p. 148 ‘In Westminster Abbey . . .’, Mollie Panter-Downes, London War Notes, London, 1971, p. 328
‘It has been very hard . . .’, Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke, War Diaries 1939-1945, London, 2001, p. 555 (6 June)
p. 149 Eadie and ‘Fireflies’, see Carlo D’Este, Decision in Normandy, New York, 1983
‘I suppose that’s what . . .’, Lieutenant Cyril Rand, 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles, MdC TE 499
‘It equally impressed . . .’, NA II 407/ 427/24170
p. 150 ‘the enemy annihilated . . .’, Seventh Army telephone records, NA II 407/427/ 6431
‘He was still convinced . . .’, Nicolaus von Below, Als Hitlers Adjutant, 1937-1945, Mainz, 1980, p. 374
Panzer Lehr Division, Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein, Panzer Lehr Division, ETHINT 66
‘What’s happened to...’, BA-MA MSg2/5025
p. 151 4,649 US seaborne casualties, Omar Bradley, A Soldier’s Story, New York, 1951, p. 242
11
SECURING THE BEACHHEADS
p. 152 29th Division headquarters, NA II 407/427/24034
farmhands and Pennsylvania coal miners, 29th Division, WWII VS
‘The sea was like . . .’, Oberstleutnant Ziegelmann, 352nd Infanterie-Division, FMS B-489
p. 153 MP Sergeant, Melvin Asche, 1006th Seabea Detachment, MdC TE 126
‘looked at us . . .’, Madame Huet-Patry, Vierville-sur-Mer, MdC TE 22
‘I guess they didn’t know . . .’, Barnett Hoffner, 6th Engineer Special Brigade, NWWIIM-EC
p. 154 ‘deloused’ areas, Forrest C. Pogue, Pogue’sWar,Lexington,Kentucky, 2001,p. 63
USS Harding, Walter Vollrath Jr, USN, NWWIIM-EC
p. 155 ‘Again Colonel Rudder . . .’, Elmer H. Vermeer, 2nd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, with 2nd Ranger Battalion, NWWIIM-EC; also Lieutenant Francis W. Dawson, 5th Ranger Battalion, NWWIIM-EC; and Lieutenant Rex F. Gibson, Headquarters Company, 116th Infantry, 29th Division, NA II 407/427/ 24242
‘stumble-footed action’, NA II 407/427/ 24034
bartering, Brugger, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, NWWIIM-EC
‘Hey, I need a hedgerow . . .’, Oscar Rich, 5th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, NWWIIM-EC
A-1 landing strip, W. G. Schuler, 382nd Air Service Squadron, 84th Group, NWWIIM-EC evacuation of wounded by air, Louise Anthony de Flon, 816th Medical Air Evacuation, MdC TE 177
p. 156 Gerhardt, see Joseph Balkoski, Beyond the Beachhead, Mechanicsburg, Pa., 1999, pp. 44-50
‘Sergeant, I want you . . .’, John Hooper, 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, NWWIIM-EC
V Corps plan, Oberst Ziegelmann, 352nd Infanterie-Division, FMS B-489 and B-636
p. 157 ‘the Führer personally . . .’, General Günther Blumentritt, OB West, FMS B-637, p. 263
‘a tough learning period . . .’, Lieutenant Cameron K. Brooks, 115th Infantry, 29th Division, NA II 407/427/24242
‘Lieutenant Kermit Miller ...’, NA II 407/427/24240; and Captain S. S. Suntag, 115th Infantry, NA II 407/427/24242
‘It was nearly midnight . . .’, NA II 407/ 427/24240
‘trouble from those . . .’, Captain Otto Graas, Headquarters Company, 29th Division, NA II 407/427/24241
p. 158 Gerhardt and ‘Vixen Tor’, Staff Sergeant Lester Zick, Anti-tank Company, 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, NWWIIM-EC
‘John Doughfoot looked . . .’, Lieutenant George Wash, 224th Field Artillery Battalion, 29th Infantry Division, NA II 407/ 427/24242
