Exercise Tiger convoy ambushed
28th April 1944: Heavy casualties as US troops headed for an exercise in Devon area are torpedoed by German 'E-boats'

As Operation Overlord approached the Allies were embarking on the final exercises for troops involved in the invasion. The aim was to rehearse the movement of troops by sea in as realistic manner as possible, with the men making an equivalent length of journey to familiarise them with seagoing conditions. It was not always a comfortable experience.
The last of the rehearsal exercises began on England's south coast, beginning with Exercise Tiger for the men destined for Utah beach. On the 28th April the Supreme Allied Commander, General Eisenhower was amongst the senior officers watching the manoeuvres at Slapton Sands. His aide, Captain H. C. Butcher1,1 was accompanying him and recorded the day in his diary:
The maneuver, the code name for which is TIGER, was intended to simulate conditions of the actual landings on the 4th Division’s beach in France. This beach has water behind it and high ground commanding the beach. Our engineers had worked hard and long to copy the scheme of fortifications used on the shore on which the invasion landing is to be made. It had been thought that this large exercise would attract enemy air attacks or possibly attack by surface vessels, particularly E-boats, but none developed on D-Night or D-Day.
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