Walking D-Day

by Paul Reed

Overview

Paul Reed’s latest battlefield walking guide covers the site of the largest amphibious invasion of all time, the first step in the Allied liberation of France and the rest of northwest Europe. The places associated with the landings on the Normandy coast on 6 June 1944 are among the most memorable that a battlefield visitor can explore. They give a fascinating insight into the scale and complexity of the Allied undertaking and the extent of the German defenses – and into the critical episodes in the fighting that determined whether the Allies would gain a foothold or be thrown back into the sea. All the most important sites are featured, from Pegasus Bridge, Merville Battery, Ouistrehem and Longues Battery to Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah Beaches, Pointe du Hoc and Sainte-Mère-Église. There are twelve walks, and each one is prefaced by a historical section describing in vivid detail what happened in each location and what remains to be seen. Information on the many battlefield monuments and the military cemeteries is included, and there are over 120 illustrations. Walking D-Day introduces the visitor not only to the places where the Allies landed and first clashed with the Germans defenders but to the Normandy landscape over which the critical battles that decided the course of the war were fought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781848848368
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	08/19/2012
Series:	Battleground Normandy
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Paul Reed is a leading military historian, specializing in the two world wars. He has been visiting European battlefields for more than thirty years, and lived on the Somme for over a decade. He has worked as a researcher and battlefield guide, and is the author of several books on the Great War. He also regularly contributes to television programmes, such as Timewatch, Meet the Ancestors and Who Do You Think You Are? and was historical consultant to BBC1’s My Family At War.

Table of Contents

Preface 6

User Guide 8

Abbreviations/Glossary 11

Area 1 Pegasus Bridge Walk: 6th Airborne Division at Bénouville 13

Area 2 Eastern Flank Walk: The Merville Battery and Amfreville-Bréville 33

Area 3 Commando Walk: The 1st Special Service Brigade on D-Day 61

Area 4 SWORD Beach Walk: 3rd Division on D-Day 77

Area 5 JUNO Beach Walk: Nan Beach - Inland to Tailleville 103

Area 6 JUNO Beach Walk: Mike Beach - The Fight for Courseulles 123

Area 7 Gold Beach Walk: 50th Division on D-Day 137

Area 8 Arromanches Walk: D-Day Liberation and the Mulberry Harbour 163

Area 9 Omaha Beach Walk: 'Bloody Omaha' 179

Area 10 Pointe du Hoc Walk: The 2nd Rangers, 6-8 June 1944 205

Area 11 UTAH Beach Walk: The 4th Infantry Division and 101st (Airborne) Divisions on D-Day 223

Area 12 Airborne Walk: Ste-Mère-Eglise-La Fière 82nd Airborne Actions on D-Day 237

Appendix D-Day Cemeteries in Normandy 255

Acknowledgements 264

Notes 265

Index 270