OREP – förlag

The Normandy Landings were the first operations of the Allied Powers' invasion of Normandy, also known as Operation Neptune and Operation Overlord, during World War II. D-Day for the operation, postponed 24 hours, became June 6, 1944, H-Hour was 6:30 am. The assault was conducted in two phases: an air assault landing of American and British airborne divisions shortly after midnight, and an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France commencing at 06:30 British Double Summer Time. It required the transport of soldiers and materiel from England and Wales by troop carrying aeroplanes and ships, the assault landings, air support, naval interdiction of the English Channel and naval fire-support. There were also subsidiary operations to distract the Kriegsmarine and prevent its interference in the landing areas.The operation was the largest single-day invasion of all time, with over 130,000 troops landed on June 6, 1944\. 195,700 Allied naval and merchant navy personnel were involved. The landings took place along a stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sections: Gold, Juno, Omaha, Sword and Utah.Sainte-Mère-Église, Pointe du Hoc, Ouistreham, Omaha Beach, Pegasus Bridge, Arromanches… so many names entered into history on the morning of the 6th of June 1944, to remain forever engraved in our memories. This fully illustrated guide, including period documents and colour photographs, offers an insight, sector by sector, place by place, not only of the legendary D-day landing sites, but also of the less widely known, but just as crucial areas. Enhanced by original maps, a series of “close-up views” offering detailed explanations, “at a glance” pages devoted to specific towns or sites and an introduction to the many museums available to history enthusiasts keen to see where it all happened.

George S. Patton was a colourful war leader and an eminently complex character; adored by some, but hated by others, he would lead the 3rd U.S. Army from Tunisia to the heart of Czechoslovakia. “Georgie,” the little guy from California, would go on to earn a reputation as a leader of men and become one of the most gifted and the most feared general officers of the Second World War, living only by and for the war. His fiery temper and legendary outbursts would get him in big trouble, but his personal archives have also shown that, under his hard-boiled shell – the one that his soldiers nicknamed Old Blood and Guts – was a cultured man, sensitive and deeply doubting himself. This book explores both sides of the military legend, through to his accidental death on 21st December, 1945.

When he landed in Normandy on June 7, 1944, Ernie Pyle was the best (Pulitzer Prize) and most popular American war correspondent. Pyle owes this popularity to the fact that he tells simply and with a lot of empathy, the stories of the common soldiers. During the summer of 1944, he will follow the American troops from Omaha Beach until the liberation of Paris, attending the liberation of Cherbourg, the hedgerow war, the bombings of the Cobra Operation, but also discover Normandy surprisingly... Many episodes he tells in 70 articles subsequently published in the American daily press. These 70 articles had never been translated into French in their entirety.

This book is to honour all the brave and wonderful people who risked or gave their lives to free Europe from the nazis and the claws of fascism. Let us never forget the innocent victims, both young and old from all sides, who endured the losses and the suffering imposed upon them by those democratically elected evil criminals. We must never let this happen again.

I William ... Legendary figure of both Normandy and England, direct ascendent of the present day royal family of the United Kingdom, Duke of Normandy and King of England, that's who I am.Yet my life began as a young orphan, a bastard who fought fiercely to survive and for his legacy to be acknowledged, a rebel whose ducal destiny was orged by defying his own barons, a conqueror who built and entire nation by successfully commanding the very first landing operation in Normandy's history and by winning the famous Battle of Hastings in 1066.This is the story of a destiny that was unique, epic and occasionally tragic, but also infinietly human. Follow me as I travel from Falaise to Caen, fromBayeux to Rouen, frm Flanders to England. My story is also your story, the story of a region too, and of the nation of England.I lived there 1,000 years ago, but it was just like yesterday...

The battle of Omaha occupies a prevalent place in our collective memory due to the tragic events that took place there on June 6, 1944. The beach code-named Utah, located at the base of the Cotentin Peninsula, has attracted less attention. Wrongly. According to General Eisenhower, the U-Force mission was the most complex and risky because of its distance from the beach and the presence of many German divisions. The 4th Infantry division and the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions had to fight hard to secure the Utah area. The scale of the losses alone - 3,500 men in total - demonstrates that the Battle of Utah deserves to be investigated in a new light.

