Editing Operation Fortitude (section)

{{Short description|Military deception operation}}
{{About|the World War II deception|the Australian immigration checking operation|Australian Border Force#Notable operations}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox military operation
| name        = 
| partof      = [[Operation Bodyguard]]
| image       = Map of Operation Bodyguard subordinate plans.png
| image_size  = 250px
| alt         = Grayscale map of Europe with the subordinate plans of Operation Bodyguard labelled
| caption     = Fortitude North and South constituted the main portion of the overall ''[[Operation Bodyguard|Bodyguard]]'' deception
| scope       = [[Military deception]]
| location    = United Kingdom
| planned     = December 1943 – March 1944
| planned_by  = [[London Controlling Section]], [[Ops (B)]], [[R Force]]
| target      = [[Axis powers]]
| date        = March–June 1944
| executed_by = 
| outcome     = 
}}
{{Campaignbox Normandy}}

'''Operation Fortitude''' was a [[military deception]] operation by the Allied nations as part of [[Operation Bodyguard]], an overall deception strategy during the buildup to the 1944 [[Normandy landings]]. Fortitude was divided into two subplans, North and South, and had the aim of misleading the [[Oberkommando der Wehrmacht|German High Command]] as to the location of the invasion.

Fortitude had evolved from plans submitted by [[Noel Wild]], the head of [[Ops (B)]], and [[John Bevan (British Army officer)|John Bevan]], from the [[London Controlling Section]] in late 1943. Early revisions in January 1944 suggested a fictional buildup of troops in southern England with the hope of drawing German attention to the [[Calais]] region. Colonel [[David Strangeways]], head of Montgomery's [[R Force]] deception staff, was unimpressed with the approach. He was widely critical of the original plan and eventually rewrote the Fortitude deception with a focus on creating a more realistic threat.

Both Fortitude plans involved the creation of phantom [[field armies]] (based in [[Edinburgh]] and southern England), which threatened Norway ([[Fortitude North]]) and [[Pas de Calais]] ([[Fortitude South]]). The operation was intended to divert Axis attention away from Normandy and, after the invasion on 6 June 1944, to delay reinforcement by convincing the Germans that the landings had been purely a diversionary attack.