A highly illustrated and detailed study of the Gold and Juno Beaches Landings 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 story behind D-Day begins in 1939 when Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, attacked Poland and ignited World War Two. The following year, the Germans occupied France and Western Europe and launched a vicious air war against Britain. In 1941, they invaded the Soviet Union. Seemingly unstoppable, the Nazis now held virtually all of Europe. They imposed a ruthless system of control and unleashed the horror of the Holocaust. However, by 1943, the tide had begun to turn in favor of the Allies, the forces opposed to Germany. In the east, despite huge losses, the Soviets began to force the Germans back.
Of D-Day, everybody remembers the American paratroopers dropping over Sainte-Mère-Eglise, the bloodbath at Omaha Beach, the heroic capture of the Point du Hoc, or again the 177 French Commandoes landing at Ouistreham. What everybody forgets was that in the middle of this front, there was a sector, Gold Beach, where the Allied offensive turned out to be particularly effective, so much so that by the evening of 6 June the 25 000 British soldiers who set foot on the beaches at Asnelles and Ver-sur-mer had reached their objectives, in particular the control of the Caen-Bayeux road and liberated Bayeux the next day. But Gold Beach was also the story of the technical expertise resulting in the building of the artificial port at Arromanches and changing Port-en-Bessin into a "petrol station" supplying the whole of the Allied armada. It was in the Gold Beach sector that Sergeant Stan Hallis earned his Victoria Cross (the highest British military award) in recompense for his acts of bravery, the only one awarded in Normandy. It was for all these reasons that the British Government chose Gold Beach and in particular the village of Ver-sur-Mer to set up the Memorial bearing the names of some 21 000 United Kingdom soldiers killed on D-Day or during the Battle of Normandy. A book was therefore needed for Gold Beach to obtain a rightful place of its own in history among the five landing beaches. Thanks to the exceptional documentation gathered over more than half a century by Philippe Bauduin, a recognized specialist of D-Day, born in Ver-sur-mer, this richly illustrated book reminds you of what was at stake in this sector of D-Day, and tells the story of what happened there, nearest the participants. After the success of Jour-J, ce qu'on ne vous a pas raconté, les secrets du Débarquement, published in 2016, Philippe Bauduin and Jean-Charles continue their work together with this most recent book devoted to 6 June 1944.
This spectacular, large format, full color, new book is quite simply the most impressive book of its type we have seen. Packed with over 200 photographs, maps and charts, the book is divided into the sectors associated with the Normandy landings in 1944. What's more it is extremely reasonably priced.
The Normandy landings of 6 June 1944, across five sectors of the French coast - Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword - constituted the largest amphibious invasion in history. This study analyses in depth the preparations and implementation of the D-Day landing on Gold Beach by XXX Corps. Historians have tended to dismiss the landing on Gold Beach as straightforward but the evidence points to a different reality. Armour supported the infantry landing and prior bombing was intended to weaken German defences; however, the bulk of the bombing landed too far inland, and many craft foundered in difficult conditions at sea. It was the tenacity of the assault units and the flexibility of the follow up units which enabled the Gold landing to secure the right flank of the British Army in Normandy. Using detailed primary evidence from The National Archives and the Imperial War Museum, this volume provides a substantial assessment of the background to the landing on Gold, and analyses the events of D-Day in the wider context of the Normandy Campaign.
How British soldiers took Sword and Gold beaches on D-Day. This is the story of the British soldiers’ experience of the beach landings on that fateful morning - the spearhead of Operation Overlord.
In June 1944 the Allies opened the long-awaited second front against Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, and this was to be the start of a long struggle throughout Western Europe for the Allied forces in the face of stiff German resistance. The European Theatre was where the bulk of the Allied forces were committed in the struggle against Nazi Germany. It saw some of the most famous battles and operations of the war – Normandy, Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge – as the Allies sought to liberate Western Europe in the face of bitter and hard-fought German resistance. From the beaches of D-Day through to the final battles in war-ravaged Germany, the war across the breadth and depth of Western Europe is brought to life through scores of carefully researched and intricately detailed maps.
Includes numerous maps and illustrations. This monograph provides first-hand accounts of Destroyer Squadron 18 during this critical battle upon which so much of the success of our campaign in Europe would depend. Their experience at Omaha Beach can be looked upon as typical of most U.S. warships engaged at Normandy. On the other hand, from the author’s research it appears evident that this destroyer squadron, with their British counterparts, may have had a more pivotal influence on the breakout from the beachhead and the success of the subsequent campaign than was heretofore realized. Its contributions certainly provide a basis for discussion among veterans and research by historians, as well as a solid, professional account of naval action in support of the Normandy landings.
Chronicles the events, politics, and personalities of this pivotal day in World War II, shedding light on the strategies of commanders on both sides and the ramifications of the battle
The Allied invasion of occupied France began with the delivery of three airborne and six infantry divisions onto a 60-mile stretch of the Normandy coast. Accomplishing this involved over 1,200 transport aircraft, 450 gliders, 325 assorted warships and over 4,000 landing vessels. Operation Overlord, as the invasion was code-named, remains the largest amphibious invasion in history. This books tells the story hour-by-hour as it unfurled on the beaches, as experienced by the Allied troops. D-Day: The First 72 Hours covers the initial attacks made by airborne and special forces until the point where all the beachheads were secured.