This book containing more than 200 photographs and many testimonials will take you back to the heart of the furious battles by the American paratroopers to liberate and hold Sainte-Mère-Église and surroundings. He will introduce you to the extraordinary history of creation of the American airborne weapon and the epic of troopers and gliders of the 82nd Airborne from Sicily to the heart of Germany via Normandy and the Netherlands. The authors also review the moving history of the village in the aftermath of the war. The presence of two large provisional cemeteries in the territory of the municipality for three years and the recognition of the population towards its liberators allowed to forge very strong bonds of friendship between the inhabitants and the All Americans.

The epic of William the Conqueror explained to children. We’re ready my lord.— Good, let us raise the anchor! I am eager to regain Norman soil.— You left as a duke and return as a king, dear William…— I am honoured by your compliments, Edgar… But, more so, I left as a ‘bastard’… and return as a ‘conqueror’!William the Conqueror’s epic tale is one of the most incredible adventures in history. Heir to the Duchy of Normandy upon his father’s death, he who was referred to as ‘the Bastard’ by his enemies was to become King of England!From fortified castles to abbeys, this comic strip lets you follow in the footsteps of William and Matilda, via a fascinating discovery of William the Conqueror’s life.

Why use an artificial port ? How they were made and assembled, risks and chances, questions and answers to determine and explain this titanesque enterprise to produce prefabricated ports.

On the night of the 31st of December 1943, two British commandos successfully collected a few samples of sand and peat under the very nose of the Germans posted at Ver-sur-Mer. Five months later, some 25,000 men followed in their footsteps and landed on the same shores, codenamed Gold Beach. Barely had they landed, before the British troops set out to build an artificial harbour, undoubtedly one of the finest technical feats of the Second World War. It was to prove a major asset for securing Allied supremacy in the months that followed the D-Day Landings.

Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord; the Allied invasion of German-occupied France that commenced on 6 June 1944\. Stretching 8 km from Ouistreham to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, the beach was the eastern most landing site of the invasion. Sword was divided into several sectors, and each sector divided into beaches; thus the British 3rd Infantry Division, assigned to land on Sword, assaulted a two mile (3 km) stretch of Sword codenamed Queen Sector - Queen Red, White and Green beaches.Sword is around 15 km from Caen, the ultimate goal of the 3rd Infantry Division. The initial landings were achieved with low casualties but the advance from the beach was met with traffic congestion, heavily defended areas behind the beachhead and was met by the only armoured counterattack of the day, mounted by the 21st Panzer Division, that halted further progress towards Caen.At 00:16, on June, 1944, 1944, Major John Howard landed with his company just a few yards from Bénouville bridge. In the early hours of D-Day, his British paratroopers were the first Allies to set foot on French soil. They were the vanguard of the 6th Airborne Division whose mission was to secure the east flank of the landing zone, a few hours before the amphibious operation. At dawn, the British 3rd Division, backed by commando units, including Commandant Kieffer's 177 French troops, landed on Sword Beach. At 13:00 hours, Lord Lovat's men joined forces with the paratroopers at Bénouville, forging a vital link between the liberators from the skies and those from the seas.

Early 1944, General Eisenhower took command of Operation Overlord. He immediately decided to add a new landing beach to the south of the Cotentin peninsila: Utah Beach. From this landing zone, the American troops hoped to rapidly advance towards Cherbourg to take control of the port, a crucial facility to support the considerable logistic effort that would ensure Overlord's success. On the morning of 6th June, officers from the first wave of assault set foot on Utah, to realise that their troops had landed over a mile south of their intended landing zone. Without wasting a second, they decided to continue operations from this very beach, the choice that was to seal the success of the Utah landings.

On June 5th 2009, commemorating the D-Day landings in the German cemetery of La Cambe, Schaffers, the German Ambassador, gave a moving and conciliatory speech. Listening attentively were veterans from all participating countries. In the crowd, a man was listening particularly closely. This was Wolfgang Fleischmann. Wolfgang was looking for Paul Rapier among the other listeners. Sixty-five years earlier their paths had crosses at Ouistreham. It was in June 1944, the 6th to be precise, the day of the Landings. Their meeting was brief, happening in the midst of chaos as it did. That day, Wolfgang and Paul were enemies…

June 6, 1944 minutes after midnight, silent silhouettes fly through the clouds and veer over from l'Orne, north of Caen. At more than 150 km / h, they touch the ground and finish their race a few meters from the bridge of Bénouville, who will enter into posterity under the name of Pegasus Bridge. Ninety men emerge painfully from these gliders and seize in a few minutes of the work by a spectacular "helping hand". He is the vanguard of the 6th Airborne Division which will jump a few minutes later between Orne and Dives, for cover the eastern flank of the Normandy landings. The missions assigned to it will all be successfully completed despite widely dispersed drops. But it is not as the beginning of three long months of fighting for British paratroopers.

