D-Day: The Battle for Normandy

by Antony Beevor

  ‘It was a strange sight . . .’, Robert L. Bogart, Staff Sergeant, 1st Division, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘The other landing-craft . . .’, Vernon Scannell, Argument of Kings, London, 1987, p. 145

  p. 85 ‘started throwing up . . .’, Kenneth Romanski, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, NWWIIM-EC

  senior officer in Jeep, Ronald Seaborne, Royal Navy Forward Observer, 50th Division, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘to be a bloody . . .’, Stanley Christopherson diary

  ‘Floater, five thousand!’, Major Julius Neave, 13th/18th Hussars, diary, SWWEC T501

  p. 86 ‘Off Asnelles . . .’, 352nd Infanterie-Division, 6 June log, Bayeux Sector, FMS B-388

  ‘Fancy having . . .’, David Howarth, Dawn of D-Day, London, 1959, p. 185

  rocket bombardment of Cabourg, conversation M. R. D. Foot

  ‘missed the target entirely . . .’, Combat Team, 16th Infantry, NA II 407/427/5927 p. 87 ‘Well, Ike . . .’, PDDE 1588- 9

  7

  OMAHA

  p. 88 description of Omaha, V Corps, NA II 407/427/24235

  For Gerow and the planning of the Omaha operation see especially Adrian R. Lewis, Omaha Beach - A Flawed Victory, North Carolina, 2001

  p. 90 ‘the greatest firepower . . .’, Harry C. Butcher, Three Years with Eisenhower, London, 1946, p. 453

  ‘about whether the importance...’, LHCMA Liddell Hart 11/1944/7

  ‘It’s far too rough . . .’, Major General L. Scott-Bowden, SWWEC T2236

  DD tanks, 741st and 743rd Tank Battalions, NA II 407/427/24235; and Dean Rockwell, US Navy, NWWIIM-EC

  p. 91 ‘the Americans bungled ...’, LHCMA, Liddell Hart 11/1944/37

  for the debate on DD tanks, see Lewis, pp. 307-18

  ‘precision bombing’, ibid., pp. 184-90

  ‘The Air Corps might just . . .’, NAII 407/427/5927

  German gunnery practice, ADdC 6 W4

  p. 92 shelling of Vierville, Michel Hardelay, MdC TE 59

  ‘The invasion fleet was like . . .’, Obergefreiter Alfred Sturm, 9. Kp., II Battalion, 726th Infanterie-Regiment, 716th Infanterie-Division, MdC TE 805

  ‘stretching in front of our coast . . .’, Franz Gockel, MdC TE 500

  ‘heavybombardment . . .’, 352ndInfanterie-Division, 6 June log, FMS B-388

  352nd Artillerie-Regiment and 716th Artillerie-Regiment, see Niklas Zetterling, Normandy 1944, Winnipeg, 2000, pp. 277-9 and 297-9

  p. 93 Kraiss’s dispositions, for an excellent summary see Joseph Balkoski, Beyond the Beachhead, Mechanicsburg, Pa., 1999, pp. 73-8

  absence of fire from the beach, Sergeant HarryC.Bare, 116thInfantry, 29thDivision, NWWIIM-EC

  dead fish, Captain Joseph T. Dawson NA II 407/427/24011

  ‘bucking like . . .’, Edwin J. Best, First Lieutenant, 6th Engineer Special Brigade NWWIIM-EC

  ‘reeked of vomit’, John Raaen, 5th Ranger Battalion, WWII VS

  navigation difficulties, Robert E. Adams, US Coast Guard, LCVP #22, USS Samuel Chase, NWWIIM-EC

  p. 94 Royal Navy landing craft crews, I am grateful to Dr Kevan Elsby and Joseph Balkoski for information correcting the false impressions of earlier accounts.

