Normandy Landings

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The 101st Airborne Division — the "Screaming Eagles"— is a U.S. Army modular infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for action during the Normandy Landings and in the Battle of the Bulge. During the Vietnam War, the 101st Airborne Division was redesignated first an airmobile division, then later as an air assault division. For historical reasons, it retains the "Airborne" tab identifier, yet does not conduct parachute operations at a division level. Many modern members of the 101st are graduates of the U.S. Army Air Assault School, and wear the Air Assault Badge, but it is not prerequisite for assignment to the division. The division's headquarters are at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the only U.S. Army division with two aviation brigades. It is one of the most prestigious and decorated divisions in the U.S. Army. 101st Airborne also has a small fleet of helicopters, used in mostly the dropping of soldiers. They also have attacked military strong holds.

1st Special Service Brigade

The 1st Special Service Brigade was a brigade of the British Army. Formed during World War II it consisted of British Army Commandos and Royal Marine Commandos. The brigade's component units saw action individually in Norway and during the Dieppe Raid before being combined under one commander for service in Normandy during Operation Overlord. On 6 December 1944 the Brigade was redesignated 1st Commando Brigade, removing the hated title Special Service and its association with the German SS.^[1]

29th Infantry Division (United States)

The 29th Infantry Division is an infantry division of the United States Army based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. It is a formation of the United States Army National Guard and contains units from Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.

2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade

Soon after 3rd Canadian Tank Brigade assumed the designation in summer 1943 of the original 2nd Canadian Tank Brigade, the new 2nd Tank was redesignated and reorganized as 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade. Although reorganized as an armoured brigade, no motor battalion served under its command. The brigade was assigned to the British 2nd Army in January 1944 to train for the upcoming amphibious assault in Normandy.

2nd Parachute Division (Germany)

The German 2nd Parachute Division was an elite German military parachute-landing Division that fought during World War II. In German, a division of paratroopers was termed a Fallschirmjäger Division.

352nd Infantry Division (Germany)

The 352nd Infantry Division (352. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. A western front unit, the 352nd became notable for its tenacious defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944.

3rd Canadian Infantry Division

The formation of the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division was authorized on 17 May 1940. There was then a considerable delay until the brigade and divisional headquarters were formed on 5 September, and the first divisional commander was appointed on 26 October.

3rd Infantry Division (United Kingdom)

The 3rd Infantry Division, known at various times as the Iron Division, 3rd (Iron) Division or as Iron Sides^[1]; is a regular army division of the British Army. It was originally formed in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington for service in the Peninsular War, and was known as the "Fighting 3rd" under Sir Thomas Picton during the Napoleonic Wars. The division is also sometimes referred to as the "Iron Division", a nickname earned during the bitter fighting of 1916, during the First World War. The division's other battle honours include: the Battle of Waterloo, the Crimean War, the Second Boer War, the Battle of France (1940) and D-Day (1944). It was commanded for a time, during the Second World War, by Bernard Montgomery. The division was to have been part of a proposed Commonwealth Corps, formed for a planned invasion of Japan in 1945-46, but was disbanded when the war was ended by the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

41 Commando

41 Commando or 41 Royal Marine Commando/41 R.M. Commando was a unit of Royal Marines British Commandos that served in World War II, the Korean War, and in Northern Ireland. They were disbanded in 1981.

45 Commando

45 Commando Royal Marines is a battalion sized unit of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of Commander in Chief Fleet.

4th Special Service Brigade

The 4th Special Service Brigade was created in March 1944 from units of the Royal Marines. Due to the success of the Army Commandos’ operations in Norway, the Channel Islands, St. Nazaire, and the Middle East, the Admiralty dissolved the Marine Division in late 1942 and reorganized its amphibious assault infantry in to eight additional Commandos. The Brigade landed in Normandy on June 6 1944 during Operation Overlord and participated in the Battle of the Scheldt and the assault of the Walcheren Islands. ^[1] On December 6 1944 the Brigade was re named 4th Commando Brigade, removing the hated title Special Service and its association with the German SS. ^[2]

50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division

The 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was a 1st Line Territorial Army (UK) division during the Second World War. The two Ts in its insignia represent the two boundaries to its recruitment area, the rivers Tyne and Tees. The division served in almost all of the major engagements of the European War from 1940-1945.

50th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)

The 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was a 1st Line Territorial Army (UK) division during the Second World War. The two Ts in its insignia represent the two boundaries to its recruitment area, the rivers Tyne and Tees. The division served in almost all of the major engagements of the European War from 1940-1945.

6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)

The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne division in the British Army during the Second World War. It took part in Operation Tonga the airborne landings on the left flank of the invasion beaches in the Normandy Landings. It played a small part in the Battle of the Bulge and was involved in Operation Varsity the Allied assault across the Rhine river. At the end of the war in Europe it was planned to send the Division to the Far East for operations against Japan but these plans were cancelled after the Atom bombs were dropped on the Japanese mainland. Instead the Division was sent to Palestine on internal security duties, where it remained until being disbanded in April 1948.

79th Armoured Division

The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist British Army armoured unit formed as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion of 6 June 1944. The unit comprised armoured vehicles modified for specialist roles, intended to assist with the landing phase of the operation.

82nd Airborne Division (United States)

The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It is a subordinate unit of the XVIII Airborne Corps.

