World War II D-Day Accounts from the Cornelius Ryan Collection

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[underline] Extracts from my diary [end underline] [underline] June 4th [end underline] At last, to everyone's relief D-day was announced for June 5th. Our LCT up-anchored and began moving down the Solent passing the great L.S.I.'s. Waves were running high of the I.O.W. the convoy stopped and hung around until a signal ran through the fleet. We turned round. Postponed. The suspense aboard all ships was almost unbearable.

[underlined] June 5th [end underlined]. The Armada set sail despite most unfavourable weather reports. Our L.CI. weighed anchor at 10.00 hours once [insert] more [end insert] passed the great L.S.I.'s and once more the waves were running high. Capt. Perry and Capt Hale [insert] * Later killed, about June 12th. [end insert] (in the L.S.I.'s - acting as F.O.O's for Infantry) flashed signals by lamp "Good luck" to our L.C.I. as we steamed by. As we passed the Needles and felt the first Atlantic swells we knew there was now no turning back. The documents marked "Not to be opened until the last possible moment" were now opened. Messages to the Troops from the King, Eisenhower, Montgomery and 50 Div. CommDr. were read out in the Army shelter under the bridge of the L.C.T.. Final briefing with correct names as well as their code names were given and the last instructions. [As there was little room in this shelter, I had to give the briefing 3 times to all Army personnel aboard, which included a detachment of a R.E beach party. Each briefing lasted about 40 minutes and in the confined space, with the L.C.T. beginning to pitch and roll, I was feeling very queasy at the end and glad of some fresh air.]

Everyone was by now wearing his Mae West (life belt) and a check was made to see that everything was securely fastened down and the ammunition secure and dry. Spray and waves were washing over the sides. Soon we began to feel queer and bags, vomit, were produced. [Sea-sick pills had been distributed earlier. I did not take mine until the briefing was over and already beginning to feel sick. Later I remembered "retching" in a quiet corner, but not violently sick]. The wind was dead against the bows, the boat heaving and swaying, chains and shackles grinding against each other and the tanks, the boat's engines reving at high speed. There was little comfort for anyone. Some tried to sleep inside their vehicles.

Our L.C.T. was towing a fast motor launch to save fuel. Three times before night fall the towing cable snapped with the strain of the constant buffeting of the waves. In the end it was cast adrift to come along under its own power. It was almost dark before we finally said the land was out of sight.

June 6th contd

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The R.E. detachment on board rolled out the roly-poly (a long hessian carpet strengthened with iron bars to form a firm base for the vehicles and prevent them cutting deep grooves in the sand) and the Sappers waded ashore. [They were a Beach Maintenance Party and we did not see them again]. Our S-P guns had a short distance to run through the water, dragging behind them flat "porpoises" containing 25 pdr. ammo.

We joined the single line traffic making for the only exit from the beach. [Lt. Dorey, our Battery C.P. officer, already a foot on the beach waved us along in the right direction]. The beach was by now a narrow strip between high water mark and tide, crammed with boats and vehicles and men in seeming confusion. Rolling clouds of smoke from burning buildings and grass formed a fitting background. The first German prisoners standing dazed and bewildered amid all the activity were a centre of interest. One P.O.W. lifted a wounded Tommy out of the path of vehicles.

The road leading from the beaches passed a deep anti-tank ditch. [I cannot remember now whether the R.E.'s had bridged it or bull-dozed it, to make a good passageway].

I was ordered to deploy my guns alongside the knocked out casements of the Mount Fleury Battery of Coastal defence guns, only recently captured. Great slabs of masonry and concrete had been unrooted by the heavy bombardment and bombing. Our Command Post was established in a bomb crater. [We learnt later that some German gunners were still underground and remained there for about two days after D-day]. Three Centaur tanks, manned by Royal Marines, joined us on this site and for the first and last time in the campaign my Troop had 7 guns. As soon as I reported that my guns were in action, the other half of my battery (A Troop) who had been firing from the beach itself, were brought up and put into action alongside my Troop. [A few bursts of a rifle suggested there was a sniper around, but we did not see him]

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D-Day continued

We soon got orders to move forward to an area just north of Ver-sur-Mer and on this move forward we saw our first dead German soldiers, lying in the cornfields, almost hidden from sight. By 12.30 hours we were well-establish[ed] in time to give artillery support to the flying column of infantry pushing ahead. A bridge into CREULLY was held by one enemy platoon and the guns of B-troop were called in to support a swift attack by the Green Howards to capture the bridge. At about 1400 hrs. we were called upon to fire at a German 88 mm SP gun which was forced to withdraw from Creully.