‘an American on a white horse . . .’, Staff Sergeant Lester Zick, Anti-tank Company, 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, NWWIIM-EC
Isigny, Edwin R. Schwartz, 747th Tank Battalion, NWWIIM-EC; Staff Sergeant Lester Zick, Anti-tank Company, 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, NWWIIM-EC; and Balkoski, pp. 170-74
p. 159 ‘Rubble was everywhere . . .’, Lieutenant George Wash, 224th Field Artillery Battalion, 29th Infantry Division, NA II 407/427/24242
Generalleutnant von Schlieben, FMS B-845
‘17.00 hours went into . . .’, Captain Claude J. Mercer, 29th Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, NA II 407/ 427/24242
p. 160 Montebourg, Louis Lucet, MdC TE 107; and Valognes, MdC TE 111
Georgians at Turqueville, Captain Le GrandK.Johnson, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, NA II 407/427/24242
‘and Jerry went from one to another . . .’, Lieutenant George W. Goodridge, 44th Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Division, NA II 407/427/24240
‘Their throats had been cut . . .’, Captain Claude J. Mercer, 29th Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, NA II 407/ 427/24242
‘sniping coming from a building . . .’, Sergeant W. C. Cowards, 22nd Infantry, 4th Division, NA II 407/427/24242
p. 161 ‘France was like . . .’, Captain Robert E. Walker, 19th Infantry Division, WWII VS
‘couldn’t trust them in Normandy’, Pfc Robert Boyce, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, WWII VS
‘we saw in the ditches . . .’, Barnett Hoffner, 6th Engineer Special Brigade, NWWIIM-EC
Sgt Prybowski, Captain Elmer G. Koehler, Battalion Surgeon, 12th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, NA II 407/427/24242
p. 162 Hill 30, Tomaso William Porcella, 3rd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division; and Kenneth J. Merritt, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, NWWIIM-EC
‘There were so many . . .’, Edward C. Boccafogli, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, NWWIIM-EC
90th Division firing at prisoners, Max Hastings, Overlord, London, 1989, p. 154
p. 163 ‘He was sitting out . . .’, Pogue, pp. 111-12
‘Collins and Bradley . . .’, Martin Blumenson (ed.), The Patton Papers, 1940-1945, New York, 1974, p. 479
the ‘Treuelied’, Jean-Claude Perrigault and Rolf Meister, Götz von Berlichingen, Bayeux, 2005, p. 77
‘Well, we don’t know . . .’, SS-Mann Johann H., 36 380 D =3.Kp./SS-Pi.Btl.17 17.SS-Pz.Gren.Div. 8 June, BfZ-SS
p. 164 ‘Turn round!’, Perrigault and Meister, p. 203
‘and push the enemy . . .’, Generalleutnant Richard Schimpf, 3rd Paratroop Division, FMS B-020
p. 165 ‘insufficient forces’, Generalmajor Max Pemsel commentary, FMS B-541
353rd Infanterie-Division, General Mahlmann, FMS A-983
hiding in barns and orchards, AdM 2 J 695
‘nocturnal game...’, Generalleutnant Kurt Badinski 276th Infanterie-Division, FMS B-526
SS Das Reich in France, Peter Lieb, Konventioneller Krieg oder Weltanschauungskrieg?, Munich, 2007, p. 361
p. 166 ‘the initiation of . . .’, IMT, Vol. XXXVII, quoted in Lieb, p. 364
For these and other killings, see Lieb, pp. 374-5 and AN AJ/41/56. According to one report, 108 were hanged in Tulle, AN AJ/41/56
Oradour, M. R. D. Foot, SOE in France, London, 1966, pp. 398-9
‘regions where a hideous . . .’, AN AJ/ 41/56
p. 167 ‘spray jobs’, Technical Sergeant Donald J. Walworth, 3rd Battalion, 26th Infantry, 1stDivision,NA II 407/427/24242