From the decision to land in Normandy up to the closing of the "Falaise Gap" this work describes the different phases of the Battle : strategy, diversion, the multiple operations undertaken, the sectors chosen for landing, the Armed Forces and their mission in each case. Maps trace the Army Corps and Units and their advance in the course of the Battle. A concentrated and instructive work on the main stages of the Battle of Normandy.

This book explores more than 350 specific instances on D-Day, the starting point for the liberation of Western Europe. Marc Laurenceau makes us relive Operation Overlord hour by hour and minute by minute. These chronological "snapshots" enlighten us on the stakes, the resources involved and the consequences of one of the most daring military offensives.

The Bayeux Tapestry is a fine 11th century master-piece which has proved of exceptional documentary value towards our current knowledge of the period. When discovering the tapestry for the first time, visitors simply marvel at the great diversity of characters, clothes, buildings, ships and other features it portrays, literally losing themselves in what could be considered as the world’s very first comic strip, dating from the Middle Ages. Comic strips have, of course, moved on with their balloons, onomatopoeia and a number of specific terms used in this 8th century art, such as foreground, angle shot, framing, dialogues; very much the same words as those used in cinema.Gilles Pivard and Arthur Shelton are delighted to present a compilation of this great fresco in a somewhat more contemporary comic strip style. However, to ensure that the work’s authenticity remains intact, neither its illustrations nor its historical contents have been altered.The authors’ aim is to offer a clear and comprehensive interpretation of this epic adventure for the largest possible readership.They sincerely hope that this book will incite readers to further explore the fascinating story of William the Conqueror, the history of the Bayeux Tapestry, or even history in general.

The artificial port of Arromanches, codename ‘Mulberry B’, was a great British invention designed to bring to Normandy the equipment required by the Allied armies to Normandy following the D-Day landings. Jimmy, a British engineer and specialist in designing ports, experiences the whole operation from its conception in England to its installation in France despite the setbacks including the storm that nearly destroyed it. Jimmy recounts the whole story in a book written in 1944. Jimmy speaks not only of the doubters from ordinary soldiers to men of genius, but also the fishermen and sailors of Port-en-Bessin who helped construct the artificial port even when all looked lost. Today, all these decades later, this book also brings us to the Museum of Arromanches where Linda, an English teenager, on reading Jimmy’s book, begins to understand the significance of this operation, and in the story of the invasion, we discover how the story of her family crosses that of this great historical event…

Illustrated with colorized wartime photographs and original battle relics, read for the first time the complete correspondence of an American officer in the 4th Infantry Division, from the battlefields of Normandy to the dark forest of Hürtgen and the liberation of Paris! These poignant letters and true story make us reflect on the terrible effects of war and the importance of peace.

This book tells the story of an outstanding man, intelligent and determined, who conceived and carried out the most formidable military expedition of his time. Born out of wedlock, in Falaise, Duke of Normandy, then King of England, to which he gave stable institutions, whilst to Normandy he brought economic expansion and unprecedented intellectual excellence. This work portrays him, through the epic story of his life and puts him once again among the great characters of History.

The German battery at Longues-sur-merHighpoint of the Atlantic Wall, the German coastal artillery battery at Longues-sur-Mer is worth a detour.Contrary to Pointe du Hoc, the Longues battery, whose guns are still in place, fired on the allied warships on the morning of D-day.

From the decision to land in Normandy up to the closing of the "Falaise Gap" this work describes the different phases of the Battle : strategy, diversion, the multiple operations undertaken, the sectors chosen for landing, the Armed Forces and their mission in each case. Maps trace the Army Corps and Units and their advance in the course of the Battle. A concentrated and instructive work on the main stages of the Battle of Normandy.

