VOA标准英语2013--Fake Tanks, Ghost Army Helped Defeat Germans During WW ll

 

Fake Tanks, Ghost Army Helped Defeat Germans During WW ll

Elaborate ruse¹

In March 1945, after months of bitter fighting, the Germans had retreated behind the Rhine River, their natural frontier, to mount their final defense².

For the Germans, the view from the air revealed hundreds of American vehicles. They intercepted³ Allied⁴ radio transmissions which appeared to confirm that two American divisions were on the ground. German observation posts reported hearing them moving in across the river. Only nothing the Germans heard or saw was real. Hundreds of inflatable tanks and other military vehicles were props⁵ in an elaborate ruse, one of many that a small group of American soldiers staged to distract the enemy. They were known as the Ghost Army. 

"The 1,000 men in this unit were basically pretending to be two divisions of 30,000 men and trying to convince the Germans that they were attacking across the Rhine in one place where the real attack was going to take place 10 miles away," said filmmaker Rick Beyer.

The operation on the Rhine was deemed a great success.

Bringing history to life

In the documentary, some Ghost Army veterans talk about how they used sounds and special effects to give the operation a realistic feel.

"I told my children it was the biggest boom box you ever saw, but it played sounds of tanks and activity," said one.

Getting the radio transmissions right was crucial.

"It's always the scenesetter. It's always the first information you're gonna get to the enemy.  Because they're going to hear the radio broadcast long before the troops arrive. So you have to get the radio right," Beyer asserted. "You can't skip the other parts, because if you hear a radio that says an armored division is moving in, and then you never see any tanks or you never hear them at night moving in, you're not going to believe the radio."

Masquerade

Wherever they were stationed, The Ghost Army impersonated real units.  They masqueraded as generals and set up phony command posts to deceive enemy spies.

"The people who came out of this unit is, in itself, a fascinating story," said Beyer.

They were artists and designers who got their start in The Ghost Army. During their downtime, they painted to escape the horrors of war.

"Among those artists are fashion designer Bill Blass, painter and sculptor⁶ Ellsworth Kelly, wildlife painter Arthur Singer, photographer Art Kane, very famous for a picture with all the jazz musicians on the stoop in Harlem," said Beyer.

Beyer's Ghost Army underscores the bravery of the men who went to the front lines with fake weapons that only could make noise to attract the enemy so lives were spared somewhere else.

1 ruse   

n.诡计，计策；诡计

参考例句：

• The children thought of a clever ruse to get their mother to leave the house so they could get ready for her surprise.孩子们想出一个聪明的办法使妈妈离家，以便他们能准备给她一个惊喜。It is now clear that this was a ruse to divide them.现在已清楚这是一个离间他们的诡计。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

4 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

5 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

6 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。