Book Read Free

Overlord (Pan Military Classics)

Page 54

by Hastings, Max


  Woll, Corporal ref1

  Wood, Major-General John ‘P’ ref1

  wounded ref1

  self-inflicted wounds ref1

  Wright, Major ref1

  Wyldbore-Smith, Colonel Brian ref1, ref2, ref3

  Wyman, Brigadier ref1

  XX Committee ref1

  Zimmer, Private ref1

  Zimmerman, Colonel Bodo ref1

  OVERLORD

  Max Hastings, author of over twenty books, was born in 1945. He was a scholar at Charterhouse and University College, Oxford, before working as foreign correspondent for newspapers and BBC television, reporting from over fifty countries. He was editor of the Daily Telegraph for almost a decade, and then for six years edited the Evening Standard. He has won many awards for his journalism, particularly for his dispatches from the South Atlantic in 1982. He was knighted in 2002.

  Also in the Pan Military Classics Series

  ABSOLUTE WAR

  Chris Bellamy

  THE BATTLE FOR THE FALKLANDS

  Max Hastings

  COLDITZ

  Major P. R. Reid

  THE DAM BUSTERS

  Paul Brickhill

  DAS REICH

  Max Hastings

  DEFEAT INTO VICTORY

  Field Marshal Viscount Slim

  THE LONELY LEADER

  Alistair Horne

  List of Plates

  1. Commanders before D-Day: Tedder, Eisenhower and Montgomery (seated); Bradley, Ramsay, Leigh-Mallory and Bedell Smith (standing). U.S. National Archives

  2. The air chiefs: Eisenhower with (left to right) Coningham, Leigh-Mallory, Brereton and Quesada. General Elwood R. Quesada

  3. Before D-Day: American Airborne pathfinders pose beside their Dakota. Private

  4. Matériel massed for the invasion. Imperial War Museum

  5. THE 21ST ARMY GROUP TEAM FRONT ROW: Thomas (43 Div.); Bucknall; Crerar; Montgomery; Dempsey; Broadhurst; Ritchie. MIDDLE ROW: Bullen-Smith (51 Div.); Keller (3 Cdn Div.); Graham (50 Div.); Roberts (11 Armd Div.); O’Connor; Barker (49 Div.); Crocker. BACK ROW: Macmillan (15 Div.); Gale (6 Abn. Div.); Erskine (7 Armd Div.). Imperial War Museum

  6. Richardson is third from the right in the second row, wearing helmet. F.O. Richardson

  7. American soldiers are briefed for D-Day. Imperial War Museum

  8. Montgomery inspects the 5th/7th Gordons of 51st Highland Division during the run-up to OVERLORD. Lt-Col. Eric Hay walks behind the C-in-C. Lt-Col Eric Hay

  9. The myth of Rommel as a ‘good’ German hostile to Nazism prevailed in the west for many years after the war. In reality, the C-in-C of Army Group B remained passionately devoted to Hitler until he became convinced that the war was militarily unwinnable. U.S. National Archives

  10. D-Day: on the beach. Imperial War Museum

  11. A fascinating glimpse of the Supreme Commander in mid-Channel; caught by the photographer looking far tougher than when pictured with the accommodating grin of the familiar Ike. U.S. National Archives

  12. Beach defenders surrender to the Americans. U.S. Army photograph

  13. The build-up: American troops move inshore from the beaches. U.S. Army photograph

  14. George Small

  15. Phil Reisler (right, in black) with his tank crew.

  16. Norman Cota. UPI

  17. Lindley Higgins

  18. Bill Preston

  19. Harry Herman

  20. Randall Bryant

  21. Wilhelm Schickner

  22. Hans Stober

  23. Adolf Hohenstein

  24. Rudolf Schaaf

  25. Panzer leaders: Fritz Bayerlein, Kurt Kauffmann, Sepp Dietrich, staff officer.

  26. Helmut Gunther

  27. Heinz-Gunther Guderian

  28. Austin Baker

  29. Guy Simonds

  30. Robin Hastings

  31. Henry Lovegrove

  32. Steve Dyson

  33. Dick Raymond.

  34. Chris Portway

  Airborne images of the battlefield:

