Deception: Past Experiences - Future Opportunities

Abstract

The importance of deception in warfare has been recognized at least since the fourth century B.C. when Sun Tzu wrote about the merits of deception in warfare and suggested its capabilities as a force multiplier. This paper addresses the successful use of deception in past operations and its relevance for future-operations. It presents an analysis of three successful deception operations--Fortitude, the Yom Kippur War and Desert Storm. The analysis includes a description and comparison of the three cases plus conclusions on why they were successful. Using these conclusions, the paper develops several lessons learned for operational commanders for use in future deception operations. Finally, it examines the relevance of deception in today's world characterized by high technology and contingencies that range across the spectrum of conflict.... Deception, Operational warfare, Operation FORTITUDE, The Yom Kippur War, Desert Storm

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 18, 1993
Accession Number
ADA266912

Entities

People

  • Charlotte L. Rea-dix

Organizations

  • Naval War College

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  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

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  • Air Force
  • Amphibious Operations
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
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  • Joint Military Activities
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Intelligence
  • Military Operations
  • New York
  • Second World War
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  • United States
  • War
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

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  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies