Operation Landgraf

landgrave

'Landgraf' was a German deception effort within Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel’s Heeresgruppe 'B' in coastal areas of German-occupied northern France and the Low Countries, and to a lesser extent Generaloberst Johannes Blaskowitz’s Heeresgruppe 'G' in the Rhône river delta of southern France (14 May/August 1944).

Started only shortly before the Allied 'Overlord' and 'Dragoon' (i) undertakings, this German operation was designed to persuade the Allies that the German defences were far stronger than they actually were: to this end the Germans built bogus defensive positions, improved their defences against airborne landings, deployed dummy tanks, and generated the quantity of radio traffic which suggested the presence of an additional eight divisions.