<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world-war-ii" rel="" target="" title="Hundreds of thousands of German troops"><span>Hundreds of thousands of German troops</span></a><span> surrendered to American forces on </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-april-18-what-happened-on-this-day/91e8fdd5-1c6d-44df-8bfe-e42bea37a757" rel="" target="" title="April 18, 1945"><span>April 18, 1945</span></a><span>, based on something they had heard on the radio.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The troops of Germany's immense Army Group B believed they had been completely encircled.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But what they didn't know was that there was a 24km gap through the mountains through which the army could have safely retreated to continue the war.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-april-12-what-happened-on-this-day-franklin-roosevelt/c4f51afb-ef2f-48fb-8686-917911521add"><strong><span>President dies midway through having portrait painted</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Germans would have been aware of this had they trusted their own intelligence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But they were led to believe they had been surrounded by a German-language radio station they had been listening to for months.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They weren't to know the station had for months been operating behind enemy lines, earning their trust with seemingly pro-Nazi propaganda.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-april-18-what-happened-on-this-day/21990ac6-1839-49a3-84c4-b47550d9876a" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Operation Annie was a fake propaganda radio station that operated for more than 100 days during World War II.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Broadcasting from Luxembourg, the station would play German folk and classical music as well as news updates on the state of the war.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Because of its accuracy and milder tone to other Nazi stations, it had gained a following among Germans, especially soldiers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After building up its audience, Operation Annie's mission changed. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Allied forces had broken through at the start of that month, surrounding 370,000 German soldiers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-april-16-what-happened-on-this-day-chinese-lottery/5f8b5664-b13a-4178-92d4-d65a7461aa93" rel="" target="" title="The bank robbery lottery scheme that worked until it didn't"><strong><span>The bank robbery lottery scheme that worked until it didn't</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But a slight gap in the line threatened to allow the army to slip through and fight another day.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The radio station broadcast to the Germans reports of a safe escape route.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Elements of Army Group B headed to the spot, only to meet prepared US defenders.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The broadcast had directed the Germans away from the true gap in the line towards a spot from which they stood no chance of retreat.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shortly afterwards, the army surrendered en masse.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history--october-23-what-happened-on-this-day/2e025c28-67bb-43ed-92fd-38f9d43c07fe" rel="" target="" title="Germany signed an unconditional surrender"><span>Germany signed an unconditional surrender</span></a><span> on May 8 that year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-april-2-what-happened-on-this-day-sverdlovsk-anthrax-leak/47d399e7-53b8-45c4-b940-f804cb70f76c"><strong><span>A few milligrams from lab leak killed dozens of people</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-march-21-what-happened-on-this-day-collyer-brothers/d420209f-80bc-49c4-8745-b09ffc292bb8" target="" title="Brother starves to death after hoarder killed by own booby trap"><strong><span></span></strong></a><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" target="" title="For more from our Today in History archive, click here."><strong><span>For more from our Today in History archive, click here</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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