Divided on D-Day
Page 45
German
defenses concentrated around major channel seaports, 35–36
E-boats base and sorties on Allied warships, 169
surface vessels attacked Port of Le Havre, 170
Lancaster bombers destroyed forty German surface vessels, 170
landing beaches, COSSAC proposed, 40
OVERLORD and capture of major ports, 39
port vital for successful invasion and deployment of large numbers of troops, 37, 39
supplies for British forces, 40
Leigh-Mallory, Sir Trafford (British air chief marshal)
Allied air commander in chief, Expeditionary Force, 52, 53
Battle of Britain, quarreled over tactics, 63
bomber forces deployed in tactical operations, 93–94
commander of 11 Group, 63
disliked by Americans and British, 63–64
Exercise THUNDERCLAP of OVERLORD planning (Apr. 7, 1944), 98–100
head of fighter command, 63
Imperial Defence College in London, 57
objects to D-Day parachute drop, 110
OVERLORD final full-scale briefing (May 15), 105–107
SHAEF air commander in chief, 63
SHAEF meeting in London (Feb. 1, 1944), 53
Tedder's “Transportation Plan,” 94
Lloyd, Geoffrey (British minister of fuel), 91
Love, Robert (historian), 305
LXXXIV Corps (Germany), 127, 141–42, 193
MacArthur, Douglas (US general), 45, 51
Major, John (historian), 305
Marseille (France)
Allied breakout and advance (June 6–Aug. 31, 1944), 276, 284, 287, 294
Allied invasion along Côte d’Azur from Nice and Marseilles, 284
captured ports of Marseille and Toulon were not functioning, 303
logistical support for Allied drive into Germany, 292
major port vital for successful invasion and deployment of large numbers of troops, 39
Operation OVERLORD and capture of major ports, 39, 283
SHAEF's major port, 284
supplies for Allied armies, 283, 285
weapons and shells used to defeat Nazi Germany went through Marseille, 25 percent of, 284
Marshall, George C. (US general)
army's structure, revolutionizing the, 51
background, 46–47, 70
bocage terrain (hedgerow), 178
Bradley, Omar, 66, 73
Casablanca Conference (1943), 27–29, 28
Churchill called Marshall the “Architect of Victory” and the “noblest Roman of them all,” 48
Churchill suggested Marshall as American commander for invasion of northwestern Europe, 33
considered for supreme OVERLORD commander, 68
Eisenhower's direct intervention with Marshall saved Patton from oblivion, 72
Eisenhower's members for SHAEF staff, approved, 52
Germany's war-making capacity, acknowledged, 21
Meuse-Argonne Offensive planner in World War I, 47
Operation GYMNAST, Roosevelt forced commitment to, 26
Operation OVERLORD, 41, 43, 46–49, 79
command structure of, 77
possible supreme command of, 46
Operation ROUNDUP, 27–28, 40
Operation SLEDGEHAMMER and Operation ROUNDUP, 23–24
Patton, assessment of, 70–71
photograph, 47
Quebec Conference (Aug. 1943), 20
Roosevelt kept Marshall in Washington, 49
Smith as SHAEF chief of staff, 65
Smith in North Africa met with Marshall, 49
Stimson's praise, 48
US Army and US Air Force, responsible for arming, equipping, and training 8 million men, 48
McKee, Alexander (historian), 262
Model, Walter (German field marshal)
Falaise Pocket sealed by Canadian forces, 264–65
Hitler ordered Model to France (Aug. 17), 262
Kluge's letter to Hitler, 264
photograph, 263
realized Allies had absolute tactical superiority and ability to completely destroy German military forces in the west (Aug. 29), 287
Montgomery, David (Bernard Law Montgomery's son), 56
Montgomery, Sir Bernard Law “Monty” (British field marshal)
advance to Antwerp (Aug. 26–Sept. 4, 1944), 300
Antwerp, capture of, 284, 292, 304, 306, 314
Ardennes offensive, 58
background, 55–57
Battle of El Alamein (Oct. 23–Nov. 1942), 26, 55, 62, 92
Caen and the surprise amphibious assault, 88
Caen Conundrum, 205–207
“cannibalize” some divisions to maintain the rest, 202
Churchill met Montgomery at Marrakech (Dec. 1943) to review OVERLORD plans, 80–81
commander in chief, Twenty-First Army Group, 52, 53, 80
commander of South-East Command, 59
commander of the British Eighth Army, 59
commander of the Third Division, 57, 59
commander of V Corps in Dorset and Hampshire, 59
commander of XII Corps in Kent, 59
Cotentin Peninsula and airborne divisions, 88
Eighth Army attacked western Sicily, 71
Eisenhower, Dwight D.
