History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: The Invasion of France and Germany, 1944-1945

by Morison, Samuel Eliot

• ISBN13: 9780252070624
• ISBN10: 0252070623
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of Illinois Pr

Summary

Volume 11: The Invasion of France and Germany, 1944-1945, recounts the U.S. Navy's role in the largest and most complicated military operation ever undertaken: the invasion of Normandy. Combining meticulous detail with a forceful account of the action, this volume describes the landings themselves as well as the "dirty work in the dark" that preceded them.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Abbreviations	xxvii
PART I NORMANDY (OPERATION NEPTUNE-OVERLORD)
Grand Strategy and High Politics, 1941-1943	3	(15)
Strategic Concepts	3	(4)
Sledgehammer and Roundup	7	(7)
Torch Substituted	14	(4)
Plans and Preparations, March 1943-May 1944	18	(21)
The ``Cossac'' Planning Group	18	(4)
Choice of a Supreme Commander	22	(2)
``Mulberry,'' ``Pluto'' and ``Buco''	24	(3)
Cossac Plan Becomes Neptune-Overlord	27	(7)
Preliminary Operations	34	(5)
German Plans to Meet the Invasion, 1942-1944	39	(11)
Coiling the Spring, January 1942-May 1944	50	(27)
The Americans in Britain	50	(2)
The Battle of the Beaching Craft	52	(5)
United States Naval Bases in Britain	57	(7)
Final Training and Rehearsal	64	(3)
The ``Fast-anchored Isle''	67	(7)
Misleading the Enemy	74	(3)
Crossing the Channel, 3-6 June 1944	77	(16)
First Starters	77	(2)
Weather and the Great Decision	79	(4)
The Crossing	83	(5)
The Air Drop	88	(5)
Utah Beach, 6 June 1944	93	(17)
Before H-hour	93	(4)
The Landings	97	(7)
Naval Gunfire Support	104	(3)
Situation at End of D-day	107	(3)
Approach to Omaha, 6 June 1944	110	(20)
Terrain and Defenses	110	(6)
The Approach	116	(4)
Break of Day	120	(5)
The Rangers at Pointe du Hoc	125	(5)
Landings at Omaha, 6 June 1944	130	(25)
Bloody Morning	130	(12)
Naval Gunfire Support	142	(7)
D-day Afternoon	149	(6)
Supporting the American Beachhead, 7-18 June 1944	155	(15)
Events in the American Sector, 7-9 June	155	(7)
Follow-up and Unloading	162	(4)
Naval Gunfire Support, 10-18 June	166	(4)
Counterattacks by Air, Sea and Weather, 8-22 June 1944	170	(10)
Mines and Air Raids	170	(4)
E-boats and Destroyers	174	(2)
The Great Storm	176	(4)
The British Sector, 6 June-8 September 1944	180	(15)
D-day on Gold, Juno, and Sword	180	(7)
The Build-up	187	(3)
Small Craft and Secret Weapons	190	(5)
Cherbourg, June-September 1944	195	(26)
The Bombardment Is Laid On	195	(10)
Duel with Battery ``Hamburg,'' 25 June	205	(7)
Cherbourg Liberated, 26 June-I July	212	(4)
Cherbourg Cleared, July-September	216	(5)
PART II SOUTHERN FRANCE (OPERATION DRAGOON)
High-level Wrangling, October 1943-August 1944	221	(12)
Planning and Training, January-August 1944	233	(15)
The Plan, Forces and Defenses	233	(7)
Training and Rehearsal	240	(3)
Aerial Bombing; Mounting and Approach	243	(5)
Night Landings in Provence, 14-15 August 1944	248	(7)
The Main Landings, 15-17 August 1944	255	(20)
Minesweeping, Bombing and Bombardment	255	(3)
Alpha Area	258	(6)
Delta Area	264	(3)
Camel Area	267	(8)
Objectives Won, 16 August-15 September 1944	275	(20)
Follow-up Convoys	275	(1)
Eastern Flank and Escort Carriers	276	(5)
Toulon, Port de Bouc and Marseilles	281	(14)
PART III THE NAVY'S PART IN THE FINAL CAMPAIGNS August 1944-May 1945
The French Out-ports, September 1944-May 1945	295	(15)
The War Continues	295	(2)
Liberation of Brittany, August-September 1944	297	(6)
Collier Convoys and Granville Raids, December 1944-May 1945	303	(7)
Mop-up in the Mediterranean, September 1944-April 1945	310	(7)
Plunging into Germany, October 1944-May 1945	317	(15)
Crossing the Rhine, March 1945	317	(6)
The Navy in Germany	323	(9)
Abbreviations in Appendices	332	(15)
Appendix I The Western Naval Task Force in the Invasion of Normandy	333	(5)
Appendix II Naval Forces Engaged in Operation Dragoon	338	(6)
Appendix III Number of Lend-Lease Naval Vessels and Craft Built for the Royal Navy in the United States During World War II	344	(3)
Index	347