Cinnabar? Darling (73), a corporal in the Canadian forces, landed on Juno Beach in the early morning of D-Day after the vanguard of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division captured the beachhead. His Glengari Mountain Division was ordered to march 16 kilometers on bicycles to capture the Caen airfield. This task bogged them down due to the obstacles that were everywhere on the road. On July 8, Darling was shot three times in the abdomen. After the war, he served in the army as a sergeant major for 29 years. He now lives in Gloucester, Ontario, Canada.

"I can tell you all that everyone in our landing craft 299 vomited. Such landing craft can transport only one platoon in a platoon of 33 people. After boarding the boat, the officer read Ike's message. I, like everyone else, took a family photo. My wife, Mamie, and my two-year-old son, Dade, who was born in England. I prayed. A soldier prayed. Then I made a joke. At the time, I wasn't scared. Everyone else was betting that they would come back alive, and I wasn't so optimistic at the time. I just think it's providential. ”

"The France that is revealed at 8 or 10 miles is first a cloud of gunsmoke, then a fire on the beach. The scene was one of shells hissing, houses burning, planes flying overhead, and Germans roaring 88-mm cannons. I felt the landing craft crash into the beach.

At this time, a soldier of the Navy jumped into the water and dragged a rope that guided us forward. Each of us pulled the bike out of the bike pile. I remember when the sea went up to my chin. Carrying a 78-kilogram load, that's not even counting the bike and the helmet. Many of the lads were there screaming in terror. Screaming, roaring.

At that time, the sound of artillery was deafening, and you had to shout loudly to have the guts. There were corpses floating in the water. On the beach, the bodies were lined up in three rows, and the hygienists bandaged and rescued the wounded in a fierce battle. I survived. ”

"We couldn't stay long on the beach. We intend to use the folding bikes that we bring with us. We've been using these cars in the south of England for two years. However, the gravel on the road made it impossible for us to ride at all. After three miles of riding, we were instructed to pile the bikes all together. Local children may find them right away. On the first night, we dug a trench in the garden of a church.

Over there. Our first soldier was killed by mortar fire. The Germans fired their guns from about 1,000 yards away. We can see them. They can see us too. Later, our mortars also arrived, and they were knocked away. The French residents were hard to see and probably took refuge in the cellars.

When we were about to buy some eggs from a farmer we had managed to find, he didn't understand our Quebec French. At last. He replied in English: 'What do you want?' 'Original. He used to work as a pilot at Air France. He lived in New York for several years before returning to the countryside after the French surrender.

Apparently the Germans visited it during their retreat. There were no cows or horses to be found in the entire village. He gave us 15 eggs and fresh onions. We fried some poached eggs at his house as a token of appreciation. Gave him $20. ”

"When we went inland, we found that the Germans were young Germans who admired Hitler, as well as soldiers from Italy, Poland, and Austria. The man who shot me was so young. I shot him dead. We simply can't stop thinking about being killed. Either you kill him, or he kills you. That's how it is to fight a war. ”

Hans? Feng? Luke (81) On D-Day, 32-year-old Von? Luke was a major battalion commander of the German 21st Panzer Division in Normandy. Later, in a fierce six-week battle north of Caen to hold back the British beachhead forces, von ? Luke was promoted to colonel and served as a division commander. After the war, he ran a coffee import business and is now retired and living in Hamburg, Germany. His memoirs about the Normandy landings have been published in Europe and the United States.

"This unit of ours is the only armored unit close to the coast. The rest of the forces were deployed in the interior, mainly along the Pas-de-Calais, as XTL and his staff believed that the landing would be there. On the night of 5 and 6 June, one of my companies was training outside, but the ammunition they brought with them was fake ammunition for training purposes.

Around midnight, the company commander reported that paratroopers were 'coming down over my head'. At first, I thought it was a special team. I immediately ran to the division headquarters to find out. There were several captives there. One of them was a British doctor, the others were soldiers. I tried to confront the doctor, but he only gave his name, job title, and practice number.

So I chatted with him about my old friends in the Royal Grenadier Guards and my experience of living in England. His words began to increase. So I asked him if he knew more about the sneak attack. At this time, a captured British soldier next to him laughed loudly and said: 'Haha, this is not a sneak attack, but an invasion!' We're marching to Berlin! The doctor tried to stop him, but it was too late. ”

"It's too late. When I tried to find our division commander, I found out that he was on vacation in Paris. Rommel also went out to see his family. XTL's General Command refused to believe what I had reported.

They insisted that it was just a feint and that the real target was Calais. At the same time, we were given orders to hold our positions and not to attack anything. I thought that if I could launch a counteroffensive before 2 a.m., we would be able to reach the coast and hold the bridge over the Caen Canal. I don't know if we'll be able to stop the invasion, but we'll hit the invaders hard. It is possible that they will be forced to retreat. ”

"At about 11 a.m., when I came to a high ground, I saw that the invading army had landed on the beachhead like a tide. By the time we finally received the order for a counteroffensive around 2 p.m., our operations were already under the surveillance of the British. In this way, we were subjected to their air strikes, suffering heavy casualties - we had no air cover - and their naval artillery bombardment from the coast was even more intense. ”

"We held our positions for 6 weeks, making it impossible for the enemy troops to advance on the beachhead. Our tanks attacked them day and night. We are exhausted. We are well aware that as long as they are kept in a beachhead, the invasion will not be successful.

Once, near the end of the battle, we went on the offensive and captured a position overlooking the beachhead of Sword Beach. At this time, we saw that there were troops and baggage everywhere. The heavy naval guns of the enemy Navy opened fire on our positions, and the units of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and the British attacked us. We had to retreat in the direction of Falaise. For us, this is the end of the battle of Normandy. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you to all the brothers who read this book, and I wish you a happy new year, all the best, and a great fortune in the coming year.

To be honest, because of the poor subscription of this book, the process has been accelerated in the later period, and several major historical events only explain the general situation, and lack of detailed descriptions, and piracy is a double-edged sword.

But Luoye still has to thank my brothers for their support of not abandoning and not giving up, because of you, my writing world has become wonderful. Regarding the Maginot pocket formation that reversed the fate of Germany, no matter how busy the Spring Festival is, the fallen leaves will be written well to repay my brothers.

In addition, Fallen Leaves asks the brothers, at the beginning of the next month, let this book be finished, the grass has withered, the body is tired, the heart is broken, and it is difficult to continue!