Formerly the director of athletics at Virginia Commonwealth University, Norwood Teague serves as the event director for Business North Carolina Magazine, where he coordinates major events for the publication. Outside of his professional activities, Norwood Teague enjoys reading and learning about history related to World War II.

It took Allied forces a year to prepare for the massive invasion known as D-Day. Operation Bodyguard, an elaborate disinformation campaign that misled Nazi forces regarding the timing and location of the attack was a key component of preparatory efforts.

The most obvious point for Allied forces to attack the Nazi’s 1,500 mile long coastal defenses was Pas de Calais, the region in France that is closest to Britain. In order to convince Axis powers that this was the planned point of attack, Operation Bodyguard engaged in a complex game of deception. German aerial reconnaissance spotted a large army gathering on England’s shores that consisted of hundreds of dummy aircraft, landing craft, and tanks. German forces believed the activity was the First U.S. Army Group led by General Patton. German radio operators intercepted hundreds of false radio transmissions that confirmed their belief.

German spies who had been captured and turned into double agents were a key part of Operation Bodyguard. Trusted by Nazi leadership, these individuals fed the Germans a steady stream of misinformation, including detailed reports outlining the activities of Britain’s Fourth Army, presumably gathering in Scotland to join with forces with the Soviet Union. To complete the ruse, fabricated radio communications were exchanged, discussing issues related to the cold weather.

Other measures used in Operation Bodyguard included actors impersonating generals, aluminum strips dropped by airplanes to trick enemy radar, and hundreds of dummy paratroopers. Even after the invasion at Normandy, the deception continued, successfully keeping Nazi reinforcements in other locations waiting for attacks that never came.

Operation Bodyguard was named in reference to a quote by Winston Churchill: In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies. The elaborate web of deception successfully deceived enemy forces and ultimately turned the tide of World War II.