  35. Norman chalk pitted with foxholes Imperial War Museum.

  36. Fighter-bomber’s eye view of a German column after attack U.S. Air Force.

  37. Tank action among the hedges. Imperial War Museum.

  38. A characteristic Normandy horizon: infantry advance through the standing corn behind a British tank. Imperial War Museum

  39. American infantry dash between the hated hedges. Dead cows were among the most familiar landmarks of the battlefield. Imperial War Museum

  40. British anti-tank screen near Caen, with armoured bridging equipment in the background. Imperial War Museum

  41. Defeat: a prisoner being searched by a British military policeman. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  42. A British sniper pulls through while a young soldier grasps the most precious possession on the battlefield: sleep. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  43. Digging: literally a matter of life and death, as so many troops discovered at terrible cost. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  44. Exhaustion: a British doctor pauses between operations at a forward dressing station. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  45. Normandy was above all a battlefield of hedges and ditches, a succession of dashes between islands of cover, each one intensely dangerous for those making the movements. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  46. Behind the lines: Tommies make themselves at home in a Norman farmyard. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  47. The image of defeat: captured Germans and fallen horses. Note the pathetic attempt to camouflage the cart. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  48. Brutal encounter between a Norman shopkeeper and an abandoned Mk IV tank. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  Glimpses in Normandy of “the most professionally skilful army of modern times” as a distinguished American historian has recently described the Wehrmacht:

  49. Rearming a Panther.

  50. Self-propelled Nebelwerfers – of all German weapons, those most detested by Allied soldiers.

  51. With Panzerfaust, their formidable close-quarter anti-tank weapon.

  52. ADN.

  53. Ullstein Bilderdienst.

  54. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  55. A classic propaganda image of liberators and liberated; in fact, the attitude of most Norman civilians to the Allies ranged between numbed indifference and sullen hostility. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  56. Field Marshal von Kluge.

  57. Collins of U.S. VII Corps with von Schlieben, the captured commander of Cherbourg. Imperial War Museum

  58. Devastation: a typical Norman street scene in the summer of 1944. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  59. German Volksgrenadier on the Western Front. Ullstein Bilderdienst.

  60. The battlefield: a striking view of the difficulty of movement among the closely-set farmyards of the Norman villages, ideal for defence. The bespectacled figure in the back of the bren-gun carrier is the author’s father, war correspondent for Picture Post. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  61. A classic portrait of the British infantryman in Normandy. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  Commanders before D-Day: Tedder, Eisenhower and Montgomery (seated); Bradley, Ramsay, Leigh-Mallory and Bedell Smith (standing). U.S. National Archives

  The air chiefs: Eisenhower with (left to right) Coningham, Leigh-Mallory, Brereton and Quesada. General Elwood R. Quesada

  Before D-Day: American Airborne pathfinders pose beside their Dakota. Private

  Matériel massed for the invasion. Imperial War Museum

  THE 21ST ARMY GROUP TEAM

  FRONT ROW: Thomas (43 Div.); Bucknall; Crerar; Montgomery; Dempsey; Broadhurst; Ritchie. MIDDLE ROW: Bullen-Smith (51 Div.); Keller (3 Cdn Div.); Graham (50 Div.); Roberts (11 Armd Div.); O’Connor; Barker (49 Div.); Crocker. BACK ROW: Macmillan (15 Div.); Gale (6 Abn. Div.); Erskine (7 Armd Div.). Imperial War Museum

  Richardson is third from the right in the second row, wearing helmet. F.O. Richardson

  American soldiers are briefed for
D-Day. Imperial War Museum

  Montgomery inspects the 5th/7th Gordons of 51st Highland Division during the run-up to OVERLORD. Lt-Col. Eric Hay walks behind the C-in-C. Lt-Col Eric Hay

  The myth of Rommel as a ‘good’ German hostile to Nazism prevailed in the west for many years after the war. In reality, the C-in-C of Army Group B remained passionately devoted to Hitler until he became convinced that the war was militarily unwinnable. U.S. National Archives

  D-Day: on the beach. Imperial War Museum

  A fascinating glimpse of the Supreme Commander in mid-Channel; caught by the photographer looking far tougher than when pictured with the accommodating grin of the familiar Ike. U.S. National Archives

  Beach defenders surrender to the Americans. U.S. Army photograph

  The build-up: American troops move inshore from the beaches. U.S. Army photograph

  George Small

  Phil Reisler (right, in black) with his tank crew.

