Editing Exercise Tiger (section)

==Exercise==
===Landing operations===
In late 1943, as part of the build-up to D-day, the British government set up a training ground at Slapton Sands, Devon, to be used by Force "U", the American forces tasked with landing on [[Utah Beach]]. Slapton Beach was selected for its similarity to Utah Beach: a gravel beach, followed by a strip of land and then a lake. Approximately 3,000 local residents in the area of [[Slapton, Devon|Slapton]],<ref>{{cite web |date=16 November 1943 |title=South Devon Evacuation 1944 |publisher=Exeter Flotilla.org |url=http://www.exeterflotilla.org/history_misc/sth_dvn_evac/index.html |access-date=28 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924004741/http://www.exeterflotilla.org/history_misc/sth_dvn_evac/index.html |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> now [[South Hams|South Hams District]] of [[Devon]], were evacuated.<ref>{{cite web |date=9 March 2007 |title=Slapton Line: Slapton Monument Rededication |publisher=[[Devon County Council]] |url=http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/environment/historic_environment/slapton-line/sl-monument_rededication.htm?textsize=1 |url-status=dead |access-date=6 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531051958/http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/environment/historic_environment/slapton-line/sl-monument_rededication.htm?textsize=1 |archive-date=31 May 2016}}</ref> Some had never left their villages before being evacuated.<ref name=Stokes>{{cite news |last=Stokes |first=Paul |date=29 April 1994 |title=Veterans honour 749 who died in D-Day rehearsal |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}}</ref>

Landing exercises started in December 1943. Exercise Tiger was one of the larger exercises that took place in April and May 1944. The exercise was to last from 22 April until 30 April 1944, and covered all aspects of the invasion, culminating in a beach landing at Slapton Sands. On board nine large [[tank landing ship]]s (LSTs), the 30,000 troops prepared for their mock landing, which also included a live-firing exercise.

Protection for the exercise area came from the [[Royal Navy]]. Four [[O and P-class destroyer|O-class destroyers]], three [[Motor Torpedo Boat]]s and two [[Motor Gun Boat]]s patrolled the entrance to [[Lyme Bay]] while three Motor Torpedo Boats were stationed off [[Cherbourg]], where [[Kriegsmarine|German]] [[E-boat]]s were based.{{sfn|Simpson|2021|p=222}}

The first phase of the exercise focused on marshalling and embarkation drills, and lasted from 22 to 25 April. On the evening of 26 April the first wave of assault troops boarded their transports and set off, the plan being to simulate the Channel crossing by taking a roundabout route through Lyme Bay, in order to arrive off Slapton at first light on 27 April.

===Friendly fire incident===
The first practice assault took place on the morning of 27 April{{sfn|Dear|Foot|2001|p=787}}{{sfn|Herman|1997|p=191}} and was marked by an incident involving [[friendly fire]]. [[H-hour]] was set for 07:30, and was to include live ammunition to acclimatise the troops to the sights, sounds and even smells of a naval bombardment. During the landing itself, live rounds were to be fired over the heads of the incoming troops by forces on land, for the same reason. This followed an order made by General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], the Supreme Allied Commander, who felt that the men must be hardened by exposure to real battle conditions.{{sfn|Small|Rogerson|1988}} The exercise was to include naval bombardment by ships of [[List of ships of Force U Bombardment Group|Force U Bombardment Group]] fifty minutes prior to the landing.{{sfn|Lewis|1990|p=252}}

Several of the landing ships for that morning were delayed, and the officer in charge, American Admiral [[Don P. Moon]], decided to delay H-hour for 60 minutes, until 08:30.{{sfn|Small|Rogerson|1988}} Some of the landing craft did not receive word of the change. Landing on the beach at their originally scheduled time, the second wave came under fire, suffering an unknown number of casualties. Rumours circulated among the fleet that as many as 450 men were killed.{{sfn|Lewis|1990|p=254}}