Invasion, The Royal Marines and the Battle for Normandy, 1944 by George Gelder

This is a book full of names and units of Royal Marines who served on D Day or in Normandy in the summer of 1944.  We hope that if your ancestor served in the Royal Marines during Operation NEPTUNE you might at least find the words of someone he served with. You should certainly be able to find details of what the unit, flotilla or craft he served with in Normandy during the epic summer of 1944.

On the 6^th June 1944 some 1,449 British servicemen were killed in Normandy, almost one in ten, some 137 men, were Royal Marines. D Day remains the biggest operational commitment in the long history of the Corps, the high proportion of casualties reflects the very dangerous and complex tasks undertaken by them on the beaches of Normandy. D Day planning redefined the role of the Corps at the height of World War Two and shaped its purpose for the following eight decades; arduous training passed by all, amphibious manoeuvre and commando operations were to become the stock in trade of the modern Corps. Yet, 80 years later, few of us know the full story of the Royal Marines and D Day.

To tell the story of the Royal Marines in that epic operation is complex; Marines served on the near shore in many capacities from building slip ways to training assault troops; at sea in bombardment, assault and build-up forces, on the beaches in landing craft and LCOCUs and on hostile shores in Commandos, tanks, intelligence units, port parties and much more. With the action taking place across 100 miles of sea and 50 miles of landing beaches, with Marines serving in so many different roles and units, by necessity to fairly record such a vast range of commitments and events this must also be a complex book.

The first two sections of the book introduce the reader to the Corps during WW2 before setting the scene for what is to come, a brief review of the overall plan for Operation NEPTUNE is followed by commentary on German Defences and the challenge the landing force will face, it concludes with the contribution made by the Corps on the ‘near shore’ to support the operation. The text follows the action to its logical conclusion, this is a story that is best told by theme and sector, a strict chronological account becomes unintelligible. The second section takes a very close look at some of the specialist units of the Corps and how they developed and performed on D Day. We meet the Royal Marine Engineers and LCOCU units, the men of the landing craft and the Royal Marines ‘tankies’ of the Armoured Support Group and the intelligence gatherers of 30 AU.

The main section of the book starts with the story of the Fleet Marines in the Bombardment Force before a detailed account of the landing sectors, focusing where most Royal Marines were employed in the British Sectors. The chapters for each of the British Sectors are set out in a similar way; what were the objectives for the landing force, a ground brief and what opposition did they face, how did the navy plan to get the force ashore before looking in detail at what then happened. Separate chapters for each Sector tell the stories of the Commandos’ landings and operations ashore.

The final section of the book looks at what happened after the initial assault phase in the build-up and sustainment of the land force as well as the defence of the anchorage. The main narrative concludes with Commando operations east of the River Orne and the role of the Royal Marines shoreside in the British Assault Area.  Those Marines who served in Utah and Omaha have a separate chapter of their own towards the end of the book.

Throughout the author has sought to use the original planning documents to address the questions, what was asked of the Corps and uses contemporary accounts by the people who took part to illustrate what happened, resisting temptation for the voguish dependency on interviews made many decades after events that have become clouded by fading memories and stories told too many times. He has also wisely resisted being drawn into ‘what if’ and critical analysis of the plan or the actual events, the book achieves in abundance what it sets out to be; a narrative of what the men were asked to do and their account of what happened.