The Army That Never Was - D-Day and the Great Deception

The Army That Never Was: D-Day and the Great Deception tells the remarkable story of the deceptions, hoaxes and misdirections carried out by the Allies ahead of the most pivotal moment of the Second World War - the D-Day invasion.

The most audacious of these schemes aimed to convince German forces that plans to storm Normandy were a mere sideshow, and featured a fictitious army led by General Patton and furnished with hundreds of real-world dummy landing craft, tanks and aircraft. New research reveals a hidden link with Britain's film industry, as the fascinating behind-the-scenes story of this dramatic gambit is explored in detail.

About the author

Taylor Downing is a historian, broadcaster and best-selling author. Over many years he produced more than 300 historical documentaries for British and American television. For the last decade he has been writing popular history books including Cold War (with Sir Jeremy Isaacs), Spies in the Sky, Breakdown, 1983 - The World at the Brink, and 1942 - Britain at the Brink. He regularly appears on television, radio documentaries and podcasts. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Product details

• Authors: Downing Taylor
• Publisher: Icon Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 05.06.2025
• EAN: 9781837731589
• ISBN: 978-1-83773-158-9
• No. of pages: 356
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > 20th century (up to 1945); France, HISTORY / Military / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Intelligence & Espionage, military history, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / European, Second World War, c 1938 to c 1946 (World War Two period), Espionage & secret services, Modern warfare, Espionage and secret services, c 1939 to c 1945 (including WW2), Normandy Beaches, History / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / European Theater