Operation Overlord
Part of World War II
Tank landing ships unloading supplies on Omaha Beach, building up for the breakout from Normandy. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Landing Ship Tank ( LST) was the military designation for naval vessels created during World War II to support Amphibious operations by carrying significant Omaha Beach was the Code name for one of the principal landing points of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings
Date June 6, 1944 – August 25, 1944 Location Normandy, France Result Decisive Allied victory
Belligerents
Western Allies	Nazi Germany
Commanders
Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Arthur Tedder (Deputy Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (Ground Forces Commander in Chief) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (Air Commander in Chief) Bertram Ramsay (Naval Commander in Chief)	Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe B)
Strength
1,452,000 (by July 25)[1]	380,000 (by July 23)[2]
Casualties and losses
Canada: 5,000 dead; 13,000 wounded and missing; United Kingdom: 11,000 dead, 54,000 wounded and missing; United States: 29,000 dead, 106,000 wounded and missing; Total: 46,000 dead, 173,000 wounded and missing France: 12,200 civilian and Resistance dead and missing	By August, The Germans had suffered over 400,000 Casualties[3], including 50,000 dead[4] and 200,000 captured[5]

Operation Overlord was the phase in the Western front of World War II that was fought in 1944 between German forces and the invading Allied forces. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1248 - The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III the Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Normandy (Normandie Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Western Allies were the democracies and their colonial peoples within the broader coalition of Allies during World War II. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur William Tedder 1st Baron Tedder of Glenguin, GCB (11 July 1890–3 June 1967 was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC, (məntˈgʌmərɪ əv ˈæləmeɪn Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh Leigh-Mallory KCB, DSO & Bar ( 11 July 1892 – 14 November 1944) was Admiral Sir Bertram Home Ramsay KCB, KBE, MVO ( January 20, 1883 - January 2, 1945) was a British Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt ( December 12, 1875 - February 24, 1953) was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel ( ( 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) (also known as the " Desert Fox " Wüstenfuchs Army Group B was the name of three different German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. Events 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler Events 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe France. The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The Western Allies were the democracies and their colonial peoples within the broader coalition of Allies during World War II. The campaign began with Normandy Landings on June 6, 1944 (commonly known as D-Day), among the largest amphibious assaults ever conducted when nearly three million troops crossed the English Channel and ended on August 25, 1944, with the liberation of Paris. The Normandy Landings were the first operations of the Allied Invasion of Normandy, also known as Operation Neptune and Operation Overlord, during Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. D-Day may also refer to Decimal Day in the United Kingdom. D-Day is a term often used in Military parlance to denote Events 1248 - The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III the Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Liberation of Paris' (also known as Battle for Paris) took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of ^[6][7]

Allied land forces that saw combat in Normandy on D-Day itself came from Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Substantial Free French and Polish forces also participated in the battle after the assault phase, and there were also contingents from Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, the Netherlands, and Norway. The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres FFL) were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Czechoslovakia may also refer to what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional ^[8] Other Allied nations participated in the naval and air forces. Once the beachheads were secured, a three-week military buildup occurred on the beaches before Operation Cobra, the operation to break out from the Normandy beachhead began. Operation Cobra was the codename for the World War II operation planned by United States Army General Omar Bradley to break out from the The battle for Normandy continued for more than two months, with campaigns to establish a foothold on France, and concluded with the close of the Falaise pocket and the subsequent liberation of Paris in late August 1944. During August 1944 the Falaise pocket was the area between the four towns of Trun, Argentan, Vimoutiers and Chambois near Falaise The Liberation of Paris' (also known as Battle for Paris) took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of

Contents 1 Preparations for D-Day 1.1 Allied Preparations 1.1.1 Deception 1.1.2 Rehearsals and security 1.1.3 Allied invasion plan 1.1.4 Codenames 1.2 German preparations and defences 1.2.1 Atlantic Wall 1.2.2 Weather forecast 2 The Invasion 2.1 The Beaches 2.2 Cherbourg 2.3 Caen 2.4 Breakout from the beachhead 2.5 Falaise Gap 3 Political considerations 4 Campaign close 4.1 Allied logistics, intelligence, morale and air power 4.1.1 German leadership 5 The Normandy Campaign in context 6 Impact of Normandy 6.1 War memorials and tourism 7 References 8 Further Study

