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 COMBINED OPERATIONS

Memorial donations of around £27,500 funded construction, dedication and routine ground maintenance in perpetuity.

  Donate here to a small contingency fund to repair and maintain the memorial structures as and when required.
 


Churchill's Signal to Mountbatten on D Day + 6.

A Nation's Gratitude

Churchill visits Normandy on D Day +6.

Background

There were many small scale raids organised and undertaken by the joint forces (including Commandos) of Combined Operations in the 4 years after the evacuation at Dunkirk. There were also larger landings in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Holland but the D-Day landings were of an entirely different magnitude to anything that had gone before. They were the culmination of 4 years of meticulous planning and training

[Photo; Winston Churchill flanked by the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke and General Sir Bernard Montgomery, commanding 21st Army Group at Monty's mobile headquarters in Normandy, 12 June 1944. © IWM (TR 1838.]

The map shows the positions of destroyers, battleships, cruisers etc and their designated targets on the coastal strip of Normandy. It also shows the position of the 5 HQ ships (one for each landing beach) and the two Flag Ships (one for each sector). It does not show the thousands of landing craft and support vessels.

Map of the Normandy landing beaches showing the distribution of HQ Ships, army troops and paratroopers on D Day.Normandy Visit

Churchill had maintained a close interest and involvement in the preparations and appreciated the enormity and complexity of the task. On June 12, 1944, just 6 days after D-Day, he visited the beaches of Normandy. On return to London that evening, he and his military chiefs sent a signal to Mountbatten, by then in Burma, who had been in charge of Combined Operations from October 1941 to October 1943.

"Today we visited the British and American Armies on the soil of France. We sailed through vast fleets of ships with landing-craft of many types pouring more men, vehicles and stores ashore. We saw clearly the manoeuver in progress of rapid development. We have shared our secrets in common and helped each other all we could. We wish to tell you at this moment in your arduous campaign that we realise how much of this remarkable technique and therefore the success of the venture has its origin in developments effected by you and your staff of Combined Operations."

Arnold, King, Brooke, Marshall, Churchill, Smuts.

Further Reading

There are around 300 books listed on our 'Combined Operations Books' page. They, or any other books you know about, can be purchased on-line from the Advanced Book Exchange (ABE). Their search banner link, on our 'Books' page, checks the shelves of thousands of book shops world-wide. Just type in, or copy and paste the title of your choice, or use the 'keyword' box for book suggestions. There's no obligation to buy, no registration and no passwords.
 


News & Information

Photo of single poppy.About Us

Background to the website and memorial project and a look to the future; plus other small print stuff and website accounts etc. Click here for information.

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Featured Links; Combined Ops Heritage; 40 D Day Stories & Combined Operations Jigsaw Challenge
 

 

Photo of single poppy.Remember a Veteran

Pay a personal tribute to veterans who served in, or alongside, the Combined Operations Command in WW2 by adding their details and optional photo to our Roll of Honour or They Also Served pages on this website, which include the Combined Operations prayer.

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Facebook

Visit our Facebook page about the Combined Operations Command in appreciation of our WW2 veterans. You are welcome to add information, photos and comment or reply to messages posted by others.

Photo of single poppy.Events and Places to Visit

Organisers: Reach the people who will be interested to know about your Combined Operations or war related event by adding it to our  webpage free of charge. Everyone else: Visit our webpage for information on events and places to visit. If you know of an event or place of interest, that is not listed, please let us know. To notify an event or place of interest, click here. To visit the webpage click here.

Photo of single poppy.Find Books of Interest 

Search for Books direct from our Books page. Don't have the name of a book in mind? Just type in a keyword to get a list of possibilities... and if you want to purchase you can do so on line through the Advanced Book Exchange (ABE).

Photo of single poppy.Combined Operations Handbook (Far East)

The handbook was prepared for Combined Operations in the Far East. It illustrates the depth and complexity of the planning process necessary to ensure that the 3 services worked together as a unified force.

Photo of single poppy.New to Combined Ops?

Visit Combined Operations Explained for an easy introduction to this complex subject.

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