Killed By Your Own
Although what happened next is open to question, survivors claim that soldiers died due to friendly fire. To this day, the Pentagon refuses to acknowledge the incident. Most of the ships that survived the attack moved towards Slapton Sands, but it was here that Eisenhower’s desire for real ammunition proved devastating.
During the operation, the shelling was supposed to stop shortly before the Americans soldiers reached the shore. Due to an appalling mix-up in timing, the British were still shelling the beach when the Americans arrived on the shore. The British were supposed to be using dummy ammunition at that point but continued using live rounds. As a result, an estimated 300 Americans died on the beach.
Aftermath
The official death toll from the Operation Tiger disaster is 749 although it could be much higher. Even if you take the official total as fact, it represented the greatest loss of American life in World War II since the attack on Pearl Harbor. 10 of the missing soldiers were of extreme importance. These men were known as ‘BIGOTS’ who had classified information about the D-Day landing. As a result, the entire operation was put on hold until the Allies were able to account for the missing troops.
Operation Tiger remained a secret for approximately 40 years as those involved were ordered not to reveal any details of the incidents. Also, those that died were either buried at the U.S. cemetery in England or were brought home. Even the medical staff that treated the men were ordered not to ask questions about how they got their injuries. The Allies were concerned that the Germans would find out what they did and get wind of the D-Day plan. In fact, the Germans believed they blew up a line of tankers. Incidentally, Admiral Moon committed suicide soon after the disaster.
As catastrophic as Operation Tiger was, it paved the way for success at Normandy. The Allied commanders requested better life jackets and ensured every soldier was properly trained in its use. Also, a special system was implemented to save soldiers in the water. Crucially, the Allies used the disaster to fix their poor communication system. All radio frequencies were standardized to ensure a similar miscommunication blunder could not happen on D-Day. Just over five weeks after Operation Tiger, Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy in a victory pivotal to the defeat of the Nazis in World War II.