Friday 8 October 2010

Normandy landings v Flanders fields

Arriving at the D-Day landing sites is a real shock to any preconceptions. First, the scale of the enterprise was enormous. Until you visit it means little. In the flesh it is seriously incredible what was achieved. Within a week a front had been established which was 65 miles wide and between 5 and 15 miles deep. Considering the range of armaments and the Atlantic defensive wall ranged against the allies this was a considerable and remarkable achievement. The ingenuity, bravery and capability on show frequently displayed the finest human qualities.

Visiting the battle sites it was clear that there were some audacious achievements. In particular, the capture of the heavy gun battery at Merville. This was on the eastern flank of the invasion. The heavy guns were in deep concrete casements, surrounded by minefield and barbed wire with anti-aircraft and machine gun protection too.  They were aimed at the landing sites of Sword beach.
The commander of the parachute regiment assigned the task of putting the guns out of action had the Royal Engineers build a replica of the battery near their headquarters - with dummy minefields, barbed wire etc. He then had his men practice capturing it nine times before he was satisfied that the mission was likely to be successful.

They were among the very first to land on French soil on D Day. Unfortunately only 10% of the force landed where they were supposed to. The rest were scattered over 50 square miles. Were they daunted by this lack of men and material? Were they hell as like. With a small force they achieved their objective and put the guns out of action. As a French General said later, "They did not know it was impossible, so they did it." 

Similarly at Pegasus Bridge, where 3 gliders landed incredibly close to their objective and held the crucial bridges over the canal and the river until relieved. Courage, initiative, incredible skill and audacity paid off. 

The reaction of the citizenry to their liberators was also very moving. At the village of Graignes, south of Carentan, many more paratroopers landed much further south than intended in flooded areas and were drowned. The survivors headed for the nearest landmark- the local church, where they assembled. The villagers held a meeting where they agreed to help the troops - knowing that if they were caught by the Germans they would be shot. The villagers initially helped retrieve equipment and ammunition from the flooded areas and marshes around the village. They also fed the troops. The Germans cottoned on that this group of paratroopers were there after several of their men had been killed in skirmishes. They launched a series of counter-attacks and overran the village. Surviving troops were rounded up, taken a few miles away and shot. The people who had helped from the village were also shot. 

It became clear that although the casualty figures in the invasion were high, there was a purpose and a reason for the action. This was not at all apparent on the Western Front from World War One.

Any casualty figures from the Normandy landings were rendered insignificant in the face of the wholesale slaughter that took place along the Western Front. The largest cemetery visited in Northern France was a German one at La Cambe which contained over 45,000 bodies. At Thiepval, on the Somme there is a massive and magnificent memorial to the 75,000 troops of Britain and the Commonwealth who were killed in action - but whose bodies have never been found. This situation was replicated over and over again as 'Unknown Soldier' headstones testified at cemetery after cemetery. 

What was it all for? The sheer folly and stupidity of the general staffs (on all sides) takes some believing. Sheer weight of numbers was deemed to be sufficient to win the day when it was clear very early on that the technology of defence - machine gun - train lines delivering replacements -; was always going to overcome the technology of advance - barrage - walk towards the opposing trenches - meet barbed wire - die.

This was not a holiday in the normal sense. There is much more processing to be done trying to understand what happened and why.

All Cabinet Ministers and Prime Ministers should undergo an induction period into office which involves visiting the sites in Flanders. 

That means you Mr Cameron. Given such an induction - would you have behaved the same Mr Blair?

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