What do you think?
Rate this book
Invasion Before Normandy
A chronicle of one of WWII's most dramatic and secret operations. In 1944, an American naval exercise off the south Devon coast, preparation for the landing at Normandy, was interrupted by the sudden appearance of German E-boats. Hoyt provides a rare inside look at this catastrophic rehearsal for D-Day.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1985
2 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Edwin P. Hoyt
237 books29 followersEdwin P. Hoyt was a prolific American writer who specialized in military history. He was born in Portland, Oregon to the publisher Edwin Palmer Hoyt (1897–1979) and his wife, the former Cecile DeVore (1901–1970). A younger brother, Charles Richard, was born in 1928. Hoyt attended the University of Oregon from 1940 to 1943.
In 1943, Hoyt's father, then the editor and publisher of The Oregonian, was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as the director of the Domestic Branch, Office of War Information. The younger Hoyt served with the Office of War Information during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. In 1945 and 1946, he served as a foreign correspondent for The Denver Post (of which his father became editor and publisher in 1946) and the United Press, reporting from locations in China, Thailand, Burma, India, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and Korea.
Edwin Hoyt subsequently worked as an ABC broadcaster, covering the 1948 revolution in Czechoslovakia and the Arab-Israeli conflict. From 1949 to 1951, he was the editor of the editorial page at The Denver Post. He was the editor and publisher of the Colorado Springs Free Press from 1951 to 1955, and an associate editor of Collier's Weekly in New York from 1955 to 1956. In 1957 he was a television producer and writer-director at CBS, and in 1958 he was an assistant publisher of American Heritage magazine in New York.
Starting in 1958, Hoyt became a writer full-time, and for a few years (1976 to 1980) served as a part-time lecturer at the University of Hawaii. In the 40 years since his first publication in 1960, he produced nearly 200 published works.
While Hoyt wrote about 20 novels (many published under pseudonyms Christopher Martin and Cabot L. Forbes) the vast majority of his works are biographies and other forms of non-fiction, with a heavy emphasis on World War II military history.
Hoyt died in Tokyo, Japan on July 29, 2005, after a prolonged illness. He was survived by his wife Hiroko, of Tokyo, and three children, Diana, Helga, and Christopher, all residing in the U.S.
In 1943, Hoyt's father, then the editor and publisher of The Oregonian, was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as the director of the Domestic Branch, Office of War Information. The younger Hoyt served with the Office of War Information during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. In 1945 and 1946, he served as a foreign correspondent for The Denver Post (of which his father became editor and publisher in 1946) and the United Press, reporting from locations in China, Thailand, Burma, India, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and Korea.
Edwin Hoyt subsequently worked as an ABC broadcaster, covering the 1948 revolution in Czechoslovakia and the Arab-Israeli conflict. From 1949 to 1951, he was the editor of the editorial page at The Denver Post. He was the editor and publisher of the Colorado Springs Free Press from 1951 to 1955, and an associate editor of Collier's Weekly in New York from 1955 to 1956. In 1957 he was a television producer and writer-director at CBS, and in 1958 he was an assistant publisher of American Heritage magazine in New York.
Starting in 1958, Hoyt became a writer full-time, and for a few years (1976 to 1980) served as a part-time lecturer at the University of Hawaii. In the 40 years since his first publication in 1960, he produced nearly 200 published works.
While Hoyt wrote about 20 novels (many published under pseudonyms Christopher Martin and Cabot L. Forbes) the vast majority of his works are biographies and other forms of non-fiction, with a heavy emphasis on World War II military history.
Hoyt died in Tokyo, Japan on July 29, 2005, after a prolonged illness. He was survived by his wife Hiroko, of Tokyo, and three children, Diana, Helga, and Christopher, all residing in the U.S.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 7, 2021
Before a director presents a play, it is rehearsed many times to assure it is the best it can be. When the British and American allies prepared for the largest invasion in military history,the landing on Hitlers' Fortress Europa, they also rehearsed.......once. And the outcome was disastrous.
In 1984, rumors were circulating that there were several hundred bodies of American soldiers buried in a mass grave on a farm in Devonshire, England. The rumor turned out to be true and this book unveils a secret hidden for 40 years.
The planning that went into the D Day landing was cussed and discussed among military leaders and it was decided to find a location on the British coast that would be as similar to Normandy as possible where a "rehearsal" could be undertaken. They chose a beach called Shipton Sands in Devon and the government proceeded to relocate the population of approximately 3,000 individuals from the area,
Thousands of soldiers, ships and equipment poured into the beach and the battle plans were clearly outlined but not to the right people. The author explains in detail the set-up and what was supposed to be accomplished. So far, so good except that something happened that should have been avoided......lack of communication between the Army and the Navy and the lower ranks of officers in each service. The majority of the men involved did not even know why they were doing what they were doing, or how they were to respond. And tragedy happened.
This is a very detailed read and slows down periodically; however, the detail is necessary for the reader to understand exactly what happened. It is one of those hidden histories of WWII that did not come to light for years. It is an interesting read for the WWII buff.
In 1984, rumors were circulating that there were several hundred bodies of American soldiers buried in a mass grave on a farm in Devonshire, England. The rumor turned out to be true and this book unveils a secret hidden for 40 years.