Preparations for D-Day

Allied Preparations

"In the East, the vastness of space will… permit a loss of territory… without suffering a mortal blow to Germany’s chance for survival. Not so in the West! If the enemy here succeeds… consequences of staggering proportions will follow within a short time. " Adolf Hitler, Directive 51^[9]

In June 1940, Adolf Hitler had triumphed in what he called "the most famous victory in history", the fall of France. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries ^[10] The British, although besieged, had been spared from annihilation when they evacuated 300,000 troops from Dunkirk. The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo by the British was the Evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk Dunkirk ( French: Dunkerque, dœ̃kɛʀk or; Dutch:; is a harbour city and a commune in the northernmost part of France, in the Winston Churchill, in one of his famous speeches, would vow to invade France and liberate it from Nazi Germany^[11][12]. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874

In a joint statement with Stalin, President Roosevelt and Churchill had announced a "full understanding" was reached with regard to the urgent tasks of creating a Second Front in Europe in 1942. Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Churchill unofficially informed the Soviets in a memorandum handed to Molotov that the resources necessary for an invasion were lacking in 1942. ^[13] However, the announcement had some effect as it caused Hitler to order preparations for an Allied descent on Europe^[9].

The British, under Churchill, wished to avoid the costly frontal assaults of World War I. The Military tactic of frontal assault is a direct hostile movement of forces towards enemy forces in a large number in an attempt to overwhelm the enemy World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Churchill and the British staff favoured a course of allowing the insurgency work of the Special Operations Executive to come to widespread fruition, while making a main Allied thrust from the Mediterranean to Vienna and into Germany from the south, concentrating on the weaker Axis ally, Italy. An insurgency is a violent internal uprising against a sovereign government that lacks the organization of a revolution The Special Operations Executive ( SOE) (sometimes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars " after Sherlock Holmes ' fictional group of helpers Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. Such an approach was also believed to offer the advantage of creating a barrier to limit the Soviet advance into Europe. However, the U. S. believed from the onset that the optimum approach was the shortest route to Germany emanating from the strongest Allied Power base. They were adamant in their view and made it clear that it was the only option they would support in the long term. Two preliminary proposals were drawn up: Operation Sledgehammer, for an invasion in 1942, and Operation Roundup, for a larger attack in 1943, which was adopted and became Operation Overlord, although it was delayed until 1944. During World War II, Operation Sledgehammer was an Allied contingency plan for a limited-objective cross-channel invasion of Europe in response to a German ^[14]

The planning process was started in earnest after the Casablanca and Tehran conferences^[15] with the introduction of the British Chief of Staff of Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC), Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick E. Morgan^[16] with the aid of his American deputy, Maj. The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, then a French Protectorate, from January 14 to The Tehran Conference ( Codenamed EUREKA) was the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D Sir Frederick Edgeworth Morgan, KCB, ( 5 February 1894, Paddock Wood, Kent, England - 19 March 1967 Gen. Ray Barker. Ray Barker (Dec 10 1889 - Jun 28 1974 was a Major General of the Allied Forces, and served in the European Theater of Operations During World The COSSAC and its operational elements were later absorbed into the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) in November 1943-January 1944, led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower^[17]. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (abbreviated as SHAEF, pronounced "shāf" was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general General Sir Bernard Montgomery was named as commander of the 21st Army Group, to which all of the invasion ground forces belonged, and was also given charge of developing the invasion plan. Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC, (məntˈgʌmərɪ əv ˈæləmeɪn ^[18]

In part because of lessons learned by Allied troops in the raid on Dieppe of August 19, 1942, the Allies decided not to assault a French seaport directly in their first landings. The Dieppe Raid, also known as The Battle of Dieppe or Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the Events 43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo ^[19] The short operating range of British fighters, including the Spitfire and Typhoon, from UK airfields greatly limited the number of potential landing sites. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout ^[15] Geography reduced the choices further to two sites: the Pas de Calais and the Normandy coast. Pas-de-Calais is a department in northern France. Its name is the French language equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders ^[20]

