Normandy '44 Read online

  Contents

  List of Maps

  Maps

  Principal Personalities

  Gallery of Portraits

  Foreword

  Prologue

  Part I: The Battle Before D-Day

  1 The Atlantic Wall

  2 Command of the Skies

  3 Understanding Montgomery and the Master Plan

  4 Countdown

  5 The Winds of War

  6 Big War

  7 Air Power

  Part II: Invasion

  8 D-Day Minus One

  9 D-Day: The First Hours

  10 D-Day: Dawn

  11 D-Day: The American Landings

  12 D-Day: The British and Canadian Landings

  13 D-Day: The Turning of the Battle

  14 D-Day: Foothold

  Part III: Attrition

  15 Bridgehead

  16 Fighter-Bomber Racecourse

  17 Linking Up

  18 The Constraints of Wealth and the Freedom of Poverty

  19 Behind the Lines

  20 The Grinding Battle

  21 The Great Storm

  22 EPSOM

  23 Cherbourg and the Scottish Corridor

  24 Trouble at the Top

  25 Bloody Bocage

  26 Living Like Foxes

  Part IV: Breakout

  27 A Brief Discourse On Weapons And the Operational Level of War

  28 Crisis of Command

  29 GOODWOOD

  30 Saint-Lô

  31 COBRA

  32 BLUECOAT

  33 LÜTTICH

  34 Tank Battle At Saint-Aignan

  35 The Corridor of Death

  Postscript

  Picture Section

  Glossary

  Appendices

  Timeline: Normandy 1944

  Timeline: D-Day

  Notes

  Selected Sources

  Acknowledgements

  Picture Acknowledgements

  Index

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  James Holland is an award-winning historian, writer and broadcaster. The author of a number of bestselling histories, including Battle of Britain, Dam Busters, Burma ’44 and, most recently, Big Week, he has also written nine works of historical fiction, including the Jack Tanner novels.

  He is currently writing an acclaimed three-volume new history of the Second World War, The War in the West. He has presented – and written – many television programmes and series for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, History and Discovery Channels.

  He is also co-founder of the Chalke Valley History Festival and of WarGen.org, an online Second World War resource site, and presents the Chalke Valley History Hit podcast. A fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he also has a weekly podcast with Al Murray, We Have Ways of Making You Talk: Al Murray and James Holland talk World War II. He can be found on Twitter and Instagram as @James 1940.

  For more photographs, please visit www.griffonmerlin.com/normandy44

  Also by James Holland

  Non-fiction

  FORTRESS MALTA

  TOGETHER WE STAND

  HEROES

  ITALY’S SORROW

  THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

  DAM BUSTERS

  AN ENGLISHMAN AT WAR

  BURMA ’44

  RAF 100: The Official Story

  BIG WEEK

  THE WAR IN THE WEST

  Volume I: Germany Ascendant 1939–1941

  THE WAR IN THE WEST

  Volume II: The Allies Fight Back 1941–1943

  Ladybird Experts

  BLITZKRIEG

  THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

  THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC

  THE DESERT WAR

  THE EASTERN FRONT 1941–43

  Fiction

  THE BURNING BLUE

  A PAIR OF SILVER WINGS

  THE ODIN MISSION

  DARKEST HOUR

  BLOOD OF HONOUR

  HELLFIRE

  DEVIL’S PACT

  DUTY CALLS: DUNKIRK

  DUTY CALLS: BATTLE OF BRITAIN

  For more information on James Holland and his books, see his website at www.griffonmerlin.com

  For Bill Scott-Kerr

  List of Maps

  1 The Pre-invasion Phase Lines

  2 Allied Bombing Targets in Northern France Before D-Day

  3 D-Day Air Dispositions

  4 Order of Battle OB West

  5 D-Day US Airborne Drop Patterns

  6 The British Airborne Battlefield

  7 D-Day Assault on Omaha Beach

  8 D-Day Assault on the British and Canadian Beaches

  9 D-Day British and Canadian Beaches at Midnight

  10 The Allied Front, 10 June

  11 Allied Bridgehead, 13 June

  12 The Capture of Cherbourg, 23–30 June

  13 Operation EPSOM, 25 June–1 July

  14 Operation CHARNWOOD, 7–9 July

  15 Attacks in the Odon Valley, 10–18 July

  16 The Battle for Saint-Lô, 11–18 July

  17 Operation GOODWOOD, 18–21 July

  18 Operation COBRA, 25–31 July

  19 The Normandy Front, 31 July

  20 Operation BLUECOAT, 29 July–6 August

  21 The Breakout, 1–13 August

  22 Operation LŰTTICH, 7–9 August

  23 Operation TOTALIZE, 7–11 August

  24 The Falaise Pocket and the Corridor of Death, 13–20 August

  25 The Drive to the German Border, 26 August–10 September

  Map Key

  ALLIED UNITS

  Static division

  Infantry division

  Parachute division

  Armoured division

  GERMAN UNITS

  Static division

  Infantry division

  Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) division

  Panzer division

  Panzergrenadier division

  Artillery division

  STANDARD MILITARY SYMBOLS

  I = Company

  II = Battalion

  III = Regiment

  X = Brigade

  XX = Division

  XXX = Corps

  XXXX = Army

  XXXXX = Army group

  Aerial photo: Gold Beach.

