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At 7:00 on the 3rd of June 15 a.m. I went down to breakfast at my flat in Bristol we had stayed up late at dinner the night before it was our last night in England today we were to board Admiral Kirk’s Flagship the day of disembarkation was

Scheduled for the 5th of June and the Warm Rays of sunshine streaming through the window panes of our holm’s home boded well for the weather tubby Thorson was emptying his third cup of coffee good morning General he greeted me how have you slept since your new rank Wilson

Chuckled the day before I had received word that I had been promoted to the permanent rank of Brigadier General the order was dated first September 1943 however my permanent rank of Colonel was approved on 1 October of the same year so we weren’t sure whether I had been promoted or

Demoted before that I had been a calip for an hour all three General stars were temporary and I only retained the rank of General during the war in six months after the war now at least I was guaranteed one permanent star on my Tombstone Stone in Arlington Cemetery most of the first Army

Headquarters stationed in Bristol had already been on the Army’s headquarters ship and two tanks landing craft docked at Portland for several days the rear Echelon of headquarters remained in England awaiting transport on the shore of the flagship austa there was not enough space and my task force was forced to cram into the

Room allotted to us in addition to Keen the group consisted of Dixon forsen Wilson Aon representative five clerks and draftsmen my Deputy Hodges was aboard the Army Headquarters ship Icona Hansen was with me on the Augusta and Bridge remained in London with the task of visiting nightclubs as often as

Possible we feared that his disappearance from London might alert enemy agents we knew that there were enemy agents in London moreover some of them continued their activities under the tacit supervision of British Counter Intelligence they could have played a useful role by sending our disinformation material to

Berlin with the exception of the agents under surveillance however we had so reliably organized the counterintelligence service in England in the spring of 1944 that only a few enemy spies managed to scout our secrets as the day of the invasion approached the measures for guarding military secrecy became more and more

Stringent and even the communication with Ireland was cut off shortly after 8:00 a.m. we left Bristol southwards traveling through Avon on the road to Plymouth where we were to meet Collins Hansen was sitting in the car holding an aluminium tube between his knees with the top secret maps of the

Invasion plan embedded in it Kean Dixon thoron and Wilson followed us in another closed car it was a Saturday afternoon and we slowed down as we drove through the market at Taunton where patient English Housewives were already queuing in front of the shops although the forward areas were already crowded with troops the

Concentration of troops had been done so surreptitiously that both in taon and in other southern English towns people were blissfully unaware that the day of invasion was at hand Collins was waiting for us at a Crossroads north of Plymouth he helped us through the military police checkpoints to The Quay

Where the boat from the Augusta stood dot for the first time since the campaign in Sicily I strapped my pistol holster to my belt and bowed my head under the weight of my steel helmet I tossed the duffel bag in its oiled protective cover onto the deck of

The boat and jumped in after it myself Augusta a fast Cruiser stood out with her slender lines among the blunt-nosed tank carriers on the roadstead the ships rounded yacht like bow and 8in turreted guns faced the channel Kirk was ashore and we were met on the ship by his chief of staff rear

Admiral strouble I was assigned the Captain’s Quarters the same one in which Roosevelt had lodged when he met with Churchill in 1941 off the coast of newfinland to sign the Atlantic Charter the Army Headquarters operations room was placed on the Utes where the Cruisers reconnaissance aircra craft were usually

Located a temporary 3×7 Mator room had been adapted as the operations room its metal walls shuddering with each shot from the anti-aircraft gun above the three light bulbs on the ceiling were protected by wire Nets and strips of paper were pasted on the glass of the wall clock on one wall hung a

Road map of Michelin France beside it was a diagram of the invasion area with symbols in various colors between the map and the diagram was pasted a photograph of a naked girl lying on a far more attractive Beach than our Landing site on another wall hung a large scale map of the Normandy

Coast concentric arcs on it showed the range of the enemy’s coastal defense guns another map showed the location of German divisions with red colored symbols the middle of the room was occupied by a long table on on which an operational map was unfolded a Navy liutenant was plotting the enemy’s defenses along the

Coast along the outer wall at waist level stretched a shelf on which stood the staff typewriters I looked at the weather forecast in the log book of the intelligence Department overcast from Sunday to Wednesday low clouds and poor visibility in the morning winds no higher than 17 to 22 knots

In the English Channel excitement wave height in the straight 1.5 M near the coast 1.2 m not much good I said Dixon put it more strongly it’s not good Kirk and I had already conducted joint operations during the invasion of Sicily now he was my colleague again as commander of the western task

Force however I was receiving orders from Montgomery and Kirk was receiving orders from Allied Naval Commander in Chief ramse Kirk’s fleet was divided into three groups the first groupo which provided the landing at the site of Omaha commanded by rear Admiral John Hall Jr an old acquaintance of mine from the invasion of

Sicily the second ug Group which provided the landing Force at the Utah site was under the flag of rear Admiral Don Moon Hall was with jro aboard the fifth corpse Flagship Ancon moon was with Collins aboard the seventh corpse Flagship Bayfield the third group provided the transfer of troops of the second Echelon

Of the army from Bristol Bay to the Normandy Coast the Army’s second Echelon consisted of the second division for the landing at Omaha and the 90th division for the landing at Utah in the spring during the planning period for the landing operation operation Kirk and I worked hard to

Secure from Fleet command in Washington the allocation of additional Naval forces to augment shipboard artillery support the naval forces originally allocated for this purpose were woefully inadequate even in April 1944 the US Navy could spare only two battleships four Cruisers 12 destroyers and a number of smaller vessels to support the

Landing of American troops we did not expect much resistance from the German Navy which was able to make only short strikes and immediately Escape we feared more The Guns of the coastal defenses I would gladly sacrifice a dozen B17 bombers for each 12in gun as in Sicily the lack of American

Warships had to be made up for by the British however since the Firepower of an American Destroyer was almost equal to that of a British Cruiser and the American Cruiser was superior to the British I wanted the naval forces allocated to us to come at the expense of the American

Fleet at that time the main strength of the American Fleet was concentrated in the Pacific since victory in that theater depended mainly on Naval power in 1944 however it became clear that Japanese expansion had crossed the limits that Japanese strength and resources allowed in the end we could

Defeat her she could not win the war in Europe however there was no such certainty Germany was bleeding in Africa in Italy and in Russia but she still retained offensive power and we could not get rid of the idea that Stalin might make a deal with Germany and leave us alone with the

Nazis if we had failed in The Invasion across the channel we may never have the opportunity to repeat this operation i’ begged the Navy commanders to give us additional forces even at the expense of reducing the scope of offensive operations in the Pacific finally Washington agreed and Kirk’s

Fleet was increased to four battleships four Cruisers and 26 destroyers on the scale of Naval Warfare in the Pacific these forces could not be called significant but at least the days of crumpling were behind us on the morning of 6th June we could only thank heaven that those days were

Over Although our troops at the Omaha Landing site could hold out even without this additional support by shipboard artillery the first message reaching me from fifth Corp headquarters read thank God for the United States Navy despite the unfavorable weather forecast there was no hint from Ike at Portsmouth that The Invasion might be

Delayed the next day 4th June he had to meet at 4:00 a.m. with the chief of the weather service and the chief commanders of the land forces air and Naval forces of the Allies only then Eisenhower could make an important decision depending only on himself to start the operation in bad

Weather or postpone it while waiting for better weather in the evening I got on a boat to notify Hodges and the headquarters of the first Army they were aboard the cargo ship Icona which had been converted into a head quarters ship and equipped with an antenna and radio station for the

Purpose a string of tank landing craft were already on their way to the outer harbor followed by barrage balloons on cables in contrast to the dingy gay tank landing craft the smaller landing craft were painted in various camouflage colors the soldiers on these vessels now in their second day were struggling to

Come to terms with their situation they were lying on top of the loaded trucks writing letters reading or simply dozing in the evening sunlight still animating the Windswept Harbor on a neighboring tank landing craft an assault ramp had been lowered down to the water and a dozen brave

Soldiers were using it as a diving platform on another ship soldiers were trying to dispel boredom by doing laundry the solders laundry hung on a rope strung between the antenna of two Sherman tanks in the evening Kirk asked me if I could acquaint The Correspondents aboard the Augusta with the first Army’s Invasion

