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Operation Ironside was a Second World War military deception undertaken by the Allies in 1944. The operation threatened an invasion of France, along the Bay of Biscay, in support of the invasion of Normandy and supposed invasion of southern France (Operation Vendetta). Ironside formed part of Operation Bodyguard, a broad strategic deception plan instigated by the Allies throughout 1944. Bordeaux was an important military port during the war and had already been a target of commando raids two years earlier. Ironside intended to play on German fears of an invasion in the region, with the aim of tying down defensive forces following Operation Overlord in June 1944. Planned by the London Controlling Section, Ironside was communicated via double agents between May and June 1944. Unlike other Bodyguard deceptions, the plan was put across entirely by double agents without support from physical deception. Agent Bronx took the lead with support from Tate, Rudloff and Garbo. Ironside's story included an initial two-division assault, using Overlord formations, staged out of the UK. This would then be followed up with six divisions sailing from the East Coast of the United States. There is no indication that Ironside was successful in convincing the Germans of imminent Allied plans to invade the Bay of Biscay. Worried about exposing agents as false, the Twenty Committee sent disinformation via less important agents and with words of caution. In addition, Allied landings around Bordeaux may have seemed implausible because it was beyond air cover from the United Kingdom and lacked the normal physical elements associated with an invasion. After the operation closed, at the end of June 1944, the threat of invasion from the US was informally kept alive. It was revisited as Ironside II in mid-July as support for Operation Ferdinand. The invasion story was replaced with a supposed Allied plan to increase French resistance in the Bordeaux region to tie up German forces. Most of Ironside II was ignored by the Germans whose interest had turned away from the Bordeaux region. ==Background== (詳細はmilitary deception intended to confuse the Axis high command as to Allied intentions during the lead-up to the Normandy landings. The overall aim of Bodyguard was to tie down German forces away from Normandy by threatening other targets.〔 Ironside's specific objective was to tie up the 17th and 11th SS Panzer divisions deployed in the south of France.〔〔〔 Overall planning for Bodyguard, and Ironside, rested with John Bevan and the London Controlling Section (LCS). The LCS had been set up in 1942 following successes in deception in the Middle East by Dudley Clarke. After initial attempts at deception planning the department was tasked with bringing Bodyguard to fruition.〔 One of their most useful deception channels was through double agents. During the early stages of the war the Abwehr (German intelligence) had sent spies to Britain, however all of these either surrendered or were captured. Some were used as an extensive double agent network under the control of the Twenty Committee.〔 Bordeaux was an important port for the German war effort receiving large amounts of cargo, mostly raw materials, from overseas.〔 The Gironde estuary and Bordeaux had already been a target for the Allies. Operation Frankton was a 1942 commando raid targeting important shipping in the port.〔 In January 1944 the Allies intercepted communications indicating that German commanders were concerned by the possibility of landings in the Bay of Biscay region of France. The next month, German naval and air units undertook anti-invasion exercises in the area. Ironside was intended to amplify these concerns.〔 The plot for Ironside was that, ten days following D-Day, Allied forces would land in the Bordeaux region. This force would spend around twelve days establishing a bridgehead before advancing to meet Operation Vendetta formations (another deception operation targeting the Mediterranean coast of France).〔〔 The supposed target of Ironside was the Garonne Estuary with landing sites at Royan and Accord.〔 At first Bevan suggested that the fictional invasion force should stage from the American East Coast. Newman Smith, based out of New York and responsible for the US elements of the deception, felt this was an unrealistic story and suggested a large force from the US might conceivably reinforce a bridgehead established by units from the UK. Formations intended for Normandy could be "re-purposed" for the initial invasion.〔〔 The final plan earmarked two Overlord divisions for the assault with the supposed reinforcements consisting of six real divisions (the 26th, 94th, 95th, and 104th Infantry, and the 10th and 11th Armored) under the notional command of Lieutenant General Lloyd Fredendall.〔 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「Operation Ironside」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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