  Troops of the 6th Airborne Division meet up with Commandos in Bénouville.

  Canadians landing at Juno Beach.

  US Army Rangers coming ashore at Pointe du Hoc.

  British troops advancing.

  Shermans assembling for Operation EPSOM.

  The Battle for Saint-Lô: a Sherman Firefly and crew before Operation GOODWOOD.

  Heavy bombing during Operation TOTALIZE.

  Principal Personalities

  American

  Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Alexander

  Executive Officer, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, then XO 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.

  Private William Biehler

  Company K, 3rd Battalion, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division.

  2nd Lieutenant Richard Blackburn

  Company A, 121st Regiment, 8th Infantry Division.

  Pfc Henry ‘Dee’ Bowles

  18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.

  Pfc Tom Bowles

  18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.

  Lieutenant Joe Boylan

  B-26 Marauder pilot, 573rd Squadron, 391st Bomb Group, Ninth Air Force.

  Corporal Walter Halloran

  165th Signal Photographic Company.

  Major Chester B. Hansen

  Aide to General Omar Bradley, US First Army.

  Lieutenant Archie Maltbie

  P-47 Thunderbolt pilot, 388th Fighter Squadron, 365th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force.
r />   Ernie Pyle

  Journalist, Scripps-Howard Newspapers.

  Brigadier-General Elwood ‘Pete’ Quesada

  CO IX Fighter Command, Ninth Air Force.

  Captain John Raaen

  CO HQ Company, 5th Ranger Battalion.

  Sergeant Carl Rambo

  Company B, 70th Tank Battalion.

  Captain John Rogers

  CO Company E, 2nd Armored Division.

  Lieutenant Orion Shockley

  Company B, 1st Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division.

  Sergeant Bob Slaughter

  Company D, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division.

  Lieutenant Bert Stiles

  401st Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force.

  Major Dick Turner

  CO 356th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Group, IX Fighter Command, Ninth Air Force.

  Lieutenant Dick Winters

  CO Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

  British

  Flight Sergeant Klaus ‘Ken’ Adam (German)

  609 Squadron, 123 Wing, Second Tactical Air Force.

  Corporal Arthur Blizzard

  Pioneer Platoon, 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, 8th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.

  Sergeant Walter Caines

  Signals Company, 4th Battalion, Dorset Regiment, 130th Brigade, 43rd Wessex Division.

  Lieutenant-Colonel Stanley Christopherson

  CO Nottingham Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, 8th Armoured Brigade.

  Private Denis Edwards

  D Company, 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division.

  Flight Sergeant Ken Handley

  Flight Engineer, 466 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, 4 Group, Bomber Command.

  Captain Carol Mather

  Liaison Officer, 21st Army Group Tactical Headquarters.

  Lieutenant-General Dick O’Connor

  Commander, VIII Corps.

  Corporal Reg Spittles

  2 Troop, A Squadron, 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry, 11th Armoured Division.

  Captain Richard Todd

  7th Battalion, 5th Parachute Brigade, 6th Airborne Division.

  Lance Corporal Ken Tout

  1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Yeomanry, 33rd (Independent) Armoured Brigade.

  Captain Robert Woollcombe

  7 Platoon, A Company, 6th King’s Own Scottish Borderers, 44th (Lowland) Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division.

  Lance Corporal Frank Wright

  X Troop, 47 Marine Commando.

  Canadian

  Lieutenant Latham B. ‘Yogi’ Jenson, RCN

  1st Lieutenant, HMCS Algonquin, Force J.

  Sergeant-Major Charlie Martin

  A Company, Queen’s Own Rifles, 8th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Division.

  Corporal Eldon ‘Bob’ Roberts

  B Company, North Shore New Brunswick Regiment, 8th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Division.

  French

  Flight Lieutenant Pierre Clostermann

  602 Squadron, Second Tactical Air Force.

  Geneviève Dubosq

  Civilian.

  Lieutenant Hubert Fauré

  Kieffer Commandos, 4 Commando.

  Robert Leblanc

  Commander, Maquis Surcouf.

  German

  Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein

  Commander, Panzer-Lehr Division.

  Kanonier Eberhard Beck

  10. Batterie, Artillerie-Regiment 277, 277. Infanterie-Division.

  Jäger Johannes Börner

  15. Kompanie, III. Bataillon, Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 5, 3. Fallschirmjäger.

  Grenadier Martin Eineg

  Infanterie-Regiment 726, 716. Infanterie-Division.

  Leutnant Wolfgang Fischer

  Fighter pilot flying with 3./Jagdgeschwader 2.

  Gefreiter Franz Gockel

  3. Kompanie, I. Bataillon, Grenadier-Regiment 726, 716. Infanterie-Division.

  Leutnant Hans Heinze

  Ordnanz Offizier, 5. Kompanie, II. Bataillon, Grenadier-Regiment 916, 352. Infanterie-Division.

  Major Hans von Luck

  Commander, Panzergrenadier-Regiment 125, 21. Division.

