Here the women of the maintenance crews prepare tanks and other vehicles before they are taken aboard the assault ships. Theirs is a task without which there could be no invasion: equally it is a task without glamour. A tank park is staffed equally by women and men. Women are serving directly behind the men of the invasion Forces – not only in the care of the wounded but on duties immediately related to beachheads, air cover, and sea transport. If the counter-attack, which may now have begun, can be resisted, the battle may prove the "turning point of the war". Around Caen a violent tank and infantry battle is going on between British and Canadian forces and German panzers. One is around Carentan on the south side of the American sector in the Cherbourg peninsula. In Normandy, the Allied armies continue to make progress along the whole beachhead and captured Trevieres, south of Formigny. Every village offers help, information and medical assistance to our troops, and those still beyond our reach are rising against the Germans.įrench Forces of the Interior have engaged German forces and have taken 300 prisoners. Insurrection and sabotage are increasing throughout France as the Allies advance. This was something right out of HG Wells. Most spectacular sight and, I think, one of the most soul-stirring things I have ever witnessed, was the arrival of the glider-borne troops. Sometimes he would say: "Right on the target," and we would feel good. A few seconds later the spotter would report "100 yards over" or something like that, and we would repeat. After an appropriate interval, our man would say "Flash!" into the microphone which meant that the shells were due to hit. There would be a tzz-tzz-BOOM and the shells would be on their way. It was as methodical as ordering groceries.
Requests would come in to deliver shots at such and such a place, coordinates being given in such and such quantities. An English officer was up there as observer. One of the most dramatic places was in the upper fire control room. Then the targets got further and further back. We watched our shells hit, and saw the earth-clouds go up. I watched an amphibious craft slowly moving along with a white ruffle of foam turned away my glasses to give it a chance to cover the last mile: then watch it waddle up the beach. From our distance it looked like a couple of ant-lines to and from a crumb of bread, small boats going in with supplies empties coming back again.
The next picture was the busy, animated scene of disembarkation. I believe a small boat put off from it, too. Another destroyer bravely went in under fire and took off survivors. The ship up-ended in narrow water and formed a landmark for binocular observation. They caught it again and again while our big guns and those of our neighbours tried to silence them. Watching a little American destroyer slowly demolished by shore batteries that had it bracketed was a hard experience. We flinched at the first salvo – at least, I did – but after a while we got used to it. I believe our ship had the honour of being the first target of the German batteries in our sector. Then I remember crouching behind the splinter rail of the open bridge, waiting for our 8in guns to return the first German fire.
I saw two airplanes go down like falling stars and flare up suddenly when they hit. Streams of incendiaries went up like fountains from France and clusters of flares were dropped, twisting long smoke trails behind them. All that time, out-of-sight overhead bombers rumbled past like an endless freight train going over a viaduct. During a four-hour wait our nerves were frayed almost beyond endurance. We were under heavy cumulus clouds, through which the moon occasionally peeked. First the aerial bombardment that preceded our attack. Here are some of the moments I shall never forget. With binoculars I could see about 20 or 30 miles of cliff and beach. We had a sort of grandstand seat for the whole thing. The British cruiser Black Prince and the USS Tuscaloosa were on our line and other big ships were strung along about six miles off to give fire support. We were at the extreme right flank nearest Cherbourg. I sat perched on the upper bridge of the American cruiser Quincy during the beach-head landing last Tuesday.