Ken Ford

"At 1600 hrs on June 6, 1944, a Horsa glider ground to a halt a mere 60 yards from the Orne Canal bridge at Benouville in Normandy. A small group of British paratroopers burst from it and stormed the bridge within minutes. The Allied liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe had begun. Within a few hours, landing craft would swarm towards Ouistreham as British 3rd Division stormed ashore at Sword Beach. The battle would then begin to break through to relieve the paratroopers. Ken Ford details the assault by British 6th Airborne Division and the British landings on Sword Beach that secured the vital left flank of the invasion. On the eastern most flank of the Allied landings in Normandy was Sword Beach, the responsibility of British 3rd Division. Their objectives for D-Day were to seize Ouistreham and Lion-sur-Mer, and to drive inland taking Hermanville, Perriers Ridge, and in co-operation with the Canadians landing on Juno, capture their ultimate goal: the town of Caen. In addition, they were to link up with the British Airborne forces who were to secure the eastern flank of the beachhead. The leading waves landed at 7: 30 a.m. and managed to get off the beach without heavy German resistance. By mid-morning, Hermanville had been captured but severe congestion on the beach was delaying those troops supposed to be exploiting the landing inland. This allowed the defending German forces, particularly the 21st Panzer Division, valuable time to react to the landings. Stiff German resistance and counter-attacks prevented Caen being taken on the first day and much blood would be shed before it finally fell. 1st Special Service Brigade landed in the Ouistreham area and moved inland to link up with the british Airborne forces. These had been assigned the tasks of securing the area west of the River Dives, destroying a number of bridges over the river and in particular capturing the bridges over the Orne River and the Caen-Ouistreham canal. First to land were the glider-borne infantry of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light infantry commanded by Major John Howard. They successfully seized the canal bridge at Benouville, which has been known since as Pegasus Bridge. The other landings were plagued by high winds with some paratroopers drowning in the river Dives, but five vital bridges were destroyed and in one of the most heroic actions of the landings the Merville battery was stormed and put out of action" -- provided by publisher.

"The Dieppe raid of August 1942 was one of the most controversial actions of World War II. Operation "Jubilee" was a frontal assault on a fortified port, landing the latest equipment and armor directly onto the beach. The main force would destroy the port facilities while other smaller landings dealt with anti-aircraft and coastal batteries. The raid itself turned into a fiasco. The assault force was pinned down on the beach and three quarters of the 5,000 troops landed were lost. This book analyses the disastrous raid and examines contrasting conclusions drawn by the Allies and the Germans."--Jacket.

"The Battle of El Alamein marked the turning point in Britain's fortunes in World War II. Three separate battles took place between July and November 1942, all fought to halt the advance of Rommel's army towards the Suez Canal. The final battle at El Alamein, fought in October and November, saw the continuous bombardment of the German line that Rommel was instructed to hold at all costs by Hitler himself. The Allies shattered the German defenses, and Rommel led a westward retreat in order to salvage what was left of the Afrika Korps. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the battle that turned the tide in favor of the Allies in Africa"--Page 4 of cover.

Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, was the greatest sea-borne military operation in history. At the heart of the invasion and key to its success were the landings of British 50th Division on Gold Beach and Canadian 3rd Division on Juno Beach. Not only did they provide the vital link between the landings of British 3rd Division on Sword Beach and the Americans to the west on Omaha, they would be crucial to the securing of the beachhead and the drive inland to Bayeux and Caen. In the fourth D-Day volume Ken Ford details the assault that began the liberation of Nazi-occupied Eur.