A Genius for Deception: How Cunning Helped the British Win Two World Wars
In February 1942, intelligence officer Victor Jones erected 150 tents behind British lines in North Africa. "Hiding tanks in Bedouin tents was an old British trick," writes Nicholas Rankin. German general Erwin Rommel not only knew of the ploy, but had copied it himself. Jones knew that Rommel knew. In fact, he counted on it--for these tents were empty. With the deception that he was carrying out a deception, Jones made a weak point look like a trap. In A Genius for Deception, Nicholas Rankin offers a lively and comprehensive history of how Britain bluffed, tricked, and spied its way to victory in two world wars. As Rankin shows, a coherent program of strategic deception emerged in World War I, resting on the pillars of camouflage, propaganda, secret intelligence, and special forces. All forms of deception found an avid sponsor in Winston Churchill, who carried his enthusiasm for deceiving the enemy into World War II. Rankin vividly recounts such little-known episodes as the invention of camouflage by two French artist-soldiers, the creation of dummy airfields for the Germans to bomb during the Blitz, and the fabrication of an army that would supposedly invade Greece. Strategic deception would be key to a number of WWII battles, culminating in the massive misdirection that proved critical to the success of the D-Day invasion in 1944. Deeply researched and written with an eye for telling detail, A Genius for Deception shows how the British used craft and cunning to help win the most devastating wars in human history.
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A Genius for Deception: How Cunning Helped the British Win Two World Wars
In February 1942, intelligence officer Victor Jones erected 150 tents behind British lines in North Africa. "Hiding tanks in Bedouin tents was an old British trick," writes Nicholas Rankin. German general Erwin Rommel not only knew of the ploy, but had copied it himself. Jones knew that Rommel knew. In fact, he counted on it--for these tents were empty. With the deception that he was carrying out a deception, Jones made a weak point look like a trap. In A Genius for Deception, Nicholas Rankin offers a lively and comprehensive history of how Britain bluffed, tricked, and spied its way to victory in two world wars. As Rankin shows, a coherent program of strategic deception emerged in World War I, resting on the pillars of camouflage, propaganda, secret intelligence, and special forces. All forms of deception found an avid sponsor in Winston Churchill, who carried his enthusiasm for deceiving the enemy into World War II. Rankin vividly recounts such little-known episodes as the invention of camouflage by two French artist-soldiers, the creation of dummy airfields for the Germans to bomb during the Blitz, and the fabrication of an army that would supposedly invade Greece. Strategic deception would be key to a number of WWII battles, culminating in the massive misdirection that proved critical to the success of the D-Day invasion in 1944. Deeply researched and written with an eye for telling detail, A Genius for Deception shows how the British used craft and cunning to help win the most devastating wars in human history.
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A Genius for Deception: How Cunning Helped the British Win Two World Wars

A Genius for Deception: How Cunning Helped the British Win Two World Wars

by Nicholas Rankin
A Genius for Deception: How Cunning Helped the British Win Two World Wars

A Genius for Deception: How Cunning Helped the British Win Two World Wars

by Nicholas Rankin

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Overview

In February 1942, intelligence officer Victor Jones erected 150 tents behind British lines in North Africa. "Hiding tanks in Bedouin tents was an old British trick," writes Nicholas Rankin. German general Erwin Rommel not only knew of the ploy, but had copied it himself. Jones knew that Rommel knew. In fact, he counted on it--for these tents were empty. With the deception that he was carrying out a deception, Jones made a weak point look like a trap. In A Genius for Deception, Nicholas Rankin offers a lively and comprehensive history of how Britain bluffed, tricked, and spied its way to victory in two world wars. As Rankin shows, a coherent program of strategic deception emerged in World War I, resting on the pillars of camouflage, propaganda, secret intelligence, and special forces. All forms of deception found an avid sponsor in Winston Churchill, who carried his enthusiasm for deceiving the enemy into World War II. Rankin vividly recounts such little-known episodes as the invention of camouflage by two French artist-soldiers, the creation of dummy airfields for the Germans to bomb during the Blitz, and the fabrication of an army that would supposedly invade Greece. Strategic deception would be key to a number of WWII battles, culminating in the massive misdirection that proved critical to the success of the D-Day invasion in 1944. Deeply researched and written with an eye for telling detail, A Genius for Deception shows how the British used craft and cunning to help win the most devastating wars in human history.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780199756711
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication date: 11/10/2009
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 4 MB

About the Author

Nicholas Rankin is the author of Telegram from Guernica and Dead Man's Chest. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Preface Ch 1: War of Nerves Ch 2: The Nature of Camouflage Ch 3: Engineering Opinion Ch 4: Hiding and Sniping Ch 5: Deception in the Dardanelles Ch 6: Steel Trees Ch 7: Guile and Guerrilla Ch 8: The Twice-Promised Land Ch 9: A Dazzle of Zebras Ch 10: Lying for Lloyd George Ch 11: Deceivers Deceived Ch 12: The Wizards of WW2 Ch 13: Curtain Up Ch 14: Winston is Back Ch 15: Hiding the Silver Ch 16: A Great Blow Between the Eyes Ch 17: Commando Dagger Ch 18: British Resistance Ch 19: Fire Over England Ch 20: Radio Propaganda Ch 21: 'A' Force: North Africa Ch 22: Impersonations Ch 23: Garden of Forking Paths Ch 24: The Hinge of Fate Ch 25: Mincemeat Ch 26: The Double Ch 27: Overlord&Fortitude Ch 28: V for Vergeltung Epilogue Source Notes Author's Note&Acknowlegements Index
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