Plan only three correspondents were assigned to Kirk’s headquarters I first told them the tasks of the air and sea Landings to facilitate the landing on the coast I said we will subject both sites to bombardment and drop on each 800 tons of bombs 10 minutes before the

First wave of troops land we will launch a fire raid firing 8,000 rockets at the Omaha site and 5,000 rockets at the Utah site with this raid we hope to destroy wire barriers detonate mines and force the enemy to hide in shelters just before the troops land I pointed to a

Detailed map of the coast then at exactly 1:00 hii continued we will send to the shore 64 tanks they will approach the Shore by water someone asked they are DD tanks I replied forgetting for a moment how carefully we kept this secret being an experimental model the

DD tank could move both on water and on land for this purpose it was equipped with canvas floats and a propeller first the tank hole was was sealed and the propeller was installed then the artillery technical service specialists attached a tubular frame to the tank Hull on which tarpine

Floats were stretched covering the tank Hull from all sides the driver of the tank could pull the tarpo in floats over the frame with a simple mechanical device just at the moment when the steel monster was sliding down the assault ramp of the tank landing

Craft when I first first saw such a tank on the aisle of white last December I stared a 30ton Cromwell tank crawled out of the water and rumbled along the coast ready to fire by detonating a special charge the floats from the tank skeleton were dropped on the

Shore we easily installed this device on our 34 ton Sherman tanks from the Tactical point of view DD tanks solved the problem of providing powerful aiming fire on Coastal fortifications at the moment of landing on the coast before the creation of DD tanks we had to rely only on machine

Guns and mortars which were unloaded together with the Infantry immediately after the suppression of enemy defenses we had to create forward bases for our Fighters we could almost double the effectiveness of our fighter Aviation as it would no longer be necessary to make a nearly 500 kilometer flight from England and back

The day after the landing we were to establish runways at each of the two Landing sites for air evacuation of the Wounded two weeks after the landing we plann to establish 10 air strips for 10 air groups and on the 35th day after the landing that is 5 weeks later we

Expected to create in the American zone 18 aerodromes in the hedg fenced fields of Normandy just as in Sicily the Air Force command expressed dissatisfaction when we reduced the number of landing craft allocated to transport with the first Echelon of the landing Force the assets of the Airfield construction

Battalions however when quada appealed our decision we did not back down pet I reminded him instead of each of your big 14 ton grader we can transport a whole bunch of infantrymen and in the first hours after the landing I prefer to have soldiers rather than machines for building aerod

Dromes one of the correspondents assigned to Kirk’s headquarters nodded his head in the direction of the map on which was boldly circled in red pencil inscription in German Fortress cherborg when do you expect to take cherborg he asked I don’t want to be scolded I told

Him but at the moment I would be glad if we captured cherborg 15 days after landing or even 20 the time limit given here on the map to take cherborg in 8 days after the invasion is apparently unrealistic optimistic calculations were made in the invasion plan across the

Channel long before roml began to strengthen the Normandy defenses at first our Invasion sector was held by only three stationary divisions now three more field divisions were moved into this sector Dixon calculated that the enemy will be able to throw against us on the first day of the invasion of only seven

Divisions I pointed to a map hanging on the wall you must however I said remember that immediately after landing the whole matter will come down to the problem of accumulating forces it is almost always possible to land but it is not always possible to establish a foothold on the coast in the

Course of the inv invion we shall have to pass through three critical periods the first period is the landing on the coast it will be difficult but we are not too worried about it the second period may come six or seven days later when the enemy will gather reserves for a

Counterattack this attack is likely to create the greatest difficulties for us then after repelling it will come the third period when we organize a breakthrough of the enemy’s front it was a bright moonlit night and the water in Plymouth Harbor took on an almost iridescent Hue we spent the first

Day on the ships almost undisturbed by enemy aircraft a few of the enemy’s reconnaissance ships did stick their heads into the harbor but were driven back by anti-aircraft artillery from the shore on the ship broke through four vials Fleet detachments have already left the northern ports at Sea to

Rendevous with the main main forces of Kirk the plan for Operation Overlord had already begun to be put into action in anticipation of a sea landing on the morning of 5th June Eisenhower still had the opportunity to suspend the operation in the early morning of 4th June later than

That would have been too late at midnight I returned to my cabin and went to bed it was nearly 6:00 a.m. when I awoke on Sunday 4th June the weather was damp in Plymouth Harbor fog covered everything and visibility was very limited as I dressed a shiver ran

Through me Kean came in with a copy of the admiralty radiogram to Kirk has the operation been postponed I asked 24 hours as soon as Eisenhower made that decision the fleet command sent fast destroyers to return the ships that had had already gone to Sea to their

Ports now the morale of the troops on those ships would drop and the number of people getting seasick would increase as a result of having to spend another day in the rough English Channel we looked at the weather forecast entered in our log book the forecast was even less

Promising than for third June wave heights in the channel of 1.5 M and no sign of decreasing cloud cover until 7 or 8th June had we not postponed the start of the landing to a later date the tidal conditions on 8th June would have ruled out the possibility of Landing

Troops the tide would have reached its average level long after Dawn although we had planned The Invasion well after Dawn a late Landing daunted us as the enemy might have recovered from the fierce night bombardment forsen ordered his staff officers aboard the Iona to know notify all first Army formations and units of

The postponement of the operation the coded words hornpipe bowsprit were broadcast signifying that Operation Overlord had been postponed for one day headquarters on the iera was also aware of the postponement of the operation having received a radiogram from Montgomery’s headquarters at 5 15 a.m. the operations Department made provision for the postponement of

Operation Overlord by sending out a coded designation to the Troops in advance having postponed The Landing Eisenhower now had to decide when to make it he decided to hold a new meeting at Southwick house in Portsmouth in the early hours of 5th June for the second

Time he alone was to say yes or no in deciding the most important question of the war on that choice depended the success or failure of the operation on Sunday afternoon 4th June I was to go ashore with Kirk to coordinate our recommendations in case of a second postponement of the

Operation I felt uneasy in my cabin I started to read a bell for Ado but was so excited that I could not continue reading and reached for yesterday’s issue of the Stars and Stripes the paper reported that the Detroit baseball team had won a game against the New York

Team I tossed the paper and went back to the bridge some new aerial photos had just arrived they showed a six gun battery of5 mm guns knocked out of action by our aerial bombardment the intelligence Department reported that the enemy had abandoned this battery before disembarking I once again

Went aboard the Icona to hold a final meeting at Army Headquarters we assembled in the report room of the Air Force Headquarters where the officers of the Intelligence Division of Air Force Headquarters would monitor the air situation during The Invasion across the channel the roots of the amphibious

Convoys from the coast of England to France were plotted on a huge tablet these roots originating in the eastern part of England where the British loading ports were located and in the western part where the American loading ports were located converged in the assembly area south of the aisle of

White they then ran parallel for 80 km towards the Normandy coast and 50 km from it diverg to five Landing sites however despite the recent enemy air activity we were bold enough to turn the TNS report collection Point into a card room although it still seems incredible

It Remains the fact that ging’s Aviation did not detect the approach of our Fleet fet bad weather sheltered us from enemy observation better than we could have hoped for even after the landing Goring preferred to conserve his forces and not throw them against our ships huddled off the

Coast the day of the landing was originally scheduled by The Joint Chiefs of Staff for the favorable period of May later at Eisenhower’s suggestion the start of Operation Overlord was moved to the favorable period in June the choice of the exact date of the invasion was left to the Supreme

Commander however Eisenhower had to reckon with the tides in choosing the day of the landing the Luna cycle gave us the benefit of only six days a month during which tidal conditions met our requirements for landing troops on the coast the first three such days fell on five 6 and 7th

June if bad weather had prevented The Invasion on these three days then it would have been necessary to postpone it for another Fortnight if bad weather again prevented a landing then the invasion would have to be postponed until July meanwhile the troops had already been familiarized with the plan for

Operation Overlord and the landing points therefore so that information about the operation did not leap to the enemy it was necessary to completely isolate the troops from the local population the task was not an easy one to keep a secret known to 140,000 people for 28 days more daunting than the problem of

Maintaining military secrecy however would be the possible results of delaying Allied operations in France for a month this delay would not only cut by onethird the time of our summer campaign it would also shorten the time required to capture cherbo before the stormy weather set in we were informed

