It now stands just behind the beach at Torcross as a monument to the dead. The nearby River Dart was used as a harbour for the attack on France and on the 4 th June 1944 485 ships left the river ready for the invasion to begin on the 6 th June.Ī corroded Sherman tank, which was lost during the E-boat attack was found and winched from the sea in 1984. Details of the tragedy were not revealed until long after the war due to the fear it would impact morale. The official report states 749 servicemen lost their lives during the exercise, however others believe the number could be much higher, either way, it was more than those that died storming Utah Beach. The exercise continued but due to live ammunition being used many more servicemen were killed by friendly fire from the supporting naval bombardment. Unfortunately under the cover of darkness German E-boats managed to make their way in to Lyme Bay and sank two landing ships, badly damaging a third, and over 700 soldiers lost their lives due to hypothermia and drowning. Exercise Tiger was designed to be as realistic as possible with landing crafts filled with soldiers, tanks, equipment and live ammunition was used. Slapton Sands was chosen for the exercises because of its resemblance to sections of the French coast. One of the exercises, which was carried out in early 1944, ended in terrible tragedy costing the lives of nearly 800 American Servicemen it was a rehearsal for the D-Day landings on Utah Beach, Normandy, called Exercise Tiger and took place on the night of the 27 th April 1944. During this time around 3,000 local residents were evacuated from their homes around Slapton, Torcross, Strete, Blackawton and East Allington.

Slapton Sands, Torcrossĭuring the preparations for the D-Day landings, Slapton Sands and the surrounding area was used by the American military to carry out exercises. Below we’re going to look at 5 keys sites that you can visit. Within South Devon there are a number of historical sites which are linked to the First and Second World Wars. Landmarks and memorials dedicated to the atrocities or that tell the stories of the brave people who fought and lost their lives can be found throughout the UK so that future generations can be reminded of what past generations have sacrificed. The two world wars which scarred the world during the early and mid 20 th centuries have left an ever lasting impact on the countries which saw conflict and whose brave men went off to fight.

Devon war memorial beach