Decoys are camouflage weapons of deception. The use of decoys in combat zones depends on many factors. Decoys must be located in logical positions far enough away from actual targets to prevent enemy fire on the decoy from hitting the real installations. Decoy bridges, dumps, railheads, and airfields may be 2 to 5 miles from the real object, while decoy field artillery or antiaircraft-artillery batteries may be less than 1 mile away. In all cases, the location of real installations must be carefully considered when siting decoys so that the decoys do not draw fire on the real installations.
Landmarks are likely to be used as enemy reference points.
A decoy installation must avoid the appearance of being a decoy. It is so constructed that its disclosure to the enemy appears to be the result of defects in its camouflage. There are various methods for accomplishing this deception, such as the disclosure of parts of a decoy, leaving tracks, incomplete concealment of shadows of decoys, or the improper use of surface texture or color. If a decoy draws attention away from a real installation, it serves its purpose. A decoy position which has been discovered to be such by the enemy may later be occupied as an actual position.