Denied a hero's death: How more Allied

troops died during live-fire D-Day training in

Britain than those killed storming the beaches

of Normandy on June 6

 

  • The June 6 1944 D-Day landings were the most
  • ambitious Allied military endeavour of World War Two
  • Thousands of British, American, Canadian and
  • Commonwealth troops died storming the coast of France 
  • But historian Peter Caddick-Adams reveals in Sand and Steel: A New History
  • of D-Day that more men died in preparation for the assaults,
  • in training exercises and live drills, than at the Normandy beach landings 

The number of Allied troops who died during training for the D-Day landings outnumbers those that perished during the fateful final landings, a fascinating new book reveals. 

 

The June 6 1944 operation was the most ambitious military endeavour of the Second World War, with hundreds of boats assembling off the coast of Normandy, carrying men from every corner of Britain, America, the Commonwealth and beyond.  

 

Thousands of them would be dead by nightfall. The objective was to shatter Hitler's formidable Atlantikwall defence and open a Western Front in the battle for Europe to drive back the Nazi menace while Soviet forces tackled them from the east. 

 

Millions had been brought to the United Kingdom in preparation for the pivotal assault, transforming its towns, coasts, fields and cities into an enormous training camp.  

 

But at least 5,440 died in live fire drills, amphibious landing exercises and flight training compared with around 4,414 at Normandy, says historian Peter Caddick-Adams.

 

The lecturer was inspired to write Sand and Steel: A New History of D-Day, after hearing the stories of 1,000 D-Day veterans from all countries involved, but it was one soldier in particular - piper Bill Millin, who stormed the German-occupied beaches while blasting tunes on his bagpipes - that sparked the idea.

 

On the beaches of Normandy in August 1975, piper Millin spoke to Dr Caddick-Adams, then aged 14, telling him: 'Before we even start with the combat, let's go back to the training, because getting it right beforehand was the recipe for success'. 

 

In Sand and Steel: A New History of D-Day, Dr Caddick-Adams follows piper Millin's advice, and reveals the full horror Allied troops suffered as they prepared to overwhelm the Nazis, examining the facts behind the historic assault, and paying tribute to the stories he has heard through speaking to veterans.

 

At least 5,440 died in live fire drills, amphibious landing exercises and flight training compared with around 4,414 at Normandy, says historian Peter Caddick-Adams (Pictured: Troops coming ashore during training exercises for the Allied D-Day invasion in 1943)

At least 5,440 died in live fire drills, amphibious landing exercises and flight training

compared with around 4,414 at Normandy, says historian Peter Caddick-Adams

(Pictured: Troops coming ashore during training exercises for the Allied D-Day invasion in 1943)

 

 

 

US Army troops and crewmen aboard a Coast Guard manned LCVP approach a beach on D-Day in Normandy, June 1944

US Army troops and crewmen aboard a Coast Guard manned LCVP approach a beach on D-Day in Normandy, June 1944

 

946 die in tragedy of Slapton Sands

Devon, April 1944 

 

More than 30,000 men were involved in Exercise Tiger when German E-boats unleashed several torpedoes on Force U.

 

The exercise took place in Slapton Sands, Devon, in April 1944, intended to be a practise for the eventual storming of Normandy.  

 

But a series of errors saw hundreds of troops killed by friendly fire, and the situation worsened when German E-boats attacked exposed vessels at Lyme Bay.  

 

More people died during the exercise than in the D-Day landing at Utah Beach - with many soldiers sinking and drowning during the exercise weighed down by their heavy kit and sodden clothes. 

 

Up to 946 Americans and sailors lost their lives in the chaos that followed, but due to the disaster happening close to D-Day, Eisenhower kept the truth from people back home. 

 

The legendary general instituted a cover-up that lasted until the 1970s and to this day the number of casualties is contested.