The operation began with movement into position from March 16 through March 19, 1945. Units of the 23rd moved into the area around Dulken and Dyck/Dornbusch in western Germany, areas that were within observable range of German positions across the Rhine. The 406th Engineer Combat Company staged its security positions at Geleen, Holland, before moving forward.
The visual element was the most labor-intensive part of the setup. The 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion deployed more than 600 inflatable vehicles — the largest number the unit had ever used in a single operation. These included Sherman tank replicas, artillery pieces, trucks, and support vehicles. The dummies were positioned in ways that suggested the assembly areas of two infantry divisions preparing for a river crossing.
The sonic element added another layer. The 3132nd’s halftrack-mounted speakers played recordings that suggested bridge-construction activity and the movement of large formations. The sounds of pontoon bridge sections being assembled, of boats being brought to the water, of a large force moving into position for an assault — all of these were part of the sonic picture the unit was projecting toward the German positions.
The radio element required the most preparation. The Signal Company Special’s operators built traffic nets in the frequencies and patterns that the 30th and 79th Divisions used, working from recordings and intelligence about those units’ communication characteristics. They created the electronic signature of two divisions — the volume and rhythm of their traffic, the apparent positions of their headquarters, the specific “fists” of their operators — and projected this fake identity into the radio environment that German intelligence was monitoring.