‘were in fact facing . . .’, Gordon A. Harrison, US Army in World War II, Washington, DC, 1951 p. 370
p. 168 ‘You people are always . . .’, Oberstleutnant Keil, FMS C-018
‘sly, underhand...’, Perrigault and Meister, p. 245
‘moderately high losses’, ibid., p. 247
p. 169 accusation against Heydte, FMS B-839; and Perrigault and Meister, p. 248
12
FAILURE AT CAEN
p. 170 ‘communications between division . . .’, Generalmajor Wilhelm Richter, 716th Infanterie-Division, FMS B-621
‘honeycombed with trenches, NA II 407/ 427/24200
p. 171 ‘under his command . . .’, TNA WO 208/4363
1st SS Panzer-Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, Taganrog, Sönke Neitzel (ed.), Tapping Hitler’s Generals, St Paul, Mn, 2007, p. 344, n. 93
p. 172 ‘It has taken . . .’, Generalmajor W
ilhelm Richter, 716th Infanterie-Division, FMS B-621
‘Little fish!’, Shulman interview with Generalleutnant Edgar Feuchtinger, August 1945, Milton Shulman, Defeat in the West, London, 1988, p. 121
‘At a moment when . . .’, General Geyr von Schweppenburg, FMS B-466
p. 173 ‘Fright reports’, Generalmajor Fritz Krämer, I SS Panzer Corps, FMS C-024
p. 174 ‘Action rear’, etc., Alastair Bannerman, 2nd Battalion Royal Warwicks, SWWEC 2001-819
Gruchy, Raymond Pouchin, MdC TE 86
Hitler Jugend in Cambes, Lieutenant, Cyril Rand, 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles, MdC TE 499
p. 175 ‘We were the first troops . . .’ and ‘After a very short time . . .’, Stanley Christopherson diary
p. 176 ‘fighter-bomber racecourse’, Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein, Panzer Lehr Division, ETHINT 66
Panzer Lehr losses, see H. Ritgen, Die Geschichte der Panzer-Lehr Division im Westen, 1944-1945, Stuttgart, 1979, p. 100, quoted in Niklas Zetterling, Normandy 1944, Winnipeg, 2000, p. 386
p. 177 ‘How can I live . . .’, ‘Aristocrats’, Keith Douglas, The Complete Poems, London, 2000, p. 117
‘I like you, sir’, Stuart Hills, By Tank into Normandy, London, 2002, p. 54
p. 178 ‘missed the psychological moment . . .’, General Geyr von Schweppenburg, FMS B-466
‘Last time I was . . .’, Lieutenant Cyril Rand, 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles, MdC TE 499
p. 179 ‘When I looked to the left . . .’, Unterscharführer Alois Morawetz, 3. Panzerkompanie, SS Panzer-Regiment 12, Hubert Meyer, The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division, Vol. I, Mechanicsburg, Pa., p. 188
‘I could have cried . . .’, ibid., p.191
p. 180 ‘He had tried to make . . .’, ibid., p.197
killing of prisoners in Normandy, TNA TS 26/856
‘about thirty Canadian . . .’, Nelly Quidot, MdC TE 228
killings at Abbaye d’Ardennes, Sergeant Frank Geoffrey, Royal Winnipeg Rifles, NWWIIM-EC
p. 181 ‘dare-devil’, Peter Lieb, Konventioneller Krieg oder Weltanschauungskrieg?, Munich, 2007, p. 163
Kurt Meyer executing Jews in Poland, ibid., p. 159
‘the men show signs . . .’, Ultra intercepts passed by ‘C’ to Churchill on 11 June, TNA HW 1/2927
location of headquarters of Panzer Group West, TNA KV 7171 and KV 7225
p. 182 ‘all personnel . . .’, General Geyr von Schweppenburg, FMS B-466
p. 183 ‘a gutless bugger’, TNA WO 205/ 5D
p. 184 ‘pull the Germans . . .’, TNA WO 205/5B
‘Inaction and a defensive mentality . . .’, TNA PREM 3/339/1, p. 6
‘to assault to the west . . .’, LHCMA De Guingand 2/1/1-6
‘a peevish imperialism’, Army Group intelligence summary, 23 April 1944, TNA WO 205/532 (2)
