Download or read book Operation Bluecoat written by Ian Daglish and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2010-04-19 with total page 708 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After seven weeks of bitter fighting there was a desperate need to break out of the Normandy bridgehead. In late July 1944 Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempseys Second Army moved two entire corps from the Caen sector to the relatively quiet countryside around Caumont. Here, the British XXX Corps prepared to give battle, with VII Corps advancing in support on the right flank between XXX Corps and the American first Army. The offensive did not go to plan. While the XXX Corps attack stalled, VIII Corps surged ahead. With the experienced 11th Armoured and 15th Scottish Divisions in the lead and Guards Armoured close behind, a deep penetration was made, threatening to take the pivotal city of Vire and unhinge General Haussers German Seventh Army.The main narrative of this book will span the initial break-in from Caumont on 30 July, through the armored battles of the following days, to the desperate German counter-attacks of 4 6 August, the no less desperate German defense of Estry up to the middle of the month, and the final withdrawal from Normandy. The book also examines Montys refusal to seize Vire, the disputed Anglo-American border and the Operations impact on the German Mortain offensive.
Download or read book Operation Bluecoat written by Ian Daglish and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2010-04-19 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After seven weeks of bitter fighting there was a desperate need to break out of the Normandy bridgehead. In late July 1944 Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempseys Second Army moved two entire corps from the Caen sector to the relatively quiet countryside around Caumont. Here, the British XXX Corps prepared to give battle, with VII Corps advancing in support on the right flank between XXX Corps and the American first Army. The offensive did not go to plan. While the XXX Corps attack stalled, VIII Corps surged ahead. With the experienced 11th Armoured and 15th Scottish Divisions in the lead and Guards Armoured close behind, a deep penetration was made, threatening to take the pivotal city of Vire and unhinge General Haussers German Seventh Army. The main narrative of this book will span the initial break-in from Caumont on 30 July, through the armored battles of the following days, to the desperate German counter-attacks of 4 6 August, the no less desperate German defense of Estry up to the middle of the month, and the final withdrawal from Normandy. The book also examines Montys refusal to seize Vire, the disputed Anglo-American border and the Operations impact on the German Mortain offensive.
Download or read book Operation Epsom written by Ian Daglish and published by Pen & Sword Military. This book was released on 2015-06-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before EPSOM in late June 1944 there remained the chance that a German counterstroke might seriously threaten the bridgehead. After EPSOM, the Allies retained the strategic initiative through to the liberation of France and Belgium. This was a battle in which highly trained but largely inexperienced British 'follow-up' divisions, newly arrived in Normandy, confronted some of the best equipped, best led and battle-hardened formations of the Third Reich. Beginning with a set-piece British assault on the German lines in dense terrain, the battle developed into swirling armored action on the open slopes of Hills 112 and 113, before the British turned to grimly defending their gains in the face of concentric attacks by two full SS-Panzer Korps. This entirely new study brings together previously unseen evidence to present an important Normandy battle in very great detail. The unfolding action is illustrated using aerial photography of the battlefield and period Army maps.
Download or read book The Armoured Campaign in Normandy written by Stephen Napier and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2015-07-01 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning with the D-day landings, this is a frank appraisal of the planned use and actual results of the deployment of armour by both German and Allied commanders in the major tank battles of the campaign including Epsom, Goodwood, Cobra and Totalize. ‘Tiger!’ is a critique of how Montgomery’s plans to seize territory and break out failed in the face of German resistance. It details the poor planning by British generals who made many mistakes and how the German convoluted chain of command contributed to their own defeat.Official reports, war diaries, After Action reports, letters, regimental histories, memoirs of generals and troopers are used to tell the inside story of the campaign from an armour point of view to give a different but detailed perspective.For the first time the book gives real numbers of tanks lost in the battle of the campaign from research at archives around the world.
