|
Ops (B) was a deception planning department within the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) during the Second World War. Established in the United Kingdom in April 1943, the section was in charge of operational deception planning for the Western Front. Their major contribution was to Operations ''Cockade'' and ''Bodyguard'', the latter being the cover plan for their Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944. Originally under Colonel J. V. B. Jervis-Read, the department suffered from a lack of authority and resources. In December 1943, Jervis-Read was replaced by Colonel Noel Wild, a member of the middle eastern 'A' Force deception department, and expanded dramatically. Wild split the department into Operations and Intelligence sections. Lieutenant Colonel Roger Fleetwood-Hesketh retained charge of the latter, and Wild placed Jervis-Read in command of the former. Fleetwood-Hesketh immediately expanded his staff, bringing in his brother, an MI5 liaison officer and a secretary. The operations section was not expanded until May, with three American officers and Major S. B. D. (Sam) Hood (another 'A' Force alumnus) joining the department. In July 1944, Wild won a power struggle over who was in charge of deception planning in France; consequently Ops (B) had a much more involved role. He sent Jervis-Read to France at the head of a "Forward" section, accompanied by the American officers Lieutenant Colonel Frederic W. Barnes and Major Alfred (Al) J. F. Moody. By the end of October 1944, all of the American members of the department had returned home, leaving an entirely British staff.〔 ==John Jervis-Read== Brigadier John Vaughan Bruce Jervis-Read OBE was the original head of Ops (B).〔 He had joined the Royal Engineers from university as a second lieutenant in 1933.〔 By March 1942, when he was appointed head of the deception section, he held the rank of colonel. His main task was the planning of Operation ''Cockade''. It was not a success, in part due to the complexity of the operation, but also because of the limited resources at his disposal. Lieutenant General Frederick E. Morgan, at that time the most senior officer at SHAEF, the Supreme Commander having yet to be appointed, viewed Colonel Dudley Clarke's A Force as a "private army" which he would not have duplicated under his command.〔 In December 1943 Jervis-Read was replaced by Colonel Noel Wild, who reorganised Ops (B). Jervis-Read was made head of the Operations section as his deputy. Following the Allied invasion of France, he became Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff at SHAEF. In 1945 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), the citation recognised his work with Ops (B) and in France.〔 He retired from the army in 1963, having attained the rank of brigadier.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「List of Ops (B) staff」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|