Operation Cockade

Operation Cockade
Part of the Western Front of World War II
Date September 1943 – 5 November 1943 Location Western Front Result Allied failure
Belligerents
Germany	United States  United Kingdom  Canada
Commanders and leaders
Adolf Hitler Gerd von Rundstedt	Frederick E. Morgan[1] Ira C. Eaker
Strength
~22 Divisions	~2,300 heavy bomber, 3,700 fighter, and four hundred medium bomber Bomber Command, ~13 Divisions
Casualties and losses
None	376 civilians[2] Village of Le Portel flattened[2]

Operation Cockade was a series of deception operations designed to alleviate German pressure on Allied operations in Sicily and on the Soviets on the Eastern Front by feinting various attacks into Western Europe during World War II. The Allies hoped to use Cockade to force the Luftwaffe into a massive air battle with the Royal Air Force and U.S. Eighth Air Force to give the Allies air superiority over Western Europe. Cockade involved three deception operations: Operation Starkey, Operation Wadham, and Operation Tindall. Operation Starkey was set to occur in early September, Operation Tindall in mid-September, and Operation Wadham in late September 1943.