Sand & steel : the D-Day invasion and the liberation of France

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Title:

Sand & steel : the D-Day invasion and the liberation of France

Author:

Caddick-Adams, Peter, 1960- author.

ISBN:

9780190601898

Physical Description:

xlii, 1025 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm.

Contents:

Cover; SAND & STEEL; Copyright; Contents; Glossary; Operation Overlord Orders of Battle; Introduction; PART ONE: PREPARATION; 1. France and America; 2. Atlantikwall; 3. Heading Over There; 4. The Commandos; 5. Warm Hearts; 6. A Question of Colour; 7. Committees and Code Words; 8. Soapsuds and Tidal Waves; 9. COSSACs, Spartans and Chiefs; 10. Rhinos, Camels and Roundabouts; 11. Ducks and Eagles; 12. Bigots and Tigers; 13. Thunderclaps and Fabius; 14. My Headmaster Was a Spy; 15. Big Week, Berlin and Nuremberg; 16. Fortitude, FUSAG and France; 17. The Giants; 18. Weathermen

19. The Great Armada; 20. Shells, Rockets and Flies; 21. Boats and Bugles; PART TWO: INVASION; 22. Night Flyers; 23. Across the Water and Into the Trees; 24. Utah: Ivy Division; 25. Wet Feet; 26. Omaha: Blue and Gray; 27. Omaha: Cota Takes Command; 28. Rangers, Lead the Way!; 29. Omaha: Big Red One; 30. Omaha: E-3 -- the Colleville Draw; 31. Gold: Men of the Double-T; 32. Juno: Maple Leaf at War; 33. Iron Division at Sword; 34. Yeomen of England; 35. Green Berets and le Général; Postscript: Fortitude and the Spies; Acknowledgements; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Subject Term:

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

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

Operation Overlord.

Geographic Term:

Normandy (France) -- History, Military.

United States -- Armed Forces -- History.

Summary:

Peter Caddick-Adams's account of the Allied invasion of France in June 1944 matches the monumental achievement of his book on the Battle of the Bulge, Snow and Steel, which Richard Overy has called the "standard history of this climactic confrontation in the West." Sand and Steel gives us D-Day, arguably the greatest and most consequential military operation of modern times, beginning with the years of painstaking and costly preparation, through to the pitched battles fought along France's northern coast, from Omaha Beach to the Falaise and the push east to Strasbourg. The Allied invasion of Europe involved mind-boggling logistics, including orchestrating the largest flotilla of ships ever assembled. Its strategic and psychological demands stretched the Allies to their limits, testing the strengths of the bonds of Anglo-American leadership. Drawing on first-hand battlefield research, fresh personal testimony, and a commanding grasp of all the archives and literature, Caddick-Adams's book does Operation Overlord full justice. Sand and Steel shows as well how liberating France hinged on two other key elements: the activities of the French Resistance and Operation Dragoon, which involved landing 887 ships along the French Rivera, including seven aircraft carriers and 2,000 plans. It was Dragoon as much as Overlord that inspired resistance fighters throughout France to rise up. The implementation of Dragoon was controversial. Backed by Eisenhower and Stalin the other D-Day invasion was strongly opposed by Churchill, who believed a less costly breakthrough in the Mediterranean was imminent. This volume in Caddick-Adams's epic trilogy of the final year of World War II is the first book to incorporate all the elements of D-Day, and to reveal in full what lay behind eventual Allied victory in Europe. --

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Oakdale Library	940.5421421 CAD	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	940.5421421 CAD	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Peter Caddick-Adams's account of the Allied invasion of France in June 1944 matches the monumental achievement of his book on the Battle of the Bulge, Snow and Steel, which Richard Overy has called the "standard history of this climactic confrontation in the West." Sand and Steel gives us D-Day, arguably the greatest and most consequential military operation of modern times, beginning with the years of painstaking and costly preparation, through to the pitched battles fought along France's northern coast, from Omaha Beach to the Falaise and the push east to Strasbourg.

In addition to covering the build-up to the invasion, including the elaborate and lavish campaigns to deceive Germans as to where and when the invasion would take place, Caddick-Adams gives a full and detailed account of the German preparations: the formidable Atlantikwall and Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's plans to make Europe impregnable-plans not completed by June 6. Sand and Steel reveals precisely what lay in wait for the Allies. But the heart of the book is Caddick-Adams' narratives of the five beaches where the terrible drama played out--Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword, and the attempt by American, British, and Canadian soldiers to gain a foothold in Europe.

The Allied invasion of Europe involved mind-boggling logistics, including orchestrating the largest flotilla of ships ever assembled. Its strategic and psychological demands stretched the Allies to their limits, testing the strengths of the bonds of Anglo-American leadership. Drawing on first-hand battlefield research, personal testimony and interviews, and a commanding grasp of all the archives and literature, Caddick-Adams's gripping book, published on the 75th anniversary of the events, does Operations Overlord and Neptune full justice.

