6 Unusual Tactics That Created Surprise Victories in War History

There have been times when the outcome of a war was decided not by military or human might, but by unexpected tricks. Here are six tricks that were used.

1. Mincemeat Campaign

The Allies landed on Sicily (Italy) in July 1943.

During World War II, the British military conducted a counterintelligence operation called Operation Mincemeat. Its purpose was to make the Nazis believe that the Allies would land on Sardinia and Greece instead of Sicily, where they had invaded in July 1943.

The operation was successful because the British military had the body of a homeless man in London. The body was disguised as a Major of the Royal Marines, with a false identity hidden inside, and dropped off the coast of Spain.

The British Army warned Spain, which had declared neutrality in the war, to be on the lookout for the body of a British soldier carrying important documents. The documents were immediately handed over to the Nazis by the Spanish authorities at the time, prompting Hitler to withdraw his troops from Sicily.

2. Using tobacco to roll Heroin

British soldiers in the trenches during World War I.

During World War I, the British and Ottoman armies fought fiercely in the trenches of Palestine for a long time, but made no significant progress. Later, the British discovered that the Ottomans had run out of cigarettes, and in order to lower the morale of the draftees, British soldiers began smuggling cigarette packets wrapped in propaganda letters to the Ottomans.

Instead of surrendering, the Ottomans threw away propaganda letters and smoked cigarettes as usual. The British immediately changed their tactics: before attacking, they threw away cigarette packs containing heroin. Intoxicated by the taste of heroin, the Ottoman soldiers' health deteriorated and they gradually succumbed to the British attack.

3. Move the entire fleet across land

The Ottoman Empire put its entire naval force ashore to overcome the giant chain of the Byzantine army.

During the conquest of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) in 1453, the Ottoman army faced a formidable challenge. The Byzantines had erected a giant chain across the Golden Horn, the sea gateway from Constantinople to the sea. This chain prevented the Ottoman navy from approaching the Byzantine capital.

The Ottomans then came up with a unique idea, which was to move their entire navy ashore around the bay by using logs to line the bottom of the ships and using human power to pull them across the land. This tactic allowed the Ottomans to bypass the giant chain across the bay, attack the Byzantines from multiple fronts and win the final victory.

4. Diversionary Operation

The 19th Century American Union Army waits for the enemy to arrive.

During the American Civil War, Confederate General John B. Magruder faced off against Union General George B. McClellan at Yorktown. The Confederates were outnumbered by four to one.

To deceive the Union army, Magruder marched his troops back and forth to deceive Union scouts into thinking that the city was larger than they thought. As a result, the attack was postponed, giving Magruder more time to consolidate his forces.

5. Treat the enemy's senior officers kindly.

Several high-ranking German officers were treated kindly by the British in exchange for revealing secret information.

During World War II, the British army held high-ranking Nazi officers in a villa in the English countryside. The German officers were well fed, listened to German radio, and were free to talk to each other freely.

But what these prisoners did not expect was that the entire villa was bugged and British intelligence agents were secretly working in the basement. All conversations between German officers were recorded and the British army learned about the strategies used by the Nazis, as well as information between the generals and Hitler.

6. Use... cats to confuse the enemy

Cats were sacred animals to the ancient Egyptians.

In 525 BC, the Persians invaded Egypt to expand their empire. Knowing that the Egyptians considered cats to be sacred, the Persians took advantage of this to great effect.

According to an ancient text, the Persians painted cats on their shields and brought hundreds of cats onto the battlefield when they attacked the Egyptian city of Pelusium. Fearing to harm the “sacred animal,” the Egyptians did not dare attack the Persians, and the city fell quickly.

The content is made through reference to sources from Business Insider, a major American technology news site. Business Insider is famous for its articles compiled from many sources with prominent topics related to technology, politics, military, etc.

According to Infonet