Glossary of Selected Terms
A-2: The Military Intelligence Section of the Air Staff.
AGWAR: Adjutant General, War Department.
AMILCAR: General Eisenhower's advanced command post in North Africa near Tunis.
ANVIL: Code name for Anglo-American invasion of Southern France in August 1944.
BIGOT: This was a classification term on highly secret documents indicating that they should be handled and distributed to a limited number of specifically designated personnel. In 1944 this term was used on documents dealing with OVERLORD planning.
BODYGUARD: Deception plan for OVERLORD. Before the assault BODYGUARD was intended to lead the enemy to believe that the invasion would be in the Pas de Calais area. After the assault it was intended to lead the Germans to believe that the main assault was still to come. Later it became FORTITUDE.
BRIDGEHEAD: An area of ground held or to be gained on the enemy's side of an obstacle.
BUSHY PARK: Location of SHAEF Headquarters near Kingston-on-Themes on the outskirts of London. Codename: WIDEWING.
CCS: Combined United States and British Chiefs of Staff.
COSSAC: Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (Designate) and his invasion planning staff. This staff was established to plan OVERLORD and functioned prior to General Eisenhower's assuming the post of Supreme Allied Commander in January 1944. COSSAC was headed by Lt. General Frederic E. Morgan, a British officer.
D-DAY: The first day of any military operation. June 6, 1944, the date of the assault on the Normandy beaches, is probably the most famous D-Day and the one with which we are concerned with in this project. The term, however, can refer to the first day of any other military operation.
DIVISION: A major military administrative and tactical unit or formation, which combines in itself the necessary arms and services for sustained combat. Components include brigades and regiments who in turn are composed of battalions, companies, platoons, and squads. An infantry division also normally includes attached artillery units and possibly other elements. During World War II, infantry divisions at full strength contained slightly over 14,000 men.
ENIGMA: The main machine used by the Germans in World War II for encoding messages to be transmitted by radio. ENIGMA contained a complex arrangement, which provided an enormous number of possible encoding positions for each letter.
FORTITUDE: Broad plan covering deception operations in the European Theater. It was used for OVERLORD and was intended to deceive the enemy as to the target date and area of the assault phase of OVERLORD.
FREEDOM: Code name for Allied Forces Headquarters in Algiers, Algeria. General Eisenhower's combined operational command, which he held in North Africa and in Mediterranean operations prior to becoming commander of Allied Expeditionary Force to launch OVERLORD.
FRONT: The line of contact of two opposing forces.
G-2: The Military Intelligence Section of U.S. Army units.
G.C. and C.S.: The British government's Code and Cipher School, run out of Bletchley Park, with Sir Steward Menzies the overall head of this operation.
GOLD Beach: Code name for Normandy beach assaulted by British XXX Corps.
JUNO Beach: Code name for Normandy beach assaulted by Canadian 3rd Infantry.
MAGIC: Term for combination of intelligence derived by the United States from decoding Japanese diplomatic and naval ciphers.
MANHATTAN PROJECT: An intensive, top-secret research project begun by the United States in 1942 with the goal of developing an atomic weapon.
MID: The Military Intelligence Division of the U.S. War Department.
NEPTUNE: Code name for the invasion portion of OVERLORD: The Channel crossing, the siege of the beachhead, and the breakout from the beachhead.
OMAHA Beach: Code name for Normandy beach assaulted by United States Fifth Corps.
OPERATION STARKEY: Code name for a 1943 deception plan aimed at convincing the Germans the Allied invasion's main thrust would be at the Pas-de-Calais.
OVERLORD: Code name for invasion of Northwest Europe in spring of 1944 by the Allies. It covered the entire operation, air, sea, and ground.
PWB: Psychological Warfare Branch of the Information and Censorship Section of Allied Force Headquarters.
SGS: The Secretary of the General Staff of SHAEF.
SHAEF: Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force. General Eisenhower was the Supreme Allied Commander, 1944-1945.
SWORD Beach: Code name for Normandy beach assaulted by the British Third Infantry.
TELEGRAPH HOUSE: Secluded home in London suburb on Kingston Hill where General Eisenhower set up his personal headquarters. Near SHAEF headquarters at Bushy Park.
TROOPERS: Code name for cable address of British War Office.
ULTRA: Intelligence derived by the British from decoding and reading German radio communications enciphered in high-level German cipher systems.
USFOR: The United States Forces. Often USFET for United States Forces European Theater.
UTAH Beach: Code name for Normandy Beach assaulted by U.S. VII Corps on June 6, 1944.
