At 1600 hrs on June 6, 1944, a Horsa glider ground to a halt a mere 60 yards from the Orne Canal bridge at Benouville in Normandy. A small group of British paratroopers burst from it and stormed the bridge within minutes. The Allied liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe had begun. Within a few hours landing craft would swarm towards Ouistreham as British 3rd Division stormed ashore at Sword Beach. The battle would then begin to break through to relieve the paratroopers. Ken Ford details the assault by British 6th Airborne Division and the British landings on Sword Beach that secured the vital left flank of the invasion.At 1600 hrs on June 6, 1944, a Horsa glider ground to a halt a mere 60 yards from the Orne Canal bridge at Benouville in Normandy. A small group of British paratroopers burst from it and stormed the bridge within minutes. The Allied liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe had begun. Within a few hours, landing craft would swarm towards Ouistreham as British 3rd Division stormed ashore at Sword Beach. The battle would then begin to break through to relieve the paratroopers. Ken Ford details the assault by British 6th Airborne Division and the British landings on Sword Beach that secured the vital left flank of the invasion.On the eastern most flank of the Allied landings in Normandy was Sword Beach, the responsibility of British 3rd Division. Their objectives for D-Day were to seize Ouistreham and Lion-sur-Mer, and to drive inland taking Hermanville, Perriers Ridge, and in co-operation with the Canadians landing on Juno, capture their ultimate goal: the town of Caen. In addition, they were to link up with the British Airborne forces who were to secure the eastern flank of the beachhead. The leading waves landed at 7:30 a.m. and managed to get off the beach without heavy German resistance. By mid-morning, Hermanville had been captured but severe congestion on the beach was delaying those troops supposed to be exploiting the landing inland. This allowed the defending German forces, particularly the 21st Panzer Division, valuable time to react to the landings. Stiff German resistance and counter-attacks prevented Caen being taken on the first day and much blood would be shed before it finally fell. 1st Special Service Brigade landed in the Ouistreham area and moved inland to link up with the British Airborne forces. These had been assigned the tasks of securing the area west of the River Dives, destroying a number of bridges over the river and in particular capturing the bridges over the Orne River and the Caen-Ouistreham canal. First to land were the glider-borne infantry of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light infantry commanded by Major John Howard. They successfully seized the canal bridge at Benouville, which has been known since as Pegasus Bridge. The other landings were plagued by high winds with some paratroopers drowning in the river Dives, but five vital bridges were destroyed and in one of the most heroic actions of the landings the Merville battery was stormed and put out of action.

D-Day 1944: Sword Beach & the British Airborne Landings (Praeger Illustrated Military History)

History

Ford, Ken

Military

Praeger Pub Text

Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, was the greatest sea-borne military operation in history. At the heart of the invasion and key to its success were the landings of British 50th Division on Gold Beach and Canadian 3rd Division on Juno Beach. Not only did they provide the vital link between the landings of British 3rd Division on Sword Beach and the Americans to the west on Omaha, they would be crucial to the securing of the beachhead and the drive inland to Bayeux and Caen. In the fourth D-Day volume, Ken Ford details the assault that began the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe.Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, was the greatest sea-borne military operation in history. At the heart of the invasion and key to its success were the landings of British 50th Division on Gold Beach and Canadian 3rd Division on Juno Beach. Not only did they provide the vital link between the landings of British 3rd Division on Sword Beach and the Americans to the west on Omaha, they would be crucial to the securing of the beachhead and the drive inland to Bayeux and Caen. In the fourth D-Day volume Ken Ford details the assault that began the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe.The Beaches codenamed Gold and Juno constituted the western section of the British sector of the landings. Although in the British sector the forces landing on Juno were actually the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. Gold was to be assaulted by the British 50th infantry division. Both these forces were supported by specialized armored vehicles to help overcome the German defenses, and by Commando units. The D-Day objectives for the troops landing on these two beaches included the capture of the town of Arromanches, which was to be the site of the Mulberry artificial harbor for the British beachhead. They were also tasked with the capture of the town of Bayeux and securing the coast road between Bayeux and Caen. British 50th Division supported by 8th Armored Brigade successfully fought their way off the beach and overcame the German strongpoints at Le Hamel and La Riviere. 47 Commando made an unsuccessful attempt to capture Port en Bessin and link up with the Americans on Omaha. The Canadians on Juno meanwhile had a tougher time getting ashore due to heavy seas and underwater obstacles. Once on the beach however they silenced the German strongpoint at St. Aubin and pushed inland towards Caen. They were halted by the counter-attack of General Edgar Feuchtingers battle group, the 21st Panzer Division. This drove into the gap between Juno and Sword beaches, stalling the allied timetable and preventing the capture of Caen. It could not, however, prevent the linking of Gold, Juno, and Sword on June 7, securing the British beachhead. The breakout could now begin.

