Destination Normandy: Three American Regiments on D-DayBennett collects oral histories from men of three United States regiments that participated in the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment was the most widely scattered of the American parachute infantry regiments to be dropped on D-Day. However, the efforts of 180 men to stop the advance of an SS Panzer Grenadier division largely have been ignored outside of France. The 116th Infantry Regiment received the highest number of casualties on Omaha Beach of any Allied unit on D-Day. Stationed in England through most of the war, it had been the butt of jokes while other regiments did the fighting and dying in North Africa and the Mediterranean; that changed on June 6, 1944. And the 22nd Infantry Regiment, a unit that had fought in almost every campaign waged by the U.S. Army since 1812, came ashore on Utah Beach quite easily before getting embroiled in a series of savage fights to cross the marshland behind the beach and to capture the German heavy batteries to the north. |
From inside the book
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... leaders ... we shall not make a success of our land- ings— & so far after 5 years of war we have found very few geniuses among our generals . Most of the men who will take part in the fighting will be new to battle- & despite rig- orous ...
... leadership was evident . Had this been an actual operation , it is extremely doubtful if many men would have left the beach alive.2 21 The proficiency of the 116th Infantry Regiment ensured that it would be entrusted with the task of ...
... leaders preferred to sanction the invasion of Sicily and Italy , even though it delayed the invasion of France by diverting resources to the Mediterranean . British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill played a key role in framing Allied ...
Contents
Operation Bolero and the Clash of Cultures | 1 |
Three Regiments and the Mind of the | 7 |
Early Training and the Buildup to June 6 1944 | 19 |
Copyright | |
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