Cracking Hitler's Atlantic Wall : the 1st Assault Brigade Royal Engineers on D-Day / Richard C. Anderson, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Anderson, Richard C., Jr., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Great Britain. Army. Royal Engineers. Assault Brigade, 1st.

Great Britain.

World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--France--Normandy.

World War, 1939-1945.

World War, 1939-1945--Regimental histories--Great Britain.

Atlantic Wall (France and Belgium).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (v, 266 p. ) ill., maps ;

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania : Stackpole Books, [2010]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A military historian analyzes the ingenious WWII tanks known as Hobart's Funnies, detailing their development and their role in the D-Day campaign. When the British and Canadians landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944, they were accompanied by specialized armored vehicles designed to remove German obstacles and mines. Developed by the Royal Engineers, these tanks known as Hobart's Funnies featured a range of ingenious innovations, from carpet-laying and bridge-laying devices to a giant 290-millimeter mortar. Examining these vehicles from technical development to combat deployment, military historian Richard C. Anderson Jr. gives a minute-by-minute account of D-Day's early hours on Sword, Juno, and Gold Beaches-the critical moments when success hinged on the assault engineers' ability toclear a path or breach the seawall. Anderson also describes the events on Omaha and Utah Beaches, where U.S. troops, despite being offered these vehicles, stormed ashore without them. Through careful comparison of conditions and outcomes, Anderson assesses the vehicles' performance and impact on D-Day's successes and failures.

Contents:

Conception

Organization, training, and equipment

Allied planning and preparation

German planning and preparation

Assault force sword, the British 3rd Infantry Division

Assault force Juno, the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division

Assault force Gold, the British 50th Infantry Division

Assault force Omaha, the U.S. 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions

Assault force Utah, the U.S. 4th Infantry Division

Results

the funnies' impact on D-Day.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9786612995248

9781282995246

1282995243

9780811742719

0811742717