Double Cross: Deception Techniques in War by Paul B. Janeczko (review)

War stories offer varied appeals: some readers like them ordnance-intensive and explosive, for instance, and some like them freighted with valor and heroism. For those who prefer tales that hang on deviousness, lies, and trickery, however, Janeczko serves up some classics. Beginning with an overview of standard deceptions in warfare, ranging from camouflage and concealment, to planted disinformation, to false displays of assets and even wearing the “false colors” of the enemy, he moves on to a couple of oldies but goodies—e.g., the Trojan Horse (a lure, combined with disinformation); the Battle of Québec (a military demonstration and a feint). The book then covers several military operations from World Wars I and II in greater detail, disclosing information that readers familiar with these battles may not have known. The retreat from Gallipoli, in which 150,000 Allied troops evacuated the battlefield within earshot of the Turks, is an engrossing warm-up act for lengthy chapters on the twin operations Fortitude North and Fortitude South, which employed nearly every trick in the strategists’ book to mask the time and location of the Normandy Invasion from the Nazis. The spotlight definitely shines on the victorious “good guys,” and when the time frame shifts ahead to conflict in Southeast Asia, Janeczko is prone to abridge his coverage rather than examine the adversary’s deceptions in detail. The intent here, however, is to offer fascinating case studies in the way deceptive strategy augments (or even supplants) fire power, and Janeczko carries the day. Black and white photographs, source notes, bibliography, and index are included.