Operation Neptune - They come by sea!
Today we look briefly at the naval element to D-Day, who led it, which ships were involved and what they did on June 6th 1944.
Sources:
www.amazon.co.uk/Operation-Ne...
www.dday-overlord.com/en/d-da...
www.history.navy.mil/browse-b...
www.amazon.co.uk/Operation-Ne...
www.usni.org/magazines/naval-...
www.amazon.co.uk/D-Day-Minute...
US National Archive Videos:
111-ADC-10421
428-NPC-4239
428-NPC-4288
428-NPC-4334
428-NPC-20784
Free naval photos and more - www.drachinifel.co.uk
Want to support the channel? - / drachinifel
Want a shirt/mug/hoodie - shop.spreadshirt.com/drachini...
Want a poster? - www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Drachinifel
Want to talk about ships? / discord
Want to get some books? www.amazon.co.uk/shop/drachinifel
Drydock Episodes in podcast format - / user-21912004
Music - / ncmepicmusic
Pinned post for Q&A :)
Where can I find out about the 2 truly vicious Dutch gunboats
My grandfather was in the US Merchant Marine, working for Texaco on oil tankers. In WWII, he was on a tanker that was torpedoed and ended up with the imprint of the grates on the bottoms of his feet. Where can I go/search to get more information on which ship, convoy, when this occurred? My family doesn’t have any additional information.
What is your personal favorite warship(for any reason, history, design, no reason at all, ect) from each major power of WWII?
Fantastic videos always sir. My question is recently I have seen a article about how the dry weather in Europe has really dried up at the Danube River. They have recently uncovered many scuttled German ships full of ammunition that are a concern. What do we know about these German vessels, and can you relate any of their stories?
I saw there's cylindrical shape structures on top of the B turrets of Andrea Doria class battleships. What are they? Usual range finders and fire control system structures?
"The Bismarck killer Rodney, and the apparently plot-shielded HMS Warspite." - Drachism of the day.
One of the Dutch gunboats Drach mentions, HrMs Soemba, only made D-day by the skin of her teeth, as she had worn out most of her guns during her time in the Mediterranean. In order to make the repair request stand out amongst the flurry of despatches send to the Emergency Repair Section of the navy, capt. Nicholl (RN) decided to send it in verse: "A report has come in from the Soemba That their salvoes go of like a Rhumba Two guns, they sound fine, But the third five point nine, He am bust and refuse to go Boomba." This evidently inspired the people in charge, as the entire discussion (a total of ten messages to and fro) that followed was conducted by way of limmerick, consisting of increasing pleas from Nicholls for repair and increasingly snide responses from command that they had no room, material, or inclination to waste any that the did have on such a minor ship. This continued until the Dutch liaison in the Admiralty had had enough and responded: "After so much backchat it is but right That Soemba should join in this fight Because she loves very much To be rude too, and in Dutch So no one can read it, serve you right Waarom wordt nog niet begonnen (Why has work not started) Met verwisselen der kanonnen? (On changing out the guns?) Rijmpjes maken helpt geen zier (Making rhymes is a bore) Want met pen, inkt en papier (because paper and ink) Werd geen oorlog ooit gewonnen" (Never won anyone a war) Soemba would serve until 1956, and remain a depot ship for the navy diving school until 1985, when she was scrapped.
In a previous video Drach mentioned that a video on the gunboats is coming for certain. I can't wait. This isn't the first time he specifically highlighted them in a video.
This is the single greatest fact I've ever read!
GREAT!
I can imagine someone at a desk in a depot thinking, I could just say no. But I have to update 5 more spreadsheets today so this is my only chance to have fun.
I think I like this captain. He reminded me in the last about a couple key quotations... "Paperwork will ruin any military force." - General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC "Powerpoint makes us stupid." - General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, USMC.
I really need to hear the full story of Warspite throwing 50 rounds at the Germans as fast as she could let fly. Sounds like another legendary story for the Grand Old Lady.
I forgot which channel I heard it on, but when they brought up the section of the German sniper causing issues to Allied troops, so the Texas replied. Granted I might of had a warped sense of humor, but I lasted at 2 thoughts that popped into my mind. 1 rifle 7mm vs 10 rifles 385mm and at time of return fire, sniper thought "I don't get paid enough "
I'm just glad the Royal Navy is honoring her by naming one of their new Dreadnaught class ballistic missile subs Warspite. I sort of wish they had named one of the carriers Warspite but I get the reason (or many) for why they wouldn't name a carrier after a battleship.
