20. The Fake Army
Popov played an important role in a sub-plan of Bodyguard, known as Operation Fortitude, of which more below, under the entry for another Allied deception agent, Juan Pujol Garcia. Popov fed the Germans made up details about a fake American army in Britain, such as its units, strength, and organization.
The Germans bought the deception. Their faith in Popov’s information was reinforced when they eavesdropped on fake radio traffic between the fictitious units. To reinforce the deception, German reconnaissance planes were allowed to fly over Britain and photograph concentrations of tanks and transports that were actually inflatable dummies.