British Armour in the Normandy Campaign.pdf

BRITISH ARMOUR IN THE

NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944

The popular perception of the performance of British armour in the Normandy

campaign in 1944 is one of failure and frustration. Despite overwhelming

superiority in numbers, Montgomery’s repeated efforts to employ his armour

in an offensive manner ended in disappointing stalemate. Indeed, just a week

after the D-Day landings in June, the Germans claimed to have halted an

entire British armoured division with one Tiger tank. Most famously of all,

in July, despite a heavy preparatory bombardment, three British armoured

divisions were repulsed, by much weaker German forces, to the east of Caen,

suffering the loss of over 400 tanks in the process. Explanation of these and

other humiliating failures has centred predominantly on the shortcomings of

the tanks employed by British formations. An orthodoxy has emerged that

the roots of failure lay in the comparative weakness of Allied equipment, and

to a lesser extent in training and doctrine.

This new study by John Buckley challenges this standard view by analysing

the reality and level of the supposed failure, and the causes behind it. By

studying the role of the armoured brigades as well as the divisions, a more

complete and balanced analysis is offered in which it is clear that while some

technologically based difficulties were encountered, British armoured forces

achieved a good deal when employed appropriately. Such difficulties as did

occur resulted from British operational techniques, methods of command and

leadership, and the operating environment in which armour was employed.

In addition, the tactics and doctrine employed by both British and German

armoured forces resulted in heavy casualties when on the offensive. Ultimately,

the experience of the crews and the effects of the fighting on their morale is

studied to provide a complete picture of the campaign.

This groundbreaking new study of the Normandy campaign will be an

essential reading for all military historians and general readers with an

informed interest in the subject.

CASS SERIES: MILITARY HISTORY AND POLICY

Series Editors: John Gooch and Brian Holden Reid

ISSN: 1465–8488

This series will publish studies on historical and contemporary aspects of land

power, spanning the period from the eighteenth century to the present day, and

will include national, international and comparative studies. From time to

time, the series will publish edited collections of essays and ‘classics’.

1. ALLENBY AND BRITISH STRATEGY IN THE MIDDLE EAST, 1917–1919

Matthew Hughes

2. ALFRED VON SCHLIEFFEN’S MILITARY WRITINGS

Robert Foley (ed. and trans.)

3. THE BRITISH DEFENCE OF EGYPT, 1935–1940: Conflict and Crisis

in the Eastern Mediterranean

Steven Morewood

4. THE JAPANESE AND THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH ARMIES

AT WAR, 1941–1945

Tim Moreman

5. TRAINING, TACTICS AND LEADERSHIP IN THE CONFEDERATE

ARMY OF TENNESSEE: Seeds of Failure

Andrew Haughton

6. MILITARY TRAINING IN THE BRITISH ARMY 1940–1944: From

Dunkirk to D-day

Tim Harrison Place

7. THE BOER WAR: Direction, Experience and Image

John Gooch (ed.)

8. CAPORETTO 1917: Victory of Defeat?

Mario Moreselli

9. POSTWAR COUNTERINSURGENCY AND THE SAS 1945–1952: A Special

Type of Warfare

Tim Jones

10. THE BRITISH GENERAL STAFF: Reform and Innovation 1890–1939

David French and Brian Holden Reid (eds)

11. WRITING THE GREAT WAR: Sir James Edmonds and the Official Histories,

1915–1948

Andrew Green

12. COMMAND AND CONTROL IN MILITARY CRISIS: Devious Decisions

Harald Høiback

BRITISH ARMOUR IN

THE NORMANDY

CAMPAIGN 1944

John Buckley

FRANK CASS

LONDON AND NEW YORK

First published 2004

by Frank Cass, an imprint of Taylor & Francis

11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada

by Routledge

29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.

reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,

mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter

invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any

information storage or retrieval system, without permission in

writing from the publishers.

The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to

the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any

legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Buckley, John (John D.)

British armour in the Normandy campaign, 1944 / John Buckley.

p. cm. — (Cass series—military history and policy, ISSN 1465–8488; 15)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0–7146–5323–3

1. World War, 1939–1945—Campaigns—France—Normandy. 2. Great

Britain. Army—Armored troops. 3. World War, 1939–1945—Tank

warfare. I. Title. II. Cass series—military history and policy; no. 15.

D756.5.N6B83 2004

940.54 ′ 2142—dc22

2004001402

ISBN 0-203-49498-9 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-58182-2 (Adobe eReader Format)

(Print Edition)

ISBN 0–7146–5323–3

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