That we should not expect to unload cargo from ships directly on the coast after 1st September if the Germans succeeded in holding cherborg for another 50 to 60 days after our Landing in July it would create serious difficulties for us in supplying troops during the winter in any month therefore we could

Use for landing only the six days during which conditions were most favorable as regards Morning Light and side both the Air Force and the Navy insisted that the immediate air and artillery preparations for the landing should be made at dawn at the same time the land Force’s

Command preferred to make an approach to the coast under cover of darkness and the landing on the coast to make with the beginning of dawn this would give us the opportunity to approach the shore stealthily and land the troops without significant difficulties in order to ensure saw more

Effective bombardment from the sea and air at dawn the Army command made a compromise it refused to land at night agreeing to make the landing 30 minutes after Dawn however in the matter of the tide the Army command took a more decisive position for here we could not give in

Twice a day the coast of Normandy was flooded at high tide with the water level rising by 6 M at low tide it was necessary to walk more than 400 m over wet Sandy ground to the coastal fortifications at high tide the waves of the English Channel Splash almost right

Up against the causeway at the back of the omad landing site in order to get a Shore with minimum loss of life we were to approach the landing craft as close to the causeway as possible at high tide at low tide the landing craft would have run a ground more than 400 meters

From the shore the disembarking troops would have had to cover this Distance by traveling across the open Sandy Bottom this would have led to a new Tara consequently we had only one choice to land at maximum tide however the underwater barriers with which roml dotted the coast of Normandy did not allow

This When approaching the shore at high tide our landing craft could run into these obstacles break the bottoms and sink with troops and property at a depth of 2.5 MERS the solution was to organize a landing on the coast at an average tide level however it was difficult for us to

Determine this average tide level to solve this problem we conducted experiments on undermining underwater obstacles modeled on German ones on the English Channel Coast eventually after overcoming great difficulties we came came to the conclusion that it would take 30 minutes to make passages through the belt of underwater obstacles the sappers could undermine

These obstacles when the water was no more than 0.6 M deep as the tide Rose by 30 cm every 15 minutes the engineers had 30 minutes before the water level Rose to 60 cm thus a way out of the situation was found we should start storming the coast

When the tide reaches the obstacle course the sappers will have 30 minutes of time to destroy the obstacles before the depth becomes too great subsequent echelons of landing craft will then be able to pass through the made passages on landing craft closer to the caway the most favorable day for landing

Was 6th June as it would be light enough by the time the tide approached the obstacle line at the Omaha site 5ifth June was also fine with us although we would lose 30 minutes of daylight time whereas on 7th June we would gain 30 minutes on 8th June the tidal wave would

Not approach the obstacle line until 2 and a half hours after Dawn the two and a half hours between Dawn and the landing of the landing of to Landing party we considered too risky a surprise would be lost I could first fixed the invasion for the 5th of June

If the weather deteriorated he could have postponed the start of the operation to 6th or 7th June with all this in mind on 17th May Eisenhower circled 5th June in red pencil as The Invasion date on 4th June the weather proved so bad that Eisenhower moved the operation start date to 6th

June on the afternoon of 4th June it was drizzling rain in Plymouth and there was little hope for a change in the weather for the better we were sure that the evening would be followed by a new postponement of the invasion but here a new problem arose Ike making the final decision on

The day of the landing had to take into account that the convoys with troops in the most remote Western ports of England had to leave the anchor and go to Sea much earlier than the convoys in the southern ports in order to arrive in time to the control area the first time

The operation was delayed we simply returned them to their ports if it had proved necessary to return them to their ports a second time then those convoys would have needed to be resupplied with fuel that would have taken at least 48 Hours consequently they would not be

Able to put to Sea again until the morning of 7th June at the earliest therefore in a secondary assessment of weather conditions I Eisenhower could not get away with a simple yes or no the choice became much more difficult one he could ignore the adverse Weather and begin the operation on 6th

June two he could once again postpone the operation for a fortnight waiting for the next favorable moon phase three he could have accepted the less favorable tide and daylight conditions by risking The Invasion on eight or N9 June Ramsey asked Kirk if the operation were to be

Postponed a second time when could it be started it was necessary to choose between two days two weeks or even a longer period of time Kirk invited me along with my staff to a meeting we gathered on the afternoon of 4th June in the headquarters of the British military base Plymouth and sat

At a huge table covered with cloth two impassive British Marine soldiers guarded the door a dozen old wicker chairs were arranged in the gloomy room at one end of the room a faded diagram hung on a pinp punctured wall Admiral Moon had gone ashore to attend the meeting while Hall remained

In Portsmouth with his forces assigned to the Omaha section faced with the possibility of a fortnight’s delay I am immediately withdrew my formerly persistent objections to a landing on the 8th or 9th of June under the circumstances even a daylight Landing was preferable to two weeks of agonizingly long

Waiting as for the Army I said to Kirk we agree it would be better to land on the eighth or 9th rather than wait another Fortnight if we have to unload the troops ashore again we run a terrible risk for the information about the The Landing might be

Divulged at the same time we can’t keep the troops cooped up on the landing craft for another fortnite if we are to land on the eighth or 9th I would prefer to start the invasion at high tide as we have planned even if we have to land during daylight

Hours the other option of course was to land early in the morning but at a much lower tide Kirk stroked his pencil over his notebook speaking on behalf of the fleet I would prefer to begin the operation in the afternoon so that at least we could see where we were

Firing for the same reason apparently the Air Force would prefer to bomb in the daytime what do you think Roy Major General Ralph Roy was on board the Augusta with me as Deputy commander of the ninth air Army we carefully studied the tide conditions and outlined

A tentative hour H for 8 and 9th June to enable the sappers to make passes among the coastal obstacles we had to postpone the assaults on the coast until 8:00 a.m. that is to begin the landing almost 2 and a half hours after Dawn on 9th June the situation would have been even

Worse in order for the tide to reach the necessary level The Assault on the coast had to begin at 8:00 35 a.m. of course the this will greatly complicate the situation of the airborne troops I warned Rey they will have to hold out 2 hours longer before we can

Relieve them but I think they can hold out if you give them a support don’t worry about that Roy said wek give them all the help we can then came a message from Portland from Hall and jro both were in favor of an earlier Landing in spite of the insufficient

Tide in that case however they would land an hour or more ahead of the British the coast at the English site was Rocky so the English troops could only land at maximum tide my God I exclaimed turning to Kirk do they realize what they are saying if

They land early at the Omaha site they will draw all the enemy fire from the English Landing site as well Kirk was as concerned as I was of course Jim Hall would come under the fire of all the coast defense guns from both SES he said the enemy will first

Deal with us and then fall on the British from the point of view of the ground forces there was no choice we had to land at high tide not considering that the landing would be made After Dawn if necessary we had to take the risk of building up waves of the first

Echelon of the landing Force Under the threat of t targeted fire from the enemy’s artillery this danger we could overcome by utilizing our Firepower we thus agreed that if we failed to launch the operation on 6th June we would attempt it on 8 or 9th June instead of delaying it further Kirk

Communicated our decision to Ramsey the meeting ended and we returned to the Augusta Cruiser for the last time Sunday the 4th of June at 9900 p.m. 30 men Eisenhower once again assembled his commanders at Portsmouth to discuss the weather forecast this time the forecast offered some hope the storm clouds hanging over

The coast were expected to dissipate in two or 3 hours visibility was expected to remain good until Tuesday 6th June winds were reported to be weakening and the lower edge of the clouds were lifting although the forecast undermined some hopes for better weather it did not particularly encourage us to take risks

On the contrary the weather forecast caused Ike who did not know what to venture on tantalizing Agony the cloud cover expected for 6th June could easily deprive our aircraft of action and interfere with the aimed fire of the ship’s artillery although it was risky Eisenhower and Smith were glad

For some improvement in the weather any action seemed to them preferable to the ordeal that the new postponement threatened Monty held the same view Lee mallerie however was in favor of delaying The Invasion and tedda was indecisive at 9.45 p.m. Eisenhower made his decision with great hesitation I am convinced he

Said that they should give the order I don’t want to but there’s no no other way I see no other way the day of the invasion was now fixed it only remained to discuss the weather forecast for the last time at 400 a.m. on the morning of 5th June to make

Sure that the operation would not have to be postponed on board the Augusta we were expecting the message to postpone the invasion no such message was received however and by midnight we learned that Eisenhower had made the decision to launch the operation implementation of the invasion began now the master of the