  SS-Oberführer Kurt Meyer

  Commander, 12. SS-Panzer-Division ‘Hitlerjugend’.

  Willi Müller

  Pioneer-Bataillon 2, 17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division ‘Götz von Berlichingen’.

  Oberleutnant Martin Pöppel

  12. Kompanie, III. Bataillon, Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6.

  Hauptmann Helmut Ritgen

  Commander, II. Bataillon, Panzer-Lehr-Regiment 130.

  Leutnant Richard Freiherr von Rosen

  Bataillon HQ, Schwere Panzerabteilung 503, 21. Panzer-Division.

  Vizeadmiral Friedrich Ruge

  Naval advisor to Rommel, Headquarters, Heeresgruppe B.

  Obersturmführer Hans Siegel

  Commander, 8. Kompanie, II. Bataillon, SS-Panzer-Regiment 12, 12. SS-Panzer-Division.

  Oberleutnant Cornelius Tauber

  Pioneer-Kompanie, II. Grenadier-Regiment 736, 736. Infanterie-Division.

  Obergrenadier Karl Wegner

  3. Kompanie, Panzergrenadier-Regiment 914, 352. Infanterie-Division.

  Irish

  Lieutenant Mary Mulry

  Nurse, 101st British General Hospital.

  New Zealand

  Air Marshal Sir Arthur ‘Mary’ Coningham

  Commander, Second Tactical Air Force, RAF.

  Flight Sergeant Ken Adam

  Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Alexander

  Tom (bottom left) and Henry (top right) Bowles

  Lieutenant-Colonel Stanley Christopherson

  Winston Churchill

  Flight Lieutenant Pierre Clostermann

  Air Marshal Sir Arthur ‘Mary’ Coningham (right) and Air Vice-Marshal Harry Broadhurst

  Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey

  Oberstgruf. Sepp Dietrich (left), Feldm. Günther von Kluge (centre) and Gen.Hans Eberbach

  Gefreiter Franz Gockel

  Corporal Walter Halloran

  Major Chester Hansen (left) and Lieutenant-General Omar Bradley

  Robert Leblanc

  Major Hans von Luck

  Oberführer Kurt Meyer

  General Sir Bernard Montgomery

  Brigadier-General Elwood ‘Pete’ Quesada

  Hauptmann Helmut Ritgen

  Feldmarschall Erwin Rommel

  Leutnant Richard Freiherr von Rosen

  Lieutenant Orion Shockley

  Obersturmführer Hans Siegel

  Lance Corporal Ken Tout

  Major Dick Turner

  Foreword

  D-Day and the Allied invasion of France is probably the best-known episode of the entire Second World War, certainly in the consciousness of most in the West. It has been the subject of countless books and television documentaries, as well as major movies and internationally successful television dramas. Each year, millions go on pilgrimage to Normandy to see the invasion beaches and the war cemeteries where so many of those who fought now lie. It is the scene where the Allies began their liberation of north-west Europe and where Nazi Germany finally lost its grip on the lands it had taken with such brilliance back in 1940.

  Paradoxically, it is the very popularity of the place and the subject, as well as the repeated retelling, that has prompted me to tackle the campaign in this new narrative history. Distortions have crept into the story, while a number of assumptions, accepted as fact, have also taken root when even cursory research suggests that, at best, the truth is more nuanced and, at worst, the supposition completely wrong. For too long, the subject has also been told largely at the higher level of command and from the perspective of those at the coal-face of battle; as John ‘JJ’ Witmeyer, a soldier in the US 79th Infantry Division, quite rightly pointed out, most young men like himself knew very little indeed about their enemy or what was go
ing on around them. Far less, on the other hand, has been told about the mechanics of war – the level that allows warring sides to operate and maintain their overall objectives – their strategy – and to fight at the tactical level in a way best suited to their war aims. This is the nuts and bolts of war: the ability to produce arms and weapons, to make technological advancements, the ability to supply millions of men in the field, or in the air or at sea. It is the economics and logistics of war, and while that might sound boring, it most certainly is not, not least because, ultimately, it is also, at its basic level, about human drama, just as generalship and fighting in a tank or a fighter plane is also about extraordinary human endeavour. What’s more, by understanding this operational level and reinserting it into the narrative, a quite different and more exciting picture emerges about what really happened in Normandy in the summer of 1944. A picture that deserves to be understood and accepted far more widely than is currently the case.

  Interestingly, over the past fifteen years or so a quiet revolution has been taking place in academic circles about the way in which we understand the Second World War. My own research and conclusions have been building upon this, and I believe it is vitally important that these academic shifts – possible only recently now that archives, primary sources and our ability to access them is so much greater – become more fully absorbed into the accepted narrative. My hope is that this book, a history not of D-Day but of the entire 77-day Normandy campaign, will help with that.

  For such a vast subject, this is, though, designed to be an overview. There is much to say, but inevitably there is also a lot of detail that it has not been possible to include. Rather, I have chosen to demonstrate the incredible drama of this brutal battle through the eyes of a handful of people from both sides and to concentrate on the primary events that occurred, alongside fresh analysis of why events unfolded in the way that they did.