The battlegrounds of Northern France were the recent ‘war studies’ location for the officer cadets from the British Army’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) as their theories were tested on the Second World War sites of Normandy.
An invite to attend the academic exercise Normandy Scholar was extended to 20 Officer Cadets, from 3e bataillon du l’Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr.
“The exercise is a practical means for cadets to work with the combat estimate - the decision making process known as the ‘seven questions’ - and rather than doing it in a classroom environment we bring them out here to look at historical examples and see how it is applied in real life terms." MAJOR TOM DOYLE, OFFICER COMMANDING ALAMEIN COMPANY
Unlike many military academies, Sandhurst is not a university and offers a blended learning approach with academic subjects being taught alongside military training. The academic subjects are taught across three departments of which one is the Department of War Studies covering the five key areas: theories of war, manoeuvre of warfare, expeditionary operations, insurgency and counter-insurgency and officer leadership.
The two-day battlefield study, which on this occasion was accompanied by their French counterparts, is part of the curriculum and enables 120 British officer cadets to immerse themselves in the reality of war, and examine the military tactics of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion and liberation of Nazi held Europe, during the summer of 1944.
Major Tom Doyle, Royal Engineers, Officer Commanding Alamein Company, said:
“The exercise is a practical means for cadets to work with the combat estimate - the decision making process known as the ‘seven questions’ - and rather than doing it in a classroom environment we bring them out here to look at historical examples and see how it is applied in real life terms."
“WW2 is an example of major war fighting combat operations on a scale that frankly hasn’t been seen by the British Army since 1945 and gives the cadets a good opportunity to realise the complexities that come with that. But now we start to look towards the future and particularly what’s going on in mainland Europe is quite poignant to remind ourselves of major combat operations, warfighting and the consequences of that.”
“For the military students from both nations, this is invaluable. Firstly, this is a huge positive for my company to learn about the common history of the Normandy Landings and where your British soldiers played a huge part in liberating our country and Europe." Captain Louis Garreau, Company Second-in-Command, de la 10~eme compagne
Sentiments echoed by Captain Louis Garreau, Company Second-in-Command, de la 10~eme compagne:
“For the military students from both nations, this is invaluable. Firstly, this is a huge positive for my company to learn about the common history of the Normandy Landings and where your British soldiers played a huge part in liberating our country and Europe."
“Secondly it allows them to think about the various tactical issues of those who fought on D Day and see how those principles can be applied today."
“This partnership with Sandhurst is really important, it is important to view through this historical analysis both the differences and similarities and cultivate a common way of thinking for us to be able to fight against the different threats of tomorrow.”
The military students from both nations visited Gold Beach the centre beach of the five designated landing areas of the Normandy Invasion on 6th June 1944, carried out by the British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division. Merville Gun Battery, its destruction of which was the objective given to 9th Parachute Battalion where German artillery threatened the main landing force at Sword Beach. The Battle of Tilly-sur-Seulles between the British Army’s 30 Corps and two elite SS Panzer Divisions in which the village was captured and recaptured over 20 times before finally being liberated. Then Hill 112 just outside Caen with a high point on a long, low ridge of tactical importance which German Field Marsh Rommel remarked ‘the side that controls Hill 112 will be the side that controls Lower Normandy’.
Following the exercise which focused on hard fought battles and casualty statistics there was time to take stock of the cost of the realities of war fighting. The British cadets were joined by a further 300 French cadets from Saint-Cyr, for a memorial service at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery at Saint Manvieu-Norrey, where along with Allied graves lay 555 German soldiers.
“The value of coming to Normandy is not only the value of looking at major combat operations and the history of the British Army, it gives them a pause to reflect on the job they are coming to do." Major Tom Doyle, Officer Commanding Alamein Company
Major Tom Doyle:
“The value of coming to Normandy is not only the value of looking at major combat operations and the history of the British Army, it gives them a pause to reflect on the job they are coming to do."
“It also highlights the fact that very rarely do we operate on our own as a British Army anymore, we do it with NATO allies.”
For three of the Sandhurst visitors, the reflections during the trip to France had a more personal meaning; Officer Cadet Nick Moran whose grandfather was an Engineer Officer onboard the hospital ship SS Amsterdam died when it hit two German mines, whilst evacuating wounded soldiers from Juno beach to Southampton.
Officer Cadet Tom Walker’s 99-year-old veteran grandfather, was a medic with the Somerset Light Infantry and experienced the brutal battle of Operation Jupiter, to take Hill 112.
Colour Sergeant Martin Windmill a member of the permanent training staff at Sandhurst, a great nephew to Private Sidney Teversham of the 1st Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment was shot in the neck and buried at Tilly-sur-Seulles.
For some it was purely an educational trip, yet for a few they were literally following in the footsteps of their forebears.