Normandy presented serious logistical problems, not the least of which was that the only viable port in the area, Cherbourg, was heavily defended. Many among the higher echelons of command argued that the Pas de Calais would make a more suitable landing area on these grounds alone. Although the Pas de Calais was the shortest distance to the European mainland from England ^[21], it was the most heavily fortified and defended landing site. Normandy was hence chosen as the landing site. ^[20]

Landings in force on a broad front in Normandy would permit simultaneous threats against the port of Cherbourg, coastal ports further west in Brittany, and an overland attack towards Paris and towards the border with Germany. Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Normandy was a less-defended coast and an unexpected but strategic jumping-off point, with the potential to confuse and scatter the German defending forces. ^[20]

At that stage the COSSAC plan proposed a landing from the sea by three divisions, with two brigades landed by air. A division is a large Military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to thirty thousand soldiers A brigade is a Military unit Echelon: is In total, 47 divisions would be committed to the Battle of Normandy: 19 British, five Canadian and one Polish divisions under overall British command, and 21 American divisions with one Free French division, totaling over a million troops^[22]. On April 7 and May 15 Montgomery presented his strategy for the invasion at St Paul's School. Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the St Paul's School is a boys' Independent school, founded in 1509 by John Colet. ^[23] He envisaged a ninety day battle, ending when all the forces reached the Seine^[24], pivoting on an Allied-held Caen^[25], with British and Canadian armies forming a shoulder and the U. The Seine (sɛn in French) is a slow flowing major River and commercial waterway within the regions of Île-de-France and Haute-Normandie Caen (kɑ̃ is a commune in northwestern France. It is the Prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the S. armies wheeling to the right.

The objective for the first 40 days was to create a lodgement that would include the cities of Caen and Cherbourg (especially Cherbourg, for its deep-water port). A lodgement is an enclave made by increasing the size of a Bridgehead, Beachhead or Airhead. Subsequently, there would be a breakout from the lodgement to liberate Brittany and its Atlantic ports, and to advance to a line roughly 125 miles (190 km) to the southwest of Paris, from Le Havre through Le Mans to Tours, so that after ninety days the Allies would control a zone bounded by the rivers Loire in the south and Seine in the northeast. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Le Havre is a city in the northwest region of France situated on the right bank of the mouth of the Seine River as it outlets into the Bay of the Seine Le Mans (ləmɑ̃ in French) is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Tours is a city in France the Préfecture (capital city of the Indre-et-Loire département, on the lower reaches of the river The Loire River (lwaʁ in French) is the longest River in France.

Deception

Main articles: Operation Fortitude and Operation Bodyguard

In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a deception operation, Operation Bodyguard, designed to persuade the Germans that areas other than northern France would be threatened as well (such as the Balkans and the south of France). Operation Fortitude was the codename for the Deception operations used by the Allied forces during World War II in connection with the Normandy landings During World War II, Operation Bodyguard was the overall Allied strategic Deception plan in Europe for 1944 carried out as part of the build-up to the invasion During World War II, Operation Bodyguard was the overall Allied strategic Deception plan in Europe for 1944 carried out as part of the build-up to the invasion Then, in the weeks leading up to the invasion, in order to persuade the Germans that the main invasion would really take place at the Pas de Calais, and to lead them to expect an invasion of Norway, the Allies prepared a massive deception plan, called Operation Fortitude. Operation Fortitude was the codename for the Deception operations used by the Allied forces during World War II in connection with the Normandy landings Operation Fortitude North would lead the Axis to expect an attack on Norway; the much more vital Operation Fortitude South was designed to lead the Germans to expect the main invasion at the Pas de Calais, and to hold back forces to guard against this threat rather than rushing them to Normandy. ^[26]