@@jona.scholt4362 HM ships Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales were both Battleships in their previous incarnations...
@@ScienceChap I can't believe I didn't think of that when I typed that out! (Duh, Jon!) Although both have obvious connotations when it comes to the reigning monarch and heir, even if the "Elizabeth" in the current HMS Queen Elizabeth is in honor of the first. Anyway, Warspite just sounds so much better for a flagship.
@@jona.scholt4362 probably worried anything named Warspite would end up with her "Spirit" and watching a carrier turn into the wind and flinging planes into the air for an Alpha strike without assistance of its crew would be bad PR not to mention the questionable effect on the morale of an entire battle group. If it's a sub you only have to worry bout the crew knowing "Sheeeeees Baaaaaaacccckkk!"
On the brigde of the norwegian destroyer "Svenner" that morning was a young Midshipman named Monrad Mosberg. He is still alive, now 104 years old, living in Tvedestrand in Norway.
thank you Monrad Mosberg for your service, you have allowed me to live in (relative) freedom. Please pass on my respects.
Poor sod, I'd say he'd be spinning in his grave over this miserable shithole of a world but it appears I'm a mite early.
An eyewitness to one of histories most critical events and days!
As a native Texan, I never get tired of hearing about USS Texas taking out a sniper nest. So glad she’ll be getting the repairs she desperately needs
Agreed. The thought of a battleship in so close that even the 40mm AA could feasibly open fire is pretty crazy.
I will never tire of hearing Drach refer to battleships "casually obliterating" something or other.
Amid the mass of steel, gun firing ships there was a group of US Coast Guard wooden 83 foot patrol boats (at least one flying the skull and cross bones) that managed to pull a large number of people out of the water. They might be worth a look at some point once the loud noise, smoke and destruction have been fully covered.
I seem to recall Drach talking about these amazing boats and men in answer to a Drydock question recently
@@iankerridge5720 Do you happen to remember which one?
Mad lads!
This video may be the new leader in one liners: USS Texas vs sniper nest - "...removed that particular feature from the landscape" "A rather one sided fight between some German tanks and HMS Rodney" Capt Kelsey - "50 rounds, 15", rapid fire!" Just to name a few.
I sometimes think of that sniper. Whenever you feel you're facing overwhelming odds, think of that man and remember that at least you aren't him.
Also, having seen the photos of the remains of a Panzer IV that got a face-full of Rodney's fury, I feel sorry for the crew of that tank. Given that they have armour, they must have thought they would be relatively safe, only to have their tank rapidly disassembled into a vague collection of scrap metal to the point where I don't think they could have survived.
I think order by Capt Kelsey is unfair HMS Warspites guns, because that is only 6,25 round pr gun, he should have given a number divisable by 8, like 56, which is a full 7 round rounds pr gun.
@@ChristianSlotHolck From what I remember Warspite only had 6 operational guns on the day because X turret was still out of action following the Fritz X strike. Annoyingly though, 50 also doesn't divide by 6.
Don't forget the 15" shot that took out a trawler... I'm not even sure how a trawler would trigger an AP round's fuse in time, unless the round went clean through and exploded just underneath the boat.
I am reminded of the scene in “The Longest Day” when the German coastal artillery guy, Major Pluskatt, is talking to his General saying “There must six thousand ships out there!” and his general responds with “The Allies didn’t even have half that many” and later as the bombardment begins Pluskatt replies “You know those six thousand ships the Allies don’t have? Well, they have them!” Edit: Pluskatt did say 6000 ships
_"And where are these ships going, Pluskatt?"_ *_"They' are coming for ME!!! DIRECT!!!!"_* .
He said '5,000' ships :(
Another great naval scene from that movie is when Admiral Jaujard of the Free French Forces addresses his ship right before the bombardment. “Soon we shall engage in combat. In order to defeat the enemy, we must fire on our homeland. This is the price of liberty. Vive le France!"
What is even more remarkable is that less than a week after the Normandy the USN invaded Saipan in the Marianas
@@BadSkeelz _"Vive le France!"_ kzhead.info/sun/n8yBZt17iIdrmYE/bejne.html .
