Landing table sword beach

Discussion in 'NW Europe' started by gary prisk, Apr 17, 2022.

  1. gary prisk

    gary prisk Charlie 6

    My father, Major Edward Prisk, an American working for Montgomery as a Tactical Liaison Officer,
    landed on Sword Beach in the second wave. I am looking for all the information on his landing, from landing craft number, landing location etc. 4 Liaison Officers landed at the same time to set up Montgomery's first Tac HQ


    Charlie Six
     
  2. BFBSM

    BFBSM Very Senior Member

    Temujin could you help with this?
     
  3. tmac

    tmac Senior Member

  4. Trackfrower

    Trackfrower Member

    Sword Beach.

    Trux has probably done the most detailed post on here "Sword Beach"
     
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  5. Trux

    Trux 21 AG

    Gary,

    The only US Liaison Officers that I can see landing on D Day are four who landed on Gold Beach to liaise between British 50 Division and US 1 Division.

    At H+90 minutes:
    LCT IV. Serial 2156.
    3/4 ton Command and Reconnaissance with 4 crew. US Army liaison officer to liase with Commande Royal Artillery 50 Division.

    LCT IV. Serial 2157.
    Jeep and trailer with 3 crew. US Forces liaison officer.

    LCT IV. Serial 2164.
    Jeep and trailer with 4 crew. US liaison officer from US 16th Infantry to liaise with 231 Brigade..

    At H+120 minutes.
    LCA from LSI(L) Crossbow.
    US Army Artillery liaison Officer.

    50 Division exchanged liaison officers with 1 US Division since they were landing on adjacent beaches.

    Mike.
     
  6. Trux

    Trux 21 AG

    I cannot find any US liaison officers landing on Sword.

    Mike.
     
  7. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Ah, found your review of the book that mention’s him….might help all of us search for information

    Major Edward ‘Eddie’ Prisk had been a US Army infantry major assigned to the British, and was interviewed and hired by Field Marshal Montgomery to be one of eight personal liaison officers for Monty, and was assigned to 21st Army Group Tactical Headquarters—from Normandy to the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. Omar Bradley affectionately called these liaison officers ‘Monty’s Walkers’.


    BOOK REVIEW: ‘Eisenhower in War and Peace’ | Gary Prisk Author
     
  8. Temujin

    Temujin Member

  9. gary prisk

    gary prisk Charlie 6

    Mike

    There were many categories of Liaison Officers, but only two American Infantry Majors were assigned to Field Marshal Montgomery working
    out of Monty's Tac Hq at 21 Army. Major Maurice Frary and Major Edward Prisk. The 8-man team was made up of two Americans, two Canadians,
    and four British Infantry Majors. They were Monty's (Personal Tactical Liaison Officers) Four of these men went ashore on Sword Beach on D-Day
    to set up Monty's first Tac Hq behind Sword Beach.

    My father served in this capacity from April of 1944 to August of 1945. Frary and my father were awarded an (MBE) by Monty in an investiture at Geldrop
    in 1945 with Eisenhower, Bradley, and others in attendance. My father's mates included Majors John Poston, Major Carol Mather, Major Richard Hardin,
    Major Peter Earle, and others from the British Army.

    Attached find my father's efficiency report singed by Monty. A briefing picture featuring the personal Tactical Liaison Officers just prior to the Battle
    of the Bulge, My father's field notes 8 June 1944 on the condition of Omaha Beach, a letter of transit signed by Month, and a picture of my father taken in Eindhoven.

    Any information you folks can help with will be wonderful.

    Gary Prisk
     

    Attached Files:

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  10. Trux

    Trux 21 AG

    Gary,

    A fascinating subject.

    I see that I was too literal in looking at 'the second wave'. I took this to mean H+90 minutes. While there are very detailed landing tables for D Day they do not often exist afterwards. I have many thousands of pages of Landing Tables and War Diaries but not those for Headquarters 21Army Group.


    From 21 Army Group Tactical Headquarters War Establishment. May22 1944.

    Liaison Officers.

    General Staff Officer 1st Grade. (Lt Colonel)
    7 X General Staff officers 2nd Grade. (Major)
    2 X Staff lieutenants
    2 X lieutenants

    A piece I wrote 20+ years ago based on various sources, now long forgotten.

    Liaison Officers were responsible for visiting subordinate headquarters in lieu of the commander and reporting back directly to the commander. They would also be available to explain the commander’s intentions and interpret his orders. Although not of high rank they could talk to major generals and lieutenant generals with the full authority of the commander. They were also relied on to report back any problems and difficulties. The General Staff Officer 1st Grade deployed the team. Usually a particular liaison officer liaised with the same formation so that a working relationship was developed. Each morning the General Staff Officer 1st Grade held a briefing and instructed the Liaison Officers. The Liaison Officers then visited the headquarters to which they had been assigned and collected information which was reported personally to the Commander in Chief each evening. Information was then reported to the Operations Room and displayed on the situation map.

