 [i] See the alternative history of by Peter Tsouras Disaster at D-Day: The Germans Defeat the Allies, June 0000, Greenhill Books, London 0000. Tsouras describes the defeat of the Omaha landings and the effect on the course of the campaign leading to the overthrow of Hitler and a negotiated armistice in the west. While this outcome could be rigorously debated other outcomes could have led to the fall of the Roosevelt and Churchill governments and their replacement by those not committed to unconditional surrender or a continuation of the war that brought about more German missile attacks on the U.K. and the introduction of other advanced German weapons that could have forced such a settlement. Another option could have led to the dropping of the Atomic Bomb on a German city vice Hiroshima. [ii] Weigley, Russell F. Eisenhower's Lieutenants: The Campaign of France and Germany, 0000-0000, Indiana University Press, Bloomington IN, 0000 p.00 [iii] Ibid pp. 00-00 [iv] Ibid p.00 [v] General Montgomery 00st Army group and Land Forces, Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsey as Allied Naval Expeditionary Force and Air Marshall Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory as Commander in Chief Allied Expeditionary Air Force. Weigley p.00 [vi] Max Hastings in Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy Vintage Books, New York, 0000, comments that many in Britain wondered if Eisenhower with the lack of actual battle experience could be a effective commander and that Eisenhower was disappointed in the appointment of Leigh-Mallory and Ramsey, and had preferred Alexander over Montgomery, pp. 00-00. [vii] Ibid. Weigley p.00. Montgomery was the first to object to the 0 division narrow front invasion rightly recognizing that seizing Caen with its road junctions could provide a springboard for the campaign into open country. [viii] Ibid. p.00 [ix] Hastings, Max. Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy Vintage Books, New York, 0000 p.00 Hastings finds the irony in the selection of the British officers to execute the plan that reflected the American way of thinking. [x] The Germans agreed with this in their planning leaving Brittany very lightly defended. See Isby, David C. Ed. "The German Army at D-Day: Fighting the Invasion." p.00 The report of General Blumentritt, Chief of Staff OB West noted that only 0 divisions were assigned to Brittany. [xi] Ibid. Weigley, pp. 00-00 [xii] Ibid. p.00 [xiii] See Isby p. 00. General Max Pemsel of 0th Army noted that "During the spring of 0000, Seventh Army received only tow good photographs of British southern ports, which showed large concentrations of landing craft." [xiv] Ibid. Hastings p.00. Hastings comments also about the success of using the turned Abwehr agents. [xv] Warlimont, Walter. "Inside Hitler's Headquarters: 0000-0000." Translated from theGerman by R.H. Barry. Presidio Press, Novao CA, English Edition Copyright 0000 Wiedenfeld and Nicholson Ltd. Pp.000-000 [xvi] Ibid. Weigley pp. 00-00 [xvii] Ibid. p. 00 [xviii] Ibid. pp.00-00 Weigley spends a great deal of time on the wrangling between Eisenhower, Leigh Mallory and Spaatz on the nature of the plan, the allocation of forces both strategic and tactical assigned to carry it out and its success, or in the light of postwar analysis the lack of effect that it had on German operations. [xix] Ibid. p.00-00. [xx] Ibid. Hastings pp. 00-00 In large part due to the long range P-00 Mustang which accompanied the American bombing raids beginning in 0000. Another comment is that the campaign drew the German fighters home to defend Germany proper and prevented their use in any appreciable numbers over the invasion beaches. [xxi] Ibid. Weigley p.00 [xxii] Ibid. p.00 [xxiii] Ibid. pp. 00-00 [xxiv] Ibid. p.00 [xxv] Ibid. Weigley also talks about the rejection of General Corlett's ideas to use Amtracks used by the Marines in the Pacific to land on less desirable, but less defended beaches to lessen casualties on the beaches and the need for additional support equipment even on smooth beaches. One of Corlett's criticisms was that too little ammunition was allotted to supporting the landings and not enough supporting equipment was provided. pp. 00-00 [xxvi] Hastings notes that with the strength and firepower of the German forces on OMAHA that many of these vehicles had they been employed would like have ended up destroyed further cluttering the beachhead. "Overlord" p.000 [xxvii] The battle over the deployment of the Panzer Divisions is covered by numerous historians. The source of the conflict was between Rommel who desired to place the Panzer Divisions on the Coast under his command due to the fear that Allied air superiority would prevent the traditional Panzer counterthrust, General Gyer von Schweppenburg commander of Panzer Group West (Later the 0th Panzer Army) and Field Marshal Von Rundstedt who desired to deploy the divisions order the command of Rundstedt for a counter attack once the invasion had been launched, a strategy which was standard on the Eastern Front, and Hitler who held most of the Panzer reserve including the SS Panzer Divisions under his control at OKW. Hitler would negotiate a compromise that gave Rommel the satisfaction of having three Panzer Divisions deployed behind coast areas in the Army Group B area of responsibility. 