Cross Channel Attack

Deals with the attack on France in 1944, the Normandy invasion, from its planning stages through July 1944. L.C. card 51-61669.

[Includes 4 charts, 31 maps and 62 illustrations] Cross-Channel Attack has been planned and written as the introduction to the history of those campaigns in 1944 and 1945 which led to the destruction of the German armies in the west. It provides necessary background for the study of all the campaigns in the European Theater of Operations. The narrative of operations ends on 1 July 1944, with the Allies firmly established in Normandy. The concluding chapters show the successful fruition of plans and preparations reaching back as far as January 1942; but the seizure of the Norman beaches and the establishment of a lodgment area are only a beginning, a point of departure for the drive to the Elbe and the Baltic. Although Cross Channel Attack includes discussion of certain problems of high command and logistics, a more complete treatment is accorded these subjects in two volumes now under preparation in this series: The Supreme Command and Logistical Support of the Armies. Whether the reader approaches the book with the justified pride that he was a member or supporter of the winning team, or whether he reads to learn, is a matter for him to decide. The victor tends to prepare to win the next war with the same means and methods with which he won the last. He forgets the difficulty of reaching decisions, the planning problems, his faltering, his unpreparedness. The vanquished is wont to search far afield for new and improved methods, means, and equipment. The accomplishments of those who fought in this period were indeed great, as were the sacrifices. But from the national viewpoint it would seem desirable to read this volume with the self-critical eye of the vanquished as well as with the pride of the victor, an approach which the thoughtful reader will not find difficult.

Cross-Channel Attack, first published 1951 as part of the U.S. Army in World War II series is the official history of the D-Day invasion (Operation Overlord), from the earliest planning, to the buildup of men and equipment in England, to the beach landings in Normandy, and closing with the capture of Cherbourg. The book also examines the history of the German occupation of France and German plans to counter the Allied invasion, including the extensive defensive measures constructed along the Normandy coastline. Allied landings are discussed in detail, with an emphasis on American actions; however stories by individual soldiers are not included in this higher-level look at the planning and execution of the invasion. Appendices include the Overlord plans, important documents, table of equivalent ranks, divisional comparison, German deployments, recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross, glossary of key names and code words, a bibliography and index. Illustrated throughout with photographs and maps.