    Liaison Officers were always very active but when there was a large operation in the final stages of planning and actually being implemented they worked very long hours and travelled many miles. It is recorded that in one three week period the Liaison Officers wore out or wrecked an average of two jeeps each. Since there are seven Liaison Officers, General Staff Officer 2nd Grade and seven jeeps it is assumed that each Liaison Officer had a jeep.

    The staff lieutenants and the lieutenants normally remained at headquarters to keep the situation maps up to date, process reports and prepare briefings.

    Mike.

    liaison.jpg

    Same group, same place as in post 9. Date given as April 1945, Germany.
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2022
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  11. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    I suspect the first serial might be part of the liaison for 987 FAB which were scheduled to land on Gold Beach. They would be the onlu US element thta would need a recce party at H+90.
     
  12. gary prisk

    gary prisk Charlie 6



    Thanks Mike

    As an aside, my father's driver was a young soldier from Boston named, Joseph Francis Murphy. He enlisted and told the US Army that he drove a milk truck in Boston.
    He was assigned to my father as his driver. Only problem: the milk truck was pulled by a horse. Driver training near Portsmouth. My father's jeep sunk on D-Day in about 6 feet of water, and he had to commandeer another one on the beach.

    Major John Poston (a dear friend of Monty's) was killed in an ambush at the end of the war and Major Peter Earle was wounded in the same ambush.

    Does anyone know where the daily logs are for 21 Army Group?

    Gary
     
  13. Gary,

    Your father was most probably on board one of the three US LST 377, 378 and 379 which embarked elements of Tac HQ 21 Army Group and Tac HQ Second Army at Portsmouth G.H Hard (at Gosport) on 4 June from 0800 hours.

    Although US vessels, they were part of (British) Assault Group "G" 3 (GG3), but were bound for MIKE Sector of (Canadian) JUNO Assault Area and were to join Force "L" Sailing Group 1 for the passage! As Mike said, so far no loading table has been found for those ships, which were not even allotted a Landing Table Index Number yet in the Naval Orders dated 20 May 44 (although I suspect they were later given LTINs 2927 to 2929).

    Any additional detail or snippet you could provide might help narrow down the actual ship he was in, such as the time of embarkation (morning or afternoon), incidents during the passage or on landing etc. The name of the officer commanding troops on board would be best, but any detail, however insignificant it may seem, could be useful.

    Michel

    PS - I did note that you mentioned that your father landed in SWORD Area, but this does not match any data I came across. Can you tell us why you mentioned SWORD specifically?
     
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2022
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  14. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Found the War Diaries of the 3 LST’s (377, 378 & 379).

    I’ll post the logs below

    USS LST 377

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]



    USS LST 378

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]




    USS LST 379


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]



    [​IMG]


    Source: Fold3.com
     
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2022
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  15. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    After Action Report from USS LST 379


    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]

     
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  16. Trux

    Trux 21 AG

    Temujin does make it look easy!

    Not an error but a misinterpretation.

    Montgomery crossed the Channel onboard HMS Faulknor, an F Class Destroyer. This ship had been part of the naval gunfire support force off Juno and returned to Portsmouth to re ammunition late on D Day. With the landings going reasonably well Montgomery left Portsmouth on board Faulknor and landed on Juno on D+1. I think that LST 379 must have been ordered to send a LCVP to transfer Montgomery to the beach.

    Mike
     
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  17. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Of course you are correct Mike, I was thinking about this last night (before I fell asleep) and I was wondering “why” would he be on an LST during the landing, of course he would be where he had full contact with the other services and by radio…….so I was going to correct this, this morning, but you are already on it. I’ve removed the incorrect info (by me) on the post above…..and now re-reading it this morning I can see it said “dispatched a small boat”…….it didn’t say he was IN the boat when it left LST 379. Sorry for the error.

    Thank you Mike

    I spent yesterday looking and looking for anything that might give me a clue to the Landing Tables for these ships, but nothing. Still looking for clues, but might not find any without access to the Archives (I don’t believe they would be in the Canadian Archives (LAC) so someday someone else may find them

    Cheers
     
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2022
  18. gary prisk

    gary prisk Charlie 6

    The four liaison officers were not listed as US troops. They were personal tac liaison officers of Monty's. I believe the four were:1 Canadian, 1 American, and 2 Brits.
     
  19. gary prisk

    gary prisk Charlie 6

    Mike: The two Canadian Majors that were Personal Liaison Officers working for Monty were: Major Sharp and Major Howarth. I think one of them went ashore on Sword Beach with my father.

    Gary
     
  20. gary prisk

    gary prisk Charlie 6

    Michel. Thanks for all your info. A note written by my brother Col. Court Prisk many years ago, specified Sword Beach. My father died in a sudden death episode so I have only that note to go by. And that the jeep he was in sank in about 6 feet of water. A Canadian on the team would have gone in at the same time. (Major Sharp or Major Howarth)

    Gary
     

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