00stPanzer had those duties in Normandy. [xxviii] Ibid. p.00-00 [xxix] Von Luck, Hans. "Panzer Commander" Dell Publishing, New York, 0000 pp. 000-000. Von Luck a regiment commander in 00st Panzer noted that General Marcks of 00th Corps had predicted a 0 June invasion at a conference May 00th. [xxx] Almost every D-Day historian talks about the weather factor and its effect on the German high command's reaction to the invasion. Rommel was visiting his wife for her birthday and planned to make a call on Hitler. Others including commanders of key divisions such as the 00st Airlanding Division were off to a war game in Rennes and the 00st Panzer Division to Paris. [xxxi] Ibid. Weigley p. 00 [xxxii] See Cornelius Ryan, "The Longest Day" Popular Library Edition, New York 0000. pp. 000-000 for a vivid description of the challenges faced by soldiers going from ship to landing craft and their ride in to the beaches. [xxxiii] Ibid. Weigley. p.00 Weigley talks about the order for the tanks to be carried ashore on their LCTs that did not get transmitted to the 000st. [xxxiv] Ibid. [xxxv] Ibid. Weigley p. 00 The weather prevented the aerial bombardment from being effective. Because the bombers could not see their targets they dropped their bomb loads further inland, depriving the infantry of support that they were expecting. Naval gunfire support had some effect but had to be lifted as the troops hit the beach leaving much of that support to come from Destroyers and specially equipped landing craft which mounted rockets and guns. [xxxvi] Ibid. Hastings. pp. 00-00. [xxxvii] Ibid. p.00 [xxxviii] Ibid. Weigley p.00 [xxxix] Ibid. p.000 Also see Weigley p.00 [xl] Ibid. p.00 [xli] Ibid. Weigley. p.00 [xlii] Ibid. p.00 [xliii] Ibid. p.00 Both Weigley and Hastings make note of the failure of both the Americans and British to train their troops to fight in the bocage once they had left the beaches. [xliv] Ibid. Hastings. pp.000-000 [xlv] Ibid. Weigley p.000 [xlvi] Isby, David C., Ed. "Fighting in Normandy: The German Army from D-Day to Villers-Bocage." Greenhill Books, London, 0000. p.000 [xlvii] Ibid. Hastings p.000 Allied fighter bombers exacted a fearful toll among German commanders. The Commanders of the 000rd and 00th Divisions fighting in the Cotentin were also killed by air attacks on the 00th and 00th. Further east facing the British the commander of the 00th SS Panzer Division, Fritz Witt on the 00th. [xlviii] Ibid. Weigley. p.000 [xlix] Ibid. p.000-000. [l] Ibid. [li] The efforts of the 00st Highland Division and 0th Armored Division were turned aside by the Germans in the area and were dramatized by the destruction of a British armored battalion by SS Captain Michael Wittman and his platoon of Tiger tanks. See Hastings pp.000-000. [lii] The British 0th Corps under General O'Connor lost 000 tanks and 0,000 men on 00 July attempting to crack the German gun line on the ridge beyond Caen. Weigley, pp.000-000. [liii] Hastings comments about the critical British manpower shortage and the pressures on Montgomery to not take heavy casualties that could not be replaced. Overlord. pp.000-000. [liv] Ibid. Weigley pp.000-000 [lv] Ibid. p.000 [lvi] Ibid. p000 Bradley told Eisenhower "when we hit the enemy this time we will hit him with such power that we can keep going and cause a major disaster." [lvii] Ibid. 000 [lviii] Ibid. Weigley. pp. 000-000. Weigley notes of 00,000 U.S. casualties in Normandy up to the capture of St. Lo that 00% were concentrated among the infantry. [lix] Weigley quotes the 000th Regiment, 00rd Division historian "We won the battle of Normandy, [but] considering the high price in American lives we lost. P.000. This is actually a provocative statement that reflects America's aversion to massive casualties in any war. [lx] Ibid. p.000 [lxi] Ibid. p. 000 [lxii] Ibid. pp. 000-000. Among the casualties were the command group of the 0th Division's 0rd Battalion 00th Infantry and General Leslie McNair who had come to observe the assault. [lxiii] Ibid. pp.000-000. Weigley notes the advances in U.S. tactical air support, the employment of massive numbers of U.S. divisions against the depleted German LXXXIV Corps, and the advantage that the "Rhino" device gave to American tanks by giving them the ability to maneuver off the roads for the first time. [lxiv] Ibid. pp.000-000. [lxv] Ibid. p.000 [lxvi] Ibid. Isby, David C. "Fighting in Normandy," p.000, an officer of the 000nd Division referred to the American soldier "was to prove himself a in this terrain an agile and superior fighter." Bibliography Carell, Paul. "Invasion: They're Coming!" Translated from the German by E. Osers, Bantam, New York 0000. Hastings, Max. Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy Vintage Books, New York, 0000 Isby, David C. Ed. "The German Army at D-Day: Fighting the Invasion." Greenhill Books, London 0000 Isby, David C., Ed. "Fighting in Normandy: The German Army from D-Day to Villers-Bocage." Greenhill Books, London, 0000. Ryan, Cornelius, "The Longest Day" Popular Library Edition, New York 0000 Tsouras, Peter. "Disaster at D-Day: The Germans Defeat the Allies, June 0000,"Greenhill Books, London 0000. Von Luck, Hans. "Panzer Commander" Dell Publishing, New York, 0000 Warlimont, Walter. "Inside Hitler's Headquarters: 0000-0000." Translated from theGerman by R.H. Barry. Presidio Press, Novao CA, English Edition Copyright 0000 Wiedenfeld and Nicholson Ltd. Warlimont, Walter. "Inside Hitler's Headquarters: 0000-0000." Translated from theGerman by R.H. Barry. Presidio Press, Novao CA, English Edition Copyright 0000 Wiedenfeld and Nicholson Ltd. Weigley, Russell F. Eisenhower's Lieutenants: The Campaign of France and Germany, 0000-0000, Indiana University Press, Bloomington IN, 0000 Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Pinterest Reddit Print Tumblr Pocket Like this: Like Loading... 0 Comments Filed under 