  ‘Soon we became conscious . . .’, Lieutenant (MC) Alfred A. Schiller, USN, CWM/ MCG 58A

  ‘Make it look good, men . . .’, First Lieutenant Donald S. Newbury, NA II 407/427/ 24242

  experienced coxswains, E. Adams, US Coast Guard, LCVP #22., USS Samuel Chase, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘Astherampwentdown . . .’,Pozek, 116th Regiment, 29th Division, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘if you slipped . . .’, J. Robert Slaughter, 116th Infantry, 29th Division, MdC TE 231

  p. 95 ‘bullets were splashing . . .’, William Huch, E Company, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, Folder Huch, William, DDEL

  ‘had a gaping wound...’, Harold Baumgarten, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry, 29th Division, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘I’m hit! I’m hit!’, Private Elmer E. Matekintis, 16th Infantry, 1st Division, NA II 407/ 427/24242

  ‘as it hit the wet sand . . .’, Harry Parley, 2nd Battalion, 116th Infantry, 29th Division, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘He screamed for a medic...’, J. Robert Slaughter, 116th Infantry, 29th Division, MdC TE 231

  p. 96 ‘frontal and enfilade’, V Corps, NA II 407/427/24235

  ‘fifty or sixty feet . . .’, Staff Sergeant Robert L. Bogart, 1st Division, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘We went to work . . .’, William M. Jenkins, US Navy Reserve (Navy Combat Demolition Unit), MdC TE 438

  ‘I’ve never in all my life . . .’, William Huch, E Company, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, Folder Huch, William, DDEL

  p. 97 121st Combat Engineer Battalion, Lieutenant P. W. J. Mallory, NA II 407/ 427/24242

  ‘Some men were crying . . .’, Second Lieutenant John T. Czuba, 116th Infantry, NA II 407/427/24242

  ‘men were tumbling . . .’, Alan Anderson, 467th Anti-aircraft Battalion, NWWIIM-EC

  men trying to climb back on landing craft, Robert V. Miller, US Navy, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘Some of our boys said . . .’, 116th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division, NA II 407/427/ 24241

  ‘another miserable . . .’, Lieutenant Ed R. McNabb Jr, H Company, 116th Infantry, 29th Division, NA II 407/427/24242

  p. 98 ‘We talked to them . . .’, NA II 407/ 427/24034

  ‘yelled down at the troops . . .’,JohnRaaen, 5th Ranger Battalion, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘I saw a man coming . . .’, Captain C. N. Hall, Assistant Surgeon, 16th Infantry, 1st Division, NA II 407/427/24242

  p. 99 ‘started running . . .’, Andrew A. Fellner, 112th Combat Engineers, Easy Red, NWWIIM-EC

  tank on Fox Green, NA II 407/427/24034

  ‘What saved us were . . .’, Private Elmer E. Matekintis, 16th Infantry, 1st Division, NA II 407/427/24242

  ‘were crowded . . .’, V Corps, NA II 407/ 427/24235

  p. 100 111th Field Artillery Battalion, NA II 407/427/24034

  08.00 hours, timings taken from log kept by Major Thomas D. Howie, the RCT 116’s S-3, NA II 407/427/24151

  ‘He was catapulted . . .’, NA II 407/427/ 24034

  ‘Old Hatchetface . . .’, J. Robert Slaughter, 116th Infantry, 29th Division, MdC TE 231

  p. 101 ‘We’ve got to get off . . .’, Captain C. N. Hall, Assistant Surgeon, 16th Infantry, 1st Division, NA II 407/427/24242

  ‘The only people . . .’, after action report, Headquarters Company, 16th Infantry, NA II 407/427/24011; confirmed by Major General Albert H. Smith Jr, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘North-east of Colleville . . .’, Ia, 352nd Infanterie-Division to Chief of Staff LXXXIV Corps, 6 June log, FMS B-388

  ‘the gravest immediate threat...’, Gordon A. Harrison, US Army in World War II, Washington, DC, 1951, pp. 320 and 330- 31

  p. 102 ‘from warships on the high seas . . .’, 11.10 hours, 352nd Infantry Division, 6 June log, Bayeux Sector, FMS B-388

  ‘Praise the Lord’, Pfc Harold F. Plank, 2nd Ranger Battalion, WWII VS p. 103 08.19 hours, telephone log, 352nd Infanterie-Division, FMS B-388

  ‘Medico! . . .’, NA II 407/427/24034

  Cota and Canham, NA II 407/427/24235

  p. 104 mortars, Franz Gockel, MdC TE 500, and NA II 407/427/24034

  ‘Boats and vehicles . . .’, V Corps, NA II 407/427/24235

  C Company, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry, NA II 407/427/24034

