Laurie
Senior Member
- Location
- Kingdom of Fife
I make no apologies for again mentioning this anniversary.
Slapton Sands is a beach in South Devon, England which bore a good resemblance to what was later to become known as Utah beach in Normandy and in 1944, just before D day it was decided to hold a full scale live ammunition rehearsal of the landings, using the formations and commanders that would actually be used in Normandy.
Unfortunately a flotilla of German E boats manned by some very courageous men got in amongst them landing force and created havoc resulting in the loss of 940 American lives, more than were actually lost during the landings themselves.
At this time allied air forces roamed freely over European skies and allied navies swept the Channel, they had to otherwise they could not have contemplated a landing let alone rehearsed, but it has never been satisfactorily explained how a flotilla of German warships was able to get within a few hundred yards of the most heavily fortified stretch of coast in Europe outside Festung Europa itself. Where was the air cover, where was the destroyer's screen!
It was covered up at the time for morale reasons but the cover up was continued to this day and no satisfactory explanation has ever been offered.
One wonders what Mom in Hometown, Nebraska would have felt had she known she sacrificed her youngest to SHAEF incompetence before he had even chambered a round in earnest.
RIP guys, thanks for trying to help.
I was born before the war so my interest is personal as is my gratitude.
Slapton Sands is a beach in South Devon, England which bore a good resemblance to what was later to become known as Utah beach in Normandy and in 1944, just before D day it was decided to hold a full scale live ammunition rehearsal of the landings, using the formations and commanders that would actually be used in Normandy.
Unfortunately a flotilla of German E boats manned by some very courageous men got in amongst them landing force and created havoc resulting in the loss of 940 American lives, more than were actually lost during the landings themselves.
At this time allied air forces roamed freely over European skies and allied navies swept the Channel, they had to otherwise they could not have contemplated a landing let alone rehearsed, but it has never been satisfactorily explained how a flotilla of German warships was able to get within a few hundred yards of the most heavily fortified stretch of coast in Europe outside Festung Europa itself. Where was the air cover, where was the destroyer's screen!
It was covered up at the time for morale reasons but the cover up was continued to this day and no satisfactory explanation has ever been offered.
One wonders what Mom in Hometown, Nebraska would have felt had she known she sacrificed her youngest to SHAEF incompetence before he had even chambered a round in earnest.
RIP guys, thanks for trying to help.
I was born before the war so my interest is personal as is my gratitude.