Destination Normandy: Three American Regiments on D-Day
Each participant's story is woven into the larger picture of the assault, allowing Bennett to go beyond the largely personal viewpoints yielded by traditional oral history but avoiding the impersonal nature of studies of grand strategy. In addition to the interviews and memoirs Bennett collected, he also discovered fresh documentary evidence from American, British, and French archives that play an important part in facilitating this new approach, as well as archives in Britain and France. The author unearths new stories and questions from D-Day, such as the massacre of soldiers from the 507th at Graignes, Hemevez, and elsewhere. This new material includes a focus on the regimental level, which is all but ignored by historians, while still covering strategic, tactical, and human issues. His conclusions highlight common misperceptions about the Normandy landings. Questions have already been raised about the wisdom of the Anglo-American amphibious doctrine employed on D-Day. In this study, Bennett continues to challenge the assumption that the operation was an exemplary demonstration of strategic planning. |
From inside the book
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In the distance we could see the outline of a church steeple . So we decided to head for the church and maybe get some information as to our whereabouts and the whereabouts of any other troopers in the area . We continued cautiously on ...
town burst into the church to announce the arrival of a substantial German force . Raymond Lereculey , who was 12 at the time , remembered : Mme Bazir came into Church shouting , “ My children , look out , the Boches are coming .
At the fall of Graignes the Panzer Grenadiers captured the aid station that had been set up in the church . Some 19 soldiers were in the station . Captain Sophain and probably all the members of the medical detachment were busy ...
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Contents
Operation Bolero and the Clash of Cultures | 1 |
Three Regiments and the Mind of the GI | 7 |
Early Training and the Buildup to June 6 1944 | 17 |
Copyright | |
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