Almost a century has passed since the signing of the armistice on 11 November 1918. Of all the soldiers who went through that hell on earth, photographs, letters, stories and old uniforms kept in attics are all that is left. Thanks to a collection of more than ten thousand documents, the author allows us to follow these young men with previously unseen photographs. All these faces, sometimes smiling, sometimes serious, have a story to tell. Many collectors have also allowed us access to their most precious objects, the fruit of their relentless research that helps save these objects that went through four terrible years of oblivion and destruction. Finally, being in the era of Internet, many links allow you to retrace the history of your ancestors and their regiments.When Germany invaded Belgium in 1914, Britain mobilised its army in addition to its navy, and declared war on Germany. The British Army that disembarked in France in August 1914 was a small but highly efficient force. Led by Sir John French, the army was strong from the lessons it had learnt from colonial wars, but couldn’t avoid the settlement of the front line leading to trench warfare. The subject of this short book is a non-exhaustive study of the British soldier’s equipment and his commitment within the British Expeditionary Force.

1943, on a farm in Arkansas, two brothers, Eddy and JohnnyCollins, receive their mobilization letter: one will disembark atOmaha Beach while the other will have to climb a vertiginouscliff held by the enemy. Will the two brothers end upto regain ?

At the end of 1944, the Axis forces led by Nazi Germany seemed to be out of breath. Many Allied soldiers, although stunned by the recent battles of autumn, were turning their minds to the next Christmas party. In the liberated towns, the population benefited from its newfound freedom, but was preparing to face another winter with rationing. On December 16th, to everyone's surprise, Hitler launched his last big offensive in Belgium and Luxembourg, moving through the Ardennes forests. With almost 300,000 committed fighters, he wanted to reverse the course of the war, playing his last card…This book explores the famous Ardenne campaign which took place during the winter of 1944-1945. The German offensive of December 1944 is briefly put in context, and then summarized in its main points. The less well known battles of January 1945 are explored through the fate of the 84th division of the American infantry, which included a 21-year-old German youth named Henry Kissinger, not yet the famous diplomat of the 1960s. This guide presents the battle through the perspective of the combatants, focusing on their daily lives, and showing the human experience of those men and women, military and civilian, who struggled to stay alive during this terrible winter. From Elsenborn to Echternach, and of course, encompassing Bastogne, this book leads you in the footsteps of the fighters.

1914… The most terrible and bloody of the conflicts of history comes from start. It will result in the death of more than 18 million soldiers. While still a child, Odysseus sees his father and his brother leave his luminous scrubland to join the land dark and stained by the war in eastern France. A conflict that was meant to be short and that will last more than four years, stealing the boy's childhood to make him a fighter, ready to fall on the field of honor for his homeland.

Normandy, North, South, East and West, has numerous war cemeteries, mostly from World War Two but also from World War One. The coastline of western Normandy, through the history of one pivotal day – D-Day June 6th 1944, has made it one of the most visited tourist destinations in Europe. Along the coast are found several war cemeteries that are well known and easily accessible. The Normandy American Cemetery, above Omaha beach, averages around 1.5 million visitors a year. Nearby, the Commonwealth cemeteries of Bayeux, Bény-sur-Mer and Ranville, as well as the German war cemetery atLa Cambe, are also busy places in the summer months. For seven months Nigel travelled to all corners of Normandy to photograph these cemeteries.The book helps the reader locate andvisit not just those well known warcemeteries, but also those which are less well known, more numerous. GPS coordinates are included inside this book, alongside each war cemetery described.As well as photographs of these well maintained resting places of young combatants, several individuals from different nations are featured to emphasize the stories of young lives from the different countries.These cemeteries have matured into gardens, beautifully maintained by thedifferent Commissions. Peaceful places…such a contrast to what created them. Lest we forget.

It was around the 1930s that many of the products, devices and concepts as we know them today have been discovered: antibiotics, radars, turbojets, plastics from rubbers and synthetic fuels, Radio… But we will have to wait until the beginning of World War II to make all these inventions and finally find their industrial development.This book tells the story of 50 discoveries, chosen arbitrarily among many others which, by allowing us to understand the great story through that of technology, sheds new light on what the gigantic Overlord operation was.