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The Ghost Army: Deception and Illusion in World War II

In the summer of 1944, as the Allied forces surged into Europe, German reconnaissance faced an unsettling dilemma. American armored divisions appeared in improbable locations, then vanished just as swiftly. The truth behind this perplexing phenomenon lay hidden amidst the French countryside, where two Frenchmen on bicycles inadvertently witnessed an astonishing scene: soldiers from the United States Army's 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, colloquially known as the Ghost Army, effortlessly maneuvering a 40-ton Sherman tank as if it were a toy. The soldier Arthur Shilstone shrugged off the astonished cyclists’ questions with an innocuous remark: "The Americans are very strong."