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Operation Fortitude and D-Day- Fifteenth Army and Rommel

Discussion in 'What If - European Theater - Western Front & Atlan' started by MastahCheef117, Jun 29, 2009.

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  1. MastahCheef117

    MastahCheef117 Member

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    In 1943, Allied High Command knew that Rommel's command in France was split into two parts- the Fifteenth Army at Pas-de-Calais, and the Eighth Army (?) in the Normandy area. They figured that a deceptive attack at one of these armies would throw the German high command in France into turmoil, allowing the United States, Britain and their allies a strong foothold in the occupied country. Eventually, the "First US Army Group" was created in a ruse to fool Rommel, Hitler and other German commanders.

    The fictitious army group was to be commanded by General George S. Patton. Pas-de-Calais was the perfect place to launch a deceptive operation- it was the closest French province to Germany, making it surprisingly believable that it was to be a real attack. To back this up, Allied bombers would bomb cities in the province daily, and would also send back false information from German spies to German command, misleading the commanders greatly.

    This thread is basically if the German spies weren't captured- and therefore Rommel, von Runstedt and Hitler himself discovered the truth of Operation Fortitude. The Eighth Army was under extreme pressure and was split down the middle within less than a week of the D-Day landings. Just days before D-Day, Operation Overlord is launched, Rommel is given permission to redirect the Fifteenth Army over to the Normandy area- particularly Caen and St Lo (Cherbourg was very important, but luckily for the Germans the port in the city was decimated by the time the Allies took it over).

    Had this happened, the Fifteenth Army would've most likely held off the British at Caen- although the Allies had massive resources at their disposal, Rommel was insistent that if the Allies so much as set a foot on any part of German lands, it would be impossible to get them off. Cherbourg was basically a "hopeless case", with American Airborne and Infantry (82nd/101st and 4th, respectively) cutting the entire Cotentin peninsula from the rest of the European continent. St Lo wasn't under attack until later in the month. Caen was basically the German's lifeline. Had Operation Fortitude South (and North, at Norway) been a failure, the situation in Normandy would be much different- not to mention much more bloody, violent and hard to control. It is possible the Germans could've forced American, Canadian and British tanks and troops from the shores of Normandy, but only at the cost of many tanks, equipment and lives.

    And yes, I don't care if it's inaccurate as hell at all. But comments, anyway?
     
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