My favorite moment from Band of Brothers, and this is probably shared by many if you're reading this, is the end of the first episode where Lt. Winters helps each of his men into the C-47. Then as Michael Kamen'a brilliant score rises, these men who we've followed for an hour as they trained for this momentous event take off to jump into Normandy. Their group is carried by several dozen C-47s. The camera pulls back and we realize the sky is full of C-47s. And then the camera pans down and we realize the sea is full of ships heading for the Invasion beaches. I can't even type this without getting dust in my eyes. I think of the young German officer that Steven Ambrose quoted in his book about D-Day saying that he knew immediately this had to be the invasion because there were more ships visible on the horizon then the young man had realized existed in the entire world. Talk about being a part of something larger than yourself. All those men, all that effort assembled to free Europe from Nazi tyranny. The truth is, it was the greatest invasion ever assembled for the most noble cause. To all those who took part, thank you.
O7
Eisenhower's Great Crusade to Free the World from Nazi tyranny. Sounds awfully familiar with the goings on in Ukraine at the moment! Mark from Melbourne Australia
Not to downplay the contributions from the common wealth. But this interesting fact. At the start of the war the USA navy was the fourth of fifth largest in the world. By the end of the war the USA navy was not just the largest but larger than the rest of the world combined.
@@brianjonker510 Anchors away!
and not to downplay the USN the RN and the RCN provided 80% of the naval escortz for Neptune
My grandmother was aboard HMS Belfast on D Day ahead of being landed with a small group Royal navy nurses that would be landed on D + 3 she claimed to have been one of the first women landed in Normandy as part of the campaign.
Brave lady. O7 to all of them
@@5peciesunkn0wn 07?? Please elaborate on the meaning?
That would have to be one of the most unique claims to fame ever! I'm guessing that she would be listed on the Ships Roll for those days? Mark from Melbourne Australia
@@markfryer9880 Gamer Speak for a Salute - the 7 is the arm, the O the head, he was being nice.
Never underestimate nurses. We stick needles into people for a living!
"50 rounds, 15 inch, rapid fire" dude, you can't just cliffhanger us like that...
"Be somewhere's else" is rule #1 at the receiving end.
It's hardly a cliffhanger - panzer-pizza™ is pretty much guaranteed..
@@rosiehawtrey panzer pizza smashed panzer on toast? or bitesize panzer nuggts?
@@keefymckeefface8330 Sample platter of all the above, I believe... IIRC some German survivors of that incident reported their Panthers being bodily blown off of the road - and they al t least fared better than their infantry. They did not advance farther that day.
The amusing bit about Warspite, "50-rounds 15" rapid fire". Reminded me of USS Texas getting a call for fire support beyond their normal range, and then counter flooding its torpedo blisters to gain the needed elevation to see off a group of undoubtedly stunned (to say the least) German tanks.
Being so eager to BSU you deliberately flood your torpedo defences. Why am I not surprised it was Texas? Got to love Texans, they do NOT mess about when it comes to shooting things....
Have to say, "15" 50 rounds, rapid fire" has to be my 3rd most favorite naval command. The 2nd is, "England expects every man to do his duty." 1st is "Give me a fast ship for I intend to go in harm's way," as I am an 'American. The best must be, " All ashore for liberty call"-LOL
I quite like the last part of "It takes the Navy three years to build a ship. It will take three hundred years to build a new tradition. *The evacuation will continue*."
One of my favourite commands : Cpt Sir Phillip Broke, "Follow Me Who Can!", Battle of Boston 1813.
I kinda like Copeland's words at Samar: "This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."
When I was at school, we went on a school trip to Normandy, and on the ferry ride over, all the boys (it was an all boys school) that were descendents of people involved in the Normandy landings, read accounts/letters from their ancestors on the topic. It was a very sobering experience.
Wow. Sobering indeed.
There has been an update on BB-35 Texas. It is being moved to drydock at the end of the month.
My Dad was there, on the destroyer HMS Montrose and they ended up colliding with a US ship. Drach was kind enough to post some of his recollections on his web site.
If you had told me five years ago that a British battleship would become the only warship I ranked with my nation's USS Enterprise in terms of kicking ass and surviving damage that would sink lesser ships I would have told you to see a psychiatrist... Then I learned about The Grand Lady, HMS Warspite. Even Hollywood couldn't write a script as filled with plot armor as what these two ships had.
