Tanks of D-Day 1944

Armor on the beaches of Normandy and southern France

Tanks of D-Day 1944 cover

Tanks of D-Day 1944

Armor on the beaches of Normandy and southern France

Description

Allied success in invading Fortress Europe (the area of Continental Europe occupied by Nazi Germany) depended on getting armor onto the beaches as fast as possible. This book explains how the Allies developed the specialist tanks it needed, their qualities, deployment and numbers, and how they performed on the two crucial days when France was invaded, firstly in Normandy and then in Provence.

The focus of this volume will be on the specialized tanks developed for the Operation Neptune amphibious landings including the Duplex Drive amphibious Sherman tanks used on both the US and British/Canadian beaches. It also covers the specialized engineer tanks called ”Armoured Funnies” of the British 79th Armoured Division and addresses the popular myth that US Army refusal to employ the Armoured Funnies was a principal cause for the high casualties at Omaha Beach. There is also coverage of Operation Overlord's “Forgotten D-Day”, the amphibious landings of Operation Dragoon. This book addresses why there were so few Panzers opposing the landings from the German perspective as well as detailing the extent of German tank/assault gun activity on D-Day.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
Lessons learned?
SPECIALIZED TANKS FOR OVERLORD
The CDL Canal Defence Light Night-Fighting Tank
The Sherman Duplex Drive Amphibious Tank
Deep-Wading Tanks
Churchill AVRE
AVRE Bridging Devices
AVRE Carpet Layers
Crab Flail Mine-Clearing Tank
Churchill Crocodile Flamethrower Tank
T1 Armored Engineer Vehicle
M1 Tank-Dozer
US Army acquisition of Armoured Funnies
TANKS, DOCTRINE, AND ORGANIZATION 21
Gunfire support groups
Armored engineer support
THE CAMPAIGN 25
Sword Beach
Juno Beach
Gold Beach
Omaha Beach
Utah Beach
The other D-Day
BATTLE ANALYSIS 45
FURTHER READING 47
INDEX 48

Product details

Published 24 Jun 2021
Format Ebook (Epub)
Edition 1st
Extent 48
ISBN 9781472846655
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations Illustrated throughout with 40 photos and 8pp of colour illustrations
Series New Vanguard
Short code NVG 296
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Steven J. Zaloga

Steven J. Zaloga received his BA in History from U…

Illustrator

Felipe Rodríguez

Felipe Rodríguez Náñez (aka Felipe Rodna) lives wi…

Resources

Discover More

Visit our exclusive member's website to see artwork, maps, and more from this book.

Resources

Book Vote

Tell us what titles you would like to see published by Osprey, then vote for your favourites in our monthly book vote!

Related Titles

Sign up for Osprey membership for access to thousands of plane profiles, maps, battle scenes and more. Plus up to 30% off website purchases

Free UK delivery for orders £30 and over