accepted initial operational proposals (Jan. 1944), 88
calls Montgomery “a psychopath” (1963), 330
patronizing lecture of, 55
Exercise THUNDERCLAP planning (Apr. 7, 1944), 98–100
Falaise-Argentan Pocket, 232, 268–69
“full-blooded thrust” (proposed, Aug.–Sept. 1944), 291
George VI's viewpoint, 63
German forces on battlefields of North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, he failed to aggressively pursue, 92
Grigg, Sir James (British secretary of war), 232–33
Imperial Defence College in London, not invited to, 57
infection from World War I bullet wound, 57
military prima donna, 72
“Montgomery of Alamein,” 59
Norfolk House conference and first outline of overall ground commander strategy for D-Day and the subsequent Normandy campaign, 87
North African Campaign, 58
operational plans, prepared, 24
Operation BLUECOAT, 217, 231–33
Operation EPSOM (June 26–July 1, 1944), 190–93, 206, 214
Operation GOODWOOD, 95, 206–10, 212, 214–17, 225
Operation MARKET GARDEN, 303, 308–15, 319
Operation OVERLORD
airborne divisions over Cotentin Peninsula to protect the landings on western-most American beaches, plan for, 88
commander of all Allied land forces and commander of the British Twenty-First Army Group, 79
COSSAC plan, Montgomery belittled initial, 39
final full-scale briefing (May 15), 105–107
lead British role in, 61–63
objectives will be achieved within ninety days, 99
plan, final (May 1944), 40, 99
planning was overambitious, and the campaign was muddled, causing great discord among the other commanders, historians say his, 100
Operation SLAPSTICK, 29
Operation TIGER, 103–104
Operation TOTALIZE, 95, 247, 249–50
Operation TRACTABLE (assault on Falaise), 250, 258–60
Patton-Montgomery rivalry during Sicily campaign, 68
Patton ridiculed Montgomery's battlefield performance, 72
Patton's advance to Falaise, Bradley's choice, not Montgomery's prohibition that stopped, 254–55
photograph, 173, 221
predicted end of the war by Nov. 1, 1944, 112
“rigid self-assurance,” 60
Rommel defeated in North Africa, 59–60
SHAEF meeting in London (Feb. 1, 1944), 53
temporary Allied ground forces commander during the first stage of OVERLORD invasion, 81
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unwillingness to confide in anyone about how to move the Allied forces forward, 201
venereal disease prevention order, 58
Moorehead, Alan (historian), 315
Morgan, Sir Frederick E. (British lieutenant general)
Barker sent to brief Marshall and Roosevelt before the Quebec meeting, 40–41
British and American officers briefed on every aspect of OVERLORD, 38
British planning machinery, 36
chief of staff to the supreme Allied commander, 33
COSSAC
identified Pas-de-Calais and coast of Normandy west of the Seine estuary as invasion sites, 36
interim commander, Morgan frustrated in his role as, 41
planners learned important lessons from Dieppe debacle, 36
planning for suitable landing area for the cross-channel invasion, 35–36
Hesketh sent to Inter Services Security Board (ISSB) to assign a new code name, 37
Norfolk House (St. James Square, London), 34, 38
Operation COCKADE, 35
Operation FORTITUDE, 35
“Operation Mothball,” 37–38
Operation OVERLORD plan/planning (July 15, 1943), 38, 39, 88
Operation RANKIN, 35
photograph, 34
ROUNDUP, American code name, 37
ROUNDUP operational plan for invasion by Aug. 1, 1943, 37
Royal Marine Commandos and US Rangers stormed Dieppe (Aug. 1942), 35
SHAEF deputy chief of staff, appointed, 42
See also COSSAC
Mortain (Lüttich) Offensive (Aug. 6–12, 1944), 242–43
Mountbatten, Lord Louis (British vice admiral)
Allied raid on the port of Dieppe, 119
Combined Operations Command (COC) head, 35–36, 91, 119