‘to block the enemy’s . . .’, General Geyr von Schweppenburg, FMS B-466
p. 185 ‘the key to Cherbourg’, General Omar Bradley, OCMH-FPP
‘By premature commitment . . .’, Generalmajor Fritz Krämer, I SS Panzer Corps, FMS C-024
13
VILLERS-BOCAGE
p. 187 ‘The fury of artillery ...’, Vernon Scannell, Argument of Kings, London, 1987, p. 165
‘The smart, keen . . .’, ibid., p. 156
‘The thing that shocked . . .’, Major Peter Griffin, 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, NAC/ANC R5067-0-0-E
‘broke down’, Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway, SWWEC T689
p. 188 ‘He is not very impressive . . .’, Martin Blumenson (ed.), The Patton Papers, 1940-1945, New York, 1974, p. 461
Dempsey, see Carlo D’Este, Decision in Normandy, New York, 1983, p. 60
p. 189 ‘You’ll get a shock . . .’, Arthur Reddish, A Tank Soldier’s Story, privately printed, undated, p. 29
‘Bucknall was very weak’, Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke, War Diaries 1939-1945, London, 2001, p. 538 (7 April)
Bucknall and Bayeux, LHCMA, Liddell Hart 11/1944/36
p. 190 General Maxwell D. Taylor, SODP p. 191 entry into Villers-Bocage, M. Diguet, MdC TE 220
‘We have only one . . .’, Patrick Agte, Michael Wittmann, Vol. I, Mechanicsburg, Pa., 2006, p. 354
p. 192 11th Hussars and prisoner from 2nd Panzer-Division, Dudley Clarke, The Eleventh at War, London, 1952, p. 339; and Myles Hildyard, who says in his diary that they strangled one guard and seized the other
Ultra on 2nd Panzer-Division, TNA KV 7707
p. 193 artillery regiment firing airbursts, NA II 407/427/24170
Aunay-sur-Odon, Abbé André Paul, MdC TE 21
p. 194 ‘The fighting in the west . . .’, 15 June, Unteroffizier Leopold L., 25 644 = 5.Kp./Pz.Rgt.3, 2.Pz.Div., BfZ-SS
‘131 Brigade . . .’, Myles Hildyard diary, 19 June
‘a very poor showing . . .’, Major General G. L. Verney diary, quoted in D’Este, pp. 272-4
‘The famous Desert Rats . . .’, Stanley Christopherson diary
p. 195 ‘it was no good grousing . . .’, J. L. Cloudsley-Thompson, Sharpshooter, Fleet Hargate, 2006, p. 109
‘design fault’, Lieutenant General Richard O’Connor to Churchill, 5 May, LHCMA O’Connor 5/2/39
‘a Tiger and Panther complex’, letter, 12 June, TNA WO205/5B
‘We are outshot . . .’, Algiers, 23 August 1943, Harry C. Butcher, Three Years with Eisenhower, London, 1946, p. 339
‘The squadron left . . .’, anonymous diary entry, 11 June, MdC TE 396
Eisenhower to Marshall, Brigadier Joseph A. Holly, 5 July, PDDE, p. 1973
p. 196 ‘I have received . . .’, No. 695, Prime Minister to President, 9 June, TNA PREM 3/472
‘passed convoys...’, Alanbrooke, pp. 556-7 (12 June)
p. 197 ‘There has been a recognizable . . .’, Churchill to Eden, 12 June, TNA PREM 3/339/7
‘We went and had . . .’, TNA PREM 3/ 339/7
HMS Ramillies, Admiral G. B. Middleton, IWM 01/2/1
‘a slight display . . .’ and ‘General de Gaulle’s personal flag . . .’, report of British Naval Liaison Officer, 16 June, TNA ADM 1/16018
p. 198 ‘Has it occurred . . .’, quoted in Henri Amouroux, La grande histoire, Vol. VIII, p. 546, and Robert Aron, Histoire de la Libération de la France, Paris, 1959, p. 78
‘did little to ingratiate them . . .’, report of British Naval Liaison Officer, TNA PREM 3/339/7
‘Monsieur le curé . . .’, Jean Lacouture, De Gaulle - Le Rebelle, Paris, 1984, p. 779
