Search results for ""Author James Daly""

The bitter fighting in the so-called Falaise-Argentan Pocket in August 1944, during which the Allies encircled and destroyed a substantial part of Hitler's forces in northern France following the D-Day landings, marked the last major battle of the Normandy campaign. Despite this, tens of thousands of German soldiers managed to escape through the infamous Falaise Gap. It was as the Allies continued to pursue the retreating enemy forces that the planners considered or drew-up a number of further airborne operations. As James Daly reveals, three operations, namely _Lucky Strike_, _Transfigure_ and _Axehead_, might well have been part of the last of the fighting in the breakout from, Normandy itself. The first of these, _Lucky Strike_, was intended to see General Montgomery's 21st Army Group strike to the north-east in the direction of the River Seine, where bridges near Rouen were to be taken by the British 1st Airborne Division. _Transfigure_ was to be a major operation with the aim

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The airborne landings on D-Day played a major part in the success of the largest amphibious operation ever mounted. Yet just over three months later Operation _Market Garden_, the largest airborne operation ever attempted, failed to take all its objectives. It is notable, however, that in the film _A Bridge Too Far_ Dirk Bogarde's Lieutenant General Boy' Browning refers to a large number of cancelled operations since D-Day. What were these operations? Why do we know so little about them? And what can they tell us about Allied airborne planning, and the way that the allies fought, in 1944?As James Daly reveals, plans were considered or drawn-up for a number of ambitious airborne assaults that could have formed part of the Allies' efforts to break out of the beachheads. Of these, three, operations _Wastage_, _Tuxedo_ and _Wild Oats_, might well have been part of the fighting in Normandy itself. Operation _Wild Oats_, for example, was to see the 1st Airborne Division help capture Caen in

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Based on research into 2,549 servicemen and women from Portsmouth who were killed during World War 2, this book uncovers stories that have never been told before: a naval bomb disposal Petty Officer awarded the George Cross; a 16-year-old Para; a Battle of Britain hero; men killed in battleships, submarines, bombers and tanks throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. By using database software, the author has been able to analyse all 2,549 casualties and look at statistics such as their age and where in Portsmouth they came from. As well as telling the stories of individuals and units, it has been possible to build a picture of the effect that World War 2 had on Portsmouth’s communities.

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