D-Day 1944: Gold & Juno Beaches (Praeger Illustrated Military History)

The battle for the Rhineland was brutal in the extreme. Eisenhower's broad front policy called for the whole of the Rhineland to be taken before pushing his troops across the Rhine and into Germany itself. The Germans opened the Roer dams in a vain bid to temper this massive Allied offensive, and this called for a drastic change in tactics. The ensuing battle was characterized by amphibious assaults on the fortified villages of the flooded Rhine lowlands, frontal assaults on the vaunted Siegfried Line and grim fighting for the Reichswald Forest. It was to be the last great killing ground in the west.
The battle for the Rhineland was brutal in the extreme. Eisenhower's broad front policy called for the whole of the Rhineland to be taken before pushing his troops across the Rhine and into Germany itself. The Germans opened the Roer dams in a vain bid to temper this massive Allied offensive, and this called for a drastic change in tactics. The ensuing battle was characterized by amphibious assaults on the fortified villages of the flooded Rhine lowlands, frontal assaults on the vaunted Siegfried Line and grim fighting for the Reichswald Forest. It was to be the last great killing ground in the west.

The Rhineland 1945: The Final Push into Germany (Praeger Illustrated Military History)

The raid on the port of St. Nazaire in March 1942 by a sea-borne task force from British Combined Operations remains one of the most daring actions of World War II. The port lies at the mouth of the River Loire and in 1942, as well as a U-Boat base, contained the massive Normandie dock, the only facility on the Atlantic coast large enough to accommodate the feared German battleship Tirpitz. This book tells the story of the raid on St. Nazaire that denied the use of the dock to the sister ship of the Bismarck, and constituted a crucial victory in the Battle of the Atlantic.
The raid on the port of St. Nazaire in March 1942 by a sea-borne task force from British Combined Operations remains one of the most daring actions of World War II. The port lies at the mouth of the River Loire and in 1942, as well as a U-Boat base, contained the massive Normandie dock, the only facility on the Atlantic coast large enough to accommodate the feared German battleship Tirpitz. This book tells the story of the raid on St. Nazaire that denied the use of the dock to the sister ship of the Bismarck, and constituted a crucial victory in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Out of a force of just 611 soldiers and sailors, 169 were killed. But the Tirpitz never ventured into the Atlantic.

St. Nazaire 1942: The Great Commando Raid (Praeger Illustrated Military History)

The Dieppe raid of August 1942 is one of the most controversial actions of World War II. Operation Jubilee was a frontal assault on a fortified port landing the latest equipment and armor directly on to the beach. The main force would destroy the port facilities while other smaller landings dealt with anti-aircraft and coastal batteries. The raid itself turned into a fiasco. The assault force was pinned down on the beach and three quarters of the 5,000 troops landed were lost. This book analyses the disastrous raid and examines contrasting conclusions drawn by the Allies and the Germans.
There is no doubt that the raid in force on Dieppe in August 1942 was one of the most controversial episodes of the Second World War. The Allied loss of life and numbers of prisoners taken, especially amongst the Canadians, led to much recrimination and not a little heated argument. On the face of it the raid was an unmitigated disaster, with virtually none of the objectives achieved. From its outset the plan was seriously flawed, but the momentum to open at least a symbolic second front to help the struggling Russians overruled more sober analysis. Enemy resistance along the shoreline succeeded in pinning down the invading forces, destroying the best part of them while they were still aboard their landing craft or as they tried to get off the beaches. It is now fashionable to see the raid as a rehearsal for D-Day and some justification for the great loss of life is claimed by the many lessons that were learned from the debacle regarding combined operations. Indeed, the military establishment would have had to been incompetent not to have learned anything from such a foul-up, and these lessons did contribute to the success of the Normandy invasion.

