The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 (123 page)

Perhaps. But a few wondered
: C. B. Hansen, “General Bradley As Seen Close Up,”
NYT Magazine
, Nov. 30, 1947, 14
+
(“
superior
”); Blumenson,
The Battle of the Generals
, 37 (“
mediocrity
”); Blumenson,
Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885–1945
, 216 (“
Has a strong jaw
”); Murray, “Needless D-Day Slaughter,”
MHQ
(spring 2003): 26
+
(
Bradley’s design
); “Doughboy’s General,”
Time
(May 1, 1944): 23 (“
tommyrot
”). I’m grateful for the insights of Prof. Allan R. Millett on this topic.

Now he was not so sure
: Bradley,
A Soldier’s Story
, 271–77; Astor,
June 6, 1944
, 212–13 (“
this is carnage
”).

Not for some hours would Bradley learn
: Miller,
Division Commander
, 5–14; diary, Jack Shea [Cota aide], ts, Nov. 1, 1944, NARA RG 407, CI, 29th ID, box 24034, 14–17 (
hugging wooden groins
).

Pistol in hand, he sang tuneless
: Kershaw,
The Bedford Boys
, 155; John C. Raaen, Jr., “Sir, the 5th Rangers Have Landed Intact,” ts, 2000, MMD, 28–29; McManus,
The Americans at D-Day
, 333; OH, 116th Inf, March 25, 1945, NARA RG 407, AFIA, 2-3.7 BG; diary, Jack Shea, ts, Nov. 1, 1944, NARA RG 407, CI, 29th ID, box 24034, 18–22 (“
Medico, I’m hit”
).

Up the bluff they climbed
: diary, Jack Shea, ts, Nov. 1, 1944, NARA RG 407, CI, 29th ID, box 24034, 19–22, 29; OH, 116th Inf, March 25, 1945, NARA RG 407, AFIA, 2-3.7 BG.

“
Where the hell have you been
”: OH, 116th Inf, Mar. 25, 1945, NARA RG 407, AFIA, 2-3.7 BG.

“
a final stubborn reserve
”: Howarth,
Dawn of D-Day
, 161; Balkoski,
Omaha Beach
, 346 (“
unwilling soul
”), 262 (“
Watch it
”); “16-G on D-Day,” n.d., NARA RG 407, AFIA, 2-3.7 BG (
stepping stones
); diary, Stanley Bach, First Army, NARA RG 407, AFIA, 2-3.7 BG (“
Fire everywhere
”); OH, Joseph Dorchak, Co B, 2nd Ranger Bn, HI (“
shot the corpse
”).

A dozen destroyers—some so close
:
IFG
, 143; OH, Maurice F. McGrath, 116th Inf, Sept. 20, 1944, a.p. (“
pick them out
”); Buffetaut,
D-Day Ships
, 108 (
knocked the tower into the nave
); Karig,
Battle Report: The Atlantic War
, 327 (“
simply champion
”).

“
coagulating haphazardly
”:
CCA
, 324; “Operation Neptune Report,” Provisional Engineer Special Brigade Group, Sept. 30, 1944, CEOH, box X-24, 91–93, 93n (“
Men believed ours
”); Wheeler,
The Big Red One
, 277–82;
Omaha Beachhead
, 82–83, 87 (“
Troops formerly pinned
”).

Cota continued his charmed day
:
Omaha Beachhead
, 95; diary, Jack Shea, ts, Nov. 1, 1944, NARA RG 407, CI, 29th ID, box 24034, 23; Balkoski,
Omaha Beach
, 278 (“
Come on down here
”).

That left the British and Canadians
:
WaS
, 46–48;
IFG
, 183 (
four times longer
); Howarth,
Dawn of D-Day
, 170–71 (
half a dozen gadgets
).

In other respects,
“
the bitches
”: Drez, ed.,
Voices of D-Day
, 293; “Force G and 50 Division,” bulletin Y/36, Nov. 1944, COHQ, CARL, N-6530.16, 19–23 (
engine rooms flooded
); Hastings,
OVERLORD
, 105–6 (
Centaur tanks
); Vian,
Action This Day
, 138 (
two battleships and a monitor
); Thompson,
The Imperial War Museum Book of Victory in Europe
, 56 (“
large packs of grouse
”);
VW
, vol. 1, 197 (
ninety shore guns
); author visit, Crépon, May 25–29, 2009; “Casualties and Effects of Fire Support on the British Beaches in Normandy,” Army Operational Research Group (U.K.), report no. 261, n.d., NARA RG 334, E 315, ANSCOL, box 451, 5 (“
not just disorganized
”).

