Normandy '44
Page 73
1 ‘This time, no more …’: Robert Leblanc, Journal du Maquis, ed. Alain Corblin, 5/6/1944
2 ‘I make the most of the minutes …’: ibid, 5/6/1944
3 ‘Two minutes from cast-off …’: cited in John Howard and Penny Bates, The Pegasus Diaries, p. 117
4 ‘Probably the only thing …’: Denis Edwards, IWM 23207
5 ‘Relief, exhilaration …’: Denis Edwards, The Devil’s Own Luck, p. 43
6 ‘Are you scared?’: Bert Stiles, Serenade to the Big Bird, p. 5
7 ‘Maybe this is D-Day …’: ibid, p. 79
8 ‘D-Day. Honest to God.’: ibid, p. 80
9 ‘Hello Four Dog …’: Howard and Bates, p. 123
10 ‘Fate had led me …’: Richard Todd, Caught in the Act, p. 143
11 ‘Gentlemen, in spite of your excellent …’: cited in Winston G. Ramsay (ed.), D-Day Then and Now, Vol. I, p. 238
12 ‘All units are …’: Hans von Luck, Panzer Commander, p. 172
13 ‘Though I had been …’: Dick Winters, Beyond Band of Brothers, p. 81
14 ‘The regiment is …’: Friedrich Freiherr von der Heydte A German Parachute Regiment in Normandy, p. 4, B-839, USAHC
15 ‘It burned very nicely …’: Edwards, The Devil’s Own Luck, p. 45
16 ‘No mistake …’: Leblanc Diary, 5/6/1944
17 ‘Nobody is killed …’: ibid
18 ‘Highest Alarm Status …’: Franz Gockel, La Porte de l’Enfer, p. 79; cited in Vince Milano and Bruce Conner, Normandiefront, p. 71
19 ‘In our lightweight uniforms …’: Gockel, p. 80
20 ‘Thousands of ships …’: cited in Milano and Conner, p. 72
10 D-Day: Dawn
1 ‘They immediately made me …’: John Raaen, NWWIIM
2 ‘We trained hard …’: ibid
3 ‘The Allies are landing!’: Geneviève Dubosq, Dans la nuit du débarquement, p. 73
4 ‘Venez ici …’: ibid, p. 79
5 ‘Suddenly, I am …’: ibid, p. 88
6 ‘We are extremely …’: ibid, p. 99
7 ‘Here comes a car …’: Malcolm Brannen, CRAOU
8 ‘Don’t kill …’: ibid
9 ‘So I shot …’: ibid
10 ‘We saw the red …’: Ken Handley Diary, 6/6/1944, IWM 3198
11 ‘successful’: TNA AIR 27/1926
12 ‘Coming in over base …’: Ken Handley Diary, 6/6/1944
13 ‘It was one of the most …’: Francis Gabreski, Gabby: A Fighter Pilot’s Life, p. 159
14 ‘We got flak …’: Archie Maltbie, NWWIIM
15 ‘I’m not ashamed to say …’: cited in Vince Milano and Bruce Conner, Normandiefront, p. 74
16 ‘It was only the beginning …’: Franz Gockel, La Porte de l’Enfer, p. 82
17 ‘The earth trembled …’: ibid, p. 83
11 D-Day: The American Landings
1 ‘What a stupendous sight …’: Latham B. Jenson, Tin Hats, Oilskins & Seaboots, p. 224
2 ‘The invasion has now …’: Chester B. Hansen Diary, 6/6/1944
3 ‘Attention on deck!’: John Raaen, Intact, p. 5
4 ‘So we agreed …’: Walter Halloran, author interview
5 ‘On the ship going to North Africa …’: cited in Marvin Jensen, Strike Swiftly!, p. 22
6 ‘They really saturated …’: ibid, p. 135
7 ‘nice and easy’: ibid
8 ‘A rolling pin …’: Franz Gockel, La Porte de l’Enfer, p. 83
9 ‘We’ll start the war …’: cited in Antony Beevor, D-Day, p. 118
10 ‘He was nearly dead …’: cited in Jenson, p. 140
11 ‘Fire, Wegner, fire!’: cited in Vince Milano and Bruce Conner, Normandiefront, p. 78