8th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)

The 8th Armoured Brigade was a Second World War British Army brigade, formed in August 1941 from the redesigantion of 6th Cavalry Brigade when the 1st Cavalry Division based in Palestine (of which it was part), converted from a motorised formation (they had been horse-mounted up to January 1940) to an armoured one^[1]

Ad hoc

Ad hoc is a Latin phrase which means "for this purpose". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and which cannot be adapted to other purposes.

Air assault

Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces, most commonly infantry, by VTOL aircraft such as the helicopter to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured and rarely, to directly engage and destroy enemy forces. In addition to regular infantry training, these units usually receive training in rappelling and air transportation, and their equipment is sometimes designed or field modified to allow better transportation in helicopters.

Air support

In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are in close proximity to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.^[1]

Alan G Kirk

Alan Goodrich Kirk (born October 30, 1888, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died October 15, 1963, Washington, D.C.) was an admiral in the United States Navy and an American diplomat.

American airborne landings in Normandy

The American airborne landings in Normandy were the first United States combat operations of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by the Western Allies on June 6, 1944. 13,100 paratroopers of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and 101st Airborne Divisions made night parachute drops early on D-Day, June 6, followed by 3,937 glider troops flown in by day.^[2] As the opening maneuver of Operation Neptune (the assault operation for Overlord) the American airborne divisions were delivered to the continent in two parachute and six glider missions.

Arthur Tedder

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder, GCB (11 July 1890 – 3 June 1967) was a senior British air force commander. During World War I, he was a pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Flying Corps and he went on to serve as a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the inter-war years. He held high command during World War II and after the War he served as Chief of the Air Staff before retiring from the RAF and taking up the Chancellorship of the University of Cambridge.

Atlantic Wall

The Atlantikwall (English: Atlantic wall) was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by the German Third Reich in 1942 until 1944 during World War II along the western coast of Europe to defend against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland from Great Britain.^[1]

Attack on Panzer Group West's headquarters at La Caine

The Attack on Panzer Group West's headquarters at La Caine in Normandy was a successful airstrike by the RAF's Second Tactical Air Force against the headquarters of Panzer Group West. The raid took place on 10 June 1944 and knocked out German control of its armour. The attack resulted in the wounding of the Panzer group commander, the breakdown of German communications and the withdrawal of the HQ to Paris.

Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery

The Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery is a cemetery containing predominantly Canadian soldiers killed during the early stages of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. The Cemetery is located in and named after Bény-sur-Mer in the Calvados department, near Caen in lower Normandy. As is typical of war cemeteries in France, the grounds are beautifully landscaped and immaculately kept. Contained within the cemetery is a Cross of Sacrifice, a piece of architecture typical of memorials designed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC",^[1] is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world.^[2] The BBC is a publicly owned corporation that operates under a Royal Charter issued by the British Crown and its operations are overseen by twelve Governors who are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Government.^[3] It is funded principally by an annual television licence fee, which is charged to all United Kingdom households, companies and organisations using equipment capable of recording and/or receiving live television broadcasts ^[4]; the level of the fee is set by the UK Government and agreed by the UK Parliament under a multi-year agreement with the Corporation.

Battle for Brest

The Battle for Brest was one of the fiercest battles fought during Operation Cobra, the Allied breakout of Normandy which began on 27 July 1944, during the Battle of Normandy during World War II.

Battle for Caen

The Battle for Caen from June to August 1944 was a battle between Allied (primarily British and Canadian troops) and German forces during the Battle of Normandy.

Battle of Carentan

The Battle of Carentan was an engagement in World War II between airborne forces of the United States Army and the German Wehrmacht during the Battle of Normandy. The battle took place between June 10 and 14, 1944, on the approaches to and within the city of Carentan, France.

Battle of Ushant (1944)

The Battle of Ushant, also known as the Battle of Brittany, occurred on the early morning of 9 June 1944 and was an engagement between a Kriegsmarine destroyer flotilla, and an Allied destroyer flotilla off the coast of Brittany. The engagement came shortly after the initial Allied landings in Normandy. After a confused engagement during the night the Allies sank one of the destroyers and forced the other ashore where she was wrecked.

Battle of Verrières Ridge

The Battle of Verrières Ridge was a series of engagements fought as part of the Battle of Normandy, in western France, during the Second World War. The main combatants were two Canadian infantry divisions, with additional support from the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, against elements of three German SS Panzer divisions. The battle was part of the British and Canadian attempts to break out of Caen, and took place from July 19 – July 25, 1944, being part of both Operation Atlantic (July 18 – July 21) and Operation Spring (July 25 – July 27).

Bay of Biscay

The Bay of Biscay (Spanish: Golfo de Vizcaya and Mar Cantábrico; French: Golfe de Gascogne; Basque: Bizkaiko Golkoa; Gascon: Golf de Gascougne) or the Cantabrian Sea is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Punta de Estaca de Bares, and is named for the Spanish province of Biscay.

Bernard Montgomery

Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC (pronounced /məntˈɡʌmərɪ əv ˈæləmeɪn/; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), often referred to as "Monty", was an Anglo-Irish British Army officer. He successfully commanded Allied forces at the Battle of El Alamein, a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign during World War II, and troops under his command played a major role in the expulsion of Axis forces from North Africa. He was later a prominent commander in Italy and North-West Europe, where he was in command of all Allied ground forces during Operation Overlord until after the Battle of Normandy, and was the principal commander for Operation Market Garden.