An entirely fictitious First U. S. Army Group ("FUSAG"), supposedly located in southeastern England under the command of General Lesley J. McNair and General George S. Patton, Jr., was created in German minds by the use of double agents and fake radio traffic. General Lesley James McNair ( May 25, 1883 &ndash July 25, 1944) was an American Army officer who served during For the 19th century Scottish jurist/politician see George Patton Lord Glenalmond. A split album featuring performances by bands The KGB and Alien Spy that was produced in 1997 The Germans had an extensive network of agents operating in England. Unfortunately for them, every single one reporting about FUSAG had been "turned" by the Allies as part of the Double Cross System, and appropriate agents were dutifully sending back messages "confirming" the existence and location of FUSAG and the Pas de Calais as the likely main attack point. A split album featuring performances by bands The KGB and Alien Spy that was produced in 1997 See also Double agent The Double Cross System or XX System, was a World War II anti-espionage and deception operation of the British ^[26] Dummy tanks (some inflatable), trucks, and landing craft, as well as troop camp facades (constructed from scaffolding and canvas) were placed in ports on the eastern and southeastern coasts of Britain, and the Luftwaffe was allowed to photograph them. ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. During this period, most of the Allied naval bombardment was focused on Pas de Calais instead of Normandy. The Allied Forces even went as far as to broadcast static over Axis accessible radioways and convinced Germany to expend efforts to try to decode white noise, further leading Germany away from the upcoming Normandy invasion.

In aid of Operation Fortitude North, Operation Skye was mounted from Scotland using radio traffic, designed to convince German traffic analysts that an invasion would also be mounted into Norway. Operation Skye was a deception plan carried out by the Allies during World War II, in which fake wireless traffic was created in order to give the appearance of units that threatened Against this phantom threat, German units that otherwise could have been moved into France were instead kept in Norway.

The last part of the deception occurred on the night before the invasion: a small group of SAS operators deployed dummy paratroopers over Le Havre and Isigny. The Special Air Service ( SAS) is a Special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model and inspiration for the special These dummies led the Germans to believe that an additional airborne assault had occurred; this tied up reinforcing troops and kept the true situation unclear. On that same night, two RAF squadrons (No. 617 Squadron and No. No 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is better known as the "Dambusters" squadron 218 Squadron) created an illusion of a massive naval convoy sailing for the Cap d'Antifer (15 miles north of Le Havre). Le Havre is a city in the northwest region of France situated on the right bank of the mouth of the Seine River as it outlets into the Bay of the Seine This was achieved by the precision dropping of strips of metal foil. The foil caused a radar return mistakenly interpreted by German radar operators as a fleet of small craft towing barrage balloons. ^[27]

Rehearsals and security

Allied forces rehearsed their roles for D-Day months before the invasion. On April 28, 1944, in south Devon on the English coast, 749 U. Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name S. soldiers and sailors were killed when German torpedo boats surprised one of these landing exercises, Exercise Tiger^[28]. History After the Treaty of Versailles most of Germany's military production was severely curtailed Exercise Tiger was the code name for two Military exercises held in the United Kingdom during the Second World War: The first conducted in 1942

The effectiveness of the deception operations was increased by a news blackout from Britain. Travel to and from the Irish Free State was banned, and movements within several miles of the coasts restricted. The Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann (1922&ndash1937 was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by ^[29]The German embassies and consulates in neutral countries were flooded with all sorts of misleading information, in the well-founded hope that any genuine information on the landings would be ignored with all the confusing chaff.

In the weeks before the invasion it was noticed that the crossword puzzles printed in the British Daily Telegraph newspaper contained a surprisingly large number of words which were codewords relating to the invasion. For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. MI-5 (the Security Service) first thought this was a coincidence, but when the word Mulberry was one of the crossword answers, MI-5 then interviewed the compiler — a schoolmaster — and were convinced of his innocence. According to National Geographic,^[30] in 1984 a former student of the compiler claimed that he had picked up the words while eavesdropping on soldiers' conversations around the army camps and suggested their use in the puzzles. Overview The NGS's historical mission is "to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge while promoting the conservation of the world's cultural historical and natural This assertion has not been independently verified, and Marc Romano, author of the book Crossworld: One Man's Journey into America's Crossword Obsession, gives several reasons why the story is implausible.

There were several leaks prior to or on D-Day. Through the Cicero affair, the Germans obtained documents containing references to Overlord, but these documents lack all detail. Iliaz Bazda ( Albanian: Iliaz Bazda born July 28 1904 in Priština, Kosovo - December 21 1970 in ^[31] Another such leak was Gen. Charles de Gaulle's radio message after D-Day. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French He, unlike all the other leaders, stated that this invasion was the real invasion. ^[32] This had the potential to ruin the Allied deceptions Fortitude North and Fortitude South. For example, Eisenhower referred to the landings as the initial invasion. The Germans did not believe de Gaulle and waited too long to move in extra units against the Allies.

