Page 76 - History of War - Issue 05-14

RECONSTRUCTING D-DAY

Landing craft operating
within the artificial harbour

coast of Arromanches within a week of the invasion could succeed without a harbour to PART VIDEO GAME, PART
D-Day landings. resupply the bridgehead. If one could not be
From the moment France fell in 1940, it was taken, he reasoned, then a floating one would
known that there would have to be an invasion need to be constructed. LIVING MUSEUM, THIS D-DAY
if the continent was to be liberated. After the
disastrous Dieppe Raid in 1942, it became clear Incredibly durable PROJECT COULD WELL BE
that France’s ports were so heavily defended It fell to a young Captain of the Royal Engineers,
that any attempt to seize one could doom that Allan Beckett, to come up with a design. He THE FUTURE OF HISTORY
invasion to failure. dreamt up an ingenious, floating ten-mile-
Churchill, who of course had been the brains long road system that rested on pontoons he
behind the doomed Gallipoli landings during the nicknamed whales. These were attached to the in. This was done using dozens of block ships
First World War, was aware that no seaborne seabed with a specially designed anchor that – decommissioned vessels, the largest of which
dug itself deeper into the ocean floor with each was a First World War battleship called The
passing tide. The roadways themselves had the Centurion – that were scuttled out to sea to
ability to twist, in pitching seas, up to 45 degrees create a breakwater. Huge concrete caissons
without detaching themselves from the pontoons, were then brought over and sunk to create a
making the whole structure incredibly durable. more permanent sea wall to protect the jetties
Two of these harbours were created and and floating roadways. Once all of this was in
nicknamed Mulberry A and Mulberry B. A was place, a flotilla of tugboats hauled the component
to resupply the Americans at Omaha Beach, B parts over like a pair of gargantuan jigsaw
was to service the Brits and Canadians at Gold. puzzles, and the two harbours were erected
Before the tens of thousands of pieces that
A digital 3D made up the bridges could be hauled across
reconstruction the Channel from England, however, lagoons
of a landing craft Floating pontoons rose and fell with
had to be created for the harbours to be built the tide, keeping the roadway open

New technology brings a clear
view of Mulberry B operations

Mary Evans

76 HISTORY WAR
of