  C Company losses, Captain Berthie B. Hawks, C Company, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry, 29th Division, NA II 407/427/ 24242

  p. 105 ‘everyone got ashore safely’, NA II 407/427/24034

  ‘enemy fire was not as bad . . .’, Second Lieutenant George Athanasakos, 2nd Battalion, 116thInfantry, NA II 407/427/24242

  ‘he spouted . . .’, NA II 407/427/24034

  ‘It was just one big mass . . .’, NA II 407/ 427/24241

  ‘They looked like . . .’, NA II 07/427/ 24034

  ‘a stampeded herd . . .’, quoted in Harrison, p. 334

&nbs
p; p. 106 ‘They lit the fuse . . .’, Barnett Hoffner. 6th Engineer Special Brigade, NWWIIM-EC

  destroyers at Omaha, Harrison, p. 322

  ‘the survivors . . .’, Obergefreiter Alfred Sturm, 9. Kp., II Battalion, 726 Inf Rgt, 716 ID, MdC TE 805

  ‘There was a German . . .’, Bradley Holbrook, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘We came across . . .’, Pfc. Charles M. Bulap, 2nd Ranger Battalion, NA II 407/ 427/24241

  p. 107 signaller, John Raaen, 5th Ranger Battalion, WWII VS

  ranger helped up by prisoners, Nicholas Butrico, 5th Ranger Battalion, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘Things look better’, NA II 407/427/ 24235

  ‘struck by the gray . . .’, Gale B. Beccue, 5th Ranger Battalion, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘His helmet was off . . .’, Brugger, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, NWWIIM-EC

  p. 108 ‘who was calmly . . .’, NA II 407/ 427/24034

  ‘individually they were . . .’, NA II 407/ 427/24034

  ‘Those jagged sharp bones . . .’, Herbert Zafft, 29th Infantry Division, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘As I drew near him . . .’, Colin H. Mc-Laurin, 115th Infantry, 29th Division, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘Smoke, dust from . . .’, NA II 407/427/ 24034

  French civilians in Vierville, Howie journal, NA II 407/427/24151

  p. 109 Cota and Vierville exit, NA II 407/ 427/24034

  landed 18,772 men, NA II 407/427/24235

  p. 110 ‘wounded can no longer . . .’, telephone log, 352. I.D., 17.10 hours, FMS B-388

  identifying the presence of the 352nd Infanterie-Division, letter from Captain Fred Gercke, 27 June, NA II 407/427/24011

  smell of burnt flesh, Roy Arnn, 146th Combat Engineer Battalion attached to 1st Infantry Division, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘I saw one young soldier . . .’, Captain Benjamin A. Payson, 60th Medical Battalion, MdC TE 291

  p. 111 treatment on Omaha, Lieutenant (MC) Alfred A. Schiller, USN, CWM/ MCG 58A

  ‘What am I going to do? . . .’, Frank Feduik, pharmacist on LST, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘left alone to whatever . . .’, Vincent J. del Giudice, pharmacist, USS Bayfield, NWWIIM-EC

  p. 112 Gerow landing, NA II 407/427/ 24235

  29th Infantry Division command post, NA II 407/427/24034

  ‘assumed that everyone . . .’, Forrest C. Pogue, Pogue’s War, Lexington, Kentucky, 2001, p. 83

  Casualty figures, see Harrison, p. 330; and NA II 407/427/5919

  ‘He knew better . . .’, George Roach, Company A, 116th Infantry, 29th Division, NWWIIM-EC

  Bedford casualties, see James W. Morrison, Bedford Goes to War: The Heroic Story of a Small Virginia Community in World War II, Lynchburg, Va., 2006; and George D. Salaita, ‘Embellishing Omaha Beach’, Journal of Military History, April 2008, pp. 531-4

  p. 113 German losses on the eastern front and in Normandy, Niklas Zetterling, Normandy 1944, Winnipeg, 2000, p. 434

