D-Day 6.6.1944 Page #4

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just to do it.

Amongst the many problems

Eisenhower must solve

is the risk of taking a vast armada across

100 miles of heavily patrolled water.

What about the rehearsals

for the landings?

Exercise Tiger is due

to take place

Yeah.

- off the south coast on April 28th, sir.

Half of them have never

even tasted battle before.

The least we can do

is prepare them for it.

Exercise Tiger

is a major rehearsal for D-Day.

Not just the beach landings,

but also the complex naval operations.

The seas between here and Normandy

are rife with danger.

We will take troops by night

across open water

to designated target beaches

on the south coast.

This is a training exercise, but for

everyone involved, it's the real thing.

It was getting us ready for Normandy

is what it was doing.

It was such a beautiful morning

for such a tragedy to happen.

I'm in one.

Pair of queens.

Naval wins.

- How old are you, kid?

- 15.

What are you doing here?

Best small-boat handler in the US Navy.

Eddie McCann is

a landing-craft helmsman on LSC515.

In command of the ship

is Lieutenant John Doyle.

Full ahead both.

420, full ahead both. Aye, sir.

The men seem pretty happy, sir.

I don't want them to be happy.

I want 'em to be ready.

In overall command of the operation,

Commander Bernard Skahill.

There are eight vessels in the convoy.

Each one is carrying

over 400 American troops,

many of them teenagers

with no combat experience.

Life preservers!

Life preservers!

Anyone know what we do with these?

You gonna show us how to put 'em on?

Figure it out!

Radio.

Message Azalea. Contact surface.

Three targets bearing 275-280.

- What's going on?

- Three vessels approaching from the stern.

- That could be support.

- Maybe.

- No response from Azalea, skipper.

- Keep trying.

On one of his regular forays

into the English Channel,

German E-boat Captain Hans Schirren

has stumbled upon Exercise Tiger.

Fast, elusive and heavily armed,

E- boats are a fearsome adversary.

We wanted to sink ships, not kill people.

But war is war, and in war, people die.

You just can't avoid that.

We saw the convoy, if you like, marching

by us. We saw the boats and fired.

- Damn! They're in trouble.

- E-boats?

- Could be. Could be subs.

- Bridge, Signals.

Bridge.

Mayday. 531, 507. Both hit.

We're under attack.

Make to their location. Urgent.

- Sound general quarters.

- Doyle?

Sound general quarters.

Let's go! Let's go!

OK, green 90!

They're firing at us!

Hold your fire! Stop firing!

You don't know who you're aiming at!

They could be ours!

It so happened I picked my headphones up

and I could hear the bridge talking.

And they're fighting,

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