Hopefully in the 23rd and 24th centuries Warspite and Enterprise will stand together against other foes as well !
@@Damorann That would be cool!!! I'll write a memo to the Federation.
@@Damorann You better hope Warspite doesn't get a battle honour, because it will be humanity's last one. Of course, it doesn't preclude her getting an honour from sinking another ship by ramming (S103 did almost sink a Soviet sub by ramming).
My Grandfather was a stoker on a royal navy Minesweeper, sweeping the area before the main attack. He actually joined a year early and was the smallest stoker, but by the end of the war he was chief stoker and very stocky. A lot of the time he was doing the Arctic conveys, must have been scary knowing that if you were hit, you will most likely d ie being in the engine room. His father my great grandfather was a decorated war hero in WW1 winning a military medal for talking out a german machine nest. He was at the 1st battle of ypres, gallipoli, Somme, Aden, passchendale (where he won that medal), Africa and Italy. We have his service Bible with all the locations he went. At gallipoli alone he was injured 4 different times losing a figure and another his best friend being blown up next to him. After the war he became an alcoholic and broke his medal in two, it must have been very hard to send his two sons off to war and hard for them as well, to think about how they will return. My grandfathers brother a Sergeant in the royal artillery died in 1943 in Tunisia at Tabega Gap, he had met General Montgomery a week prior. We have the newspaper cuttings of the roll of honor which they would put a message in every year. One of the other people on that list had a message by their family reading "we laugh with others, we cry alone, how much we will miss them will never be known"
Thank you for sharing your family's history !:-) 💜🙏⚡️
@@barrydysert2974 thank you
I always love to hear about the service records of people's grandfathers or fathers during World War II; it makes that giant awful event much more tangible. My paternal grandfather was a surgeon and served as a Major in the US Army (all surgeons began as Majors) in Burma in 1944-45. He also later volunteered as a surgeon for the Red Cross in Saigon during the Vietnam War, and by then he was in his early 50s. He had the "great" timing of getting to Saigon only 2 months before the Tet Offensive. Granddaddy always set the bar when it came to stoic, unselfish service. My maternal grandfather served in the US Army Air Corps all over the Pacific during the War. He spent most of his time stationed in Australia. After the war he was part of the occupying force, first in Korea and then in Japan. He and my grandmother have an absolutely fantastic picture album of their time stationed overseas; it is one of the family's most treasured items. As that generation disappears (as all do) it'll be up to us, their children or in my case grandchildren, to remember and share their stories. I'm glad you and others have taken the opportunity!
@@jona.scholt4362 fascinating story thank you for sharing
@@jona.scholt4362 Please, write as much down as you can remember while you can. These family stories need to be available for those that follow. Your local library may would be interested in the stories and the photos.
Always love the USS Texas closing in to knife fighting range. I’m biased of course but it’s hard not to find the image a bunch of destroyers and the 10x heavier Texas moving in to assist. Between this and the other incidents, it’s like their consistent motto was “Let’s see what this rust bucket can do!”
Just been reading "Engage the enemy more closely" by Correlli Barnett who describes Neptune as a "never surpassed masterpiece of planning."
Whenever I watch or read an account of Operations Neptune and Overlord, it raises the hairs on the back of my neck. The sheer organisational brilliance of the invasion and conduct of the Allied forces are hugely inspiring. I, like many others have commented below, would welcome more stories regarding Neptune and the conduct of the naval operations post 6 June 1944. Great video Drach, thank you.
One of the things that most amazes me is that it was done without the help of modern computers. This was all planned out by hand, with the calculations done on paper, with messages sent by radio or courier rather than e-mail or text and meetings held in person. While they made their share of mistakes, there was a degree of organizational competence in the Allied forces of 1943-1945 that’s honestly amazing to look back on.
How do you send thousands of ships across the English Channel without anyone noticing them?
@@kevinbyrne4538 They noticed them at dawn. Also, the RAF flew radar-jamming missions ahead of the fleet. By this time, Luftwaffe planes crossed the Channel at their peril.
@@matthewcreelman1347 People could think for themselves back then. The only computer any one REALLY needs is the one between their ears.
@@tombogan03884 Pen and paper certainly assist with any calculations.
All that info comprehensively included into 33 minutes, 34 seconds of a video, and probably one of the best described series of events and participants of the historic operation. Incredibly impressive, Mr. Drachinifel. Most impressive.