Allied invasion plan

Further information: Operation Neptune

The British were to take an airborne assault on the River Orne. The British objective was to secure the Orne River bridges; first to prevent German armor from using them cross the river and disrupt the landings; second to hold them against destruction by the retreating Germans so that they could be used by Allied armor and logistics as the invasion moved inland. The British amphibious assault units would attack through Sword and Gold Beaches. The US had an airborne division and land units which were to take Omaha beach, Pointe du Hoc and Utah Beaches. Omaha Beach was the Code name for one of the principal landing points of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings Pointe du Hoc (pwε̃t dy ɔk is a clifftop location on the coast of Normandy in northern France. Utah Beach was the codename for one of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June The Canadians would team up with British units to attack Juno Beach

The Invasion Fleet was drawn from 8 different navies comprising of warships and submarines, split into the Western Naval Task Force (Rear-Admiral Alan G Kirk) and the Eastern Naval Task Force (Rear-Admiral Sir Philip Vian). Alan Goodrich Kirk (born October 30 1888 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died October 1963 Washington D Admiral of the Fleet Sir Philip Louis Vian, GCB, KBE, DSO and two bars, ( 15 July 1894 - 27 May The fleet was overall led by Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay. Admiral Sir Bertram Home Ramsay KCB, KBE, MVO ( January 20, 1883 - January 2, 1945) was a British

Codenames

The Allies assigned codenames to the various operations involved in the invasion. Overlord was the name assigned to the establishment of a large-scale lodgement on the Continent. The first phase, the establishment of a secure foothold, was codenamed Neptune, according to the D-day museum[1]:

"The armed forces use codenames to refer to the planning and execution of specific military operations. Operation Overlord was the codename for the Allied invasion of northwest Europe. The assault phase of Operation Overlord was known as Operation Neptune. (. . . ) Operation Neptune began on D-Day (6 June 1944) and ended on 30 June 1944. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. By this time, the Allies had established a firm foothold in Normandy. Operation Overlord also began on D-Day, and continued until Allied forces crossed the River Seine on 19 August 1944. Events 43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "

German preparations and defences

Atlantic Wall

Main article: Atlantic Wall

Through most of 1942 and 1943, the Germans had rightly regarded the possibility of a successful Allied invasion in the west as remote. The Atlantikwall ( English: Atlantic wall) was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by the German Third Reich Preparations to counter an invasion were limited to the construction by the Organisation Todt, of impressive fortifications covering the major ports. The Organisation Todt (OT was a Third Reich civil and Military engineering group in Germany eponymously named for its founder Fritz Todt, an The number of military forces at the disposal of Nazi Germany, reached its peak during 1944 with 59 divisions stationed in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. ^[33]

In late 1943, the obvious Allied buildup in Britain prompted the German Commander-in-Chief in the west, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, to request reinforcements. Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt ( December 12, 1875 - February 24, 1953) was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German In addition to fresh units, von Rundstedt also received a new subordinate, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel ( ( 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) (also known as the " Desert Fox " Wüstenfuchs Rommel originally intended only to make a tour of inspection of the Atlantic Wall. The Atlantikwall ( English: Atlantic wall) was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by the German Third Reich After reporting to Hitler, Rommel requested command of the defenders of northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately These were organised as Army Group B in February 1944. Army Group B was the name of three different German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. (The German forces in southern France were designated as Army Group G, under General Johannes Blaskowitz). Johannes Blaskowitz ( 10 July 1883 - 5 February 1948) was a German general during World War II.

Rommel had recognised that for all their propaganda value, the Atlantic Wall fortifications covered only the ports themselves. The beaches between were barely defended, and the Allies could land there and capture the ports from inland. He revitalised the defenders, who laboured to improve the defences of the entire coastline. Steel obstacles were laid at the high-water mark on the beaches, concrete bunkers and pillboxes constructed, and low-lying areas flooded. Given the Allied air supremacy (12,000 Allied aircraft against 300 Luftwaffe fighters^[34]), booby-trapped stakes known as Rommelspargel (Rommel's asparagus) were set up on likely landing grounds to deter airborne landings.