12 ‘Now was not the time …’: cited in ibid, p. 79
13 ‘Here, we were facing …’: Gockel, p. 87
14 ‘If you stopped …’: Walter Halloran, author interview
15 ‘There’s five soldiers …’: ibid
16 ‘I don’t understand …’: Hansen Diary, 6/6/1944
17 ‘After H-Hour …’: John Raaen, NWWIIM
18 ‘They crossed the beach …’: Maryland Military History Society Archives, Company B, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry, mdmhs.org/29div/interviews
19 ‘The enlisted men …’: ibid
20 ‘When I pulled back the bolt …’ Karl Wegner, cited in Milano and Conner, p. 84
21 ‘We expected A and B …’: John Robert Slaughter, Omaha Beach and Beyond, p. 108
22 ‘It was demoralizing …’: ibid, p. 109
23 ‘Slaughter, are we going …’: ibid, p. 110
24 ‘The scene was one from hell …’: Raaen, Intact, p. 39
25 ‘Headquarters! Over here!’: ibid, p. 40
12 D-Day: The British and Canadian Landings
1 ‘Any minute now …’: Latham B. Jenson, Tin Hats, Oilskins & Seaboots, p. 225
2 ‘Ten boats stretched …’: Charles Cromwell Martin, Battle Diary, p. 5
3 ‘I was struck speechless …’: cited in Holger Eckhertz, D-Day Through German Eyes, p. 70
4 ‘Are we sorry …’: ibid, p. 71
5 ‘Our MG was running very hot …’: ibid, p. 76
6 ‘Come on, be quick …’: ibid, p. 78
7 ‘I began to understand …’: ibid
8 ‘I looked into the MG room …’: ibid, p. 80
9 ‘He certainly appeared …’: Stanley Christopherson Diary, 6/6/1944
10 ‘Move! Fast! …’: Martin, p. 6
11 ‘It was a great gun …’: Bob Roberts, author interview
12 ‘Right out in the country …’: ibid
13 ‘Because you didn’t know what …’: ibid
14 ‘When the explosions began …’: cited in Eckhertz, p. 100
15 ‘However great the pressure …’: ibid
16 ‘There was nothing …’: Bob Roberts, author interview
17 ‘All I could see …’: ibid
18 ‘They thought it was …’: ibid
19 ‘Come on, let’s …’: ibid
20 ‘They screamed as they …’: Eckhertz, p. 105
21 ‘I saw that his legs …’: ibid, p. 108
22 ‘Up at 5.00 hours …’: Revd. Leslie Skinner, The Man Who Worked on Sundays, 6/6/1944
23 ‘Chaos ashore …’: ibid
24 ‘sneaking desire’: Stanley Christopherson Diary, 6/6/1944
25 ‘It was terrific …’: Arthur Blizzard, IWM 17979
26 ‘Jerry was machine-gunning …’: ibid
27 ‘The most difficult challenge …’: Hubert Fauré Oral History, MdC
28 ‘The shock was so strong …’: ibid
13 D-Day: The Turning of the Battle
1 ‘I’m sorry, Lieutenant …’: Dick Winters, Beyond Band of Brothers, p. 85
2 ‘Move, for Christ’s sake …’: ibid, p. 86
3 ‘This entire engagement …’: ibid
4 ‘No make me dead!’: ibid, p. 88
5 ‘Perhaps the Germans were short …’: ibid
6 ‘I took a final look …’: ibid, p. 89
7 ‘I was thirsty as hell …’: ibid, p. 91
8 ‘Everything is in his favour …’: General Miles Dempsey, Ronald Lewin Papers, CCL
9 ‘So the enemy invasion …’: cited in David Irving, The Trail of the Fox, p. 335
10 ‘Normandy! Normandy! …’: cited in Daniel Allen Butler, Field Marshal, p. 480
11 ‘With every casualty …’: Franz Gockel, La Porte de l’Enfer, p. 90
