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{{Short description|1944 US preparations to counter possible threats from Germany}}
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{{Infobox operational plan
| name =Operation Peppermint
| partof =World War II
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[[File:(Major General Leslie R. Groves, in charge of the Manhattan Project.) - NARA - 535931.tif|thumb|right|240px|Major General [[Leslie R. Groves, Jr.]], director of the [[Manhattan Project]]]]
[[File:Major Arthur V. Peterson.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Major Arthur V. Peterson, Chicago area engineer, Manhattan District]]
When the [[Manhattan Project]] assumed responsibility for the development of [[nuclear weapons]] in September 1942, it also assumed responsibility for the development of suitable countermeasures. At the time, the threat posed by the [[German nuclear energy project]] was taken very seriously.{{sfn|Brown|MacDonald|1977|pp=234–235}}{{sfn|Nichols|1987|pp=134-135}} Consideration was given to issuing a public warning of the danger of a German nuclear attack on the United States, but the director of the Manhattan Project, [[Brigadier General (United States)|Brigadier General]] [[Leslie R. Groves, Jr.]], considered the likelihood of this to be sufficiently remote that he rejected the notion of taking so drastic a step.{{sfn|Groves|1962|p=199}}
A subcommittee of the [[S-1 Executive Committee]], chaired by [[James B. Conant]], and consisting of himself, [[Arthur Compton]] and [[Harold Urey]], was appointed to look into the issue, and it similarly assessed the danger as low, but still sufficient to warrant taking some precautions. A program was initiated by the [[Metallurgical Laboratory]] in [[Chicago]] and the [[Victoreen Instrument Company]] in [[Cleveland]] to develop radiation detection devices suitable for use in the field. Some 48 portable detection meters were built in 1943, half of which were capable of detecting 0 to 10 [[roentgen (unit)|roentgen]]s per day, while the other half could detect from 0 to 100 roentgens per day. Instruments sets were stored at Manhattan District offices in [[Boston]], Chicago, [[New York City]], [[San Francisco]] and [[Washington, D.C.]], and the area engineer and some other officers were instructed in their use. A special team of scientists was created at the Metallurgical Laboratory who could respond to any reports of the use of nuclear weapons or [[dirty bomb|radioactive poisons]].{{sfn|Brown|MacDonald|1977|pp=234–235}}
It was considered more likely that Germany might employ such weapons against the United Kingdom, so four officers from the [[European Theater of Operations United States Army]] (ETOUSA) including the G-3 Brigadier General George S. Eyster were summoned to Chicago, where they were given a top secret briefing by the Manhattan District's Chicago area engineer, [[Major (United States)|Major]] [[Arthur V. Peterson]]. They were told about possible forms such an attack might take, and what the effects and symptoms of them were, and they were given survey instruments and shown how to use them. They were enjoined to tell other officers in the theater to report unexplained fogging of film or illnesses with symptoms corresponding to the effects of [[radiation sickness]].{{sfn|Brown|MacDonald|1977|pp=235–236}}{{sfn|Nichols|1987|pp=134-135}}{{sfn|Jones|1985|pp=194–195}}
==Preparations==
As the date for the [[Normandy landings]] (codenamed [[Operation Overlord]]) drew near in early 1944, Groves considered that risk was sufficient to send an officer to brief the Supreme Commander [[General (United States)|General]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] of the possible use of radioactive poisons, particularly [[plutonium]] and [[fission products]] that might be created in their [[nuclear reactor]]s.{{sfn|Groves|1962|pp=200–201}} On 8 April 1944, Peterson reported to the [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force]] (SHAEF) and met with Eisenhower, his
They considered creating an Allied plan to counter the danger, but Whiteley said that he would have to consult with the British command before this could be approved. Colonel G. S. Eyster from G-3 was then ordered to prepare an American plan, under the codename Operation Peppermint.{{sfn|Brown|MacDonald|1977|pp=236–237}} Further briefings were given to [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[Harold Rainsford Stark|Harold Stark]], and Lieutenant Generals [[Carl Spaatz]] and [[John C. H. Lee]], and Eisenhower also wrote to
Operation Peppermint provided for:
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==References==
* {{cite book |editor-last=Brown |editor-first=A.C. |editor-link=Anthony Cave Brown |editor2-first=C.B. |editor2-last=MacDonald |editor2-link=Charles B. MacDonald |year=1977 |title=Secret History of the Atomic Bomb |publisher=Dial Press/James Wade |location=New York |isbn=0-440-57728-4 |oclc=4433564013
* {{cite book |last=Groves|first=Leslie |
* {{cite book |last=Hacker |first=Barton C. |title=The Dragon's Tail: Radiation Safety in the Manhattan Project, 1942–1946 |url=https://archive.org/details/dragonstailradia0000hack |url-access=registration |publisher=University of California Press |year=1987 |
* {{cite book |last=Jones |first=Vincent |title=Manhattan: The Army and the Atomic Bomb |publisher=United States Army Center of Military History |location=Washington, D.C. |year=1985 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/011/11-10/CMH_Pub_11-10.pdf |
*{{cite book | last = Nichols | first = Kenneth D | authorlink = Kenneth Nichols | title = The Road to Trinity: A Personal Account of How America's Nuclear Policies Were Made | publisher = William Morrow and Company | date = 1987 | location = New York | page = | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0-688-06910-X }}
==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last=Lapp|first= Ralph E. |title=Survey of nucleonics instrumentation industry |journal=Nucleonics |volume=4 |issue=5 |pages=100–104 |date=May 1949 |pmid=18126152 |issn=0096-6207 |
==External links==
* {{cite web |url=
* {{cite web |url= http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/southrad/victoreen-247-b.html |title=Victoreen Model 247-B Radiation Survey Meter |work=civildefensemuseum.com |year=2005 |
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{{Manhattan Project}}
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[[Category:Intelligence of World War II]]
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[[Category:United States intelligence operations]]
[[Category:Nuclear program of Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:History of the Manhattan Project]]
[[Category:World War II operations and battles of Europe]]
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