These works were not fully completed, especially in the vital Normandy sector, partly because Allied bombing of the French railway system interfered with the movement of the necessary materials, and also because the Germans were convinced by the Allied deception measures and their own preconceptions that the landings would take place in the Pas de Calais, and so they concentrated their efforts there.

The Germans had nevertheless extensively fortified the foreshore area as part of their Atlantic Wall defences (including tank top turrets and extensive barbed wire), believing that any forthcoming landings would be timed for high tide (this caused the landings to be timed for low tide). The sector which was attacked was guarded by four divisions, of which the 352nd and 91st were of high quality. The other defending troops included Germans (who were not considered fit for active duty on the Eastern Front, usually for medical reasons) and various other nationalities such as conscripted Poles and former Soviet prisoners-of-war who had agreed to fight for the Germans rather than endure the harsh conditions of German POW camps. These "Ost" units were provided with German leadership to manage them.

Rommel proposed that the armoured formations be deployed close to the invasion beaches. Von Geyr argued that the Panzer formations should be concentrated in a central position around Paris and Rouen, and deployed en masse against the main Allied beachhead when this had been identified. When the matter was brought to Hitler, he gave an unworkable compromise solution, giving three tank divisions to Rommel, and allowing Von Geyr to scatter the other tanks across Northern France and the Netherlands. The other mechanized divisions capable of intervening in Normandy were retained under the direct control of the German Armed Forces HQ (OKW) and were initially denied to Rommel. For other uses of OKW see OKW (disambiguation. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht ( OKW) ( English: "High Command

Weather forecast

A full moon was required both for light for the aircraft pilots and for the spring tide, effectively limiting the window of opportunity for mounting the invasion to only a few days in each month. Characteristics A tide is a repeated cycle of sea level changes in the following stages Over several hours the water rises or advances up a beach in the flood Eisenhower had tentatively selected June 5 as the date for the assault. Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem However, on June 4, conditions were clearly unsuitable for a landing; wind and high seas made it impossible to launch landing craft, and low clouds prevented aircraft finding their targets. Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. The Germans meanwhile took comfort from the existing poor conditions and believed an invasion would not be possible for several days. Some troops stood down, and many senior officers were absent. Rommel, for example, decided to leave to attend his wife's birthday. At a vital meeting on June 5, Eisenhower's chief meteorologist James Stagg predicted a slight improvement in the weather for June 6. Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem Group Captain James Martin Stagg, ( 30 June 1900 - 23 June 1975) was a British Royal Air Force Meteorologist Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year This was based on weather reports transmitted from the Captain class frigate HMS Grindall, which, since April, had been on station in mid-Atlantic transmitting weather reports every three hours, day and night. Early history In June 1941 His Majesty's Government asked the United States to design build and supply an escort vessel that was suitable for anti-submarine warfare The officer responsible for sending the weather reports was Lieutenant H. R. Curry R. N. V. R. On 4th June, his weather reports indicated a ridge of high pressure behind a deep depression. He forecast that the ridge would move in an easterly direction to reach the south-west approaches late on 5th June and show an improvement in the weather, which up to that point had shown very strong winds, heavy rain and very rough seas, resulting from the passage of a deep depression. On this basis, General Eisenhower, after much consideration, decided to commence the invasion, despite opposition from some of his staff.