floating docks and breakwaters for OVERLORD, 90
fuel pipeline on the English Channel bed, 91
large-scale raid against the Nazi naval base at St. Nazaire, France, on the Loire River, 119
Nazi-occupied Europe, raids along coasts of, 36
Quebec Conference (Aug. 1943), 20
Rattle Conference attracted many high-ranking officers, 37
supreme commander in Southeast Asia, 46
Mulberry artificial harbors, 90–91, 185
Mussolini, Benito (Italian dictator), 29
Nelles, P. W. (Canadian vice admiral), 20
Ninety-First Infantry Division (German), 109–10, 240
Norfolk House (St. James Square, London), 34, 38, 42, 87
Normandy bridgehead (invasion area, June 6–30, 1944)
after D-Day 1,000,000 men, 200,000 vehicles, and 700,000 tons of supplies were delivered to, 186
Allies had broken out of, 83
breakout and the charge across France to victory, 73
King George VI's visit to (June 16), 112
Rommel reinforced and shifted troops across the battlefront, 106
sixteen British-Canadian divisions (591,000 troops) and seventeen US divisions (770,000 troops) landed inside (July 25), 225
training failure delayed Allied breakout from, 102
Wehrmacht reinforcements into, 100
Normandy landing (June 6, 1944). See Gold Beach; Juno Beach; Omaha Beach; Operation OVERLORD; South Beach; Sword Beach; Utah Beach
Northwestern France breakthrough (Aug. 1–13, 1944), 241–42
OB West (German command), 122, 231, 242, 287, 298
O’Connor, Richard (British general), 57
OKW (German armed forces high command), 16, 121–22, 124, 135, 143, 166, 193
Omaha Beach (Normandy landing, June 6, 1944)
B-24 Liberator bombers, 148
carrier pigeons for Allied intelligence, 133
Germans almost achieved a tactical victory, 163
German 716th Infantry Division, 147
“Great Storm” destroyed German and Allied ships, 184
individual courage, 151–53
Kraiss and German 352nd Infantry Division, 109, 127–28, 133, 143, 163
landing craft, Allied, 147–49, 155
Mulberry harbors, artificial, 184
Norman capital of Bayeux, 143
photograph, 153
reinforcements, buildup of, 153
rocket launching vessels (LCTs), 148
Twenty-Ninth Division and First Division, 147
101st Airborne (US), 99, 109–10, 146
Operation ANVIL (liberation of France), 29, 39–40, 89–90, 188, 261, 283. See also Operation DRAGOON
Operation AVALANCHE (Salerno, Italy), 29, 64, 81
Operation BAGRATION (Russian front), 190
Operation BAYTOWN (Straits of Messina), 29
Operation BLUECOAT (July 30–Aug. 7, 1944), 217, 231–33
Operation Bodyguard (deception plan), 96–97
Operation BOLERO (buildup of American forces), 23
Operation CHARNWOOD (July 7–10, 1944, ground offensive), 95, 199–200, 205, 215
Operation COBRA (July 25–Aug. 1, 1944, ground offensive), 95, 206, 220, 222–31, 233. See also Operation GOODWOOD
Operation COCKADE (invasion of Germany), 35
Operation DRAGOON (invasion of southern France), 188, 261, 271, 283–84. See also Operation ANVIL
Operation DYNAMO (Dunkirk troop evacuation), 76
Operation EPSOM (June 26–July 1, 1944), 190–93, 206, 214
Operation FORTITUDE (deception plan)
deception campaign, 96, 132
diversionary fleet toward Pas-de-Calais, 138
Fortitude North, 96–97, 132
Fortitude South, 96–97
German intelligence service, 132
Germans tricked by, 136, 167
intelligence service of German high command, 132
James, Meyrick Clifton, 108
Juan Pujol Garcia, spy code-named Garbo, 167
Morgan, Frederick, 35
overall success, 133
Patton the mystery man, 220, 233
Operation GOODWOOD (July 18–20, 1944, ground offensive), 95, 206–10, 212, 214–17, 225
Dempsey, 95, 206–10, 212, 214–17, 225
Montgomery, 95, 206–10, 212, 214–17, 225
Rommel, Erwin, 212–13
See also Operation COBRA
Operation GYMNAST (North Africa invasion), 26–27. See also Operation TORCH
