| XXXIII Corps | |
|---|---|
 Shoulder sleeve insignia | |
| Active | Operation Quicksilver |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Type | Phantom formation |
| U.S. Corps (1939–present) | ||||
|
The US XXXIII Corps (33rd Corps) was a 'Phantom Unit' created in 1944 as part of Fortitude South II. [1]
The corps was first reported to the Germans as arriving in June 1944, disembarking at Liverpool and establishing its headquarters in Marbury, Cheshire, with the US 11th Infantry Division, US 48th Infantry Division and US 25th Armored Division under its command. In July the corps and the units under its command were reported as moving to take up positions vacated by US XX Corps as it departed for Normandy. [1] [2]
With its headquarters at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, the corps had the role of following up the landings by US XXXVII Corps and British II Corps in the Pas de Calais. [3]
Following the conclusion of Fortitude South II it was reported as having moved to Romsey in August 1944. During September the control of US 25th Armored Division passed to US XXXVII Corps and the US 17th Infantry Division became part of US XXXIII Corps. In October 1944 it was announced to the Germans that the corps had been disbanded to provide replacements for other units. [1]
Operation Fortitude was the code name for a World War II military deception by the Allied nations as part of 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 German High Command as to the location of the invasion.
The Twelfth Army was a British Army formation during the Second World War. The Twelfth Army denotation was actually used twice; firstly, in 1943, for a fictional formation and secondly, in 1944/45, in Burma.
The Fourth Army was a field army that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The Fourth Army was formed on 5 February 1916 under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson to carry out the main British contribution to the Battle of the Somme.
The 55th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army's Territorial Army (TA) that was formed in 1920 and existed through the Second World War, although it did not see combat. The division had originally been raised in 1908 as the West Lancashire Division, part of the British Army's Territorial Force (TF). It fought in the First World War, as the 55th Division, and demobilised following the fighting. In 1920, the 55th Division started to reform. It was stationed in the county of Lancashire throughout the 1920s and 1930s, and was under-funded and under-staffed. In the late 1930s, the division was reduced from three to two infantry brigades and gave up some artillery and other support units to become a motorised formation, the 55th Motor Division. This was part of a British Army doctrine change that was intended to increase battlefield mobility.
Fourteenth United States Army was a fictitious/military deception field army, under the command of John P. Lucas, developed under Operation Quicksilver as a part of the fictitious First United States Army Group.
Operation Ironside was a Second World War military deception undertaken by the Allies in 1944. It formed part of Operation Bodyguard, a broad strategic deception plan instigated by the Allies throughout the year to help cover the June 1944 invasion of Normandy. Ironside supported the overall deception by suggesting to the Germans that the Allies would subsequently land along the Bay of Biscay. It complemented efforts to deceive the Germans into believing that the Allies would also land in southern France at this time. Bordeaux was an important port for the German war effort and had already been a target of commando raids two years earlier. Ironside intended to play on German fears of an invasion in the region, with the aim of tying down defensive forces following Operation Overlord in June 1944.
The 76th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which was formed in November 1941 and served during the Second World War. It was created when the Norfolk County Division, initially raised in 1940 to defend the Norfolk coast from a potential German invasion, was redesignated. The division maintained the defensive duties that had been assigned to it, prior to it being renamed, until late 1942 when it became a training formation. It was then responsible for providing final tactical and field training to soldiers who had already passed their initial training. After five additional weeks of training, the soldiers were posted to fighting formations overseas. The formation was used as a source of reinforcements for the 21st Army Group, that was fighting in the Normandy campaign. After all available British troops had left the United Kingdom for France, the division was disbanded in September 1944.
First United States Army Group was a fictitious Allied Army Group in World War II prior to D-Day, part of Operation Quicksilver, created to deceive the Germans about where the Allies would land in France. To attract Axis attention, prominent US general George S. Patton was placed in command of the fabricated formation.
The 61st Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised in 1939 as part of the expansion of the Territorial Army in response to the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. The division was created as a duplicate of the 48th Infantry Division, and was assigned to home defence duties.
The 80th Infantry (Reserve) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed at the beginning of 1943, during the Second World War. For the twenty months that the division existed, it was a training formation. It was made responsible for providing final tactical and field training to soldiers who had already passed their initial training. After five additional weeks of training, the soldiers would be posted to fighting formations overseas. Notably, the division was used as a source of reinforcements for the 21st Army Group, which was fighting in Normandy. After all available troops left the United Kingdom for France, the division was disbanded.
The 11th Division, an infantry division of the United States Army, was activated twice during the First World War. During the Second World War the division was notionally reactivated as part of Fortitude South II.
The 17th Division of the United States Army was formed twice during the First World War. It was then recreated a third time as a Second World War 'phantom division' as part of Fortitude South II.
Operation Cockade was a series of deception operations designed to alleviate German pressure on Allied operations in Sicily and on the Soviets on the Eastern Front by feinting various attacks into Western Europe during World War II. The Allies hoped to use Cockade to force the Luftwaffe into a massive air battle with the Royal Air Force and U.S. Eighth Air Force to give the Allies air superiority over Western Europe. Cockade involved three deception operations: Operation Starkey, Operation Wadham, and Operation Tindall. Operation Starkey was set to occur in early September, Operation Tindall in mid-September, and Operation Wadham in late September 1943.
The 48th Armored Division was a division of the United States Army National Guard from September 1946 until 1968. Most of its units were part of the Florida Army National Guard and the Georgia Army National Guard. From 1946 to 1955 it was an infantry division. During World War II the denotation 48th Infantry Division was a 'phantom division' created for Operation Quicksilver, part of Operation Fortitude South II.
The US 55th Infantry Division was a 'phantom division' created in October 1943 to cover the departure of the US 5th Infantry Division from Iceland. An entirely notional force, its existence was reported to the Germans only through controlled agents as Iceland was too far from Europe to make use of radio deception.
The US 59th Infantry Division was a 'Phantom Division' created in May 1944 as part of Fortitude South II. to cover the deployment of the US 35th Infantry Division to Normandy.
The 9th Airborne Division of the United States Army was a military deception created in 1944 as part of Fortitude South II
The US 25th Armored Division was a 'phantom division' created in 1944 as part of Fortitude South II to replace the real US 5th Armored Division when that unit was deployed to Normandy.
The US XXXVII Corps was a 'Phantom Unit' created in 1944 as part of Fortitude South II, a military deception by the Allied nations during the build-up to the 1944 Normandy landings.