Ever since i discovered drach, there has been so many weird moment in his videos that has gotten me teary-eyed even tho the narration is relatively professional without much dramatification... This time, its on hearing the free french navy participating the liberation of their homeland.
2:30 The roster of command reads like an all star game. The invasion was inmense, and they still managed to pile on more experience than tonnage
Father of a friend was on destroyer USS Satterlee that day. He is mid nineties now but still going strong and will be proud that his ship got an honourable mention at 25.42. Thanks., Drach. 👏👏👏
Rodney: Hey guys want to see a magic trick. (Obliterates tanks). Texas: That’s cool. But how about this. (Lists and continues firing).
As the fat electrician says, they gangster leaned a BB to shoot spicy volvos farther inland.
That's the thing I love about battleships, when it comes to stuff like Shore bombardments they're basically just having fun because of the targets that they are shooting at are so much weaker than they are that it's not even fair
Nice !! C'mon TEXAS !! I am currently finishing up a 1:700 scale model of TEXAS, after her Nov. '44 refit. This build has been truly as special one, knowing everthing we do about her.... It's a pleasure that draws me in for it's service & those who'd served aboard her; history that's tangible as she awaits her rigging/aerial lines on my work space amid everthing needed to produce a scale replica. All the: model parts aftermarket parts accuate paints reference materials modelling tools & brushes I started it in January & am now just finishing it up. For a model roughly 10 inches long ? There is A LOT of detail on it. I estimate about 1,100 individual parts..... 1:700 DKM KÖNIGSBERG is next !! 🚬😎
My uncle was in a "beach brigade" during the landings. As I understand it, the beach brigades cleared obstructions in the water for the landing craft, proceed ashore to provide communication with the naval forces, worked clearing bodies and providing medical assistance to wounded, worked to set up facilities (like mess halls, and, sadly, morgues). My uncle left the Normandy beaches only to be sent across the world to the Pacific theater to island hop doing the same work for the Marines. I would like to see an episode covering the beach brigade's activities during D-Day and the Pacific theater.
Imagine the staff work involved in the plan for Operation Neptune - all done with pencil, paper, slide rule and typewriter. I imagine there were a lot of index cards used up, and a lot of squared paper too, with a great deal of this work done by women both civilian and in uniform. The effort involved in the co-ordination and sequencing of planned events, which would have been affected by weather, ship and troop availability, and changing intelligence information, would be exceeded only by the writing of orders packages for all of the ships involved. Not to mention having to deal with objections to what the combined Navies thought was right plan from the soldiers and airmen involved who had different ideas and priorities. And although planning for the invasion was started under General Leslie Hollis in 1942, the mass of detail was not fully addressed until 1944, so it was all done in a few months, and without either Excel or Powerpoint! And it worked! Phenomenal!
Yes it has already been noted elsewhere, as you have pointed out, pencil, paper and slide rules, utilized in the 1950s, planned and successfully took man to the Moon in Apollo XI, in 1969. Later in the 1980s, high speed computers designed the Shuttles which did some great things too-- but never left low Earth orbit.
I always have to remind people, when this operation is featured, that at THE SAME TIME another huge US Navy fleet was on its way to invade the Marianas. And that wasn't just crossing the English Channel but a large portion of the Pacific. And they had to bring all their air support with them. And the Japanese still had a competitive fleet to contest the operation.
Every time I hear some detail about what a ship did as part of the D-Day invasion, it seems to involve firing off entire stocks of ammo in one go, ships wearing out gun barrels in record time or having to invent ways to stop guns overheating. The Western Allies didn't chuck millions of men into a meat grinder like the Eastern Front, but from the commitment of capital ships, the aggression of the Destroyers (although there were Tribals; the angriest class of ships ever built!) and the volume of naval shells you can tell they were not messing around. The Grand Old Lady does make plenty of use of her Plot Armour by wearing out her gun barrels, going home to have them replaced and coming straight back to resume bombardment duties. All while X-Turret is dead thanks to the Fritz X. The other story that shows there is no mucking around is USS Texas, but not her counter-sniper work but later in the campaign when she decided she wanted to hit some German artillery positions that were out of range so the crew partially flooded sections in order to give additional elevation to her guns, and then landed the shells. I would no be surprised if there were serious considerations given by captains of ships of all sizes to beaching their ships at various points to either put very large shells through bunker doors or to be able to hit things a long way in land.