12 ‘Hey, Captain, look …’: John Raaen, NWWIIM
13 ‘What’s the situation …’: ibid
14 ‘Our attitude was …’: ibid
15 ‘Absolutely none …’: ibid
16 ‘You could see bullets …’: Tom Bowles, author interview
17 ‘You could see the shells …’: Henry D. Bowles, author interview
18 ‘I am not ready …’: Frank Wright, IWM 23819
19 ‘It was not altogether pleasant …’: Stanley Christopherson
Diary, 6/6/1944
20 ‘I had a feeling …’: cited in Holger Eckhertz, D-Day Through German Eyes, p. 110
21 ‘Our gunners in their enthusiasm …’: ibid, p. 111
22 ‘I looked back …’: ibid, p. 114
23 ‘He missed the gunner …’: Hubert Fauré Oral History, MdC
24 ‘Kieffer was not …’: ibid
25 ‘Some of our battle positions …’: Fritz Ziegelmann, B-432, USAHC
14 D-Day: Foothold
1 ‘In training I placed …’: cited in P. A. Spayd, Bayerlein, p. 156
2 ‘The nights were very short …’: Fritz Bayerlein, ETHINT 66-ML-1079, USAHC
3 ‘Too late, much too late!’: Hans von Luck, Panzer Commander, p. 178
4 ‘That is not too healthy …’: Denis Edwards, The Devil’s Own Luck, p. 51
5 ‘So to add to our …’: Richard Todd, Caught in the Act, p. 177
6 ‘You English in the church …’: Edwards, p. 53
7 ‘It’s them! …’: ibid, p. 54
8 ‘He was just sat …’: Tom Bowles, author interview
9 ‘Apparently, the situation …’: Chester B. Hansen Diary, 6/6/1944
10 ‘There was continual …’: ibid
11 ‘Bradley shows no sign …’: ibid
12 ‘We all crouched …’: cited in Vince Milano and Bruce Conner, Normandiefront, p. 99
13 ‘After a long time …’: ibid, p. 114
14 ‘The CO, Oberst Meyer …’: Telephone Diary of the 352nd Infantry Division (Coastal Defense Section Bayeux), USAHC (provided by Fritz Ziegelmann)
15 ‘Never in my wildest …’: Stanley Christopherson Diary, 6/6/1944
16 ‘Shot her right between the eyes …’: Bob Roberts, author interview
17 ‘We followed the fields …’: Charles Cromwell Martin, Battle Diary, p. 14
18 ‘I nearly got kaput over it …’: Arthur Blizzard, IWM 17979
19 ‘What we really wanted …’: ibid
20 ‘They really schlacked …’: Mark J. Alexander and John Sparry, Jump Commander, p. 192
21 ‘I have never seen …’: Geneviève Dubosq, Dans la nuit du débarquement, p. 116
22 ‘Mama uses boiled water …’: ibid, p. 120
23 ‘The time had come! …’: Kurt Meyer, Grenadiers, p. 216
24 ‘I have breathed …’: Kurt Meyer, TNA WO 208/4177
25 ‘We knew what was in front …’: Meyer, Grenadiers, p. 216
26 ‘They were imbued …’: ibid, p. 214
27 ‘Then all hell broke loose …’: von Luck, p. 179
28 ‘For us wounded …’: Franz Gockel, La Porte de l’Enfer, p. 97
29 ‘Even in these …’: ibid, p. 104
30 ‘It looked as though …’: Karl Wegner, cited in Milano and Conner, p. 107
31 ‘I let fly …’: Wolfgang Fischer, Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot, p. 137
32 ‘Charlie, it’s such a sad day …’: Martin, p. 16
15 Bridgehead
1 ‘All looked orderly …’: Richard E. Turner, Mustang Pilot, p. 85
2 ‘They’ve increased …’: Truman Smith, The Wrong Stuff, p. 166
