Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 013, folder 09: Harold Lakeley

(4th Div) AMER [crossed out]WASH DC[end crossed out U INT. BLAKELEY, GENERALD HAROLD 4th Inf Div Art.

Material Returned 6/30/59 See special folder

Box 13, #9

Around7 Genl Blakely Artillery C. O.

Brit Royal Artill Major -- "How many beaches will this make for you?" "The 7th, sir, if you'll allow me to count Dunkirk

PrintsRoosevelts letter to Barton ask for permission to go

[*BLAKELEY ARTY CO UTAH 4TH INF

Date of Interview: April 9, 1958

General Harold Blakeley 5032 Lowell Street, N. W. Washington, D. C.

Ryan: One of the things I. . . I . . . we ’ll start it off this way . . . we'll just . . . you'll be alright. Now, what ship did you come over on, sir; was it an LS?

Blakeley: I came over on an LCT. We loaded on it on the afternoon of three June and were turned back of course when the raid was delayed.

Ryan: Who was with you, sir, of the command group? Was Van Fleet with you on that . . . that . . .?

Blakeley: No, he was not. I had on the LCT my own command group of the division artillery--a very much reduced division headquarters . . . I mean division artillery headquarters--and the headquarters of a tank group which was not directly related to me.

Ryan: Roosevelt was not on . . . in this group, was he?

Blakeley: He was not.

Ryan: Sir, eh . . . now, there’s one . . . you talked here--in that piece that you wrote here--about this German . . . or this military . . . British military liaison officer. Do you remember who he was? I think you said, "how many beaches will this make for you,” and he said, "the seventh, sir, if you allow me to count Dunkirk.”

-2-

Blakeley: That’s right. I don’t know. He was a Major Royal Artillery, and I don’t recall his name and I don’t know that I have it. I could look for it; if I find it, I’ll be glad to let you have it.

Ryan: Do you, sir . . . do you remember any of the people that were with you or any discussions or conversations that you had? I realize that this was a long time ago . . . was there anything that sticks in your memory? . . . about that crossing?

Blakeley: I think I mentioned it in that piece that I had given you that I read the . . . the letters or whatever they were from Eisenhower and Montgomery, not very successfully because it was rough, the wind was high, we were crowded on an open deck of an LCT, and . . . I don’t think that was a very successful appeal . . . but in general it was a very routine crossing; except for the incident with the Royal Artillery Major, I can’t remember anything . . . of special interest.

Ryan: These are the Montgomery and Eisenhower . . . letters that they . . . oh, yes, you mean Eisenhower’s . . .

Blakeley: They were general messages to be read to the troops.

Ryan: Oh, I see, that’s what you’re talking about. Sir, what were . . .

Blakeley: I tried to read them myself; and I have a pretty loud voice, but even so, it’s hard to put it across on a crowded open deck.

-3-

Ryan: Now, you were a Brigadier General at that time, and you were later to go on to four stars, weren’t you?

Blakeley: No, no. No, no. I retired as a Major General . . . that was . . . just after the war.

Ryan: Now, sir, the . . . what were your emotions about this whole thing? I mean, of course you’ve been in on the planning from . . . almost the start . . . but what were your emotions going over there? Did you expect you . . . it was going to be as tough as most people did?

Blakeley: Well, I thought it was going to be tough, but I think that I’m saying the simple truth when I say that I had a feeling of great confidence. The 4th Division at thattime was, I think, as highly trained as any unit could expect to be short of actual combat, which was our one deficiency, and General Roosevelt mentions that in his letter. I didn’t join the 4th Division until, I think it was October, before we went over; and the training was largely by General Barton and the Division Artillery Commander who preceded me, so I’m not boasting there; I’m simply expressing a professional opinion--that it was an extremely well trained and [crossed out]equipment[end crossed out] equipped and conditioned division--and I think that the general feeling of all the senior officers was one of confidence, realizing that we might take a beating on the beach.

-4-

Ryan: Well, now, sir, what exactly was the make-up of the 4th Division's artillery, which you commanded?

Blakeley: Well, we had organically the division headquarters and headquarters battery; the 29th, 42nd, and 44th battalions, which were 105 mm.; and the 20th Field Artillery Battalion, which was the 155; but the . . . for the invasion we had numerous attachments . . . units, which you’ll find in the operation orders.

Ryan: Now, did you . . . I mean, how much of your artillery did you hope to land on that first day?

Blakeley: We expected to land all of the light artillery--the 105--and I’ve forgotten at the moment whether the 20th got in that day or the first thing the next morning--that again I think is in the after action reports. They . . . we also had an attached battery of 155 guns and we . . . and incidently the right artillery was all self-propelled, not the usual prep gun thing.

Ryan: They were to be Thompson’s . . .

Blakeley: Thompson had the 29th.

Ryan: The 29th . . . that was all . . .

Blakeley: That was the direct support battalion of Van Fleet ’s 8th Infantry Regiment