r/todayilearned • u/jacknunn • 1d ago
TIL that 39 days before D-Day, a top-secret full-scale rehearsal for the Utah Beach landings was conducted in England called Exercise Tiger. It was attacked by German E-boats, killing 749 American servicemen—more than were killed during the Utah Beach landings on D-Day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_TigerDuplicates
todayilearned • u/Cinemaphreak • Aug 05 '20
TIL that when practicing for the D-Day landings in "Exercise Tiger" at least 749 Americans were killed by friendly fire and a "wolf pack" of 6 German E-boats who stumbled on the LST ships in the dark. D-Day was nearly called off because 10 officers who knew the exact plans went missing.
todayilearned • u/[deleted] • Aug 18 '25
TIL that 749 Allied soldiers died during a D-Day rehearsal in April 1944 due to a combination of German E-boats fire and friendly fire.
todayilearned • u/No_Idea_Guy • Jun 04 '26
TIL a rehearsal for D-Day turned disastrous because of friendly fire and German attack, causing the death of at least 749 American servicemen. D-Day was almost cancelled until the missing officers with knowledge of the invasion were recovered. The incident was kept secret and only minimally reported
todayilearned • u/LaUNCHandSmASH • Jan 03 '24
TIL: about Exercise Tiger, a large scale practice run months before for the D-Day invasion. Friendly fire from communication errors and attacks from Nazi E-Boats resulted in the deaths of 749 men. Eisenhower ordered that all servicemen be sworn to secrecy and was publicly unknown until the 1980s
todayilearned • u/markhunt1980 • Feb 23 '17
TIL that Exercise Tiger, a US rehearsal for the D-Day landings in 1944, claimed the lives of at least 749 US soldiers, after a live-fire artillery salvo accidentally hit troops landing on the beaches, and subsequent attacks by German E-boats sank two US ships, and damaged a further 2.
todayilearned • u/RainbowApple • Apr 28 '16
TIL of 'Exercise Tiger', a D-Day training exercise by Allied forces which - due to miscommunication, friendly fire and a few German E-Boats - led to the death of 946 U.S. soldiers. It was nominally reported afterwards and thus labelled "forgotten".
todayilearned • u/St_Gregory_Nazianzus • Jun 22 '25
TIL: That 749 Americans died in a secret D-Day training disaster in 1944 when German boats attacked their convoy. More died in this rehearsal than on actual Utah Beach, and D-Day was nearly cancelled because missing officers knew invasion plans.
todayilearned • u/[deleted] • Jan 03 '17
TIL of Exercise Tiger. The rehearsal for D-Day, where at least 749 men lost their lives to friendly fire and a surprise attack from the Germans.
todayilearned • u/exmoor456 • May 27 '20
TIL at least 749 American servicemen were killed in England, April 1944, during large-scale rehearsals for D-Day. Rumoured 450 friendly fire deaths were followed the next day with 749 deaths by attacking E-boats. The incident was under the strictest secrecy and was only nominally reported afterwards
todayilearned • u/hypersite • Sep 19 '19
TIL that in 1944, Exercise Tiger, was a rehearsals for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Coordination and communication problems resulted in friendly fire deaths during the exercise, and an Allied convoy positioning itself for the landing was attacked by E-boats. Causing 746 dead and 200 wounded.
todayilearned • u/grahamlester • Jul 06 '20
TIL 749 US Servicemen were killed in England in 1944's Top-Secret Exercise Tiger
todayilearned • u/[deleted] • Apr 27 '19
TIL in April 1944, problems during a rehearsal for the D-Day landings resulted in friendly fire and an attack by Nazi E-boats. At least 749 American troops were killed and the invasion was nearly called off.
todayilearned • u/syuk • Jun 06 '18
TIL that rehearsals were held for the Normandy D-Day landings in Devon, England. Codenamed 'Exercise Tiger' the project resulted in the loss of over 700 lives following a series of mishaps and attacks from German E-Boats
AAA_NeatStuff • u/UserNamesCantBeTooLo • Jun 05 '26