3 ‘So all the negatives …’: Joseph J. Boylan, Goon’s Up, p. 231
4 ‘One could hardly …’: ibid, p. 232
5 ‘Not too bad …’: ibid
6 ‘A soldier was lying …’: Kurt Meyer, Grenadiers, p. 216
7 ‘Where was our Luftwaffe …’: ibid, p. 220
8 ‘The whole expanse …’: ibid, p. 222
9 ‘Decision made in view of …’: Chester B. Hansen Diary, 7/6/1944
10 ‘Unless the wind drops …’: TNA WO 285/9
11 ‘It is sometimes difficult …’: TNA AIR 37/772
12 ‘On June 7 …’: Mark J. Alexander and John Sparry, Jump Commander, p. 193
13 ‘I am astonished …’: Geneviève Dubosq, Dans la nuit du débarquement, p. 147
14 ‘Here I am …’: ibid, p. 176
15 ‘Winters, I hate …’: Dick Winters, Beyond Band of Brothers, p. 97
16 ‘Combat in Normandy …’: ibid, p. 98
17 ‘We can also hear …’: Martin Pöppel, Heaven and Hell, p. 179
18 ‘The night of D-Day …’: John Raaen, NWWIIM
19 ‘They were far better …’: cited in Vince Milano and Bruce Conner, Normandiefront, p. 135
20 ‘We had practically …’: Raaen, NWWIIM
21 ‘That was a bad day …’: Arthur Blizzard, IWM 17979
22 ‘drive the enemy who had …’: Hubert Meyer, The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division, Vol. I, p. 134
23 ‘One could no longer …’: Kurt Meyer, p. 224
24 ‘We quickly turned back …’: cited in Hubert Meyer, Vol. I, p. 147
16 Fighter-Bomber Racecourse
1 ‘Any questions?’: Frank Wright, IWM 23819
2 ‘Our target …’: ibid
3 ‘I must be dreaming …’: ibid
4 ‘White faced, hands held high …’: ibid
5 ‘I’m going to die here …’: ibid
6 ‘And we were over …’: ibid
7 ‘What would be …’: Carol Mather, When the Grass Stops Growing, p. 255
8 ‘There was the acrid …’: ibid, p. 257
9 ‘Submerged tanks and …’: Ernie Pyle, Brave Men, p. 360
10 ‘a shore-line museum …’: ibid, p. 366
11 ‘On the beach lay …’: ibid, p. 367
12 ‘They didn’t need to …’: ibid, p. 369
13 ‘Willi and I …’: cited in Vince Milano and Bruce Conner, Normandiefront, p. 145
14 ‘Wegner, the Amis …’: ibid
15 ‘And we took Pointe du Hoc …’: John Raaen, NWWIIM
16 ‘We were given …’: Stanley Christopherson Diary, 7/6/1944
17 ‘The main road …’: cited in P. A. Spayd, Bayerlein, p. 157
18 ‘The section between …’: cited in Paul Carrell, Invasion! They’re Coming!, p. 113
19 ‘These are serious losses …’: cited in Spayd, p. 159
20 ‘We knew it would be difficult …’: Helmut Ritgen, The Western Front, 1944, p. 57
21 ‘Are you going to be …’: Tom and Henry Bowles, author interview
17 Linking Up
1 ‘They were AT&T’s best …’: General Elwood Richard ‘Pete’ Quesada, interview 3, AFHRA
2 ‘Headquarters IX Tactical …’: cited in Thomas Hughes, Over Lord, p. 144
3 ‘I wanted all to be sunk …’: Robert W. Love, Jr. and John Major (eds), The Year of D-Day: The 1944 Diary of Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay RN, 8/6/1944
4 ‘Just a day …’: ibid, 9/6/1944
5 ‘The method of scuttling …’: Ambrose Lampen, Naval Reminiscences, LHCMA VII/7
6 ‘I saw the whole thing …’: ibid, VII/9
7 ‘I knew immediately …’: ibid
8 ‘So I made up …’: John Raaen, NWWIIM
