Learn about “The Ghost Army”

The US Army’s 23rd HQ Special Troops, part of “The Ghost Army”, seen creating an illusion that a mass of American troops were in Bettembourg, Luxembourg, heading towards the Moselle river at Remich, 20 September 1944. The objective for “Operation Bettembourg” was to distract German forces away from the American push to liberate Metz, France. Photo credit: Ghostarmy.org/US National Archives

A monument and documentary screening will commemorate “The Ghost Army” from the second world war.

During World War II, a team of US soldiers created “a traveling road show of deception on the battlefields of Europe, with the German Army as their audience,” said Rick Beyer, who wrote, produced and directed the documentary “” (2013). “The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops used inflatable rubber tanks, sound trucks and dazzling performance art to bluff the enemy again and again, often right along the front lines.”

“The unsung heroes of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and the 3133rd Signal Company Special carried out 25 battlefield deceptions in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany and Italy,” according to the .

The US embassy to Luxembourg, Limpertsberg History Friends and Ghost Army Legacy Project will formally unveil a monument dedicated to the Ghost Army, which “played a key role in the liberation of Luxembourg in WWII”. The ceremony takes place at the University of Luxembourg’s Limpertsberg campus on Thursday 7 September at 11am. It will be attended by the US ambassador and Luxembourg’s finance minister (DP).

Organisers will screen “The Ghost Army” documentary that evening, also on the Limpertsberg campus, at 7pm.

To reserve seats, send an email to the US embassy at [email protected].