Operation Neptune: The Inside Story of Naval Operations for the Normandy Landings 1944

A Royal Navy Vice Admiral describes the strategy and logistics in deploying ships and crafts for the D-Day amphibious landings in World War II.

Operation NEPTUNE was the codeword for the naval side of the OVERLORD plan for the historic June 1944 landings in Normandy. Massive in its scale, its tasks were wide-ranging and varied, from beach reconnaissance, minesweeping, shore bombardment as well as the organization of loading, assembly and disembarkation; it was also responsible for positioning two “Mulberry” artificial harbors and “Pluto”: the laying of the cross-channel fuel pipeline under the sea. Operation NEPTUNE may not have been a naval battle in the traditional sense, but it ranks as one of the greatest naval exploits in history.

In this timeless book, Vice Admiral Schofield describes the great events of June 1944 which, as Captain of HMS Dryad, the Royal Naval shore establishment which housed General Dwight Eisenhower’s Supreme Allied Headquarters before the landing, he witnessed at first hand.

“The book has over the years been an essential item in any bibliography relating to the D Day landings . . . a fascinating account.” —War Books Out Now

© 2008 Pen & Sword Maritime (Ebook): 9781783460786

Release date

Ebook: 15 July 2008