9 ‘One minute they were …’: John Robert Slaughter, Omaha Beach and Beyond, p. 127
10 ‘If they would only fight …’: cited in Vince Milano and Bruce Conner, Normandiefront, p. 155
11 ‘Even though we fell back …’: ibid, p. 147
12 ‘But always we asked …’: ibid, p. 148
13 ‘Point 103 became …’: Stanley Christopherson Diary, 9/6/1944
14 ‘Mike’s stammer …’: ibid
15 ‘I was glad I didn’t have …’: Mark J. Alexander and John Sparry, Jump Commander, p. 197
16 ‘Ship after ship …’: Martin Pöppel, Heaven and Hell, p. 184
17 ‘It’s easy to imagine …’: ibid, p. 202
18 ‘These shortcomings …’: Dick Winters, Beyond Band of Brothers, p. 102
19 ‘All told, it was a rough …’: ibid, p. 102
20 ‘Move out! …’: ibid, p. 104
21 ‘June 11 I shall long …’: Stanley Christopherson Diary, 11/6/1944
22 ‘He judged the terrain …’: Helmut Ritgen, The Western Front, 1944, p. 60
23 ‘He temporarily …
’: ibid, p. 60
18 The Constraints of Wealth and the Freedom of Poverty
1 ‘Besides, my squadron-mates …’: Richard E. Turner, Mustang Pilot, p. 86
2 ‘I hit him just …’: ibid, p. 87
3 ‘And with my bonus …’: ibid, p. 88
4 ‘Our attacks on …’: Lewis H. Brereton, The Brereton Diaries, 13/6/1944
5 ‘These buzz bombs …’: Mary Morris, 13/6/1944, IWM 4850
6 ‘beautiful but rather frightening’: ibid, 5/6/1944
7 ‘Tremendous buzz of excitement …’: ibid, 6/6/1944
8 ‘This new form of attack …’: WSC, Vol. VI, p. 35
9 ‘They say you have …’: Harry C. Butcher, Three Years with Eisenhower, 16/6/1944
10 ‘The Air Ministry estimates …’: Brereton, 14/6/1944
11 ‘Last night Ike was concerned …’: Butcher, 15/6/1944
12 ‘It was mainly little …’: Tom Bowles, author interview
13 ‘At “stand to” …’: Denis Edwards, The Devil’s Own Luck, p. 77
14 ‘Then began …’: Hans von Luck, Panzer Commander, p. 187
15 ‘A veritable inferno …’: ibid
16 ‘There were only his eyes …’: Hubert Fauré Oral History, MdC
17 ‘What more could we set …’: von Luck, p. 187
18 ‘We now finally …’: ibid
19 ‘A concerted blow …’: TNA WO 285/9
20 ‘The chain of command …’: Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg, B-466, USAHC
21 ‘In the past twenty-four hours …’: TNA WO 285/8
22 ‘Caen is the key to Cherbourg’: cited in Chester B. Hansen Diary, 17/6/1944
19 Behind the Lines
1 ‘The butcheries were …’: Friedrich Ruge, Rommel in Normandy, p. 183
2 ‘I’ve already briefed …’: cited in David Irving, The Trail of the Fox, p. 350
3 ‘June 13 was about …’: Dick Winters, Beyond Band of Brothers, p. 108
4 ‘The division was bled white …’: Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg, B-466, USAHC
5 ‘As soon as we reached …’: Willi Müller, Vom Pionier-Bataillon in der Normandie zum Panzerjagdkommando in Sachsen, p. 74
6 ‘It is not a good time …’: cited in Alistair Horne, The Lonely Leader, p. 154
7 ‘What is there then …?’: WSC, Vol. VI, p. 11
8 ‘I am hopeful …’: Francis L. Loewenheim et al. (eds), Roosevelt and Churchill: Their Secret Wartime Correspondence, No. 544, p. 501