BOOK REVIEW: Deceptions of World War II

Camouflage techniques, deception tactics and double agents are all explored in a fascinating new book going behind the scenes of World War II. Anne Layton-Bennett shares her thoughts on 'Deceptions of World War II' by Peter Darman.

WITH PARENTS who both served in Britain’s Royal Air Force during World War ll – my father as a pilot and my mother as a motor transport driver in the WAAF – I grew up hearing stories about the war.

I also read a lot of books and watched films about those brave individuals who fought in that war; the ace pilots and the secret agents parachuted into France to help the Resistance and the armada of small boats that helped evacuate troops stranded at Dunkirk.

Most of these books, borrowed from my older brother’s bookshelves, portrayed the British as the good guys and Germans as the “baddies”, but they never included the possibility there could be another, very secret aspect to the war.

Unveiling the Secret Heroes of World War II

A new book chronicling the untold heroes of World War II is a fascinating glimpse into the world of espionage, resistance and escapism.

Reading about the extent and depth of deception described in Peter Darman’s very readable, well-researched and generously illustrated book, Deceptions of World War ll: From Camouflage Techniques to Deception Tactics, was an eye-opener.

His even-handed approach includes the camouflage tactics practised by Germany and Russia as well as Britain, and the book also offers a clue to the possible source material for some of those wartime thrillers written by novelists like Alistair Maclean, Ken Follett and Jack Higgins.

Britain adopted deceptive tactics from day one. A recognition its airpower was no match for Germany’s meant some lateral thinking and ingenuity was crucial.

Decoy Q sites, K sites and Starfish sites were quickly constructed to confuse the enemy and protect the locations of Britain’s real airfields, factories and industrial sites. And planning was meticulous despite the haste. It had to be. It was vital that every detail, however small, was accurate to fool German surveillance crews into believing those dummy sites were real.

What better way to achieve authenticity than to enlist the services of those already skilled in creating make-believe? Film and theatre technicians were seconded to design, create and build the streets, buildings, dummy aircraft, vehicles and tents to convince German reconnaissance pilots these fake sites were the real deal.

Britain was well equipped, so bombing raids were diverted away from actual airbases and manufacturing locations.

‘During the day the equipment resembled chicken sheds, but at night the boilers and fire baskets looked just like bombs exploding, incendiaries burning, and buildings on fire.’

The Germans employed similar tactics, particularly in occupied France. Its flimsy aircraft replicas were dubbed Attrappen. But, since Allied intelligence was already well aware of the locations of former French Air Force bases, Germany’s camouflage techniques were less successful.

The lie that changed the course of history: Inside Operation Mincemeat

During WWII, two intelligence officers devise a plan to use a corpse and false papers to outwit German troops, saving tens of thousands of lives.

A cast of some very dodgy characters was also crucial to the war effort and Darman peels back the covers to reveal the identities of some of them. These were the double agents who worked in the UK’s Double Cross System and fed disinformation to the Germans, to help shield actual military operations through clever deceptions designed to deploy troops away from the real invasion targets.

One of the longest-running Double Cross agents was Wulf Schmidt, a German spy who was captured within hours of landing in Britain. Faced with either imprisonment or execution, he chose to swap sides.

Over five years, Schmidt transmitted more than 1,000 encoded messages by radio for the British. But he also so impressed the Nazis with the information he gave them — he was awarded the Iron Cross First and Second Class.

Schmidt wasn’t the only double agent to be honoured by both sides. But trusting them was always a risk.

The damning assessment of double agent Serbian Dŭsan Popov by the head of MI6 could probably refer to many of them:

‘You are honest, but without scruples. Your conscience never bothers you. You are ambitious and ruthless and you can be cruel, although in an animal not in a sick way. When you are frightened, you don’t panic. Danger is a stimulant for you.’

Ian Fleming’s James Bond character is thought to be based on Popov. He was also the agent whose information about Japan’s plans to bomb Pearl Harbour, passed to the FBI almost four months before the attack, was ignored. And all because FBI chief J Edgar Hoover didn’t trust ‘the flashy playboy’.

Methods of communication have changed markedly since the 1940s and while it’s likely smoke and mirror tactics are still employed between opposing armies in order to gain the advantage, the internet has ensured these will be vastly more sophisticated than the methods adopted by both the Allies and the Germans during WWll.

Even so, as with the months of careful planning that led to the D-Day landings, ultimate success may still largely rest on the weather conditions of the day.

'Deceptions of World War ll: From Camouflage Techniques to Deception Tactics' by Peter Darman is available from Exisle Publishing for $39.99 RRP.

This book was reviewed by an IA Book Club member. If you would like to receive free high-quality books and have your review published on IA, subscribe to Independent Australia for your complimentary IA Book Club membership.

Anne Layton-Bennett is a writer based in Tasmania.