  8

  UTAH AND THE AIRBORNE

  p. 114 German soldiers and American containers, Rainer Hartmetz, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘The war game has . . .’, Generalleutnant Karl-Wilhelm Graf von Schlieben, 709th Infanterie-Division, FMS B-845

  p. 115 ‘American prisoners with . . .’, Montebourg, Fernand Louvoy, MdC TE 38

  ‘A soldier had his leg . . .’, Brigadier General David E. Thomas, NWWIIM-EC

  p. 116 Château de Hauteville, Briand N. Beaudin, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, NWWIIM-EC

  discovery of ford, NA II 407/427/ 24206

  p. 118 ‘odd-shaped sea-monsters . . .’, Howard van der Beek, USS LCC 60a, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘met General Roosevelt . . .’, NA II 407/ 427/24204

  ‘more like guerrilla fighting’, NA II 407/ 427/24242

  ‘Captain, how in the hell...’, Folder Birra, Alfred F., DDEL

  p. 119 ‘walked their fire . . .’, NA II 407/ 427/24240

  ‘they could not be trusted’, John Capell, 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘duringthebriefings . . .’,NA II 407/427/ 24242

  Le Molay, Danièle Höfler, MdC, TE 71

  patrols over south-western approaches, R. L. Delashaw, 405th Fighter Group, USAAC, NWWIIM-EC

  p. 120 ‘Achtung! Minen!’, John L. Ahearn, 70th Tank Battalion, NWWIIM-EC

  20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division, Staff Sergeant Alfred Donald Allred, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘French people, of course . . .’, William E. Jones, 4th Infantry Division, NWWIIM-EC

  p. 121 ‘came across a little . . .’, Captain Carroll W. Wright, 33rd Chemical Company, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘a German soldier lying dead . . .’, John A. Beck, 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion with 4th Infantry Division, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘We had to kill most . . .’, Lieutenant John A. Le Trent, 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, NA II 407/427/24242

  p. 122 ‘There isn’t much left . . .’, R. R. Hughart, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, NWWIIM-EC

  325th Glider Infantry Regiment, NA II 407/427/24206

  p. 123 ‘They look as though they’re from Sing Sing’, Heinz Puschmann, 6th Paratroop Regiment, private account

  ‘as if it were a movie . . .’, Jean Roger, Saint-Lô, MdC TE 316

  ‘Windows and doors . . .’, MdC TE 285 p. 124 escape into the countryside, Michèle Chapron, MdC TE 278

  9

  GOLD AND JUNO

  p. 125 ‘Is this the landing?’, André Heintz diary, MdC TE 32 (1-4)

  ‘Do you think . . .’, MdC TE 149

  ‘Yes, it is indeed . . .’, Marianne Daure, MdC TE 48

  p. 126 boulangeries in Caen, Marcel Ehly, MdC TE 11

  Germans ‘requisitioning’ alcohol, Madeleine Betts-Quintaine, MdC TE 25

  ‘They’re landing! . . .’, Marianne Daure, MdC TE 48

  evacuation orders, Nadine Speck, MdC TE 2

  ‘Continual telephone calls . . .’, Generalleutnant Speidel, FMS B-718

  p. 127 Blumentritt’s calls, FMS B-284

  p. 128 ‘Once you stop on the beach . . .’, Major George Young, Green Howards, SWWEC T2452

  p. 129 ‘a sort of aquatic turnpike . . .’, Clifford H. Sinnett, USNR, LST 530, NWWIIM-EC

  p. 130 ‘Never in my wildest dreams . . .’, Stanley Christopherson diary

  p. 131 Keller, Mark Zuehlke, Juno Beach, Toronto, 2005, pp. 31-2

  ‘Operation Overboard’, ibid., p. 84; and Papers of Frank A. Osmanski, G-4 SHAEF, USAMHI

  HMS Belfast, Tony Hugill diary, CAC HUGL 1

  Canadian vessels in Overlord, NA II 407/ 427/24200

  p. 132 ‘Nearly every foot . . .’, NA II 407/ 427/24200; and Terry Copp, Fields of Fire, Toronto, 2003, p. 48

  Fort Garry Horse tanks, Sergeant Bill Hudson, A Troop, 48 Royal Marine Commando, MdC TE 84; and Zuehlke, p. 202