Fire support was given to this flying column of infantry all the afternoon x [footnote below] on orders from our Forward O.P. officers. Our guns were not able to move further forward that day and remained on the outskirts of Ver-sur-Mer. Many snipers were hiding in the woods just behind the Battery position and on one occasion shells from British Sherman tanks engaging the snipers landed in the Battery area, fortunately without damage. We remained in that position for the night. All night long the rattle of A.A. guns from the beaches and the moving patterns of the tracer shells told their story of the desperate enemy air attacks on the beaches and shipping. We thought of the R.E.’s beach company who had landed with us and thanked our stars they were on the beach and not us.

[footnote] [x Between 1600 hrs. and 1700 hrs. we were engaging 88 mm SP guns and infantry. Between 1800 hrs and dusk we were firing on some fortified farm buildings housing what was known to be a radar station and which was directing fire on to our leading infantry. Acting on orders from our F.U.O. Capt. Perry, our shells landed on the roofs of these buildings and silenced the enemy fire. At dusk, the leading infantry battalion formed a pivot on high ground west of Coulomb and fire from our guns was maintained to cover the withdrawal and no more was heard from the farm buildings until the next day].

Beck

19/May/1958.

5 In times of great crisis, people generally show either great ingenuity or self -reliance; others do incredibly strange or stupid things. Do you remember any examples of either ?

I cannot recollect any

Do you know of anybody else who landed within the 24 hours ( midnight 5 June to midnight 6 June ) either as infantry, glider or airborne troops, whom we should write to?

A.A.E. Morgan 35 Harvard Court, Honeybourne Rd, London. N.W.6. L.N.S.B. Faulkner The Constititional Club Northumberland Av. W.C.2

H. Jankel North End Garage, Harrow, Mx A.C.A. Kibback MBE Mowden Lodge, Darlington, Co. Durham

What do you do now? Man. Dir. The Royal Sovereign Pencil Co Ltd Neasden, London N.W.10

Please let us have this questionnaire as soon as possible, so that we can include your experiences in the book . We hope that you will continue your story on separate sheets if we have not left sufficient room. Full acknowledgement will be given in a chapter called "Where They Are Wow." Cornelius Ryan Joan 0. Isaacs The Reader’ s Digest

8 MAY 1958 COWBRIDGE 411

THE CROSS LLAMBLETHIAN Nr COWBRIDGE GLAMORGAN

Interview

6 May

Dear Sir

Re your advert in Today’s Times

I was in the Normandy landing on D. Day being a Staff Capt with 101 Beach Sub-[?] coming in at about H + 4

My memory is a bit fuzzy about it all now but any help I can give you will be willingly given. I may be able to get hold of one or two other officers in you have not already been

Q 9/5

contacted by them.

I am in London Tuesday, Wed, Thursday of each week and can be contacted at WILLESDEN 0171 or 508 Pal West in the evening tel AMB 7733/505

Yours truly [signature] (J. CHARNAUD)

TELEPHONE: WILLESDEN 0171.

THE ROYAL SOVEREIGN PENCIL CO. LTD., NEASDEN N. W. 10.

2 July 58

Dear Mr Ryan.

Herewith the relic which I promised you.

I hope that they will be of some assistance.

I seem to have lost the next photograph which was a 'wave-top' view of our approach over [indecipherable] due to the [indecipherable], in actual fact the photos bore no relation to the buildings as we drew near, as so many

had altered their [contents?] by damage.

Yours sincerely

John Charnaud

Dead File

I hereby agree that Mr. Cornelius Ryan has all rights whatsoever in the questionnaire and letter from me regarding D-Day.

SIGNED WA Corkill DATE 12th July 1958

Released Int CAPON, Sidney Frank D Day Book RAF--6th AB Div 9th Para Br Box 20, #5

Release to PG 9th Batt/3rd Brig Merville

4. Alan Jefferson blew hunting horn as they went in, between blasts yelled "Carry On, Carry On"

German pushed one another out of Theivielte battery, many shouting "Ruski, Ruski"