p. 199 ‘hated Laval, but not Pétain’, Forrest C. Pogue, Pogue’s War, Lexington, Kentucky, 2006, p. 115
‘has left behind in Bayeux . . .’, Montgomery to Churchill, 14 June, TNA PREM 3/339/7
p. 200 ‘In my opinion we should . . .’, No. 561, President to Prime Minister, 14 June, TNA PREM 3/339/7
‘There is not a scrap . . .’, Churchill to Eden, 12 June, TNA PREM 3/339/7
‘Trojan horse’, Aron, p. 77
‘Le panorama . . .’, MdC TE 195 p. 201 ‘I simply cannot . . .’, André Heintz diary, MdC TE 32 (1-4)
Café owner, Dr Robert Chaperon, MdC TE 42
‘in the Middle Ages’, MdC TE 42 p. 202 Secours National, Céline Coantic-Dormoy, MdC TE 281
‘The English since . . .’ Le Dily diary, 11 June, MdC TE 143
‘le troc’, Claude Guillotin, 1944, ‘L’aventure de mes quinze ans’, Le Fresne-Camilly, MdC TE 397
p. 203 ‘a senior officer of the Military Police . . .’, Dr Ian Campbell, RAMC, 2nd Field Dressing Station, SWWEC 2000.477
‘during the morning . . .’, MdC TE 144
‘musical chairs’ and ‘Now there’s no need . . .’, Lieutenant Cyril Rand, 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles, MdC TE 499
p. 205 Red Army, see Antony Beevor and Lyuba Vinogradova (eds.), A Writer at War: Vasily Grossman with the Red Army, 1941- 1945, London, 2005, p. 109
‘The whole world . . .’, SS Untersturmführer Herbert E., 2.Kp./Nachr.Abt.SS. Pz.Div. ‘Hohenstaufen’, 6 June and 10 June,
24 742C, BfZ-SS
14
THE AMERICANS ON THE COTENTIN PENINSULA
p. 208 ‘Within a week . . .’, Lieutenant (MC) Alfred A. Schiller, USN, CWM/ MCG 58A
Omaha Beach command, NA II 407/427/ 212
‘Turn those prisoners...’, Barnett Hoffner, 6th Engineer Special Brigade, NWWIIM-EC
‘Those wounded paratroopers . . .’, Orval Wakefield (Naval Combat Demolition Unit), NWWIIM-EC
‘We had an incident . . .’, Charles C. Zalewski, LST 134, NWWIIM-EC
‘One of our ship’s officers . . .’, Ralph Crenshaw, LST 44, NWWIIM-EC
p. 209 trade in Lugers, Major John C. Geiglein, Forrest C. Pogue, Pogue’s War, Lexington, Kentucky, 2006, pp. 127-8
bartering a truck-load of weapons, T/Sgt Eugene W. Griffin, 2nd Armored Division, WWII VS
‘a considerable laxity . . .’, Pogue, p. 87
pig roasting, Angelos Chatas (Naval Combat Demolition Unit), NWWIIM-EC
p. 210 ‘The [French] attitude is . . .’, NA II 407/427/212
‘The Mayor of Colleville . . .’, NA II 407/ 427/212
p. 211 ‘Hermann’s Vermin’, Cyrus C. Aydlett, USS Bayfield, NWWIIM-EC
‘despite undisputed air supremacy . . .’, Leigh-Mallory, 1 July, Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Air Force, TNA ADM 1/ 16332
p. 212 ‘an enemy sniper . . .’, Omar Bradley, A Soldier’s Story, New York, 1951, p. 292
‘When I saw that . . .’, John Troy, 8th Infantry, NWWIIM-EC
91st Luftlande-Division, Oberst Eugen König, FMS B-010
p. 214 ‘I was ordered to . . .’, Obergefreiter Hans S., 9.Kp./Gren.Rgt.1058, 91.(LL.) Inf.Div., 13 273 B, 7 July, BfZ-SS
‘a burly professor . . .’, Martin Blumenson, The Duel for France, New York, 2000, pp. 20-21
‘a pudgy man . . .’, ibid., p. 11
‘The commander-in-chief . . .’, Generalleutnant von Choltitz, LXXXIV Corps, FMS B-418
‘he had lived a life . . .’, Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein, Panzer Lehr Division, ETHINT 66
‘the war was lost’, Generalleutnant von Choltitz, LXXXIV Corps, FMS B-418 p. 215 ‘refreshinglyopen-minded’,LHCMA Liddell Hart 11/1944/7
‘Montebourg and Valognes . . .’, TNA WO 205/5B
‘a Cub plane . . .’, operation of air support parties, NA II 407/427/24204