Fontenay- Ozevi-;i ^^T.^^ St-Martin- Azevi^lle ^^ de-Varreville > '«/ D-H4V7 Oninrv Nevodc ATLAS Mais ^dn E spo^ Iron1 THE DEFINITIVE ACCOUNT OF THE ins Boyfie.: ALLIED INVASION OF NORMANDY Augusta 'overs Man John .xz -; .. Worspite t'!-.i!i The Allied landing in German-occupied Normandy on 6June 944 was the greatest 1 amphibious operation in military history. On the beaches and in the towns, fields and hedgerows ofthe French countryside, the outnumbered and outgunned German forces fought one ofthe most tenacious, skillful and courageous defensive campaigns ofthe entire war, and the fighting throughoutJune,July and August rivaled in intensity the worst days on the Somme or atVerdun thirty years before. The D-DayAtlas traces the Normandy campaign from its conception through to the destruction ofthe German 7th and 5th PanzerArmies at Falaise and the Allied liberation ofParis. It brings a new clarity not only to the disposition and movement ofmilitary units but also to the plans and objectives ofthe commanders on both sides, the nature ofthe Normandy terrain, the role ofAllied air interdiction and long-range naval fire support, the movement of reserve units and supplies and the activities of the French Resistance. A Special map projections, perspective views and sophisticated treatment oftime phases recreate the action from the viewpointofthe Allied and German commanders on the spot. More than sixtyfull-color maps are complemented by an authoritative textand carefully selected contemporary photographs and artwork. The result is a detailed and graphic reconstruction ofthe complexity of20th- century warfare and a depiction ofthe events in Normandyfifty years ago thatgives a genuinely new insight into the decisions and difficulties facing military commanders atthe l BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY THE ON FACTS FILE D-DAY ATLAS THE ON FACTS FILE D-DAY ATLAS THE DEFINITIVE ACCOUNT OF THE ALLIED INVASION OF NORMANDY FIRST EDITION by Man John CHARLESTOWN BRANCH LIBRARY a On Facts File® AN INFOBASE HOLDINGS COMPANY Text Copyright© 1994 John Man Design and Maps Copyright © 1994 Swanston Publishing Limited All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced or utilized in anyform or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writingfrom the publisher. 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Text design by Malcolm Swanston and Andrew Stevenson Jacket design by Peter Gamble Composition by Swanston Publishing Limited, Derby, England Manfactured in the U.S. by Quebecor Printing Book Group, Westwood, MA and Brattleboro, VT 987654321 10 ISBN 0-8160-3137-1 ^</ 1 — A C\ - LA L-L Printed on acid free paper J I 411 1 i 3 o Contents Foreword -A Recollection 6 32/BritishBeaches, 24.00hours 70/71 The Authorand the Consultant 7 Keyto the Maps 8 Deadlockat Caen 72 Map 1 Overlord 9 33/AlliedBridgeheads 72/73 Map 34/TheAlliedFront, 10June 1944 74/75 1/TheDunkirkEvacuation, May 1940 9 35/TheAlliedFront, 13June 1944 76/77 2/OperationSeaLion, 1940 10/1 36/Villers-Bocage, 12-15June 1944 "8 3/St.NazaireRaid, March 1942 12 37/MulberryHarboratArromanches 8-4/85 4/OperationJubilee,August 1942 13 38/0"heGreatStorm, 20June 1944 86 5/BomberCommandTargetsinEurope 1 39/AmericanMulberryHarboratSt-Laurent 86 6/TroopBuild-upforD-Day 16 40/RearMaintenanceArea,August 1944 87 7/GermanDeployment,May-June 1944 18 41/CaptureofCherbourg, 3-30June 1944 89 8/InvasionCoastandRadarAttacks, D-Day-20 20 42/OperationEpsom, 24-30June 1944 90/91 9/InterdictionBombing, May-August 1944 22 10/GermanForcesDeployment,6June 1944 24/25 Breakthrough, Break-Out 98 11/D-DayAssaultBeaches,6June 1944 28/29 Map 12/GermanBeachDefences,May 1944 30 43/TheAlliedFront, 17June 1944 98 44/AdvanceandCaptureofSt-L6, 24-30July 1944 101 2 Assaultfrom the Air 3 45/TheAlliedFront, 30June 1944 100/101 Map 46/OperationCharnwood,7-9July 1944 102 13/FrenchResistanceGroups, Normandy 1944 33 47/AttacksintheOdonValley, 10July 103 14/RoutesforAirborneDivisions, 5-6June '4A 34 48/OperationGoodwood, 18-21July 1944 105 15/U.S. 82ndA/DivDropPatterns,6June 1944 34/35 49/ThePlutoPipeline 106 16/U.S. 101stA/DivDropPatterns,6June 1944 36/37 50/TheAlliedFront, 24July 1944 110/111 17/SixthAirborneDivision, 5-6June 1944 38 51/OperationCobra, 25-31July 1944 11 18/PegasusBridge 39 19/OperationNeptune(Naval)- D-Day 40/41 Falaise: "A Sight that Pierced the Soul" 16 I Map 3 Walk-Overat Utah, 52/TheAlliedFront, 31July 1944 I16/117 Bloodshed at Omaha 42 53/OperationBluecoat, 29July-6August 1944 1 19 Map 54/MortainCounterattack, 7-8August 19» 121 20/OperationNeptune(ConvoyRoutes) 42/43 55/OperationTotalize, 7-11 August 1944 122 21/UtahBeachLandings 45 56/OperationTractable. 