Oxwich To Omaha

Early on the sixth of June 1944, as the Normandy Beaches were under assault and Force ‘L’ and Force ‘B’ were converging in the English Channel, another US armada with Royal Navy escort was ploughing its way around Lands End. Yet despite the passage of 76 years, very little has been written about the Bristol Channel Pre-Loaded Build-Up Force and the 42,000 troops transported to Omaha and Utah – until now. Included in the overall 5,000 ship tally of vessels taking part in the biggest amphibious operation of all time, the fleet carrying among others the 2nd and 90th Infantry Divisions and major parts of the PESBG and the 5th and 6th ESB’s plus seaborne elements of 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions has never featured highly in the extensive narratives that have gone before. But now having drawn on the detailed NARA archives in Maryland plus many original unit histories, Phil Howells has been able to detail this much overlooked part of the D-Day story. Moreover, through researching this element of ‘Operation Neptune’, the author has been able to lay before the reader the extensive Concentration, Marshalling and Embarkation plans in South Wales and the twelve months of ‘Operation Bolero’ that preceded the sailing, including the construction of camps, depots and hospitals in the six counties; the formation and training of the 5th Engineer Special Brigade on Gower and the Provisional ESB Group – plus recording the huge amount of troops and cargo that poured into the ports of the Bristol Channel. Utilising aerial photographs and US Corps of Engineers plans, ‘Oxwich to Omaha’ is a valuable addition to any library devoted to D-Day specifically and the Second World War in general.