The destroyers moving closer to provide point-fire-support risked getting beached, so there is that.
imagine you are in a Trawler and HMS Warspite points it guns at you, RIP Trawler
Definitely leakage
Considering it was one turret. Warspite more or less back handed the trawler.
The crews of the other two were probably screaming down into the engine rooms "Faster, faster you fools, you fools!"
Better hope they got the aim of the Imperial Russian Naval squadron going to Tsushima.
What a sight she would have been, a very broken ship with already one turret permanently disabled, very rusty and looks like she would fall apart at any time, held together only by rage. Probably why only one turret responded, the other was partially concrete.
Bertram Ramsay: "First you give me Operation Dynamo to take the solders off the beach and now you give me Operation Neptune to put the solders back on the beach. Would you people please make up your minds!" 🙄
Of all the Drachinifel videos, this one takes the cake! I gravitate toward WWII stories and I knew a lot about Overlord, but I am blown away at the accompanying details presented here. In addition, the deadpan matter-of-fact and unique manner of the Drachinifel presentation while narrating the greatest human endeavor ever attempted just tickles me!
27:04 A great photo of USS Augusta serving much as she had in Nov 1942 during Operation Torch. She was one of the few US Navy ships to serve in the Atlantic Theater from the beginning of the war to its conclusion. Thanks for the brief on Neptune, Drach.
When I was a lieutenant, my battalion was sent to Army Landing Force Amphibious Training (ALFAT) at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. We officers participated in the same training as our men during the day, but had additional training geared to our rank in the evening. One particular nugget I found interesting was that US Navy doctrine assigned one destroyer in support of each Battalion Landing Team, a light cruiser to each Regimental Landing Team and either a heavy cruiser or battleship to each assault division. Additional ships would be in reserve to be assigned missions as needed.
One has to wonder about what is on paper versus what happens in practice. As a PFC & later a LCpl I had held NCO billets in WPNS Plt. We filled our ranks with 0311s because we did not have enough SOI trained '31s and '41s. The entire time I was in the fleet our Plt commander existed on paper only, often the Co. XO or one of the line platoon commanders was there for administrative tasks. That was in the late 1990s. We were astonished to hear from the Australians, whom we trained with, would pay the salary of the rank for billets filled by junior ranks while they held the billet. Of course a career soldier in their Army could serve 15 years without becoming an NCO.
-One million liiiiiives- -USS Texas
*"this is outrageous.....it's unfair!"* -further positioned Germans probably
USS Texas: I am about to do what is called a Pro Gamer move.
-F@CK I MISSED!!-
They gangster leaned a battleship.
There has to be an un-named engineer, somewhere, in this tale.
The Neptune commander was the best pick for the job. The numbers in that war are mind-blowing.
Have you done a video on the evolution of allied landing craft in WWII? I think this is really fascinating, because, prior to WWII specialized landing craft were not really common and most navies relied on converted craft (like the Germans were going to for sea lion) or just the boats that ships generally carried. I think it’s a real important development in the history of amphibious operations and they played a huge role on D-Day.
DDs coming in clutch always makes me happy. I love the tough little bastards.
Oi, Drach. If we could have June 7th anytime soon, that would be great. Sounds like an artillery beauty contest. Also, a 5 minute guidee to those two feisty dutch gunboats, please? Excellent video. Cheers.
With the situation around D-Day, some of my favorite naval stories that I've heard have always been the gunfire support shenanigans that ships like war spite ended up getting into
Thank you for making this video! So many films about D-Day give the impression that the navy was barely involved (except of transports) and the men assaulting the beach had no fire support. Love your channel, it's a great joy listening to your videos. Blessings to you and yours.
Without using archival footage I suspect that various nations would not appreciate the landscape re-arangement that would be involved.
Yeah. The debate in the German command about whether to defend on the beach or hold back and counter-punch went nowhere. As one pointed out, if you hugged the naval artillery got you. If you held back the planes got you. Anywhere within 10-15 kms of the coast was a death zone if you were spotted.
This is the business! One of the best yet. Can't help but wonder if, come 1966, the juxtaposition of James T Kirk and USS Enterprise was a coincidence, or a nod to this day?
