Sixty-eight
years ago today the final push to liberate Europe and save the world from Nazi
tyranny began:
On the
morning of June 5, 1944, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme
commander of Allied forces in Europe gave the go-ahead for Operation Overlord,
the largest amphibious military operation in history. On his orders, 6,000
landing craft, ships and other vessels carrying 176,000 troops began to leave
England for the trip to France. That night, 822 aircraft filled with
parachutists headed for drop zones in Normandy. An additional 13,000 aircraft
were mobilized to provide air cover and support for the invasion.
By dawn on
June 6, 18,000 parachutists were already on the ground; the land invasions
began at 6:30 a.m. The British and Canadians overcame light opposition to
capture Gold, Juno and Sword beaches; so did the Americans at Utah. The task
was much tougher at Omaha beach, however, where 2,000 troops were lost and it
was only through the tenacity and quick-wittedness of troops on the ground that
the objective was achieved. By day’s end, 155,000 Allied troops–Americans,
British and Canadians–had successfully stormed Normandy’s beaches.
For their
part, the Germans suffered from confusion in the ranks and the absence of
celebrated commander Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, who was away on leave. At
first, Hitler, believing that the invasion was a feint designed to distract the
Germans from a coming attack north of the Seine River, refused to release
nearby divisions to join the counterattack and reinforcements had to be called
from further afield, causing delays. He also hesitated in calling for armored
divisions to help in the defense. In addition, the Germans were hampered by
effective Allied air support, which took out many key bridges and forced the
Germans to take long detours, as well as efficient Allied naval support, which
helped protect advancing Allied troops.
Though it did
not go off exactly as planned, as later claimed by British Field Marshal
Bernard Montgomery–for example, the Allies were able to land only fractions of
the supplies and vehicles they had intended in France–D-Day was a decided success.
By the end of June, the Allies had 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy
and were poised to continue their march across Europe.
A big salute
to all our D-Day heroes, from living veterans to those who made the ultimate
sacrifice on June 6th and subsequent days.
- Here are some other D-Day related items:
- Twitchy.com has a nice collection of tributes
- The National D-Day Memorial
- Ernie Pyle’s report from Normandy on D-Day plus two.
- A D-Day medic remembers “the boy on the beach.”
- Still no exact figure for D-Day dead
- National Geographic: Untold stories of D-Day
- The anniversary of D-Day should never be forgotten
- The crossword puzzle.
- A transcript of Sir Winston Churchill’s speech to the House of Commons on June 6
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