastal fleet on the French coast. Once the German forces had been contained, it would have been possible to launch an airborne assault on the coast of France. This would have provided an opportunity for the Allies to take control of the French mainland and the rest of Europe. It was hoped that this would lead to the end of the war in Europe and the creation of a lasting peace in Europe. The mission was a success and the Allies were able to claim victory over the Germans.
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This page is based on the article D-Day naval deceptions published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 30, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