Download or read book Fields of War Battle of Normandy written by Robert J Mueller and published by French Battlefields. This book was released on 2014 with total page 475 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A complete guide to Normandy Battlefields providing the history, places, and people who made victory in the Second World War possible. Recipient of 7 National book awards. On 6 June 1944, 156,000 American, British, and Canadian servicemen fought ashore on beaches along the Normandy coast or landed from the air to begin wresting back Nazi occupied Europe. The D-Day invasion was the largest amphibious landing in history. Although successful, it was only precursor to months of the deadly fighting necessary to dislodge stubborn German defenders from the Norman countryside and eventually liberate France. As a visitor s guide, Fields of War: Battle of Normandy presents the actual locations of key events in the struggle to free France from German occupation. Each battlefield visit begins with a succinct history of events followed by a description of the intense military action that determined success or failure. Extensive detailed maps illustrate the flow of the battle across the landscape and the units that participated. Detailed driving instructions and GPS co-ordinates direct visitors to each battlefield site. Descriptions of museums, memorials, cemeteries, and surviving artifacts are given along with their hours of operation. Mailing, email, and web addresses are also provided.
Download or read book The Churchill Crocodile written by Tim Saunders and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2024-05-30 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The British Army started the development of flame throwers in 1938, but progress was slow and interest was side-lined after Dunkirk while the army reequipped. Investment in a flame-throwing tank only returned to the agenda thanks to interest by General Percy Hobart when he developed funnies for 79th armored Division and the concept gained the support of General Sir Alan Brooke. 141 (The Buffs) Regiment RAC had been converted to Churchill Tanks at the end of 1941 and in early 1944 they were earmarked for another change of role to the Crocodile conversion of the new Mk VII Churchill tank. This flame throwing system was secret and started to arrive with the regiment in April 1944. By D-Day only one squadron was equipped and trained, with space on the landing craft only available for two troops to land in support of 50th Division. The rest of the regiment arrived by the end of June and were in action with various formations across the front. There followed a period of misuse by those they supported and learning on the job by the regiments squadrons, but by the middle of the campaign a clear doctrine for the use of the Crocodile had emerged and they were in great demand.
Download or read book Monty s Functional Doctrine written by Charles Forrester and published by Helion and Company. This book was released on 2015-08-19 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using a combination of new perspectives and new evidence, this book presents a reinterpretation of how 21st Army Group produced a successful combined arms doctrine by late 1944 and implemented this in early 1945. Historians, professional military personnel and those interested in military history should read this book, which contributes to the radical reappraisal of Great Britain’s fighting forces in the last years of the Second World War, with an exploration of the reasons why 21st Army Group was able in 1944–45 to integrate the operations of its armor and infantry. The key to understanding how the outcome developed lies in understanding the ways in which the two processes of fighting and the creation of doctrine interrelated. This requires both a conventional focus on command and a cross-level study of Montgomery and a significant group of commanders. The issue of whether or not this integration of combat arms (a guide to operational fighting capability) had any basis in a common doctrine is an important one. Alongside this stands the new light this work throws on how such doctrine was created. A third interrelated contribution is in answering how Montgomery commanded, and whether and to what extent, doctrine was imposed or generated. Further it investigates how a group of ‘effervescent’ commanders interrelated, and what the impact of those interrelationships was in the formulation of a workable doctrine. The book makes an original contribution to the debate on Montgomery’s command style in Northwest Europe and its consequences, and integrates this with tracking down and disentangling the roots of his ideas, and his role in the creation of doctrine for the British Army’s final push against the Germans. In particular the author is able to do something that has defeated previous authors: to explain how doctrine was evolved and, especially who was responsible for providing the crucial first drafts, and the role Montgomery played in revising, codifying and disseminating it.
Download or read book Conflict Landscapes written by Nicholas J. Saunders and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-06-24 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conflict Landscapes explores the long under-acknowledged and under-investigated aspects of where and how modern conflict landscapes interact and conjoin with pre-twentieth-century places, activities, and beliefs, as well as with individuals and groups. Investigating and understanding the often unpredictable power and legacies of landscapes that have seen (and often still viscerally embody) the consequences of mass death and destruction, the book shows, through these landscapes, the power of destruction to preserve, refocus, and often reconfigure the past. Responding to the complexity of modern conflict, the book offers a coherent, integrated, and sensitized hybrid approach, which calls on different disciplines where they overlap in a shared common terrain. Dealing with issues such as memory, identity, emotion, and wellbeing, the chapters tease out the human experience of modern conflict and its relationship to landscape. Conflict Landscapes will appeal to a wide range of disciplines involved in studying conflict, such as archaeology, anthropology, material culture studies, art history, cultural history, cultural geography, military history, and heritage and museum studies.