1* August 1944 124 22/UtahBeach 47 57/TheEnvelopment, 1-16August 191 124 125 23/UtahBeach, 24.00hours 49 58/TheAmericanBreakout 125 24/OmahaBeach 50/51 59/TheFalaisePocket, 13-19 August I1)i i 128/129 25/AssaultonOmahaBeach 52/53 60/TheLiberationofPans js \ugust 1944 M | i i 26/OmahaBeachCrossSection 53 61/Europe. 1 September 1944 MS 27/OmahaBeach, 24.00hours 56/57 Appendices 136 4 Gold,Juno, Sword: 62/MilitaryCemeteriesand Monument! 1st. The Struggle for Footholds 58 Hierarchies i y? Map Chronology i mi 28/BritishBeaches, InitialAssault 58/59 Codenamea V) 1 29/SeawardDefences 60/61 30/BritishandCanadianAdvances(Gold,Juno) 62/63 Index 40-142 31/SwordBeach, 24.00hours 67 Bibliography and Picture Credits 143 A o Foreword - Recollection On a hot summer's afternoon in 19-n. a three-year-old boywas playing with a tennis ball in the narrow road outside hishome, acottage ina Kentishvillage. Therewas no traffictodisturbthequiet. Petrolwasstricdyrationedandthefamilycar. aMorris, was onblocksinthegarage.Theboykickedtheballacrosstheroad. Itfellintotheshallow ditch. Theboyfollowedandclimbeddowntoretrieveit. Atthat momentheheardanoise, asteadilyincreasingroar. Somethingwascoming. Helookeddownthelaneandsawamotorbikewithaside-car. Hewaitedforittopass. The driverwaved, the boywavedback. Behindthebikewas anotherand anotherand dozens more: and then trucks, all painted the same dim greens and browns, open trucks with soldiers in the back. They. too. waved at him. The boy watched, amazed and awed, as the wheels rolled by and the men waved: and then frightened because thethoughtthatwentthroughhismindwasthathecouldn'tgethomefortea. Iwasthatboyandthiswasmyfirstmemory, stillvividafter50years. Perhapsitwas theweekbefore D-Day. whentroopswerebeingtakentothecampsfromwhichthey wouldembark. Perhaps earlier, when teams were storingequipment in side-roads and fields. In any event. I was just one ofthousands ofchildren who stood watching and waving at such convoys winding through the lanes ofsouthern England that summer, preparing for the greatest amphibious assault ever, the assault that would eventually rolluptheGermanempireinthewest. The memories of those children, reinforced by hearing about, and then reading about, those who fought, lived and died, soon became part of a much wider experience, linking millions. The build-up to D-Day. the day itself, the campaign that followed, thewholemonumentaloperationhasenteredthepsychesofmanynations- Britain. Americaand France, ofcourse, but alsoCanada, andtoalesserextentofother occupied nations contributing to the liberation forces. It is also an integral part of Germanhistory. Theeventsretoldinthisbookreverberatedacrosstheworldanddowntheyears, in anecdote, history, photograph and film, echoing now into the third and fourth generations. These are not merely historical events. They are deeply personal to thousandswho still rememberthemvividly. Evenifyouwerenot there, ifyoudidnot see the convoys, ifyou were not born, the chances are that you can still find some connectionwiththosewhoplayedapartinthecampaign. AsIdid. Mywife'sfather. CharlesChristianWertenbaker.wasawarcorrespondentreporting for Time magazine, joining 9th Division with photographer Robert Capa for the advanceonCherbourg.WTienIstartedworkonthisbook.Icameacrosshisaccountof the advance, recorded in one ofthe first "instant" books. Invasion! His view, partial and close-up and soon out ofprint, includes details easily buried by the business of distillingeventsintohistory: "One could be carried away by sentiment and say that the oppressed French welcomed their liberators with tears of joy. but that would not be the whole truth ... The people ofthis part ofFrance were not hungry, as many ofus had thoughtlesslyexpectedthemtobe. Calvadosisrichinmilk, butter, cheese, eggs, beef. veal, cider, applejack and horseflesh, and the countrymen are sturdy and long-lived ... The Germans who occupied Calvados were not ruthless to the people ... thewarsof18~0and 1914hadleftpeoplewithoutthebitterpersonal hate of the Germans other Frenchmen felt ... VCTien the Americans and the Britishcame, therefore, the people did notwelcome themwith unmixedjoy. At first, when the bombs rained down and shells poured in from the sea on then- town, villages and fields, crumbling their houses, destroying their carde. killing and wounding many people ... they wondered if it would be to any good purpose. They were afraid the invaders would be driven back into the sea ...