15:40 Even as allies, trolling the French is a way of life for the Royal Navy. 🤣
Yet another great video. Thank you. My Dad was on HMS DACRES (K472) during this operation, and whose role it was to lead a convoy of assault ships, and after the first day, coastal patrols. TBH he never really went into any great detail of the war, but he did manage to take some photos, mainly of assault ships/landing craft, which we really cherish as a momentous day in world history. Keep up the great work.
It seems just a few more ships and the troops could have just walked over. :) great content love it!
Now I'm just picturing guys running across a pontoon bridge stretched all the way across the channel. LOL
@@danielbretall2236 You don't have to. All Liberty ships end to end are 226 miles long. Or if my math is right. About a 600 foot wide bridge across the shortest part of the channel. So yes, it was possible.
Drac: "Theres no way we can go into adequate detail in 30 minutes" Soon: Operation Neptune, Part 2 of a 28 part series!
My father was on a DE patrolling against U-boats and remembered seeing British patrol boats shooting at some German boats. His DE had 3in guns and was out of range plus under strict orders to maintain their station. But I wonder if the action between the MTBs and E-boats was the action my dad witnessed? For a DE sailor, the monotony of patrol was only occasionally broken by action and any sea that wasn't like a mill pond made the ships roll, yaw and pitch and made real men of the DEs!
I thought I knew about operation Neptune, but this is well beyond what I remember. Well done!
Thanks Drach You're right, in the praise of operation Overlord too many forget the complex planning involved in getting those troops to the right area at the right time.
What I find amazing is D-day happened on June 06, 1944 and 9 days later on the other side of the world world the US invaded Saipan.
Just shows the sheer amount of resources America was able to pour into WW2. It's all very well talking about the amount of ships, planes, troops, but the amount of and variety of supplies boogles the mind, from the amount of fuel and ammo, to the crash program to provide enough penicillin for use.
More mind boggling is that Operation Forager, despite being the much smaller of the 2 operations compared to Neptune (which is ridiculous when you consider 600+ ships the "smaller" operation), still had more vessels in attendance then than fly the US navy's flag today.
We also can't forget about the sheer size of operation downfall and how big that would have been I feel like it could even be bigger than D-day.
Your pronunciation of Ouistreham is perfect, sir. Congratulations from an inhabitant of Caen.
Something tells me even if Texas somehow missed by far enough to not get the sniper, sniper is going to decide that's not a good place to stay and go elsewhere
Knew it would be a good idea to not immediately watch this... Now I need it to get through a really bad panic attack. Once again, drach to the rescue xD seriously mate, thank you for always calming me down when fecal matter hits the rotary air moving device.
Putting that lot together into a coherent narrative - whilst keeping it to a reasonable length and making it seem 'effortless'. Thank you.
Thank you for this video. I shared it with my mother who's father served on board the USS Carmick DD-493. It is great to hear something about my Maternal-Grandfathers ship in WWII. He was a Store Keeper on board. Under the command of Cmdr. Beer.
A point regarding shore batteries - generally, they weren't a lot of use in most situations - especially the ones around Calais. Those German guns covering the Straits of Dover were originally meant as one of the covering forces - along with the KM and plenty of mines - to secure invasion beaches in England waaay back in '40 for Sealion. Much good they did them! Post-War Admiralty records state "No British or Foreign merchant ship was sunk by enemy batteries throughout the war." A few lighters were hit and sunk, but not many, and in general those particular shore batteries were a waste of resources. Those set up in the Normandy area seem to have done a tad better, but so they should - the target array was pretty big, and many of them were slow movers or even static. In view of this, it seems likely that the USS CORRY was indeed the victim of a mine, rather than a shore battery - unless it was a lucky hit.
Spectacular presentation. Thank You!
Fantastic video as always Drach.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Your dry delivery makes me laugh.
Excellent presentation! Thank you Drach.
As always Drach, thanks for all that you do.
Bravo! Excellent presentation on the D-Day Naval action.
Fun fact: Several of Nevada's main guns came from the Arizona.
Amazing footage that I have never seen before. Well Done!
Absolutely brilliant! Please do more on this!!
Nice work Drach thanks.
Outstanding rendition , thankyou
Kirk and "USS Enterprise", a seemingly inseperable unit !
Great one. Thanks for your fine work!
You are the dude! Thank you so much for your videos.