Situation became the plan for the next 24 hours the fate of the war in Europe was decided not on large flagships but on wet flat bottomed landing craft on slippery metal decks where many soldiers suffered seasickness while crossing the turbulent English Channel Ike has a weather forecast and

He certainly knows what he’s doing I said to Kean but damn the weather is nasty the decks were wet with a fine rain the wind whipping the tarp covering the entrance to our operations room the antenna of the radar station on the top of the folk Mast appeared and

Disappeared in the low clouds that covered the dark sky in the evening going to bed and worrying about the weather I was very worried about the outcome of the upcoming operation especially I was tormented by the following circumstances one if the wind and excitement will not subside then the waves can overwhelm our

Tanks DD When approaching them to the open area of the landing Omaha we were counting on the Striking power of these tanks we would suffer serious damage if they were killed two if low cloud cover does not allow air craft to correct the fire of the ship’s artillery we will lose our

Main means of fire support of the troops of the first Echelon of the landing with a slight superiority in ground forces we were counting most of all on the support of ship artillery during the Breakthrough of enemy fortifications on the coast the prospect of losing ship artillery support worried me more than

The possibility of cancellation of heavy bombers three crossing the England Channel could have a detrimental effect on the well-being of soldiers strong excitement could cause them seasickness and they would be completely exhausted even before landing but all these dangers I reasoned are known and Ike in his possession had

More accurate and prolonged weather forecasts than we have trusting to ik’s Prudence I went to bed at dawn the next day a courier arrived at the Icona with a telegram from Portsmouth confirming that The Invasion will commence as scheduled on Tuesday the 6th of June soon the waters

In Plymouth Harbor foamed as hundreds of ships began to obediently line up in the Keel as the line of keeled columns of ships stretched towards the English Channel the cruiser Augusta put to Sea quickly overtaking the lumbering slow moving landing craft at the Eastern end of the harbor a

Lonely old pillbox could be seen standing on still bu s near the shore on the shingle covered Shore behind the pillbox could be seen half a dozen other block houses with embrasures facing the channel they had been hastily erected in 1940 when England Was preparing to repel a German

Invasion forsen looked at the pill boxes The Day After Tomorrow Churchill can safely blow them up I hope he won’t do that I replied the BR British should keep them for themselves and the world as a reminder of the courage they showed when they built these pill boxes you can’t

Take that away from them going at a small speed for him 15 knots Cruiser austa bypassed the side of the Convoy with the landing Force headed from Plymouth Harbor to The Landing site Utah and took a course to the aisle of white there from the Yoke assembly area

The cruiser was heading through a grass passage to the Normandy Coast at the head of a convoy of troops heading for the Omaha Landing site Augusta was to support the landing with fire from the first units as far as we could see from the stern and bow of the ship there was a

Concentration of ships along the whole coast of England the wind fluttered The Barrage balloons dangling from the cables fast destroyers covered us from the sea only after a few weeks we could properly appre appreciate the significance of Eisenhower’s decision to cross the channel in bad weather had he

Delayed The Invasion for a fortnight while waiting for favorable tidal conditions it would have delayed The Invasion for a whole month on 18th June an unusually violent storm broke over the English Channel hundreds of landing craft were washed ashore the Damage Done far exceeding the losses we suffered on the first day of

The invasion from enemy artillery this storm would force Eisenhower to postpone the invasion for another two weeks until a more favorable moonphase period in July by then we would have had to reckon with a new Factor enemy guided shelling on 12th June the first far one projectile plane fell on

London if England’s crowded ports were bombarded by shell planes on the eve of the invasion it could have seriously upset our preparations even after landing on the continent we would have been stranded if the landing had been delayed by a month only in August could we expect to receive a

Considerable amount of supplies through cherborg consequently only in September would we have been able to make a breakthrough from the bridge head instead of stopping for the winter in front of the SE freed line we would at best only have been able to reach the sign therefore it was France rather than

The Rin land that would have been devastated during the winter campaign had it not been for Eisenhower’s bold decision perhaps even Paris would not have escaped the devastation of aerial bombardment on Monday afternoon 5th June Augusta overtook the convoys with the landing Force headed for the landing

Site Utah and set a course to randevu was with the Convoy which was to land The Landing Force at the site Omaha high above the Cruisers Bridge the radar antenna was slowly turning at the central Navigator station an officer leaned over the radar screen looking for pulses that would indicate

The appearance of enemy aircraft in the air but the day passed evening came and there were no reports of enemy aircraft sightings it is hard to believe I said to Kirk but perhaps the story of Sicily will be repeated there we also holding our breath expected an air strike on the

Convoys in sisily however the enemy missed us until we landed a large Force here in the narrow channel we could not count on slipping through undetected on a clear day an aircraft flying at 3,000 m above laava could observe Southampton perfectly enemy radar stations were located all along the French Chann

Channel Coast torpedo Boats were on regular Patrol duty every night all day long we waited for reports of enemy Scout planes from the other side of the channel the scouts were to be followed by the first air attacks we expected that on the day of the invasion the German air force would

Launch a heavy retaliatory strike against our transports concentrated in anchorages never during the war in Europe could Goring have found such tempting targets for bombing we learned later that the bad weather had saved us from enemy reconnaissance and air strikes the enemy knowing of this weather forecast could

Not believe that we would venture out into the stormy straight the Germans did not have meteorological data available to us from stations in Greenland and the North Atlantic and therefore the German forecasts did not know about the upcoming weather Improvement which prompted ik to make a decision

Because of high winds and heavy cloud cover the German Patrol vessels sailing out to sea on 5th June was cancelled and minine sweepers were stationed in ports even the usually Vigilant reconnaissance Aviation remained at the aerodromes in the erratic weather we gained a trojan horse even in June

1944 the enemy was not particularly alarmed by the pending invasion there were some among the Germans who regarded the threat of an Allied Landing as unlikely and almost impossible our concentration of ships off the coast did not make them wary and the intensification of military secrecy

Measures was seen merely as a new Manu in the war of nerves roml had returned to Germany for an inspection tour with Hitler and was now spending the end of the week at his old home in Alam German soldiers in deep concrete case mates on the Normandy Coast had

Been languishing in boredom for months at 2300 hours I went down to the cabin unbuckled my life belt and lay on the bed in my boots Kirk remained on the bridge buttoning up his waterproof Macintosh the Augusta sailed noiselessly past the boys marking the etched passage only the wind whistled in The

Spar and the splash of water on the sides broke the Silence of the night at 3.35 a.m. the bell rang it was the signal to the crew to take up Battle Stations I grabbed my helmet buckled my life belt and ran to the bridge to Kirk the moon was peaking dimly through

The clouds and the wind was still whistling in the channel we had received a report that the wind had died down but it was not yet Apparent from the Raging Waves around the cruiser almost 50 kilomet to the west of us both Airborne divisions had already been dropped on the cotentin

Peninsula the headquarters of the German 7th Army stationed 65 kilm off the Normandy Coast in the ancient Terrace city of Lans had already raised the troops on alert however in a comfortable Villa in St Germaine near Paris later occupied by Eisenhower Von runed remains Sil is for the time

Being he feared that the landing of airborne troops is a diversion to divert the attention and forces of the Germans from the area of pasta Cal where the main Allied strike was expected a distant Rumble rolled across the English Channel and to our right orange flashes lit up the sky as more

Than 1,300 British Air Force bombers pounded the French Coast from sign to cherborg an enemy my anti-aircraft battery fired blindly a sheath of Sparks cut through the darkness a narrow streak of fire stretched across the sky as the down bomber began to descend sharply towards Augusta he leveled off for a moment made

A turn over the stern and crashed into the water with a crash by 5:00 30 men the first rays of light dispelled the gloom and over us with a wh Ling flew a link of Spitfires covering us from the air higher above the clouds American fighters formed a second Echelon of

Cover our cruiser with a speed of five knots approached the initial position for shelling the coast from the high open Bridge of the cruiser I looked at the coast covered with mourning fog it was time for the DD tanks to be unloaded at the Omaha site they were to leave the landing

Craft 50 minutes before the start of the landing and reach the shore on their own through passages made by the sappers in the line of underwater obstacles the Infantry were to follow the DD tanks and Advance deep into the coast under cover of their fire Thorson looked out at the