The planning that went into the D Day landing was cussed and discussed among military leaders and it was decided to find a location on the British coast that would be as similar to Normandy as possible where a "rehearsal" could be undertaken. They chose a beach called Shipton Sands in Devon and the government proceeded to relocate the population of approximately 3,000 individuals from the area,
Thousands of soldiers, ships and equipment poured into the beach and the battle plans were clearly outlined but not to the right people. The author explains in detail the set-up and what was supposed to be accomplished. So far, so good except that something happened that should have been avoided......lack of communication between the Army and the Navy and the lower ranks of officers in each service. The majority of the men involved did not even know why they were doing what they were doing, or how they were to respond. And tragedy happened.
This is a very detailed read and slows down periodically; however, the detail is necessary for the reader to understand exactly what happened. It is one of those hidden histories of WWII that did not come to light for years. It is an interesting read for the WWII buff.
November 11, 2021
In the early months of 1944, the Allies were gearing up for what would be the greatest seaborne assault in the history of warfare. The plan was to land on the beaches of Normandy and one of the major parts of the plan was to keep the German leadership guessing as to the exact location. To do this, they created an elaborate sequence of deceptions, hoping to split the Axis forces and weaken the defenses.
Extensive training of the assault forces was also part of the planning, and the beaches of Slapton Sands on the English coast were very similar to those of Normandy. Therefore, in April of 1944, there was a massive exercise where Allied troops were transported to the area and engaged in a realistic storming of the Slapton Sands beaches.
By accident, a collection of German E-boats, small, fast attack craft armed with torpedoes, were patrolling the area before the troops disembarked their transport ships. The E-boats attacked, damaging and destroying some of the troop transports and leading to somewhere in the area of 750 deaths. Although that number still seems to be uncertain.
Knowing that secrecy of the landing site must be maintained at all costs, the American and British leaders did all they could to prevent the knowledge of the success of the E-boats from reaching the German leadership. Even the location was kept secret for fear that the Germans would realize that the location and terrain of the exercise would indicate that the landings would be in Normandy.
This book is an extensive description of the battle and the aftermath. While the description of the background and the actual battle are thorough, there is a bit of a dispute over the level of the suppression of the facts of the battle. Two months later, after the Normandy landings were a military reality, there was no need to keep the facts of Slapton Sands secret. On the back cover, it is stated that, “… the results of this failed mission were hidden for the next forty years.” That is really not the case, the basic events were known by many in 1946.
Like so many chance military disasters, Slapton Sands led to changes in the plans that were positive. Given the destruction wrought by the German E-boats, the Allied commanders realized that they had to be neutralized if the Normandy invasion was to be successful.
Extensive training of the assault forces was also part of the planning, and the beaches of Slapton Sands on the English coast were very similar to those of Normandy. Therefore, in April of 1944, there was a massive exercise where Allied troops were transported to the area and engaged in a realistic storming of the Slapton Sands beaches.
By accident, a collection of German E-boats, small, fast attack craft armed with torpedoes, were patrolling the area before the troops disembarked their transport ships. The E-boats attacked, damaging and destroying some of the troop transports and leading to somewhere in the area of 750 deaths. Although that number still seems to be uncertain.
Knowing that secrecy of the landing site must be maintained at all costs, the American and British leaders did all they could to prevent the knowledge of the success of the E-boats from reaching the German leadership. Even the location was kept secret for fear that the Germans would realize that the location and terrain of the exercise would indicate that the landings would be in Normandy.
This book is an extensive description of the battle and the aftermath. While the description of the background and the actual battle are thorough, there is a bit of a dispute over the level of the suppression of the facts of the battle. Two months later, after the Normandy landings were a military reality, there was no need to keep the facts of Slapton Sands secret. On the back cover, it is stated that, “… the results of this failed mission were hidden for the next forty years.” That is really not the case, the basic events were known by many in 1946.
Like so many chance military disasters, Slapton Sands led to changes in the plans that were positive. Given the destruction wrought by the German E-boats, the Allied commanders realized that they had to be neutralized if the Normandy invasion was to be successful.
September 4, 2014
Slapton Sands was one of those catastrophes that occur in the Fog of War, not on the scale of the Warsaw uprising of course, but also a product of mistrust between Allies. It's instructive to read that barely 6 weeks before D-Day, Royal Navy ships escorting the convoys of American landing craft had no radio contact with their counterparts in US Navy - the wavelengths were different. So when one of the British destroyers was kept overnight in dock due to some trifling damage, the Americans had no way of knowing they were unprotected as they proceeded on their way to the practice assault on a South Devon Beach. They were easy meat for German E-boats patrolling from Jersey, and 749 US servicemen were killed as their ships were torpedo'd, or drowned afterwards.
This book is very good on the mistrust, complacency and bungling that allowed the disaster to take place. The author also thoroughly describes the painstaking work to prevent it happening again, which culminated in the successful landing at Utah Beach. He writes in a lively fluent style, and taught me one word I'd never seen before -BOLLIX. As 'this bollixed up the operation' Apparently it's a perfectly innocent word in America...
This book is very good on the mistrust, complacency and bungling that allowed the disaster to take place. The author also thoroughly describes the painstaking work to prevent it happening again, which culminated in the successful landing at Utah Beach. He writes in a lively fluent style, and taught me one word I'd never seen before -BOLLIX. As 'this bollixed up the operation' Apparently it's a perfectly innocent word in America...
October 23, 2014
In May 1944 during a practice landing at Slapton Sands hundreds of Americans were killed when German torpedo attacked them their ships. The bodies were buried in secret and the whole incident covered up. This is the story of the Slapton Sands disaster and coverup.
July 1, 2014
Well written book about a significant WWII event
July 18, 2015
Interesting!!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews