Episodes
Friday May 19, 2023
Friday May 19, 2023
Operation OVERLORD was the most successful and the largest amphibious operation every attempted in world history. June 6, 1944 is forever known as D-Day, which had the designation for the start of every operation at that point. The numbers of men and material moved onto beaches and into France are staggering, as are the numbers of participating ships, landing craft, and airplanes, plus the jeeps, tanks and other vehicles that were delivered. The Supreme Commander was 5-Star US General Dwight Eisenhower, with a British commander of ground forces (Field Marshall Sir Bernard Montgomery), and British Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay was in charge of all naval forces. Political considerations were a part of the reason for the Allied leadership: Ike was an excellent Supreme Allied Commander (but perhaps he tried too hard to be diplomatic with his frustrating underling, the supremely egotistical Montgomery who thought he was a genius. Monty was the only person who held that opinion.) On the other hand, one of the true great heroes was Admiral Ramsay, who handled the logistics of all that rode on ships and was unloaded on the beaches at Normandy. He was killed in a plane crash in Jan. 1945, and sadly his name has not been well-known since. He deserved much better. the co-author is his son, renowned British historian David Ramsay, who died during the Pandemic. Our guest Ed Gordon, is a professional American hsitorian who told me that this is the first book on D-Day with dual US-UK authorship!
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