Turbulently heaving dark straight and shook his head I don’t like this General the DD tanks are going to get it in this weather I’m afraid you’re right tubby but there’s nothing we can do about it now there’s no sign of the excitement subsiding not yet Kirk thinks the DD

Tanks might sink if they had to make it to shore on their own either they should be brought ashore directly from the tank landing craft or we’ll have to proceed without them the decision as to whether the DD tanks should be brought ashore by ships or whether they would reach reach the

Shore on their own could not be made on board the austa this decision depended on the commanders of the tank units themselves by this time the implementation of the operation was already out of the control of the generals and Admirals for the next few agonizing hours we could only Pace back and forth

On Deck relying on the soldiers who had been entrusted with the execution of the plan at 5:00 at 5:47 a.m. the intelligence Department received a report that 15 enemy torpedo boats had left the port of cherborg to strike our ships Kip smiled and popped some chewing gum in his mouth only 15

Torpedo boats against our Armada the Augusta’s 8in turret guns were turned toward the coast we plugged daras with cotton wool at 5:00 5050 a.m. the ship shuddered with a salvo the guns opened fire on the Cruisers predetermined Targets on the shore the whole Armada opened fire and

We watched the bursting shells on the shore the targets were carefully chosen based on the study of thousands of aerial photographs every gun every trench and every pill box was mapped on large scale maps at 6:00 15 men in the morning the coast was covered with smoke when heavy bombers of the

Eighth Air Army appeared over our heads only later did we learn that most of the 13,000 bombs they had dropped had done no damage to the enemy spraying a fountain of mud they exploded in the fields 5 kilometers from the coast subjecting the bombardment of enemy positions through the clouds

Aviation deliberately delayed dropping bombs to reduce the danger of hitting landing craft approach approaching the coast this safety concern reduced the effectiveness of the heavy bomber raids such air action led to increased casualties at the Omaha site among seasick Marines disembarking from landing craft in rough surf meanwhile of the 32d tanks launched

At the Omaha site 27 sank due to heavy surf our troops have not yet landed on the coast and already lost two important means of port at 6:00 45 men that is 15 minutes after the start of the operation the Augusta received a message that the first Echelon of assaulting troops

Reached the coast it was too early to hope for reports from the troops themselves I gulped down a cup of hot coffee it was Daylight but the sun was hidden in a haze and the Panorama before us was Gray so far the enemy Shore batteries had not returned

Fire that’s what I can’t understand Kean remarked the enemy had had plenty of time to prepare to fire Thorson squinted at the Rock on the shore maybe the Rangers had suppressed the enemy’s guns the second and fifth battalions of the Rangers had been ordered to take out a six gun battery of

155 mm guns on Cape Point Port which covered the approaches to the Omaha Landing site none of the commanders under me was as eager to take on a difficult task as the 34-year-old commander of the Rangers temporary task force LT James Rudder A farmer from Brady

Texas who was to land with a 200 Man team at the foot of a 35m cliff then climb the cliff and destroy the coastal defense battery there the first time you said that rder recalled I thought you were trying to scare me to prepare his soldiers Rudder

Trained them on the rocky coast of the aisle of white there they learned to throw crampons to which ropes were attached onto the Rocks using a mortar this method of throwing ropes onto rocks was first used by the British Commandos they also learned how to handle lightweight collapsible steel

Ladders that could be quickly brought into Readiness to these English inventions the American Rangers added their own they borrowed four long extendable fire ladders from the London fire brigade and mounted them in the backs of amphibious lores the lorries climbed out onto the shingle covered Shore approached the

Foot of the cliff extended the ladders and the soldiers climbed up the cliff rder decided to lead the assault company ashore himself hubner opposed reminding rder that he as the unit Commander would have to be responsible for the entire operation you can’t put yourself at risk in the first round he

Said I’m sorry sir Rudder replied but I have to disobey your order if I don’t lead the company we may not be able to complete the mission while Rudder stormed the rock the rest of the Rangers waited by the shore for the signal to take point to

Halt it was agreed that if no signal flare appeared after 30 minutes the Rangers would land with the main Force at the Omaha site and reach the battery by land as Rudder approached pointed to hold 40 minutes late enemy artillery fired on his landing and assault craft the Gunners fired mortars but most

Of the cats were not thrown as far as the top of the cliff as the wet rope became very heavy the foot of the cliff was covered with bom craters in which amphibious ladder trucks were stuck mortar Crews fired a second round and threw half a dozen cats to the top

Of the cliff but as rudder’s soldiers began to climb the ropes the enemy threw hand grenades at them from above a destroyer arrived and artillery fire cleared the top of the Cliff of Germans and 5 minutes after landing at the base of the point to do hot Cliff the first Soldier climbed the

Cliff a few seconds later he was joined by others here they found only an empty area which bore the marks of repeated aerial bombardment no guns however were to be found the prey had Slipped Away moving forward the Rangers patrols found the guns in an apple orchard 1,100 M from the

Cliff they were mobile long barrel old French heavy guns they had a range of 18 km and could shell both Landing SES large stocks of shells were concentrated in the firing positions but not a single shot was fired from the guns Rangers interrupted the calculations which did not scatter from

The ship’s artillery fire and remained at their guns the Rangers then put the guns out of action by blowing up the bolts by this time the enemy had counterattacked in the neighborhood of point uo the Rangers were surrounded for two days until troops from the Omaha section came through and relieved

Them as time went on I became increasingly concerned at the alarming and sketchy messages being intercepted by the Cruisers radio station from these messages we could only imagine a very vague picture of the loss of ships the bogging of our troops in the swamps heavy enemy fire at the The Landing sites by

8:00 30 minutes in the morning it was expected that the two regiments that landed at the site Omaha overcome the enemy defenses on the coast and come to the road that ran parallel in a kilometer and a half from the coast by this time however we had not

Yet received confirmation from the fifth corpse that the troops had landed we tried to reassure ourselves hoping that the information about the landing was delayed due to overloaded communication lines it was about 10: a.m. when the first report came from jarro his report like the fragmentary data we had previously received was

Concise but not entirely clear reassuring it only confirmed our worst fears about the DD tanks obstacles of mind the advance is slow tanks DD intended for landing on the site of Fox gream sunk on board the anona jarro and hubner clung to their radios as helplessly as I

Did there was hardly anything more they could have done at this time they could have no more influence on the course of the battle than I could although we watched the battle through the light fog and heard the rumble of the guns the outcome of the battle that morning was decided by the

Thin chains of drenched infantrymen lying on the French Coast Kirk concerned about the excessive crowding of ships on the Omaha ordered his artillery officer to ascertain the situation along with him in a torpedo boat I sent Hansen they returned an hour later soaked to the skin with disappointing news of the situation

Ashore the first division was pinned to the ground in front of the causeway With the Enemy pouring in Rifle and machine gun fire artillery shelled the landing craft which tried to escape the fire the most serious difficulties were created by underwater obstacles the bomber teams suffered huge losses besides most of their equipment

Sank in the sea only six passes were made in the underwater obstacle course before the tide forced the bombers to stop further work the landing craft could not overcome the underwater obstacles course at their Landing sites so they headed for the easy red site where passages were

Available as the next echelons of ships arrived at the cloged coast traffic jams were created at the passages when at noon the fifth Corp reported that the situation continued to be critical in the area of all four Coastal exits it was with great reluctance that I decided to reroute the

Approaching second Echelon units and formations and land them at the Utah and English Landing sites the scount information from these sites said that the landing here went according to plan the landing of troops at the site Omaha was significantly behind the plan the inevitable crisis in the landing of subsequent

Echelons at noon in the area of parking transports at the site Omaha should have arrived taking advantage of the next tide a convoy with a landing force of 25,000 people in addition with the Convoy arrived another 4,400 Vehicles however on the coast was unloaded only part of the first Echelon

Troops totaling 34,000 people with 3,300 Vehicles if we had failed to unload both echelons on the first day of the invasion then the entire complex process of concentrating forces on the bridge head would have been disrupted no matter what Extraordinary Measures had to be resorted to we had to

Fulfill our Force accumulation plan in order to repel the enemy Counterattack despite the setbacks due to bad weather and ineffective bombardment I was appalled that we had decided to land at the Omaha site without taking sufficient precautions at the time of sailing we had assumed that we were insured against such

