D-Day 1944 (3) Sword Beach & the British Airborne Landings
Campaign 105
By Ken Ford
Illustrated by Howard Gerrard
Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2002
ISBN 1-84176-366-7
Softbound, 96 pages
Reviewed by John Prigent
The first thing to be said is no, you haven’t missed two earlier volumes. Osprey is issuing this four-book set out of order and this is the first one to appear. D-Day as a subject is of course very well known, but this is the first modern treatment I know of that goes through the different landings in detail. It starts with a brief account of the lessons learnt from the Dieppe attack – tragic though it was, without it one must doubt that successful tactics could have been formulated for the Normandy invasion. In particular, the need for specialised armour was learnt and put into practice.
A detailed chronology sets out what happened at various time on June 6, 1944 as well as in the months leading up to it. It is followed by the usual Campaign-series analysis of the opposing commanders and armies, specifically those involved around Sword Beach and in the area of the 6th Airborne Division’s assault. The plans come next – first those for 6th Airborne Division, then the German defensive plans and finally the plans for the landings on Sword Beach itself.
The book then moves on to the actual landings. 6th Airborne dropped before the seaborne assault began, and its actions are covered in good detail together with the German reactions to them. Then the Sword Beach assault is covered in just as much detail, again with the German reactions. Although the book is about D-Day, not the whole Normandy campaign, it goes on to look at the immediate German counterattack on June 7 and its results, and then gives a very brief overview of the rest of the fighting in Normandy. A final section describes the battlefield today, with notes on what can still be seen and the museums in the area.
This is an excellent start to the set, and I for one will be interested to see the author’s analysis of the landings on Omaha Beach in that volume. Good maps, birds-eye view battle plans, colour plates and a good selection of contemporary photographs give plenty to look at and back up the text admirably. Highly recommended to all students of World War 2, whether as modellers or historians.
