June 1944 Operation Overlord: The Invasion of Normandy
In 1942, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt issued a statement that the western allies would work as quickly as possible to open a second front to relieve pressure on the Soviets. Though united in this goal, issues soon arose with the British who favored a thrust north from the Mediterranean, through Italy and into southern Germany. Against this, the Americans advocated a cross-Channel assault which would move through Western Europe along the shortest route to Germany. As American strength grew, they made it clear that this was the only approach they would support.
Codenamed Operation Overlord, planning began in 1943 for an invasion to take place on the beaches of Normandy. This area was chosen due to its proximity to England, which facilitated air support and transport, as well as its favorable geography. General Eisenhower appointed General Sir Bernard Montgomery to command the invasion's ground forces.
In late 1943, Field Marshal Rommel toured the defenses, Rommel found them unacceptable and ordered that they be greatly enhanced. Having assessed the situation, the Germans believed that the invasion would come at Calais, the closest point between Britain and France. This belief was encouraged by an elaborate Allied deception scheme, Operation Fortitude, which suggested that Calais was the target. This deception was enhanced by placing General Patton in charge of a “ghost” army that consisted of inflatable tanks and plywood ships that from the air looked real. The Germans might have suspected that it was all a ruse if the Allies had entrusted a less respected general as it's commander but the Allies chose General Patton to be the head of this fake army and the German High Command regarded him highly and were convinced that he would lead the assault on Europe. Since his "forces" appeared ready to attack Calais, the Germans dared not transfer any troops from Calais to Normandy, which was the Allies real objective.
The Allies required a full moon and a spring tide, possible dates for the invasion were limited. Finally the Allies received a favorable weather report and the operation was ordered to proceed on June 6 1944.
Departing from airbases around southern Britain, the Allied airborne forces began arriving over Normandy. Some of the airborne paratroopers were unfortunate as they were drop in a scattered fashion instead of grouped in organized units as planned. This resulted in many troops landing far from their targets. Operating in small groups, they were able to achieve many of their objectives as the divisions pulled back together. Though this dispersal weakened their effectiveness, it caused great confusion among the German defenders.
The assault on the beaches began shortly after midnight with Allied bombers pounding German positions across Normandy. This was followed by a heavy naval bombardment. In the early morning hours, waves of troops began hitting the beaches. After overcoming initial resistance, they were able to move inland, though only the Canadians were able to reach their D-Day objectives.
Below is a map showing the Allied landings at different beach locations.
Codenamed Operation Overlord, planning began in 1943 for an invasion to take place on the beaches of Normandy. This area was chosen due to its proximity to England, which facilitated air support and transport, as well as its favorable geography. General Eisenhower appointed General Sir Bernard Montgomery to command the invasion's ground forces.
In late 1943, Field Marshal Rommel toured the defenses, Rommel found them unacceptable and ordered that they be greatly enhanced. Having assessed the situation, the Germans believed that the invasion would come at Calais, the closest point between Britain and France. This belief was encouraged by an elaborate Allied deception scheme, Operation Fortitude, which suggested that Calais was the target. This deception was enhanced by placing General Patton in charge of a “ghost” army that consisted of inflatable tanks and plywood ships that from the air looked real. The Germans might have suspected that it was all a ruse if the Allies had entrusted a less respected general as it's commander but the Allies chose General Patton to be the head of this fake army and the German High Command regarded him highly and were convinced that he would lead the assault on Europe. Since his "forces" appeared ready to attack Calais, the Germans dared not transfer any troops from Calais to Normandy, which was the Allies real objective.
The Allies required a full moon and a spring tide, possible dates for the invasion were limited. Finally the Allies received a favorable weather report and the operation was ordered to proceed on June 6 1944.
Departing from airbases around southern Britain, the Allied airborne forces began arriving over Normandy. Some of the airborne paratroopers were unfortunate as they were drop in a scattered fashion instead of grouped in organized units as planned. This resulted in many troops landing far from their targets. Operating in small groups, they were able to achieve many of their objectives as the divisions pulled back together. Though this dispersal weakened their effectiveness, it caused great confusion among the German defenders.
The assault on the beaches began shortly after midnight with Allied bombers pounding German positions across Normandy. This was followed by a heavy naval bombardment. In the early morning hours, waves of troops began hitting the beaches. After overcoming initial resistance, they were able to move inland, though only the Canadians were able to reach their D-Day objectives.
Below is a map showing the Allied landings at different beach locations.
The American beaches to the west, showed a different story however. At Omaha Beach, US troops quickly became pinned down by heavy fire from the German infantry the pre-invasion bombing had missed. The bombing had fallen inland and failed to destroy the German fortifications. Due to this heavy resistance the Allies suffered more then 2,400 casualties, the most of any beach on D-Day, small groups of US soldiers were able to break through the defenses opening the way for successive waves.
The landing at Utah Beach, suffered only 197 deaths, the lightest of any beach, when they were accidentally landed in the wrong spot. Quickly moving inland, they linked up with other units and began moving towards their objectives.
By nightfall on June 6, Allied forces had established themselves in Normandy though their position remained precarious and over the next several days, Allied troops continued to press inland, while the Germans moved to contain the beachhead. These efforts were frustrated by Berlin's reluctance to release reserve panzer divisions in France for fear that Allies would still attack at Calais. The landing at Normandy though heavy in casualties was a success and a second front in the south of France was
opened.
Below are two documentary films that describes the struggle of the Allied forces at the landing of Normandy during Operation Overlord. In the first film there is a lot of good information and actual footage of the war itself unfortunately the creators of the film attempted some poorly re-enacted scenes that leave a lot to be desired. The second film is a little bit better and gives a real good description of the Normandy Invasion landings.
The landing at Utah Beach, suffered only 197 deaths, the lightest of any beach, when they were accidentally landed in the wrong spot. Quickly moving inland, they linked up with other units and began moving towards their objectives.
By nightfall on June 6, Allied forces had established themselves in Normandy though their position remained precarious and over the next several days, Allied troops continued to press inland, while the Germans moved to contain the beachhead. These efforts were frustrated by Berlin's reluctance to release reserve panzer divisions in France for fear that Allies would still attack at Calais. The landing at Normandy though heavy in casualties was a success and a second front in the south of France was
opened.
Below are two documentary films that describes the struggle of the Allied forces at the landing of Normandy during Operation Overlord. In the first film there is a lot of good information and actual footage of the war itself unfortunately the creators of the film attempted some poorly re-enacted scenes that leave a lot to be desired. The second film is a little bit better and gives a real good description of the Normandy Invasion landings.