Complications it was not until noon that we realized from jarro’s message the reason for our failure to land at the Omaha section it turned out that instead of the second rate slow moving troops we had expected to encounter on the coast we were faced with one of romel’s best field

Divisions in planning The Invasion we believed that the enemy had only two stationary divisions between Cain and cherborg it was known that roml had concentrated his best reserves in depth including the 352nd division stationed at St low just before boarding the Augusta in Plymouth Harbor Dixon learned that the

352nd division had been moved from St low to the landing area of our troops for coastal defense exercises he immediately notified the headquarters of the fifth Corp he and the first division but failed to inform the troops already on the ships if such stubborn resistance was

Met not by the first but by a less experienced division perhaps it would have been easily thrown into the sea I may have acted unfairly in assigning the first division to the first Echelon of the invasion Force but it gave us a foothold in the Omaha area and averted a landing

Disaster although the crisis had been resolved several hours before noon it was not until 1,300 hours 30 minutes the headquarters of the fifth corpse dispelled our fears by sending a short telegram to the cruiser troops pinned To The Ground by the enemy on the easy red easy green and fox red sections

Of the coast are advancing to the heights Inland beyond the Omaha section the terrain Rises steeply upwards reaching Heights of 30 to 50 MERS above sea level the slopes of the heights being covered with scrub in four places along the 6.5 kilm Coastline there were passages of sparse vegetation among the cliffs through

Which it was possible to pass Inland in these passages the enemy had constructed the strongest fortifications and in them he made a more stubborn resistance only in one place was there a Motorway in the other passages there were only country roads in a few days these roads became the busiest thoroughfares of Europe

I did not want to rely entirely on the tur reports coming from the headquarters of the fifth Corp so I ordered Kean to go to the bridge head to see how busy the coast was and how far our troops had Advanced so that I could calculate how many new

Forces from the second Echelon we would be able to unload during the night Kean went to the coast with Hansen on a torpedo boat a th MERS from the shore they transferred ref to the Infantry landing craft and on it made the last part of the journey through the

Obstacles the tide had already reached its highest point and the water was beginning to recede leaving the tank landing craft and hundreds of other smaller landing craft Stranded the cruiser austa had now approached the shore to a distance of up to 3.5 kilm and around it floated a

Variety of property abandoned and left behind during the landing on his return Kean reported a more optimistic assessment of the situation than I had expected despite the congestion of traffic on the Omaha section our troops had overcome the enemy’s fortified strip between well-defended passages and had Advanced 1.5 kilm Inland east of the

Easy red section cutting the first roade road although the crucial passageway at easy red was still being shelled by enemy machine gun fire bulldozers were already building a road along it to the plateau that ended the rising terrain as the sea receded sappers scrambled among abandoned and abandoned property making new passages among

Underwater obstacles as soon as they protruded from the water despite the improved situation operations at the Omaha site progressed much more slowly than had been planned the Coast after low tide was strewn with stranded ships sunken vehicles and burnt out tanks dozens of dead soldiers lay on the

Pebbles where death had caught up with them with the strong surf only the lightly wounded could be brought to the hospital ships the severely wounded were still stowed in crevices dug by the causeway All Along The Landing site the shore was strewn with various War material which is inevitably Swept Away

By the surf of the sea during every Invasion the enormous losses in material during the landing at the Omaha site demanded immediate action to recover them what are the troops most in need of I asked Keen bulldozers he replied bulldozers and guns they had suffered serious losses in

Both bulldozers were needed not only to clear the coast of abandoned property and remove obstacles in time for the next high tide without them our losses in motor transport would have increased even more for as soon as vehicles from tank Landing ships were brought ashore on self-propelled faeries they got stuck in

The soft wet sand of the 16 bulldozers we sent out in the morning only six reached the shore and three were immediately put out of action by enemy artillery although the critical moment at the Omaha sight had passed the danger was not yet over the bridge head did not have

Sufficient depth in addition there were no tanks or artillery on it therefore we could easily be knocked out of this fragile Bridge head and toppled into the sea by Counterattack I hurried to the anen to consult with jarro no matter how desperate the situation a senior Commander must always

Remain calm in the presence of his subordinates if a senior Commander shows anxiety it can quickly spread like a cancerous tumor throughout his subordinate units as we made our way by torpedo boat to the anona I expected to catch jro and hbno worried about the protracted fighting on the

Coast both were taking part in the Fighting For the First Time as senior commanders and although neither of them could have prevented the critical situation that had been created they were personally responsible for it therefore although I endeavored to clarify the situation and to hasten the landing of subsequent units on the coast

I went to see them partly for the purpose of building up their confidence in their forces if necessary on my arrival at Ancon I saw on jarro’s map that our troops had cut into the enemy’s defensive line on the Omaha section in five places the rocket Road had been cut at

Viville and also at kille on the Left Flank a detached Detachment was also advancing towards po Duo to assist the Rangers units there on learning all this we were cheered up and decided to carry out the original plan that is to land five regiments on the Omaha section by

Nightfall hbno was going to go ashore in the evening and take command of the units of the first division that had come ashore what about Yugi I asked when will you move the fifth Corp headquarters ashore at dawn Brad we’ll have communications equipment by then to hell with your Communications jaro

Smiled then we’ll go ashore tonight that same evening at 8:00 p.m. 30 minutes the fifth core be deployed its First Command Post in a ditch on the heights at the rear of easy red I wanted jarro himself to lead his troops up the coast and expedite the unloading of the

Second Infantry Division the day after the invasion our torpedo boat cut full speed through the waves across the estery at the base of the cotentin peninsula heading for the Utah section two observers on the deck of the boat kept watch to see if any floating mines would appear the captain steered his fragile

Craft through the eye blinding water spray at Anchorage off the Utah section we identified the Bayfield by its antenna mounted on the tops of the masts when the torpedo boat was on the crest of a 2 m wave I grabbed a rope ladder and climbed up the bayfield’s tall steel

Side unlike the landing at the Omaha site where the shadow of disaster had hung over our heads all day The Invasion at the Utah site had gone more smoothly than the exercise 5 weeks earlier as the intelligence Department had informed us the defenses here were occupied by second great stationary

Troops with the exception of artillery in the casemates north of the Utah section enemy resistance had been quickly crushed a week later in reviewing Personnel Department reports I found that Collins had managed to break through the Coastal fortifications with less than 350 casualties less than half

Of what we had lost during the exercise at slapton Sands at the outset however the landing at the Utah section offered little hope the head Regiment of the first Echelon troops was landed nearly 2,000 M south of the designated spot apparently Providence itself came to the rescue here not only were there fewer

Underwater obstacles at the Utah site but the coastal fortifications were less developed than further north Brigadier General Ted Roosevelt assigned to the fourth division volunteered to lead the first Echelon assault units with the skill and Instinct of a veteran he quickly organized the seizure of The Passage

Through the Lagoon which had caused us great anxiety in planning as the lead regiment traversed the swampy terrain and emerged on the rock Road 5 kilomet from the coast he radioed comforting news to Fourth division headquarters at Bayfield Collins immediately relayed them to Army Headquarters thus while we were

Struggling to get a grip on the Omaha section we had at least secured our success on the Utah section but if Collins easily created a bridge head on the coast then a different picture was the struggle which already for 5 hours before the landing of the seventh core war in the Battle of

France airborne troops in depth at a distance of 8 kilm from the coast when Dawn broke the paratroopers of the 82nd and 1001 divisions were already fighting not for life but for death in the depths of the treacherous Labyrinth of hedgerose and swamps of the cening peninsula the ejection went badly wrong

Almost from the moment the 432 transport planes carrying troops of the 101st Airborne Division approached the west coast of the centin peninsula after an over overnight flight from England heavy cloud cover forced the planes flying in close formation at night to disperse as the planes approached the ejection zones by this time already

Marked by the targeting squads enemy anti-aircraft artillery forced the planes to further disperse although the parachutists landed in a comparatively compact Mass especially compared with our initial experience in Sicily nevertheless the 6,600 parachutists of Taylor’s division found themselves dropped at a considerable distance from the dkes they had been ordered to

Capture more than 60 aircraft dropped parachutists outside the designated areas at distances ranging from 13 to 32 kilomet some of the parachutists were dropped in the area between the Utah section and the lagoons nevertheless the rest of the 1001 division boldly rushed towards the dkes that are extended from the Utah