During the run to shore
: Hastings,
Winston’s War
, 393; diary, S. C. Donnison, June 6, 1944, IWM, 94/50/1 (“
thick as syrup
”); Thompson,
The Imperial War Museum Book of Victory in Europe
, 48, 60; “An Account of the Assault by an Infantry Battalion,” bulletin Y/44, Feb. 1945, COHQ, CARL, N-6350.22, 5–6; J. H. Patterson, ts, n.d., No. 4 Commando, n.d., IWM, 05/491, 1/7 (“
Jerusalem
”); Hills,
Phantom Was There
, 178 (“
The Beer Barrel Polka
”).

Closest to Omaha lay Gold
: Roskill,
White Ensign
, 377; “Report on the Battle of Normandy,” Royal Engineers, n.d., CARL, N-5785 (
only two boat lanes
); “An Account of the Assault by an Infantry Battalion,” bulleting Y/44, Feb. 1945, COHQ, CARL, N-6350.22, 9; Wilmot,
The Struggle for Europe
, 270–72; Ryan,
The Longest Day
, 188 (“
Perhaps we’re intruding
”);
WaS
, 46–48 (
Port-en-Bessin
);
VW
, vol. 1, 178, 193 (
all four brigades
).

On the eastern lip of the Allied beachhead
:
VW
, vol. 1, 185.

“
Ramp down
”: Hastings,
OVERLORD
, 103; Ryan,
The Longest Day
, 186 (“
Bash on
”); “Report on the Battle of Normandy,” Royal Engineers, n.d., CARL, N-5785 (
cleared no beach obstacles
); Collier,
Fighting Words
, 161 (“
shoulders hunched like boxers
”); Arthur,
Forgotten Voices of World War II
, 313 (“
drowning in their own blood
”); Liddle,
D-Day by Those Who Were There
, 12–13 (“
Beach a shambles
”); D’Este,
Decision in Normandy
, 129 (
within thirty feet
);
VW
, vol. 1, 186, 194–95; Wilmot,
The Struggle for Europe
, 278.

Even so a kilted piper with a dirk
: Millership, “Scots Piper Dodged Bullets,” Reuters, June 1, 1994; Burns, “Bill Millin, Scottish D-Day Piper, Dies at 88,”
NYT
, Aug. 19, 2010, B9 (“
Highland Laddie
”); Holt and Holt,
Major & Mrs. Holt’s Battlefield Guide to the Normandy Landing Beaches
, 202 (“
Get down
”); Arthur,
Forgotten Voices of World War II
, 316–18 (“
parade-ground style
”); Liddle,
D-Day by Those Who Were There
, 189–90.

The wind-whipped tide and a bullying current
:
VW
, vol. 1, 179–83;
VC
, 100–106; Collier,
Fighting Words
, 164 (“
Traitors!
”).

Despite such setbacks
: Keegan,
Six Armies in Normandy
, 141 (
half the number expected
); Wilmot,
The Struggle for Europe
, 275 (
two miles inland
); Saunders,
The Red Beret
, 153; Ambrose,
Pegasus Bridge
, 125; author visit, Crépon, May 25–29, 2009; Isby, ed.,
Fighting the Invasion
, 199.

Reporters were told to expect
: Ryan,
The Longest Day
, 196–97; Drez, ed.,
Voices of D-Day
, 297–301 (“
cycle like mad
”).

Yet the day seemed undimmed
: author visit, Crépon, May 25–29, 2009; Ryan,
The Longest Day
, 206 (
holding up trousers
); Ambrose,
Pegasus Bridge
, 109 (
French women who emerged
); Howarth,
Dawn of D-Day
, 228 (
Norman dialect)
; Thompson,
The Price of Victory
, 253 (
antique gramophone
).

A Conqueror’s Paradise

As if in pursuit
:
AAFinWWII
, 159 (
twenty-six bridges
); Irving,
The Trail of the Fox
, Horch photo; Douglas-Home,
Rommel
, 205; Barnett, ed.,
Hitler’s Generals
, 198 (
youngest but most celebrated
); Fraser,
Knight’s Cross
, 457 (“C’est Rommel!”).

He had driven home to Herrlingen
: Liddell Hart, ed.,
The Rommel Papers
, 470–71; Ryan,
The Longest Day
, 237–38 (“
If I was commander
”).

At 9:30
P.M.,
with
little left
: Ryan,
The Longest Day
, 15; author visit, La Roche–Guyon, May 30, 2009, and “A Visit to La Roche–Guyon Castle,” brochure.

