- 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."-- Provided by publisher
"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, Peter Caddick-Adams gives a full and detailed account of the German preparations, 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"-- Provided by publisher
- Variant Title
- D-Day invasion and the liberation of France
Sand and steel
- Format
- Book
- Author/Creator
- Caddick-Adams, Peter, 1960- author.
- Published
- New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2019]
- Locale
- France
Normandy
Normandy (France)
- Contents
-
Part One: Preparation
France and America
Alantikwall
heaing over there
the commandos
warm hearts
a question of colour
committees and code words
soapsuds and tidal waves
COSSACs, spartans and cheifs
rhinos, camels and roundabouts
ducks and eagles
bigots and tigers
thunderclaps and fabius
my headmaster was a spy
big week, berlin and nuremberg
fortitude, FUSAG and france
the giants
weathermen
the great armada
shells, rockets and flies
boats and bugles
Part Two: Invasion
night fyers
across the water and into the trees
Utah: ivy division
wet feet
Omaha: Blue and gray
Omaha: Cota takes command
Rangers, lead the way!
Omaha: big red one
Omaha: E-3- the colleville draw
Gold: men of the double-T
uno: Maple leaf at war
Iron division at sword
Yeomen of England
Green berets and le general
index.
- Notes
-
Includes bibliographical references (pages 987-998) and index.
Part One: Preparation -- France and America -- Alantikwall -- heaing over there -- the commandos -- warm hearts -- a question of colour -- committees and code words -- soapsuds and tidal waves -- COSSACs, spartans and cheifs -- rhinos, camels and roundabouts -- ducks and eagles -- bigots and tigers -- thunderclaps and fabius -- my headmaster was a spy -- big week, berlin and nuremberg -- fortitude, FUSAG and france -- the giants -- weathermen -- the great armada -- shells, rockets and flies -- boats and bugles -- Part Two: Invasion -- night fyers -- across the water and into the trees -- Utah: ivy division -- wet feet -- Omaha: Blue and gray -- Omaha: Cota takes command -- Rangers, lead the way! -- Omaha: big red one -- Omaha: E-3- the colleville draw -- Gold: men of the double-T -- uno: Maple leaf at war -- Iron division at sword -- Yeomen of England -- Green berets and le general -- index.