I see that there’s a video talking about mines, and I haven’t seen it yet so I don’t know if this is covered in depth there, but can we get a video talking about minesweeping? How it was done, what were the various navies’s procedures, risks, technology involved, and so forth? I was always curious exactly what went into minesweeping
I believe there’s a few Drydock questions about minesweeping, but as far as I know there’s no video dedicated to it yet.
I'm 54 years old. Read my first book about World War 2 when I was 9. Have read literally hundreds of books about the war, and dozens about D-Day. EVERY time I read or hear about the scale of the naval operation, Neptune, it's still amazing. Thousands of boats and ships, each of which had a place to be and a mission to perform, all coordinated in a time without computers. Totally amazing they were able to pull it off.
Drac- Great commentary!!! THX
Fantastic video, drach. I thought i knew a lot about D-day but still learned quite a few things here...
Excellent and Outstanding Analysis!!!
Outstanding content sir.
This is by far my favorite type of content you put out. As much as I like the interview shows the best content is always drach solo content.
7:59 *"Bismarck killer HMS Rodney and the apparently plot shielded HMS Warspite"* **Signature Look of superiority**
Signature looks of superiority
@@ph89787 [headnod]
HMS Warspite seems to have been fitted with plot armour at some point between the wars. Considering the close calls she had, it's the only thing that makes sense.
@@jon-paulfilkins7820 Warspite was clearly *built* with plot armour (see the beating she withstood at Jutland while out of control), the inter-war refits just added even more - even HMS New Zealand’s plot shielding was no match.
@@stephenmstanley To be honest, I wonder if meteorite iron was smelted into her keel, magical stuff that
Love how warspites turret turns and is like no you don't and casually access denied like it's nothing.....
No why another time? I still have 7hrs of work left. I need stories of 50rds, 15” rapids fire now lol. Great video as always.
Great post and great subject. Enjoyed. 👍👍💯
Operation PLUTO was the largest engineering project of the war. This was part of Neptune... Also Ramsay served in Somalia in 1909 in the war against the slave trade. Hero. Edit.... by the way.... "50 rounds. 15 inch. Open fire." Ouch.
OK, I would think the Mulberry Harbors were a bigger job, but PLUTO was a prodigious feat in itself
@@colbeausabre8842 The recovery of the Pluto pipelines post war is a story in itself,candy certainly not without hazard, many of the pipes still being full of petrol.
@@colbeausabre8842 the scrap merchants recovered 23000 tons of lead from PLUTO, and it consisted of 10 pipelines under the channel, 1200 miles of pipelines around the UK and within a few weeks of D-Day was pumping 10000 tons of fuel per day. The first pipe was laid on 7th June and by April 1945 the network reached into Germany. An astonishing but little known achievement.
Your video adds details to the movie Longest Day. Lovely video
Drach does these narratives so well. more please.
Hey Drach, they way you stopped at the pronounciation of Ouistreham, its okay. I lived next to it, and its very weird for us french too.
He pronounced it correctly. Just remember that the French "h" is either not pronounced at all, like in Spanish or Portuguese, or like a glottal stop, like the Cockney way of omitting the "t"-s. That's why "Le Khavre" is a no-no. And of course "George Legü" was highly fantasist. The nickname "George's leg" was closer. Given in the US shipyard?
USS "Tooscaloosa" was a bit sketchy.
As usual a brilliant, concise summation of events, told with enthusiasm and humour. Great work as always. Thanks
Thank you for covering the naval forces contribution on D Day. It is especially good to hear of the significant impact of naval gunfire on the defending German units.in the account from Terry Copp , he gave the impression that naval gunfire on Juno beach was not effective.
That was thoroughly enjoyed!
That bucket, as described as being located just behind the helm of the vessel, and when not in use as a seasick repository, should have been used to haul around those enormous balls of that English Motor Torpedo Boat Captain who chased the German minelayers back into and through their own minefield! Bravo!!
Great Wednesday video as always!
Thank you, Drachinifel.
Excellent content Drach! I do so enjoy shore bombardment and torpedo gun boats.
They come by sea! sounds like a Victory at Sea title. Great coverage of critical role of USN destroyers in clearing Omaha which somehow failed to be mentioned in either Longest Day or Saving Private Ryan.
I heard that HMS Warspite when doing shore bombardment of Normandy was able to successfully jam the radar of the German's guns
Awsome episide. I hope for more indepth in the future
Very intersting to hear some more about the naval side
Thanks, Drach