Dieppe 1942: Prelude to D-Day (Praeger Illustrated Military History)

Americas

Down the garden path: 30 years of "Gardeners' question time"

British Broadcasting Corporation

The assault crossing of the River Seine by the British 43rd (Wessex) Division in August 1944 remains one of the most important operations of the closing stages of the Second World War. Once the obstacle of the great river had been overcome, General Horrocks unleashed the armor of XXX Corps on their historic dash across northern France and Belgium.Assault Crossing - Ken Ford's classic account of this critical battle - is the story of one British division pitted against one German division. On one side, a fully equipped, battle-hardened unit made up of soldiers from the ancient Kingdom of Wessex, backed by some of the best artillery in the world and supported by tanks. On the other side, a much-depleted, second-rate, static division of men of various nationalities conscripted to fight a war for Germany that was already lost. On paper the British were assured of success, but between the two opposing armies lay the Seine - 680 feet of open water, overlooked by high chalk cliffs riddle with defensive strong points. The Germans were waiting.In hindsight, the battle was described as an epic operation and used as an example to train future generations of soldiers. In reality, as with most battles, it was something of a shambles, lurching from crisis to crisis until the eventual bridgehead was secured. In his graphic narrative Ken Ford gives a fascinating insight into the planning of the operation and the confusion of the battlefield, and he records, using eyewitness testimony, what the battle was really like for the soldiers who were there.

Assault crossing: The River Seine 1944 (A David & Charles military book)

David&Charles

This is the story of the battle for the Geilenkirchen Salient in 1944 told through the eyes of those who were there, and the Germans fighting desperately for their homeland. The battle was the first on German soil since 1759 and it was infantry warfare at its worst.

Assault on Germany: The Battle for Geilenkirchen (David & Charles Military Book)

Europe

David & Charles, UK

In 1942, Britain's 78th (Battleaxe) Division was the elite spearhead for the imminent invasion of North Africa. The 78th had been assembled in Scotland that same year and adopted the insignia of a yellow Crusader's battleaxe on a black background. In November 1942, the 78th landed in Algiers as part of "Operation Torch" and fought a series of crucial actions there and in Tunisia. During the winter of 1942/3, it was involved in some of the most gruelling and costly fighting of the war: actions at Tebourba and Longstop Hill became famous as battles of dogged resistance against the odds. The two VCs which were won in these firefights, together with another awarded later on the Gustav Line in Italy in 1944, show that the division was constantly in the thick of the action. This text offers an account of the exploits of the 78th Division. The author combines his own narrative with first-hand accounts from the soldiers who fought with the 78th. The book follows the division's move to Sicily in July 1943, through a landing in Italy and a hard slog up through to the north, crossing the heavily fortified River Sangro. It also explores the final act for the 78th - the push into Austria to round up the German forces - and its final role as part of the Army of Occupation.

Battle-Ax Division

Sutton Pub Ltd

Canadian troops landing on Juno Beach on June 6th, 1944 were fulfilling the promise made by their government in 1939 'to take up arms against an aggressor state whose policy threatened to destroy free government everywhere'. It was a noble cause about which the Canadian people remain extremely proud. Canadian 3rd Division, assaulting the Normandy beaches to help liberate the French people from Nazi tyranny, numbered many descendants of European forebears. Famous Canadian formations with European antecedents such as the New Brunswick Regiment, La Regiment de la Chaudiere, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders and the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada overcame chaos on the beaches and endured heavy casualties. Their determination and drive saw them progress further inland than troops from any other of the Allied beachheads. The Juno Beach landings were just the start of the Canadians' long struggle to Germany and victory. In the coming days they would face some of Hitler's toughest troops, including 12 SS-Panzer Division 'Hitlerjugend', in a war of ideals where duty faced fanaticism and surrender often led to massacre. Ken Ford takes the reader back to the battlefields of June 1944, revisiting the scenes of the fighting in the green fields and lanes of Normandy, identifying the places that remain from the war and remembering the young men who fell in the service of Canada and the Allied cause.

Juno Beach (Battle Zone Normandy Series)

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