The campaigns of greatest interest to me in the European Theater of Operations are Normandy, Lorraine, the West Wall, and the Ardennes. This reveals my partiality toward the US Army and how its operational proficiency improved over time. Aficienados of the British 21st Army Group certainly can make the same claim, with which I would agree. Many Americans overlook or downplay the contributions of the British Second and Canadian First Armies in Normandy. Although the British way of war was quite different from that of the US Army, its operational performance is also worthy of study and praise.
Starting with this blog, the Normandy Campaign will serve as a case study making use reading, map studying, miniature gaming, and battlefield visits to gain a better understanding of the military operations of this period.
In addition to being a logical point of departure in studying operations in the ETO, Normandy offers the widest range of operations:
* Multiple large-scale amphibious assaults on a heavily defended shoreline with beaches ranging from the low-lying, partially flooded land behind Utah through Omaha backed by bluffs with few beach exits, and through the British sector lined with beach communities;
* Large-scale airborne operations with offensive and defensive missions and objectives that included road junctions, inland beach exits, fortified positions, and waterway crossings;
* Corps versus corps armored battles on plains culminating in the Falaise encirclement;
* Deliberate attacks on the heavily fortified ports of Cherbourg and Le Havre;
* Assault waterway crossings and bridge building;
* The largest air and ground combined operations yet to be attempted;
* Intense close combat on a massive scale in dense hedgerow countryside; and
* An attacker with unmatched material superiority versus a very resilient defender.
In addition, there are innumerable books, studies, memoirs, journal articles, and on-line resources on Normandy. Lastly, the campaign offers some of the best and easiest battlefield visiting to experience.
In coming weeks, look for recommended readings; a list of modern maps of the battlefields; sources for orders of battle; scenarios and rules for miniature gaming in Normandy; and guide books and suggestions for visiting the battlefields.
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