“
How peaceful the world
”: Fraser,
Knight’s Cross
, 471–73; Beevor,
D-Day
, 40 (“
conqueror’s paradise
”); Camille Pissarro, “A Square in La Roche–Guyon,” Alte Nationalgaleri, Berlin;
www.musee-imaginaire.de/lesesaal/renoir/biografi.html
*
;
www.artchive.com/artchive/B/braque/castle.jpg.html
.

On the chalk cliffs
: Irving,
The Trail of the Fox
, 334, 345–54, 392.

Clacking typewriters
: Speidel,
We Defended Normandy
, 53 (
Edict of Nantes
); Irving,
The Trail of the Fox
, 372–74 (“
He’s very calm
”).

There was much to be grim about
:
CCA
, 275;
Germany VII
, 586 (“
There are no signs
”); Lewin,
Rommel as Military Commander
, 223 (
away from their posts
); war diary, Seventh Army, June 6, 1944, NARA RG 407, E 427, ML #2201 (“
not a major action
”).

Not until that fantastic armada
: Horst Boog, “Invasion to Surrender: The Defense of Germany,” in Brower, ed.,
World War II in Europe: The Final Year
, 120 (
German aircraft losses
);
Germany VII
, 328–30 (
319 serviceable planes
and
dropped their bombs prematurely
); Keegan,
Six Armies in Normandy
, 143; Davis,
Carl A. Spaatz and the Air War in Europe
, 414; Wieviorka,
Normandy
, 207 (
American planes were gray
).

“
The enemy, penetrating our positions
”: war diary, Seventh Army, June 6, 1944, NARA RG 407, E 427, ML #2201.

“
the fighting animal
”: Carver, ed.,
The War Lords
, 274; Barnett, ed.,
Hitler’s Generals
, 299; MMB, 462–63; Isby, ed.,
Fighting the Invasion
, 48 (“
re-win great fame
”).

Hitler’s decision in November 1943
: Keegan,
Six Armies in Normandy
, 60–61, 65 (“
Once defeated
”);
Germany VII
, 512; Liddell Hart, ed.,
The Rommel Papers
, 458 (“
zone of death
”), 464 (“
The enemy will have a rough time
”).

If confident enough to travel
: Keegan,
Six Armies in Normandy
, 60–61 (
200 million
); Cooper,
The German Army, 1933–1945
, 496 (
eight different languages
); Overy,
Why the Allies Won
, 225–27 (
Army Group B relied
); Friederich Freiherr von der Heydte, “A German Parachute Regiment in Normandy,” 1954, FMS, #B-839, MHI, 8 (“
Emplacements without guns
”).

“
Our friends from the East
”: Liddell Hart, ed.,
The Rommel Papers
, 467–68; F. Ruge, “Coast Defense and Invasion,” June 9, 1947, NARA RG 334, E 315, ANSCOL, ONI IR 243, box 642, 9, 14 (“
nailed to the ground
”); “Railway Sabotage in France and Belgium,” SHAEF, G-3, n.d., CARL, N-16313 (
armed railwaymen
); Mark,
Aerial Interdiction in Three Wars
, 233–41;
CCA
, 225–30;
AAFinWWII
, 160;
GS
V, 287; memo, Erwin Rommel, Apr. 22, 1944, captured document, NARA RG 498, ETO HD, “Combat Engineering,” admin file #547, 8–9 (“
The enemy will most likely
”).

“
a cock-fight controversy
”: Bodo Zimmerman, 1946, FMS, #B-308, MHI, 42–43.

“
main battle line must be the beach
”: Fraser,
Knight’s Cross
, 455; OH, Hans von Luck to author, Hamburg, Mar. 3 and Apr. 7, 1994 (“
If we can’t throw
”);
CCA
, 247.

This impertinence found little favor
: Stafford,
Ten Days to D-Day
, 43 (“
unlicked cub
”); Isby, ed.,
Fighting the Invasion
, 48 (“
Marshal Laddie
”); Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg, ETHINT 13, Dec. 11, 1947, MHI, 2 (S’engager).

Hitler dithered, then ordered a compromise
:
Germany VII
, 508–20 (“
In the East
”); Wood, ed.,
Army of the West
, 4;
CCA
, 243–49; Ose, “Rommel and Rundstedt: The 1944 Panzer Controversy,”
Military Affairs
(Jan. 1986): 7
+
;
CCA
, 333–34 (
eight hours passed
); Beevor,
D-Day
, 150 (“
arrive too late
”).