Operation

FORTITUDE

A Key Turning Point in WWII

Max Bott Jayanth Tatikonda

Junior Division Group Website

How we chose our topic We chose Operation FORTITUDE after watching the James Bond movie Skyfall, because we were fascinated with the idea of being a spy and working for MI6. We looked at a few books about espionage and learned about the great spy operation BODYGUARD that fooled the Nazis and saved D-Day during World War II. Operation BODYGUARD had several plans. Operation FORTITUDE, which focused on misinforming the Nazis about where and when the Allies would invade Europe, was the most important and interesting of these plans, so we decided to focus on it for our topic. How we conducted our research We started our research with a class field trip to Butler Universitys Irwin library, where we searched their databases for articles and books. We visited local libraries and bookstores and found more books and DVDs. We created an interview questionnaire and sent it to several World War II historians including: Mary Kathryn Barbier, Nigel West and Whitney Tally Bendeck. We also interviewed a local WWII D-Day veteran, Mr. Floyd Schultz, who shared his experiences with us. We watched old video clips of speeches by Churchill, Patton, and Eisenhower. How we selected our presentation category and created our project We chose to use a website because it allowed us to include different types of media to tell our story. The Weebly program was easy and fun to use. We posted photos from US and UK based websites, a video clip from our WWII veteran interview, and sound clips of music and speeches. We also created a PowerPoint file which showed FORTITUDE's role within Operation BODYGUARD. How our topic relates to Turning Points in History Operation FORTITUDE was a major turning point in history because it enabled the D-Day landing to be a success. It was extremely difficult to pull off a deception plan as large as FORTITUDE. Up to that point in history, nothing so complex had ever been attempted. One small mistake and the whole mission could have been jeopardized. If FORTITUDE had failed, the Nazi forces would have been waiting for the Allied troops to land on the Normandy coast. The Nazi forces could have overwhelmed the Allies, forcing them back to England, and even more lives would have been lost. The Allies might not have achieved a strong foothold in France and then Operation OVERLORD, the plan to move troops throughout Europe, might have failed. With the danger in the West gone, Hitler might have moved more troops to the East, and taken over Russia and all the eastern countries. With his increased strength, it is possible that Hitler could have taken over England and then targeted America. Operation FORTITUDE was crucial in preventing these events and set the path for a successful Allied invasion and victory over Hitler.