The Phantom Army of Alamein: The Men Who Hoodwinked Rommel

Description

In 1940 a group of artists, sculptors, film makers, theatre designers and set painters came together to form the Camouflage Unit. They were so successful that in August 1942 Montgomery ordered them to to hide the preparations for the Battle of Alamein. In six weeks two entire divisions were conjured from the sand, while real units, stores and men vanished into thin air. Then, right in front of the German's eyes they made 600 tanks disappear and reappear fifty miles away disguised as lorries. Rommel had been bamboozled by an army made of nothing but string and straw and bits of wood.

Rick Stroud is a film and television director, whose credits include Brideshead Revisited (associate producer) and Monarch of the Glen (lead director). He lives on a houseboat in Chelsea, London.

A wonderful book: charming, fascinating, crammed full of extraordinary nuggets of information ... The result is a gem of a book and a classic of its kind -- James Holland * Literary Review * Stroud has a storyteller's eye for human detail matched with a researcher's diligence ... A fascinating study of how the most unlikely characters can become heroes * Independent on Sunday * The unit's tale is told with clarity, humour and precision * The Times *