Operation HUSKY (invasion of Sicily)
Alexander, 71
Bradley, 67, 71
Churchill and British Chiefs of Staff, 33
Combined Chiefs of Staff, 28
Eisenhower, 64, 79
Montgomery, 81
Patton, 71
Ramsay, 76, 81
Operation INFATUATE (Scheldt Estuary clearing)
British Fifty-Second Division, 317–18
Eisenhower forced Montgomery to commit adequate forces, 319
Montgomery's orders (Oct. 16), 317–19
Pugsley, 315, 318
Ramsay, 315, 318–19
SHAEF meeting in Versailles (Oct. 5), 315
See also Scheldt Estuary
Operation JAEL (Allies’ overall deception plan), 96
Operation Lüttich, Mortain Offensive (German), 242–44, 246
Operation MARKET GARDEN (drive to Rhine and Ruhr)
Allied soldiers killed, wounded, and missing exceeded seven thousand, five thousand more than on D-Day, 313
Allies’ attention on planning, execution, and recovery from Montgomery's Operation MARKET GARDEN, 308
Browning commander of the airborne operation, 310
Eisenhower insisted that Montgomery proceed, 310, 312, 314
Eisenhower's acquiescence to Montgomery, 307
First Airborne Corps thrust through Reich sixty-mile corridor, 309
German armored units at Arnhem, 311–12
Lee, Asher (British wing commander), 311
Montgomery's decision to stage, 303, 308–15, 319
Montgomery's unrestrained ego, 315
&
nbsp; Patton tried to enlist Bradley in a “protest” action to stop Montgomery, 307
Ramsay's priority to open Scheldt vs. Operation MARKET GARDEN, 305
Ruhr industrial region, to advance and surround the, 309
Student, Kurt (German general), 312–13
Urquhart, Brian (British major), 311
vital intelligence on feasibility of the operation was ignored, 310–11
XXX Corps’ advance doomed the First Airborne Division at Arnhem, 313
See also Battle of Antwerp (Oct.–Nov. 1944)
“Operation Mothball” (operation to liberate Europe), 37–38
Operation NEPTUNE (naval/amphibious assault plan for OVERLORD)
Allied planners overlooked difficulties of securing beachheads and armored advance to Caen-Falaise plain, 178
Allied ships sunk, 169
Eisenhower, 104, 114–15
lost vessels and warships, 188–89
NEPTUNE armada, 115–17, 154
NEPTUNE assault plan had largely worked, 162–63
NEPTUNE fleet, feared German mass attack on, 138
NEPTUNE shipping, German destroyers attacked, 169–70
objective of, 83
plans for naval bombardment of Cherbourg, 187
Ramsay, Sir Bertram, 13, 52, 81–86, 90–91, 101, 104, 138, 189
and capture of Antwerp, 303–305
ended Operation NEPTUNE (June 20), 168
detailed NEPTUNE orders of, 137
and launch of (May 28), 109
scheduled elements set in motion (June 3), 114
SHAEF ignored Ramsay's warning, 189
world's largest invasion fleet transported across the English Channel to land on D-Day, 82
Operation OVERLORD (cross-channel invasion)
Algiers meeting (Dec. 1943) of Eisenhower, Montgomery, and Smith to review plans, 80–81
amphibious invasions (1943 and 1944), experience gained from three very large-scale, 81
Anglo-American armies advanced from Caen to Paris and the Seine River, 87–88
briefing, final full-scale (May 15), 105–107
British command appointments, 52
Brooke, Sir Alan, 30–31
capture of major ports was vital for mounting a successful invasion, 39
Churchill, Winston, 30–31, 38
command structure (June 6, 1944), 79
command structure (Sept. 1, 1944), 246
conference (Jan. 1945), 80
confusion over final authority continued to dominate critical decisions during the operation, 80
COSSAC was a rough draft for, 41
D-Day objectives, 87, 93
Eisenhower supreme commander, 62, 64
Exercise THUNDERCLAP of OVERLORD planning (Apr. 7), 98–100
final assessment of, 337–38
forty-eight million tons of supplies had to be delivered to sustain US forces in Normandy, 39