Disaster Before D-Day: Unravelling the Tragedy at Slapton Sands
When the US forces went ashore on Utah Beach in Normandy on D-Day in June 1944 they won it at the cost of 197 killed. The rehearsal at Slapton Sands in Devon in April cost them over 1000 dead.
There were actually two catastrophes during the rehearsal (Operation Tiger). The first was a ‘friendly fire’ incident in which about 200 men died and two days later a group of German torpedo boats (E-boats) intruded into the exercise area and sank two ships with the loss of over 700 men. The second incident was admitted only in 1954; the first has never been officially admitted.
Stephen Wynn, author of several Pen & Sword books, sets out the facts in his usual no-nonsense manner with plenty of names and statistics. He has tried to compile a list of all the US servicemen killed on Operation Tiger, which is not easy since none have ever been made public. Instead he has listed all the burials of US servicemen in England at the relevant dates, most of whom we can presume died in the exercise.
The Germans do not seem to have realised that the ‘convoy’ they had attacked was the D-Day rehearsal. When the day came, they were caught by surprise and it went well for the Allies. The rehearsal was a disaster but maybe it taught some useful lessons.