Download or read book Royal Engineers Battlefield Tour Normandy to the Seine written by Anon and published by . This book was released on 2020-11-04 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work gives details of all operations by the Royal Engineers during D-Day and up to the Seine crossing at Vernon.
Download or read book Fighting the People s War written by Jonathan Fennell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-24 with total page 967 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jonathan Fennell captures for the first time the true wartime experience of the ordinary soldiers from across the empire who made up the British and Commonwealth armies. He analyses why the great battles were won and lost and how the men that fought went on to change the world.
Download or read book Operation Goodwood written by Ian Daglish and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2003-07-30 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operation GOODWOOD is the story of the largest armoured battle fought in the campaign for north west Europe. Over a thousand British and Canadian tanks were employed as three British armoured divisions pushed forward down a narrow corridor in an attempt to achieve a clean penetration of the German lines. The clash between two very different armies resulted in a number of local battles, which are studied in detail. Close to Caen, this battlefield is particularly accessible to cross-channel visitors. This Battleground book guides visitors around the tanks battlefield, showing what remains and what has changed, using copious present-day images alongside previously unpublished1944 pictures, including detailed aerial photography of the battle in progress
Download or read book Master of None written by Douglas Goddard and published by Troubador Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2009 with total page 672 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Master of None is an autobiography of a retired Army officer from his humble childhood in London and Suffolk farms, through the ravages of World War 2, his subsequent civilian career in the Building Industry and latterly his extensive commitment to community service. The broad range of his experiences, talents and interests, together with his engaging and charmingly self-deprecating writing style, make for a very interesting read.
Download or read book Surrender Invites Death written by John A. English and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2011-02-09 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What it was like to fight Hitler's ideological troops in Normandy starting on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Download or read book Hill 112 written by J. J. How and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers major battles between the British/Canadian and German forces (primarily SS Panzer units) for Caen in June/July 1944. Details the Battle for Hill 112-- a crucial piece of terrain in which to gain control of Normandy.
Download or read book From Victory to Stalemate written by Charles J. Dick and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2016-11-07 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the summer of 1944, the war in Europe had reached a critical point. Both the western Allies and the Soviets possessed the initiative and forces capable of mounting strategic offensives against the German enemy. Writing a study of operations on first the Western then Eastern Front, respected military analyst C. J. Dick offers rare insight into the strengths and weaknesses of generalship on both fronts, especially the judgments, choices, and compromises made by senior commanders. At the same time, he clarifies the constraints imposed upon leadership—and upon operations—by doctrinal shortcomings, by logistics, and, not least, by the nature of coalition war. From Victory to Stalemate focuses on the Western Front, specifically American, British, and Canadian operations in France and the Low Countries. Dick's lens throughout is operational art, which links individual tactical battles to broader strategic aims. Beginning with the D-Day landings in Normandy and the strengths and weaknesses of the armies, including their military doctrines, Dick goes on to analyze the offensives launched in the high summer of 1944. He considers the strategic factors and plans that provide the context for his main concern: the Allied commanders’ handling of army, army group, and theatre offensive operations. Dick's analysis shows us an Allied command limited by thinking that is firmly rooted in the experience of small wars and the World War I. The resulting incremental approach was further complicated by a divergence in the ideas and interests of the Allied forces. The man responsible for pulling it all together, Dwight D. Eisenhower, proved remarkably capable in his role as statesman; he was to be less effective as a military technician who could govern such difficult subordinates as Bradley and Montgomery. As a result, the Allied offensive faltered and became a war of attrition, in contrast to the Soviet effort on the Eastern Front.
Download or read book Goodwood written by Ian Daglish and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Comprehensive retelling of the controversial British and Canadian operation near Caen Told from both the British and German perspectives Heavily illustrated with maps and photos, including detailed aerial reconnaissance photos taken during the battle While American infantry slogged its way through the hedgerows of western Normandy in July 1944, the British were waging a largely armored campaign to the east near Caen. Planned to have been seized on D-Day, Caen remained contested on July 18, when Bernard Montgomery launched Operation Goodwood, whose exact purpose is still debated--either to draw Germans away from the American sector or to break out to Falaise. In one of the largest armored battles in their history, the British lost almost one-third of their tank strength in Normandy in exchange for a gain of only seven miles.
Download or read book Lists and Indexes from the Public Record Office written by List & Index Society and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
