Montgomery’s unplanned battle of attrition, as unplanned as the Americans’ bloody slog through the bocage, had of course been handicapped by the delays caused by the appalling weather in mid-June. Yet British and American alike had gravely underestimated the tenacity and discipline of Wehrmacht troops. This was partly because they had failed to appreciate the effectiveness of Nazi propaganda in persuading its soldiers that defeat in Normandy meant the annihilation of their Fatherland. These soldiers, especially the SS, were bound to believe that they had everything to lose. Their armies had already provided so many reasons for Allied anger.
The battle for Normandy did not go as planned, but even the armchair critics could never dispute the eventual outcome, however imperfect. One must also consider what might have happened should the extraordinary undertaking of D-Day have failed: for example, if the invasion fleet had sailed into the great storm of mid-June. The post-war map and the history of Europe would have been very different indeed.
Acknowledgements
There is an old joke that the collective noun for those in my profession is a ‘mischief of historians’. In my experience, this is certainly not true about historians of the Second World War. Facing many lonely months in foreign archives, it makes an enormous difference to be able to discuss sources and theories with others whose opinions and experience you value. Over the years, the unstinting support of colleagues and friends has been both a comfort and a pleasure.
Nearly a decade ago, when I was still fixated with the eastern front, the late Martin Blumenson first urged me to take on the subject of Normandy. He too was interested in comparing the Nazi-Soviet war with the campaign in north-west Europe. Sir Max Hastings has been endlessly generous in loans of material and good suggestions. Professor Tami Davis Biddle of the US Army War College has given wise advice on the air war and provided me with books, papers and photocopies of documents. James Holland has also lent many books and material from his own interviews. Sebastian Cox, the head of the Ministry of Defence Air Historical Branch, is another in the circle of friends forming an irregular lunch-time tertulia, discussing the war. Many other historians have helped with advice and material. They include Rick Atkinson, Professor Michael Burleigh, Professor M. R. D. Foot, Professor Donald L. Miller, Claude Quétel and Niklas Zetterling.
I have been extraordinarily lucky in all the assistance I have received from archivists while researching this book, especially Dr Tim Nenninger, the Chief of Modern Military Records at the National Archives,
Index
Abbaye Blanche
Abbaye d’Ardennes
Abetz, Otto
Abwehr (German military intelligence)
Adair, Maj Gen A.
Airborne assault
aerial support
American (map)
British(map)
casualties
deception measures
embarkation
heavy equipment landings
Alençon
Allied propaganda
Allied troops
British girlfriends
with Frenchwomen
relations with Frenchsee also Looting
AMGOT (Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories)
Amiens
Amis, Kingsley
Andrew, Lt Tom
Angers
Argentan
Arletty (Léonie Bathiat)
Arnim, Lt Dankwart Graf v.
Arromanche
Asnelles
Atlantic Wall
Aulock, GenMaj Hubertus v.
Aunay-sur-Odon
Authie
Avranches
Ay, river
Barenton
Barneville
Barton, Maj Gen Raymond O.
Bavent, Bois de
Bayerlein, GenLt Fritz
Bayeux
de Gaulle visits
liberation of
Bayeux tapestry
BBC
Beauvoir, Simone de
Beck, Sdt Eberhard
Beck, GenOb Ludwig
Bedell Smith, Maj Gen Walter
Below, ObLt Nicolaus v.
Bénouville
Bény-sur-Mer
Berghof (Berchtesgaden)
Berlichingen, Oberst Freiherr v.
Bernay
Bidault, Georges
Billotte, Col Pierre
Bingham, Maj S. V.
Birks, Col Hammond D.
Bittrich, Gruppenführer
Bletchley Park; see also Ultra intercepts
Blumentritt, Gen der Inf. Günther
Bocage
artillery observation
battle of the
descriptions
fighting in
lessons of fighting in implemented
Boegner, Pastor Marc
Boineburg-Lengsfeld, GenLt Hans Freiherr v.
Boissieu, Cpte Alain de
Bombing operations
the airborne assault
Caen
Cherbourg
the crossing
Omaha beach
Operation Cobra
Operation Goodwood
Operation Totalize
Operation Tractable
Saint-Lô, 6 June
sealing off invasion area (Operation Transportation)
Villers-Bocage
Bon Sauveur, convent of the
Bordeaux
Botsford, Lt Gardner
Boulogne
Bradley, Gen Omar N.
and Montgomery, Gen Sir Bernard L.
and Patton, Gen George S.
Brécey
Brest
Brest peninsula
Bretteville-l’Orgueilleuse
Bretteville-sur-Laize
Bréville
British Army
combat exhaustion
conservatism
desertions
infantry shortages
lack of mechanization
manpower crisis
reluctance to help other arms
replacement system
tactics
tank design
tank-infantry cooperation
UK defence force
war-weariness
British Army, 21st Army Group
British Army, Armies
Second Army
Eighth Army
British Army, Corps
I Corps
VIII Corps
XII Corps
XXX Corps
British Army, Divisions
Guards Armd
3rd Inf
6th Airborne
7th Armd
11th Armd
15th Inf (Scottish)
43rd Inf (Wessex)
50th Inf (Northumberland)
51st Inf (Highland)
British Army, Brigades
1st Special Service Bde
3rd Para Bde
4th Armd Bde
5th Para Bde
Guardsh Tank Bde
8th Bde
8th Armd Bde
9th Bde
22nd Armd Bde
29th Armd Bde
33rd Armd Bde
56th Bde
69th Bde
129th Bde
130th Bde
131st Armd Bde
185th Bde
SAS Bde
Special Air Service
British Army, Armd Regiments
1st Northants Yeomanry
2nd Welsh Guards
3rd Royal Tank Rgt
3rd Scots Guards
4th Coldstream
4th County of London Yeomanry
4th/7th Dragoon Guards
5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
11th Hussars
13th/18th Hussars
22nd Dragoons
23rd Hussars
44th Royal Tank Rgt
East Riding Yeomanry
Fife and Forfar Yeomanry
Household Cavalry Rgt
Inns of Court
Royal Scots Greys
Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry