Normandy Recce

So last weekend saw some friends and myself hop in to my car and 'dash' across the channel for a few days to do a recce of the American D-Day sector.

First thing that became apparent was how many good locations there were with a good amount of space to park vehicles (up to minibus/people carrier size). There were a few locations that were not only unsuitable but also would not add much to a trip as the ground or present features did not really show anything that could not be covered elsewhere.

Walking the ground is also very easy and agin shows some useful features. I wasn't sure how feasible some locations would be to walk between with a group (even though I was using Paul Reed's 'Walking D-Day'). But having walked a number of potential stands feel that it would be worth while, especially the ascent to WN60 which seems to follow the rough route taken by the assaulting troops on D-Day.

WN60 was well worth the trek and thanks must go to the Guild of Battlefield Guides 'Dispatches' magazine and Paul Oldfield's article about going off of the beaten track on 'Omaha' beach.  The various emplacements and the view across 'Omaha' from up at this position were stunning to say the least.

I also made the effort to visit the American and German military cemeteries around the 'Omaha' area. I think this is important as it shows the costs to the participants involved and also shows how each nation approaches its remembrance of its war dead.

Here are a few pictures from the Recce and I hope to be able to put a few more up soon with further details relating to them.

Navy Memorial - Utah Beach

 Richard Winters Memorial

 View from WN60 out across 'Omaha' the view was stunning

Pointe Du Hoc - The scars of bombardment and battle still ever present

I hope to have another blog post with some more pictures later/next week.

Normandy Research

The last few weeks has seen a welcome return of my interest in the Battle for Normandy in 1944. For the planned recce to the area I knew there would be a lot of research needed even with just focusing on the first two -three days and just the American sector. However I have been pleasantly surprised but just how much material I keep finding that I am looking forward to reading through.

I even managed to find three books at a war-games show that were useful (well two of them are not so much linked to the American involvement but are for a future recce).

It helped that they were all on offer as well and I always struggle to pass up history books that are 50% or less than the RRP.

This was a short update on what I am doing at the moment and will post up some of my research soon.

Happy New Year and a quick look forward to 2015

This is just a quick post to welcome in 2015 and some plans that I have for 2015.

So the first part of 2015 is going to be spent doing some research on the American sector of Normandy followed by a quick and brief recce to Omaha and Utah beaches and some of the airborne sites a little further in.
Hopefully I will be able to get a good idea of appropriate areas for when I take a group of wargaming friends over later in the year.
I am also going to be writing a wargaming supplement with a friend so this research will help greatly and hopefully I can get some good photos for it as well.

Hopefully there will be another update towards the end of next week.

21st Army Group and the Battle of Normandy

With the 70^th anniversary of the D-Day landings coming up next year, we will no doubt see a publishing frenzy about D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. This might not be on the scale of First World War publications but will be significant nether the less. The British and Canadian performance in the Battle of Normandy is a subject of very differing and strong views. One book that has come out in recent months is a reappraisal of the efforts of 21^st Army Group in the entire North West Europe Campaign. ‘Monty’s Men: The British Army and the Liberation of Europe’ (John Buckley) provides a very convincing argument for the delays suffered in the Normandy campaign and highlights the fact that 21^st Army group was drawing the bulk of German Panzer strength on to their front.

This is a view that I tend to agree with, and while there were delays and setbacks the overall campaign achieved the objective of destroying the German Forces in Normandy and also inflicting such catastrophic damage upon long term ability of the German armed forces to oppose the advance on Germany via Normandy.

Due to the losses suffered by German formations (Wehrmacht, SS and Luftwaffe) and the collapse of German resistance in Normandy; the actual timetable and objectives were ahead of the planned dates. The breakout and advance across Belgium became known as the “Great Swan” due to the pace and lack of resistance in the way of 21^st Army Group.

Performance was certainly varied among units that made up 21^st Army Group, but as a whole it performed well and to expectations. Certain Operations could have been carried out better or had more detailed realistic plans (such as Operation Goodwood). However General Montgomery certainly did not help matters both before, during and after the campaign in Normandy had been won. His sweeping statements regarding the level of success that would be achieved by individual operations meant that expectations were high and invariably difficult to meet/ achieve in the best of circumstances. However the plans were required to be bold in order to guarantee the resources that were needed. Goodwood is a prime example of having to twist the arm of the RAF for the use of heavy bombers in a tactical role, something that would not be possible if the scope and aims of the operation were modest.

Over the next few months I plan to delve into the performance of 21^st Army Group in Normandy using a wide range of sources and where time permits plenty material from the National Archives.

This weekend just gone, I had the pleasure of attending the Guild of Battlefield Guides Annual General Meeting Weekend. This was the second year that I attended and matched the standards of the previous one. The level of knowledge in the building was very high as was the enthusiasm for delivering excellent battlefield tours.

It was a great weekend for making contacts and for finding out a number of ongoing projects related to the 100^th anniversary of the First World War.

Battle of Mons- Photosource: Authors Collection

I came away with a renewed commitment to leading a few tours for friends and family next year and for putting some serious thought into starting on the path to the coveted ‘Badge’. Validation for this involves a number of assignments beginning with a 20 minute presentation (stand) on a battle of your choosing. I have a few in mind so it will be an eventful few months of planning and researching a number of stands and hopefully visits as well.