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Index
Series editor's preface
List of illustrations
List of figures, map and tables
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
1 Introduction
2 Fighting the campaign
3 Operational technique
4 Fighting the battle
5 The tank gap
6 Design and planning
7 Production and supply
8 Morale and motivation
9 Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
1. M4 Sherman. Plentiful and reliable, but weak in firepower and prone to 'brew-up' when penetrated. (IWM B6130)
2. A30 Challenger. A flawed and compromised tank which attempted to mount a 17-pdr in an elongated Cromwell chassis. It was effectively superseded by the Firefly, and saw only limited service in 1944–45. (IWM 9331)
3. A22/42 Churchill. Carrying heavier armour than the feared German Tiger, the Churchill was the epitome of the infantry support tank. (IWM 8568)
4. M10 17-pdr. The British boosted the hitting power of their M10 tank destroyers by equipping a proportion with the potent 17-pdr gun. (IWM 8303)
5. M3/5 Stuart (Honey). With a near worthless 37 mm gun, in Normandy the Stuart acted as little more than a tracked reconnaissance vehicle. (IWM 5608)
6. A Cromwell crew prepares a meal. Tank crew usually lived in and around their vehicle, often forming closer working relationships than in other sections of the army. (IWM 5681)
7. Tank crews endured the added burden of constant maintenance of their vehicles, often at the end of the day. (IWM 9043)
8. Panther. Manoeuvrable, with a hard hitting 75 mm gun and tough frontal armour, the Panther was a formidable opponent. (IWM 5769)
9. Percy Hobart (l), GOC 79th Armoured Division, and Pip Roberts, GOC 11th Armoured Division, with Monty in 1945. (IWM BU 10669)
10. Allan Adair (l), GOC Guards Armoured Division, with Second British Army Commander, Miles Dempsey. Dempsey and Monty had attempted to have Adair replaced prior to Overlord , but Adair performed well enough in northwest Europe. (IWM B13027)
11. Monty with Bobby Erskine, GOC 7th Armoured Division. Erskine was sacked in August during Operation Bluecoat , along with many other officers in the division and at corps level. (IWM H36006)
12. Pip Roberts, GOC 11th Armoured Division, considered to be the best armoured divisional commander in 21st Army Group. (IWM B9183)
13. Tiger. Heavily armoured and equipped with an 88mm gun, the Tiger was much feared by Allied tank crews. Yet, only some 120 served in Normandy and the tank was notoriously unreliable. (BOV 438/H3)
14. Stug III. Unsophisticated and workmanlike, the increasing numbers of self-propelled weapons, such as the Stug, nevertheless caused tactical difficulties for the Allies in Normandy. (BOV 2175/D5)
15. A27M Cromwell. Fast and manoeuvrable, the Cromwell was superior to the Sherman, but still lacked sufficient firepower to tackle heavy German armour. (BOV 4751/E3)
16. Armour protection on most Allied tanks offered little defence against German anti-tank weaponry in Normandy. (BOV 2876/66)
1. Armoured formations in 21st Army Group, Normandy, 1944
2. British armoured division, 1944
3. British armoured regiment, 1944
4. Second British Army composition, June 1944
5. Principal Allied armour types in Normandy
6. Principal German armour types in Normandy
7. German armour committed to Normandy by type
8. Frontline British armour strengths
9. German armour confronting Allies by sector
10. Vulnerability of Allied armour to principal German anti-armour guns
11. Vulnerability of German armour to principal British anti-armour guns
12. Principal Allied armour-piercing projectile types
1. Principal operations in Normandy, June–August 1944
1. Convictions for AWOL, desertion, insubordination and drunkenness in 2nd British Army, June–September 1944
2. Battle exhaustion rates – VIII Corps units
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Chapter 5
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Table 1
Table 2
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Table 1
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Chapter 4
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26
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86
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90
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7
103
105
160
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214
195
2
199
19
32
61
63
190
191
205
41
96
99
196
30
58
149
41
43
58
63
60
201
118
43
31
39
24
181
186
166
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4
8
45
70
88
103
179
209
216
25
119
1
135
157
153
155
166
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31
115
171
18
101
108
114
130
171
116
2
6
41
43
58
63
52
32
30
187
119
3
28
78
127
142
160
166
170
8
31
53
179
147
149
123
6
153
156
160
163
165
139
153
163
170
173
25
43
11
23
39
2
5
44
70
176
210
85
92
100
72
78
80
138
145
130
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61
55
2
5
180
204
61
113
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51
21
23
27
30
33
37
40
42
64
12
14
16
20
153
162
108
120
124
189
77
2
135
148
148
3
4
216
2
64
77
38
80
15
130
182
39
40
58
60
27
34
99
42
52
54
56
27
29
85
18
91
98
125
133
190
144
28
31
34
35
67
1
6
7
13
16
18
160
176
211
124
139
141
143
157
162
171
72
74
78
81
178
183
199
203
47
52
64
85
91
100
102
20
80
6
7
133
158
214
111
123
124
126
128
188
145
147
152
175
136
146
149
154
163
174
23
26
30
33
38
21
25
30
111
119
145
147
152
7
158
91
97
101
106
122
105
21
56
87
123
123
16
20
23
26
45
58
61
66
133
206
174
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75
81
212
25
15
40
43
58
63
191
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39
80
101
107
1
31
135
151
86
27
59
62
26
207
56
191
108
7
34
58
77
96
98
204
40
58
28
35
43
150
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49
57
86
210
127
105
113
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71
89
77
108
127
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145
149
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18
31
89
116
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52
43
65
86
82
37
129
149
60
66
97
159
214
116
125
89
90
124
147
157
168
171
101
21
37
106
181
6
7
105
135
137
152
176
184
214
110
124
72
75
152
158
170
77
80
100
190
207
21
26
28
30
37
42
184
16
17
140
147
142
145
160
107
13
140
141
34
38
40
50
53
58
63
99
95
166
40
147
135
37
154
6
209
18
94
115
127
138
153
7
87
90
97
119
129
148
190
86
19
150
152
139
142
146
164
169
186
33
55
23
32
65
6
7
157
214
113
117
55
136
146
148
154
163
175
105
18
23
25
32
88
101
91
97
125
129
133
188
7
119
106
189
24
27
206
127
4
11
15
92
103
211
41
60
53
88
96
99
63
106
178
11
42
61
81
43
29
63
135
1
127
172
153
102
39
40
112
203
38
112
143
146
151
162
164
170
172
138
11
38
45
63
107
119
133
179
206
21
66
7
8
39
149
153
160
165
167
170
113
129
158
160
176
215
15
16
72
83
108
129
139
145
151
155
163
169
47
3
48
142
180
94
115
139
143
147
152
147
152
7
90
133
161
167
174
214
145
148
150
154
164
170
172
16
33
52
74
80
83
97
101
92
108
125
129
33
147
152
157
114
120
123
125
130
18
115
130
146
155
167
170
18
105
174
214
148
114
119
122
125
130
188
30
33
35
79
142
116
17
146
155
54
148
174
144
55
18
161
176
215
149
188
112
143
151
163
146
153
156
170
129
143
152
168
174
18
25
154
163
112
74
76
83
89
73
83
107
113
129
143
152
7
157
186
188
137
152
143
149
162
168
16
18
21
23
25
130
83
89
96
186
107
113
119
124
54
75
144
47
142
156
24
67
49
8
47
60
216
30
50
172
23
25
189
42
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