The D-Day Landing on Gold Beach: 6 June 1944 (Bloomsbury Studies in Military History)

"The Normandy landings of 6 June 1944, across five sectors of the French coast - Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword - constituted the largest amphibious invasion in history. This study analyses in depth the preparations and implementation of the D-Day landing on Gold Beach by XXX Corps. Historians have tended to dismiss the landing on Gold Beach as straightforward but the evidence points to a different reality. Armour supported the infantry landing and prior bombing was intended to weaken German defences; however, the bulk of the bombing landed too far inland, and many craft foundered in difficult conditions at sea. It was the tenacity of the assault units and the flexibility of the follow up units which enabled the Gold landing to secure the right flank of the British Army in Normandy. Using detailed primary evidence from The National Archives and the Imperial War Museum, this volume provides a substantial assessment of the background to the landing on Gold, and analyses the events of D-Day in the wider context of the Normandy Campaign."--Bloomsbury Publishing. "The Normandy landings of 6 June 1944, across five sectors of the French coast -- Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword -- constituted the largest amphibious invasion in history. This study analyses in depth the preparations and implementation of the D-Day landing on Gold Beach by XXX Corps. Historians have tended to dismiss the landing on Gold Beach as straightforward but the evidence points to a different reality. Armour supported the infantry landing and prior bombing was intended to weaken German defences; however, the bulk of the bombing landed too far inland, and many craft foundered in difficult conditions at sea. It was the tenacity of the assault units and the flexibility of the follow up units which enabled the Gold landing to secure the right flank of the British Army in Normandy. Using detailed primary evidence from The National Archives and the Imperial War Museum, this volume provides a substantial assessment of the background to the landing on Gold, and analyses the events of D-Day in the wider context of the Normandy Campaign"--Provided by publisher Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations and Glossary Introduction Chapter 1 Preparing the Way and Planning Overlord 1940–3 Chapter 2 A Quiet Backwater of War?1 Chapter 3 Revised Plans, Neptune, Force G and K, and Airpower Chapter 4 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division Chapter 5 Preparing for Gold Beach: Britain November 1943–May 1944 Chapter 6 D-Day: Morning Chapter 7 D-Day: Afternoon and Evening Chapter 8 Exploitation of the Landing, 7–15 June 1944 Conclusion Appendix A: Outline of 50 Div and 7 Armd Div Units Map 1: Gold Beach Map 2: Gold Beach to Tilly-sur-Seulles List of Veterans Notes Bibliography Index