Military Review English Edition May-June 2014 | Page 84

The author is adroit at uncovering the growing
military sophistication during World War II, including
the cat-and-mouse game to defeat, or at least mitigate,
technological advances. This was much more than the
value of “Ultra” decryptions and the wider vulnerability of German radio transmissions. For example,
the advanced German radar network—stretching
from Norway to Spain—was bombed for a month
before Operation Overlord, with key sites receiving
particular attention to include intense electronic jamming. This alone was insufficient to disguise Allied
intentions, and additional trickery included balloons
with radar reflectors to simulate invasion ships, and
metal “confetti” to mimic the electronic signature
of bomber formations. Atkinson notes, “The actual
Overlord fleet deployed an unprecedented level of
electronic sophistication that foreshadowed twentyfirst-century warfare.” Over six hundred “jammers”
were distributed to disrupt search and fire control
radars. However, solutions to technological advances
were often more straightforward and basic. The devastating German V-1 flying bomb, which “sucked
workers from office windows, incinerated mothers
in grocery stores, and butchered pensioners on park
benches,” is a case in point. Despite attempts to
target launch areas, supply dumps, and related sites,
2,000 barrage balloons were situated carefully on the
anticipated approaches to London. The hope was that
their tethering cables would bring down the bombs in
flight, but, instead, the Germans fitted the V-1 wings
with sharp blades to cut the cables. To help counter
this, Atkinson recalls, “Fighter pilots grew adept at
shooting down the bombs with 20mm cannons … and
some even learned to use their wings to create enough
turbulence to send a bomb spiralling out of control.”
While Atkinson is right to dwell on the battles in
France, Belgium, and Holland, he is equally prudent
to discuss in detail the challenges of logistics and
resupply throughout the campaign. As a wise critic
once noted, strategy is for amateurs; logistics are for
professionals. By September 1944, fewer than four
rounds per day were available for the largest guns.
Only a month later, ammunition shortfalls were truly
“critical” across the front. Shortages kept American
armies largely on the defensive in October: “attacks
required more firepower than sitting,” and strict
firing limits were placed on some divisions. Why
such shortages happened is revealed skillfully in The
Guns at Last Light. Although U.S. plants failed to
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meet demand in some areas, supply routes routinely
deteriorated in poor weather conditions, and cargo
became jumbled and misplaced (troops regularly
had to rummage through holds to find critical items).
Shortages also tended to be a problem of distribution rather than supply. Fuel is another case in
point. To help overcome shortages, an elaborate
nexus of pipelines was built to reduce reliance on
ships, vehicle transportation, and jerricans. Despite
such initiatives, deficiencies were common across
many items. Tent canvas was in short supply, and
spare tires were stripped from vehicles in the United
States and shipped to Europe. So too were uniforms,
which were often “consumed” at double the War
Department’s estimates. Despite this, “surfeits piled
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