Author Notes

Peter Caddick-Adams is a lecturer in military history and current defense issues at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. He is the author of Monte Cassino: Ten Armies in Hell and Snow and Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45. He holds the rank of major in the British Territorial Army and has served with U.S. forces in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

This massive nuts-and-bolts account corrects many of the inaccuracies surrounding the vaunted Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944.British historian Caddick-Adams (Military History/Defence Academy of the U.K.; Snow and Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45, 2014, etc.), a major in the British Territorial Army, offers an impressive summary of the sheer materiel and human effort required in securing the Normandy beachhead, from years of preparation to excruciating execution. Examining Gen. Erwin Rommel's reinforcement of the so-called Atlantikwall, which was supposedly impenetrable, the author underscores some faulty suppositionse.g., that German soldiers were "supermen" when in fact they were aged, exhausted, and relying heavily on horses for mobility. The American presence in Britain dazzled the local population, while the black American troops were treated with markedly more respect and warmth by the British locals than they were used to back home, prompting one veteran to recall, "our biggest enemy was our own troops." Caddick-Adams, an expert in this terrain, devotes considerable space to the months of training that the invasion required and the many lives that were lost in run-up accidents; the prickly personalities of the various leading generals; the reliance on the sketchy weather reports; the nerve-wracking decision to delay the invasion 24 hours due to unpromising sea conditions; and how the Germans, who of course knew an invasion was coming at some point, had essentially "applied different criteria for a successful invasion" than the Allies. Following the armada toward Normandy, the author explains the roles of airpower, minesweepers, and assault flotillas and chronicles how, beach by beach, the Allies made their valiant, perilous forward thrust. In an intriguing postscript, he examines the crucial role of the spy network in "inducing Hitler to order a series of mistaken moves based on false intelligence." There is also a glossary, rank table, and a list of the orders of battles.A thorough, exciting, and altogether excellent choice for World War IIand especially D-Dayaficionados. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Choice Review

In 2019, historians are honoring D-Day with a plethora of new books for the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings. Sand & Steel: The D-Day Invasion and the Liberation of France is by far one of the most authoritative sources, covering every phase of the titanic struggle that marked the eventual collapse of the Third Reich. Caddick-Adams, a former instructor at the Defense Academy of the United Kingdom and noted author of Snow & Steel: The Battle of the Bulge and Monte Cassino (Oxford, 2014), provides a balanced account of what happened during D-Day. He recounts the arrival in England of American GIs in troop transports through U-boat infested waters for their rendezvous with destiny, as well as Germans seeking to finish Hitler's Atlantic Wall before the Allied onslaught commenced. Caddick-Adams conveys, more than many others, the absolute terror of storming the beaches or dropping from a C-47 into enemy-controlled France during the hours of darkness. Sand & Steel is a modern tour de force in military history, and will take its place among the other notable titles that have captured our imagination when reviewing the heroics of June 6, 1944. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. --Christopher C. Lovett, Emporia State University

Glossary	p. vii
Operation Overlord Orders of Battle	p. xxvi
Introduction	p. xxxvii
Part 1 Preparation
1 France and America	p. 3
2 Atlantikwall	p. 17
3 Heading Over There	p. 49
4 The Commandos	p. 60
5 Warm Hearts	p. 78
6 A Question of Colour	p. 97
7 Committees and Code Words	p. 114
8 Soapsuds and Tidal Waves	p. 140
9 COSSACs, Spartans and Chiefs	p. 155
10 Rhinos, Camels and Roundabouts	p. 170
11 Ducks and Eagles	p. 198
12 Bigots and Tigers	p. 225
13 Thunderclaps and Fabius	p. 243
14 My Headmaster Was a Spy	p. 260
15 Big Week, Berlin and Nuremberg	p. 275
16 Fortitude, FUSAG and France	p. 294
17 The Giants	p. 320
18 Weathermen	p. 339
19 The Great Armada	p. 353
20 Shells, Rockets and Flies	p. 376
21 Boats and Bugles	p. 396
Part 2 Invasion
22 Night Flyers	p. 417
23 Across the Water and Into the Trees	p. 445
24 Utah: Ivy Division	p. 481
25 Wet Feet	p. 515
26 Omaha; Blue and Gray	p. 545
27 Omaha: Cota Takes Command	p. 579
28 Rangers, Lead the Way!	p. 604
29 Omaha: Big Red One	p. 633
30 Omaha: E-3 - the Colleville Draw	p. 660
31 Gold: Men of the Double-T	p. 699
32 Juno: Maple Leaf at War	p. 741
33 Iron Division at Sword	p. 783
34 Yeomen of England	p. 811
35 Green Berets and le Général	p. 844
Postscript: Fortitude and the Spies	p. 869
Acknowledgements	p. 889
Notes	p. 899
Bibliography	p. 987
Index	p. 999

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

Choice Review

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