Section some of them heading south to cut off kantan and prevent enemy reinforcements from coming in 2/3 of the 82nd division was to be thrown 12 km west of the murder River in the area where it ran parallel to the Utah section here they could cover from

The West The Landing site of Colin’s troops and prevent the enemy from bringing reinforcements to cherborg the rest of the division would be thrown east of this River along the main road from cherborg to The Landing site ridway could block the approaches from the north and establish a strong defensive

Base at the Village of St May igle however ridgeway’s 82nd division like the the 10 1001st found itself badly scattered during the ejection especially the units dropped west of the murder River as a result the division lost considerable time on the first day of the ejection to the difficult task of

Assembling units and units nevertheless the division was able to gain a foothold in St May Edley’s by units landing near this small Dairy producing town the 82nd division as well as the 1001st threw the enemy into panic in most of the rear areas during the first critical hours after the

Landing shortly after noon on the first day of the invasion Collins made contact with Taylor’s 1001 division however the fate of the 82nd division separated from the coastal Bridge head by many kilometers of hedgerose was still unknown no word from Ridgeway I asked Collins none but I’m not worried about

Matt the 82nd division can fend for itself how’s jarro doing has his situation cleared up he’s doing much better now than he was at noon but he’s been hanging on by a thread all day the German 352nd division gave us a good shake up that

The worst seems to be over G is arriving on the coast tonight he hoped to get the troops on the coast in order and unload the second division tomorrow the fourth division Commander had already gone ashore and Collins still remained with the seventh Corp headquarters aboard the Bayfield to keep

In touch and restrain Admiral Moon Moon concerned about losing several ships in the invasion gave in the inrees of his staff and decided to end the landing at the Utah site at night when Colin learned of Moon’s decision he strongly protested and the Admiral soon abandoned his intention let the fleet sacrifice its

Vessels I said to Collins if necessary but we must put the troops ashore if even to do so would require lining the whole bottom of the bloody Channel with our ships as dusk fell I went down the gang way from the Bayfield below the torpedo boat shuddered frantically every every time a

Strong wave struck picking my moment I jumped down on the wet deck at the bow a sailor with a buggy was waving his arms trying to keep his balance but he could not hold on and fell overboard into the white boiling water between the boat and the metal

Hull of the Bayfield against which our craft was battering in order not to crush the man the captain gave the cut a reverse we threw a rope into the water and pulled the sailor out of the water later as we approached the Anchorage near the Omaha site in the

Dark the Destroyer requested our identification Mark we were approaching the Anchorage from the estery side and could have been mistaken for a German torpedo boat damn it identification signal roared the captain below dashing for the lantern give it to me quick or the whole damned Fleet Will Rain fire on us

I hope he finds the signal I said to Hansen what could be worse for a soldier to end the war this way to be killed by a 5-in shell bursting and drowning at a depth of 30 m the captain found at last the right signal and answered Destroyer making our way among the

Vessels we saw the cruiser austa at the moment when a flare shell burst in the air Tracer bullets described an arc in the sky the night air raid of the enemy had begun the boat captain grabbed a megaphone and called out to the cruiser hey on the austa can we come

Aboard stand back was the reply from the deck stand back until they give the all clear I must confess that when I had to be on a ship during an air raid I did not feel quite at ease but if I was to be in that position again I would rather

Be on a 9,000 ton Cruiser than on this shell for 20 minutes we circled in one place when it seemed to us that the raid was coming to an end we called again for the Augusta stand back was the reply stand back but we have passengers on board shouted our captain into the

Darkness prisoners replied curiously from the deck come we’ll take prison on board I climbed a rope ladder down from the ship and climbed over the rail cold wet hungry and tired the crew rushed forward to view the captives oh for crying out loud exclaimed one sailor it’s only General Bradley at

All in spite of the disorder still prevailing in some of the smaller units operating independently by the morning of 7th June our position had greatly improved at the same time the danger was not yet over on the narrow 8 kilomet strip of land at Omaha we had fallen far

Short of the objectives set for us on the first day of the invasion German artillery continued to Shell the coast where debris was obstructing traffic we had not yet reached the karanten Khan road which was supposed to link our Bridge heads nevertheless we were somewhat comforted by the fact that

By Dawn five regiments had landed on the Omaha section this was an amazing achievement considering the chaos that prevailed on the coast however in order to land these regiments and Supply them with ammunition we had to forgo bringing some other supplies to the coast had we not taken 90 amphibious

Lorries with us on the first day of the invasion our troops might have been without ammunition it cost the enemy dearly to delay us at Omaha the enemy’s 352nd division was ground down there there and thus roml lost another field division during the first 12 critical hours of our stay ashore the enemy

Failed to mount a single organized Counterattack against our Bridge head but our results were worse than the prospects promised Collins’s situation at the Utah section fared better than jaro although Collins failed to extend the bridge head in a Northerly Direction and to exceed the objective set for the

First day of the invasion he did advance to the South there he established himself at the base of the centin peninsula where we intended to link the two Bridge heads together during the night Collins troops joined up with ridgway’s 80c airborn division it was still too early to

Assess the success of the Airborne assault it’s two great dispersion so undermined our faith in night Airborne operations that we never again attempted to land paratroops at night initial reports after The Landings indicated very heavy casualties and some feared that Lee mallerie’s predictions might have come true however when the

Missing units began to cross the front line we found that losses among airborne troops on the first day of the invasion did not exceed 20% it was only after the troops had moved from the Utah section into an offensive northwards towards cherborg that we found out how badly the Airborne paralyzed the enemy

Rear the day after the invasion the German High command in Berlin was expecting a message from roml that the landed Allied troops are restrained and will soon be thrown into the sea but the first day of the invasion had passed and the enemy had lost his best opportunity to destroy

Us by the morning of the next day after the invasion we were not only firmly entrenched on the coast but had begun to accumulate reinforcements long before the landing I had surmised that the enemy would throw against our Bridge heads all his air force that guring would be able to

Muster it was then when we had not yet established a foothold on the coast the enemy aircraft could inflict on us the most sensitive losses during the entire day of 6th June only a few enemy aircraft broke through the Cordon of Allied Fighters and conducted a low efficiency attack on the

Coast and during the air raid at night when we were aboard a torpedo boat the German air force was able to send only a small Force against us as a result of the actions of the Allied Air Forces the number of German aircraft in the west by the day of the

Invasion did not exceed 400 Machines of the first line moreover massive Allied raids on fighter bases in France forced the Germans to redeploy them closer to the German border to preserve his rapidly dwindling forces guring avoided air combat at the very moment when a bold strike could have saved

Him planning the invasion of Normandy we considered the possibility of chemical attack from the enemy and for the first time during the war discussed the question of whether the enemy would dare to do so perhaps only a landing one of the biggest events of the war could the

Enemy decide the outcome of the battle in his favor by using persistent poisonous substances from the invasion of Africa onwards we carried gas masks with us at all times we had always considered a chemical attack unlikely but we did not want to risk being unprotected during The Landings although the Germans use of

Chemical warfare agents on the Normandy Coast would have provoked a strong Allied response against German cities I believe believed that Hitler in his determination to resist to the end could have gone for chemical warfare as his last bet certainly it could not be expected that an enemy who had brutally

Murdered more than a million people in concentration camps would abandon chemical warfare for human reasons when the first day of the invasion passed and the air still did not smell of mustard gas I felt a great relief for even a small exposure to persistent poisons at the Omaha site

Could have cost us that beat head shortly after 6:00 a.m. on the morning of 7th June Montgomery arrived aboard a British Destroyer the Destroyer moed alongside the Augusta Montgomery wanted to connect the Allied Landing Bridge heads before roml was able to concentrate sufficient forces against a separate Bridge head and make a

Breakthrough if we had a hard time on the first day of the landing the British rapidly rushed forward in their area and deepened in the bio’s area for 11 kilometers however they failed to capture their main object Cain the Germans were extremely sensitive to the British offensive on this important Communications Hub and

Responded from the area of KH Counterattack tanks Eisenhower said that he would arrive in the area of unloading ships at 11:00 a.m. in the meantime I went to the it Omaha to in accordance with Montgomery’s order to oblige jro to take measures to more quickly unite the Allied Landing

SES in one common Bridge head jro on this basis was to send Garts 29th division Westward to link up with Collins at the base of the cotentin peninsula and hub’s first division Eastward to make contact with British troops on the Left Flank of the Omaha site the fifth Corp Commander sheltered