  Norman Cota. UPI

  Lindley Higgins

  Bill Preston

  Harry Herman

  Randall Bryant

  Wilhelm Schickner

  Hans Stober

  Adolf Hohenstein

  Rudolf Schaaf

  Panzer leaders: Fritz Bayerlein, Kurt Kauffmann, Sepp Dietrich, staff officer.

  Helmut Gunther

  Heinz-Gunther Guderian

  Austin Baker

  Guy Simonds

  Robin Hastings

  Henry Lovegrove

  Steve Dyson

  Dick Raymond.

  Chris Portway

  Airborne images of the battlefield:

  Norman chalk pitted with foxholes Imperial War Museum.

  Fighter-bomber’s eye view of a German column after attack U.S. Air Force.

  Tank action among the hedges. Imperial War Museum.

  A characteristic Normandy horizon: infantry advance through the standing corn behind a British tank. Imperial War Museum

  American infantry dash between the hated hedges. Dead cows were among the most familiar landmarks of the battlefield. Imperial War Museum

  British anti-tank screen near Caen, with armoured bridging equipment in the background. Imperial War Museum

  Defeat: a prisoner being searched by a British military policeman. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  A British sniper pulls through while a young soldier grasps the most precious possession on the battlefield: sleep. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  Digging: literally a matter of life and death, as so many troops discovered at terrible cost. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  Exhaustion: a British doctor pauses between operations at a forward dressing station. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  Normandy was above all a battlefield of hedges and ditches, a succession of dashes between islands of cover, each one intensely dangerous for those making the movements. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  Behind the lines: Tommies make themselves at home in a Norman farmyard. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  The image of defeat: captured Germans and fallen horses. Note the pathetic attempt to camouflage the cart. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  Brutal encounter between a Norman shopkeeper and an abandoned Mk IV tank. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  Glimpses in Normandy of “the most professionally skilful army of modern times” as a distinguished American historian has recently described the Wehrmacht:

  Rearming a Panther.

  Self-propelled Nebelwerfers – of all German weapons, those most detested by Allied soldiers.

  With Panzerfaust, their formidable close-quarter anti-tank weapon.

  ADN.

  Ullstein Bilderdienst.

  BBC Hulton Picture Library

  A classic propaganda image of liberators and liberated; in fact, the attitude of most Norman civilians to the Allies ranged between numbed indifference and sullen hostility. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  Field Marshal von Kluge.

  Collins of U.S. VII Corps with von Schlieben, the captured commander of Cherbourg. Imperial War Museum

  Devastation: a typical Norman street scene in the summer of 1944. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  German Volksgrenadier on the Western Front. Ullstein Bilderdienst.

  The battlefield: a striking view of the difficulty of movement among the closely-set farmyards of the Norman villages, ideal for defence. The bespectacled figure in the back of the bren-gun carrier is the author’s father, war correspondent for Picture Post. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  A classic portrait of the British infantryman in Normandy. BBC Hulton Picture Library

  First published 1984 by Michael Joseph Limited

  First published as an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Ltd 1993 by Papermac

  This edition published 2010 by Pan Books

  This electronic edition published 2011 by Pan Books

  an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

  Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR

  Basingstoke and Oxford

  Associated companies throughout the world

  www.panmacmillan.com

  ISBN 978-0-330-52899-3 EPUB

  Copyright © Max Hastings 1984

  The right of Max Hastings to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Visit www.panmacmillan.com to read more about all our books and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters so that you’re always first to hear about our new releases.

 

 

 


‹ Prev