Zhitomir-Berdichev Operation (1943–1944) ZEKE See Zero fighter ZEPPELIN Western Allied deception operation in 1944 that aimed to hold Wehrmacht divisions in the Balkans by persuading Adolf Hitler and the OKW that an Anglo-American invasion of the region was imminent It was part of the BODYGUARD deception plan It comprised a false Anglo-American assault on the Balkans from North Africa It was carried out by displays of large numbers of fake landing craft and using five double agents to persuade Hitler and the OKW that there were 39 enemy divisions in the Mediterranean when there were only 18 in fact A ghost “British 12th Army” was slated by ZEPPELIN to attack Greece, while the real U.S 7th Army was said by agents to be preparing to assault Yugoslavia Soviet intelligence cooperated by feinting amphibious assaults into Rumania and Bulgaria The deception was a huge success: the Germans kept 22 divisions waiting in the Balkans all through OVERLORD ZERO FIGHTER The Mitsubishi A6M “Reisen” Japanese fighter It came in both Army and Navy versions In 1941 it was superior to anything the Western Allies had in the Pacific or Southeast Asia It was incrementally improved during the war However, it was surpassed in quality and quantity by new enemy fighters that appeared in the skies of the Pacific from 1943 and later over Japan The “Zero” was also called a “Zeke” by the Western Allies See also fighters; intelligence ZERO-HOUR British term for what U.S forces called H-Hour ZERSTÖRER A Luftwaffe twin-engined night-fighter See Kammhuber Line; Wilde Sau; Zahme Sau; Zerstưrergruppen ZERSTƯRERGRUPPEN (ZG) “destroyer fighter groups.” Luftwaffe nightfighter groups comprised exclusively of twin-engine fighters or Zerstörer The main night-fighter was the Bf110, later supplemented by the Me410 ZHANG XUELIANG (1901–2001) See Manchuria; Xi’an Incident ZHANG ZUOLIN (1873?–1928) See Manchuria “Young Marshal.” “Old Marshal.” ZHITOMIR-BERDICHEV OPERATION (1943–1944) General Nikolai Vatutin followed his early success in the Second Battle of Ukraine in November 1943 with this operation intended to expand his bridgehead over the winter of 1943–1944 1207