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Utah Beach : St Mère Église - Normandy
The fortunes of war and clear-headed decisions by commanders on the scene combined to make Utah Beach the most successful and least costly of the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. Strong ocean currents and the confusion of battle placed the landing force a mile south of its target, but further away from German artillery and in a sector that was less heavily defended because the land inland was flooded. The first craft ashore happened to contain Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. who immediately brought order to what might have been a chaotic situation. The U.S. 8th Infantry Regiment quickly began to move inland for a crucial linkup with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, all of whose landing zones were behind Utah Beach.
The personalities, units and individual actions of this dramatic D-Day landing are all covered in the usual Battlegroud Europe fashion, with numerous illustrations, maps and a guide to the area as it is today.
The personalities, units and individual actions of this dramatic D-Day landing are all covered in the usual Battlegroud Europe fashion, with numerous illustrations, maps and a guide to the area as it is today.
- GenresWorld War IIHistory
160 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2001
23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 12, 2019
A really cool little book- and that rare guidebook that I intend to actually use when I do my Normandy tour in the indeterminate future. It's a mixed history and local guide to the St. Mere Eglise area of the Cotentin Peninsular- which translates to the Right Wing of the Overlord Invasion- the site of the "Utah" Beach - the Americans more successful beach landing- and the region where the two American Airborne Divisions landed- so the Areas of the 4th Infantry and 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions on the first day of the assault. Carl Shilleto, the author, takes his remit seriously- and gives to information from all over the battlefield- interspersed with a lot of good B/W pictures and good maps/diagrams. After the history you get a lot of good Tourist ideas and direction to interesting sites. The appendices are also worth mentioning with Orders of battle for both sides, a list of Cemetaries, Monuments and Plaques worth seeing, local Museums and even local worthwhile Road markers. It's a great little package.
The Narrative is more concerned with the Paratroopers' battle to keep the Germans from reinforcing their beach defences- and create havoc - than with the pretty orderly beach attack- but that makes sense in a combo guidebook- the Area over which the Airborne units fought was Much bigger than the narrow beach strip the 4th ID was carving out. From St Mere Eglise out to Valognes in the north and Carentan in the south- The two Airborne Divisions came to dominate- or at least contest a large area of Norman countryside- all worthy of visiting if one really want a sense of the battle. by the time I was finished reading- I had decided to keep this book-rare for me, I usually pass books on- but this will be my guide book for this area. Its compelling stuff- and always closely tied to the extant remains worth visiting.
With no adult themes and no gore, this is a fine book for any Junior reader over about 10- this might be a chance to let a precocious child be one's guide -if they have this book and you assign them to find points of interest-a technique that has worked with my kids. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast- I think this can really work to tie the narrative to the genius loci- so there are scenario and diorama ideas aplenty- but they can be multiplied by ten -if you get a real sense of the battlefield by traversing it and see what those young men saw. Frankly it got me really fired up for my impending visit- and to pick the right French Based friend to do it with(calling you out Manus Sweeney)- but now I have to wait for the proper time. A strong rec- I don't often get this jazzed up to travel.
The Narrative is more concerned with the Paratroopers' battle to keep the Germans from reinforcing their beach defences- and create havoc - than with the pretty orderly beach attack- but that makes sense in a combo guidebook- the Area over which the Airborne units fought was Much bigger than the narrow beach strip the 4th ID was carving out. From St Mere Eglise out to Valognes in the north and Carentan in the south- The two Airborne Divisions came to dominate- or at least contest a large area of Norman countryside- all worthy of visiting if one really want a sense of the battle. by the time I was finished reading- I had decided to keep this book-rare for me, I usually pass books on- but this will be my guide book for this area. Its compelling stuff- and always closely tied to the extant remains worth visiting.
With no adult themes and no gore, this is a fine book for any Junior reader over about 10- this might be a chance to let a precocious child be one's guide -if they have this book and you assign them to find points of interest-a technique that has worked with my kids. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast- I think this can really work to tie the narrative to the genius loci- so there are scenario and diorama ideas aplenty- but they can be multiplied by ten -if you get a real sense of the battlefield by traversing it and see what those young men saw. Frankly it got me really fired up for my impending visit- and to pick the right French Based friend to do it with(calling you out Manus Sweeney)- but now I have to wait for the proper time. A strong rec- I don't often get this jazzed up to travel.
November 15, 2021
The invasion of continental Europe by the Allied forces on June 6, 1944 was the most complicated and massive seaborne invasion ever performed. Over 150,000 Allied soldiers departed from ships and landed on a 50 mile front. The Navies and Air Forces engaged in massive bombardments of the German defensive positions and thousands of troops were dropped behind the beaches, either by parachute or via glider.
On some of the five landing points there was relatively light opposition, yet on others, there were massive Allied casualties. Therefore, no one book can truly cover all aspects of what was in many ways five separate operations, at least initially.
As the name implies, this book is about the landings on Utah Beach, which were conducted by U.S. Army soldiers. St. Mere Eglise is a town near where the Utah Beach landings took place and the main road through it was where any German reinforcements would almost certainly have to travel on. Therefore, it was the target of a large number of paratrooper drops.
While there were many commanders in the Allied chain of command, one that had the most significance on the day of the invasion was Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr, the son of the former President. He was the first senior officer to hit the dirt and he personally scouted the immediate area. Understanding the circumstances, he ordered further landings to be rerouted to his location, which was some distance from the target.
Focusing on the area known as Utah Beach of the Normandy landings, this book is a detailed description of what went right, what went wrong and how the invading Allied forces were able to overcome the wrong and take the first steps that ended with the defeat of Germany and the end of the Second World War in Europe. It is an excellent history of one sector of the major battle that took place on the shores of occupied France.
On some of the five landing points there was relatively light opposition, yet on others, there were massive Allied casualties. Therefore, no one book can truly cover all aspects of what was in many ways five separate operations, at least initially.
As the name implies, this book is about the landings on Utah Beach, which were conducted by U.S. Army soldiers. St. Mere Eglise is a town near where the Utah Beach landings took place and the main road through it was where any German reinforcements would almost certainly have to travel on. Therefore, it was the target of a large number of paratrooper drops.
While there were many commanders in the Allied chain of command, one that had the most significance on the day of the invasion was Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr, the son of the former President. He was the first senior officer to hit the dirt and he personally scouted the immediate area. Understanding the circumstances, he ordered further landings to be rerouted to his location, which was some distance from the target.
Focusing on the area known as Utah Beach of the Normandy landings, this book is a detailed description of what went right, what went wrong and how the invading Allied forces were able to overcome the wrong and take the first steps that ended with the defeat of Germany and the end of the Second World War in Europe. It is an excellent history of one sector of the major battle that took place on the shores of occupied France.
October 10, 2022
Loved the book! Shocked to find a picture of my father on page 119.
May 25, 2011
Very informative, good explanations of who was supposed to be where on D-Day and what actually happened (plus maps, I love maps) and a good idea of the overall plan for the invasion of Utah beach.
Fans of Band of Brothers (like me) would probably find this interesting as although Easy Company features very little, the book does show how their role fitted in with the overall plan and with the other units.
There are several other books in this series covering different battles, I enjoyed this book enough to want to read the rest of them.
Fans of Band of Brothers (like me) would probably find this interesting as although Easy Company features very little, the book does show how their role fitted in with the overall plan and with the other units.
There are several other books in this series covering different battles, I enjoyed this book enough to want to read the rest of them.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews