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40 Fascinating But Lesser Known Facts About WWII

Khalid Elhassan January 5, 2019 25 min

World War II - European theatre of World War II — Raising the Red Banner over the Reichstag. Anarkismo

American GIs at the liberation of Paris in 1944. History Channel

21. Bodyguard’s Success Exceeded Expectations

Operation Bodyguard had hoped to trick the Germans into staying put in the Pas de Calais for two weeks after D-Day, instead of immediately sending the units there to reinforce their hard pressed defenders in Normandy. The plan ended up working so well that the Germans stayed put in the Pas de Calais for seven weeks instead of the hoped-for two. That gave the Allies enough time to build up their beachhead in Normandy, before breaking out to liberate France and Western Europe.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.