His head headquarters in a ravine behind a hedge on the road leading from the easy red section Inland from the coast I got into a passing car and headed there along the road that was still under construction a column of infantrymen was coming up the hillside in a cloud of dust from the

Lorries on the flat surface of the coastal Uplands sappers were already clearing the takeoff area for the planes that were evacuating the wounded to England jro was at hub’s command post and I went there to see him during the Advance on the first day of the invasion the first division had bypassed small

Pockets of enemy resistance and was now engaged in destroying them to put an end to the sniper fire in the rear those damned buches won’t stop shooting hubner complained he was anxious to clear the coast so he could move Inland and seize his first objective this may take more time and ammunition I

Told him than we had anticipated Admiral Ramsey’s Flagship anchored alongside the Augusta the Helmsman steered the Infantry landing craft right under the assault ramp I grabbed the gang way and climbed aboard Ike greeted me at the railing by God Brad he exclaimed shaking my hand you scared us all to death yesterday

Morning why the hell didn’t you let us know how you were doing I was astonished but we did I objected we radioed everything down to the smallest detail everything we got from G and Collins Ike shook his head I didn’t get anything from you until almost

Tonight not one word I didn’t know what had happened to you however your headquarters acknowledged receipt of every report when you return you can check this and make sure that all our reports have been received by your headquarters 20 minutes later I returned to Augusta and cross checked our document

Logs as a result I found that all our reports had been transmitted and receipt acknowledged I later found out that the decipher at Montgomery’s command post had been unable to cope with the heavy workload on the first day of the invasion the radio traffic was so intense that the decryptors were 12

Hours behind in deciphering the incoming messages yet Ike hardly endured greater Agony than we did aboard the Augusta for news however unpleasant is less distressing than the apprehension that results from languishing in the unknown a week later I confessed to Monty that I would never tell I how

Anxious I had been that morning when we didn’t know what was going on at the Omaha site on the evening of 7th June Kirk took me on the Augusta to the Utah section I asked the Helmsman who was passing a tank landing craft Laden with drying laundry to give me a ride to

Shore near the shore we spotted an amphibious lorri I called out to the driver to take me ashore of course General he replied replied jump in with me could you give me a lift to General Collins headquarters I asked the driver shook his head with great pleasure

General but my captain will give me a sever thrashing he ordered me back to the unit after this flight I did not countermand his Captain’s orders on the second day after the invasion the delivery of supplies was of of Paramount importance pleased that I did not have

To get wet in the water I jumped ashore and reached Collins headquarters in a passing weasel Collins had set up a command post for the seventh Corp on a walled Normandy farm he himself went to the Troops and in the headquarters remained his Deputy Major General Eugene Landrum we familiarized ourselves with the

Situation from a map hanging in one of the Stalls in the Stables the fourth division was advancing North to destroy enemy firing points shelling the coast and the 101st division was advancing South to link up with the fifth core although ridway had managed to Rally units of the 82 division east of

Murdered units of that division west of the river were still cut off did Matt report anything today landram showed me a typewritten report on the situation on the front of the 82nd division Matt seems to be in a good position if he can type on a typewriter Ridgeway has established a

Strong position north of St May egley here securely perched on the kantan cherborg road he covered the Left Flank of the fourth division very well Jean I said to Landrum before setting off on the return journey to Augusta you must hurry on winning this war so that I can be in

Time for my daughter’s wedding when’s the wedding he laughed tomorrow the third day after the invasion slum spread his hands my only daughter Elizabeth had graduated from vassa the month before she was marrying Henry Beckham son of Colonel Herman Beckham a well-known teacher of political and social science

At West Point where he had studied with me in 195 15 the wedding was to take place in a church at West Point on 8th June 2 days after young Beckham was commissioned a leftenant in the Air Force a few days after the wedding a correspondent for the National

Broadcasting Corporation handed me a detailed description of the wedding ceremony written by Mary Margaret mcbridge a friend of my wife’s from her studies at the University of Missouri on the Normandy Coast copies of the description of the wedding was sent to All correspondents of the National Broadcasting Corporation to be handed to

General Bradley personally in case of meeting him on Friday 9th June Army staff officers went ashore from the Icona the Army’s First Command Post was set up in the garden behind Point Duo where the Rangers units had overtaken a battery of French heavy guns after organizing Communications

Assure there was no longer any need for me to remain on the austa on Saturday morning therefore I also went ashore and our floating command post ceased to exist Kirk’s young agitant the able Lieutenant M George Bundy of Boston Massachusetts was once again the most senior army officer aboard the Admiral’s

Flagship he reminded me that when I had stepped aboard the Augusta I had usurped his rights Monty called a meeting on the morning of 9th June in the fishing Village of port unbin to coordinate the actions of the first Army with those of the British second Army Dempsey intended to take the

Offensive south of the still intact town of Bou in order to expand his Bridge head and bypass Cain from the West I met Monty waiting with Dempsey in a field where British military policemen were carrying an outside guard Monty was wearing a faded gabardine jacket a gray loose collar

Jumper pleather trousers and a dark tanker Barret an operational map was unfurled on the Bonnet of his Humber staff car two German Panza divisions were entrenched in front of Cain and Dempsey planned to outflank them by advancing from the BOS area we were to advance South towards Kon moving parallel to the

Axis of movement of British troops in the area of kimona jro had to create a strong defensive position we believe that an offensive in this direction could also help to divert enemy reserves from Collin’s troops advancing on cherborg Monty was going to return by Aeroplane to his headquarters in Portsmouth the same

Day can I bring you anything he asked yes sir a newspaper whatever kind I felt cut off off from the world without a newspaper at breakfast by Saturday 10th June jarro had expanded his original small Omaha site to a fairly substantial size not only had he succeeded in establishing

Contact with Dempsey but his troops had also Advanced beyond the rocky road that connected their Landing sites on the right flank of jarro’s corpse the 29th division Advanced through the burning streets of is Z and reached the plane near Carana a few kilometers away paratroopers Landing in gliders

Maneuvered to skirt kanton from the Northeast meanwhile paratroopers of the 1001 division were advancing toward this key town along the highway leading south from cherborg to kentan the road passed through large swamps flooded by the enemy who were trying to force us to advance by Road only

We must connect with jarro as soon as possible I said to Collins foreseeing great difficulty in advancing through the swampy ground if it proves necessary to gain time we will drop 500 or a thousand tons of bombs on karant tant and to smash it to Pieces then Rush forward and the city

Will be in our hands later in the Army Headquarters received a report that the landing sites Omaha and Utah are linked by a country road through the Esty The Landing planner company from the Utah site made its way to the Village of oal Sur La where Scouts from

The 29th division were waiting for it a few kilometers Beyond igny I traveled through igny with Hansen to see if this road could be used to reach the location of Collin’s troops isigny a small town of 2,800 people engaged in dairy products and famous for the production of Kut

Cheese had been destroyed the day before by shipboard artillery fire when the 29th division called it in to drive the Germans out of town somewhere residents with sad faces were digging through the ruins of their dwellings an elderly couple carried a mangled metal bed out of the ruins of

One house further down the street a woman was carefully removing a curtain from a window in the only surviving wall of the Town Cafe the paines in the window had been smashed out the people of isenia had waited more than four years for Liberation now they looked at us

Reproachfully standing by the ruins under which their loved ones were buried after crossing the river VI we halted near oval Ser L at a Crossroads ahead of us an armored vehicle was exchanging fire with a German sniper firing a 37 mm gun the whistle of bullets was lost in

The Thunder of the armored vehicles firing near us stopped a Jeep in which was the commander of the Brigade of anti-aircraft artillery Brigadier General Edward Timberlake Jr sir it’s crazy to go any further he said the road could be booby trapped Let Me Ride ahead of

You no but thanks for the warning I said we’re not going any further as the driver turned the Jeep around I turned to Hansen it would be foolish to be killed by an enemy sniper bullet on a walk I said we’d better stay on the torpedo boat until kantan is

Captured by dawn on 12th June Taylor’s parachutists had surrounded kantan by a brilliant maneuver at 6 am they entered the town communication between the Omaha and Utah sections was now assured so on the 7th day after the landing we created a common Bridge head of 67

Kilm now we had to break through the centine peninsula prevent the approach of enemy reinforcements from the south and occupy the port of cherborg