  Bernières-sur-Mer, NA II 407/427/ 24200; Zuehlke, p. 219; and Copp, p. 52

  p. 133 ‘But what do you expect? . . .’, Louise Hamelin, MdC TE 222

  ‘I don’t want to see . . .’, J. Kyle, SWWEC T1094

  p. 135 ‘At Carpiquet . . .’, Ultra intercept passed by ‘C’ to Churchill on 11 June, Luftflotte 3, TNA HW 1/2927

  10

  SWORD

  p. 136 ‘Widgeon and teal . . .’, Tony Hugill diary, CAC HUGL 1

  ‘Floater, 5,000!’, Major Julius Neave, 13th/18th Hussars, SWWEC T501

  p. 137 ‘Some were scared . . .’, N. G. Marshall, H Troop Armoured Support Group with 41st RM Commando, SWWEC 2000.407

  ‘like a Napoleonic dragoon’, Lieutenant Ken Baxter, 2nd Battalion Middlesex Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, MdC TE 164

  John and Jacqueline Thornton, NWWIIM-EC

  ‘Every now and then . . .’, Tony Hugill diary, CAC HUGL 1

  p. 138 ‘Well, dig yourself . . .’, Lieutenant Cyril Rand, 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles, MdC TE 499

  ‘with misjudged enthusiasm’ and ‘he relented a little’, Lionel Roebuck, 2nd Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, MdCTE 199

  Pip
er Bill Millin piping on the beach, SWWEC T654/666 and K. G. Oakley, IWM 96/22/1

  p. 139 ‘Right, Piper . . .’, Piper Bill Millin, SWWEC T654/666

  3 Troop of 6 Commando, TNA DEFE 2/43; and Philip Biggerton Pritchard, Soldiering in the British Forces in World War II, privately published, undated

  X Troop, Harry Nomburg, NWWIIM-EC, and Peter Masters, NWWIIM-EC

  Kieffer, MdC TE 131

  p. 140 ‘Gentlemen, this is the invasion . . .’, letter from Otto Günsche, 2 October 1981, quoted in Hubert Meyer, The 12th SS, Vol. I, Mechanicsburg, Pa., 2005, p. 97

  ‘a tall wiry . . .’, Milton Shulman, Defeat in the West, London, 1988, pp. 118-19

  p. 141 Château de Bénouville, Louise Moulin, MdC TE 350

  Oppeln-Bronikowski’s change of orders, Generalmajor Wilhelm Richter, 716th Infantry Division, FMS B-621

  Marcks, Seventh Army telephone records captured in August by 1st Polish Armored Division, NA II 407/427/6431

  ‘in no position to judge’ and ‘The main landing ...’, Generalleutnant Bodo Zimmermann, OB West, FMS B-308

  p. 142 ‘fill a crater . . .’, NA II 407/427/ 24170

  p. 143 ‘deep concrete pillboxes . . .’, ‘fought with determination . . .’ and ‘blown out of their emplacements . . .’, Current Reports from Overseas, No. 56, NA II 407/427/ 24170

  p. 144 André Heintz, diary, MdC, TE 32 (1- 4); and Dr Robert Chaperon, MdC TE 42

  p. 145 destruction in Caen, MdC TE 283

  ‘One could see . . .’, Félix Drougard, MdC TE 3

  ‘If only I was a little less fat’, MdC TE 149

  looter, MdC TE 149 p. 146 Défense Passive etc., MdC TE 193

  ‘magnificent attitude . . .’, SIPEG (Service interministériel de protection contres les évènements de guerre) report of 10 June, AN AJ/41/56

  executions in Caen prison, Jean-Baptiste Pierre (Surveillant-Chef Adjoint de la Maison d’Arrêt de Caen), MdC TE 521

  ‘Oh, no! . . .’, ‘pale and evidently terrified’ and ‘The German army is honest’, Madame Blanche Néel, MdC TE 201

  p. 147 ‘With a bestial frenzy . . .’, Nadine Speck MdC TE 2

  ‘useless as well as criminal’, Max Maurin, MdC TE 77 (2)

  800 deaths in Caen, 600 on 6 June and 200 on 7 June, CRHQ

  ‘The town is in flames . . .’, ‘almost destroyed’ and ‘all the gendarmes . . .’, SIPEG report of 10 June, AN AJ/41/56