The Invasion

Main article: Invasion of Normandy

“	You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.	”
—Eisenhower, Letter to U. S. Army[35]

To eliminate the enemy's ability to organise and launch counterattacks during the amphibious assault phase, airborne operations were utilised to seize key objectives, such as bridges, road crossings, and terrain features, particularly on the eastern and western flanks of the landing areas. The airborne landings some distance behind the beaches were also intended to ease the egress of the amphibious forces off the beaches, and in some cases to neutralise German coastal defence batteries and more quickly expand the area of the beachhead. The U. S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were assigned to objectives west of Utah Beach. The British 6th Airborne Division was assigned to similar objectives on the eastern flank. ^[36]

The Beaches

Main articles: Gold Beach, Sword Beach, Omaha Beach, Juno Beach, Pointe du Hoc, and Utah Beach

On Sword Beach, the regular British infantry came ashore with light casualties. Gold Beach was the Allied Codename for the centre invasion landing area during the World War II Allied invasion of Normandy on June Sword Beach was the codename of one of the five main landing beaches in Operation Neptune, the initial assault phase of Operation Overlord, the Allied Omaha Beach was the Code name for one of the principal landing points of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings Pointe du Hoc (pwε̃t dy ɔk is a clifftop location on the coast of Normandy in northern France. Utah Beach was the codename for one of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June They had advanced about 8 kilometres (5 mi) by the end of the day but failed to make some of the deliberately ambitious targets set by Montgomery. In particular, Caen, a major objective, was still in German hands by the end of D-Day, and would remain so until the Battle for Caen, August 8. The Battle for Caen from June to August 1944 was a battle between Allied and German forces during the Battle of Normandy. Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.

The Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach faced heavy batteries of machine-gun nests, pillboxes, other concrete fortifications, and a seawall twice the height of the one at Omaha Beach. ^[37] Despite the obstacles, the Canadians were off the beach within hours and advancing inland. ^[38] The Canadians were the only units to reach their D-Day objectives, although most units fell back a few kilometres to stronger defensive positions.

At Gold Beach, the casualties were also quite heavy, because the Germans had strongly fortified a village on the beach. However, the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division overcame these difficulties and advanced almost to the outskirts of Bayeux by the end of the day. The linkup with commando units securing the Port en Bassin gave the Allies a base to deploy their PLUTO pipeline, the first part of Operation Tombola. During World War II, Operation Tombola was a major Special Air Service raid on German rear areas in Italy.

The Americans who landed on Omaha beach faced the veteran German 352nd Infantry Division, one of the best trained on the beaches. Omaha was the most heavily fortified beach, and the majority of landings missed their assigned sectors, and Commanders considered abandoning the beachhead, but small units of infantry, often forming ad hoc groups eventually infiltrated the coastal defenses. Ad hoc is a Latin phrase which means "for this [ Purpose ]" Further landings were able to exploit the initial penetrations and by the end of the day two isolated footholds had been established. The tenuous beachhead was expanded over the following days, and the original D-Day objectives were accomplished by D+3.

At Pointe du Hoc, the task for the 2nd Ranger battalion (James Earl Rudder) was to scale the 30 meter (100 ft) cliffs under enemy fire with ropes and ladders, and then destroy the guns there. James Earl Rudder ( May 6, 1910 &ndash March 23, 1970) was a United States Army Major General, Texas Land The beach fortifications themselves were still vital targets since a single artillery forward observer based there could have called down accurate fire on the U. S. beaches. The Rangers were eventually successful, and captured the fortifications. They then had to fight for 2 days to hold the location, losing more than 60% of their men.

Casualties on Utah Beach, the westernmost landing zone, were the lightest of any beach, with 197 out of the roughly 23,000 troops that landed. Although the 4th Infantry Division troops that landed on the beach found themselves too far to the southeast, they landed on a lightly defended sector that had relatively little German opposition, and the 4th Infantry Division was able to press inland by early afternoon, linking up with the 101st Airborne Division.

Once the beachhead was established, the Mulberry Harbours were made operational around June 9. A Mulberry harbour was a type of temporary Harbour developed in World War II to offload cargo on the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits One was constructed at Arromanches by British forces, the other at Omaha Beach by American forces. Arromanches-les-Bains (or simply Arromanches) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region Severe storms on June 19 interrupted the landing of supplies and destroyed the Omaha harbour. Events 1179 - The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. However, the Arromanches harbour was able to supply around 9,000 tons of materiel daily until the end of August 1944, by which time the port of Cherbourg had been secured by the Allies. Materiel (from the French "matériel" for equipment or hardware related to the word Material) is a term used in English to refer to the

Despite this, the German 21st Panzer division mounted a concerted counterattack, between Sword and Juno beaches, and succeeded in nearly reaching the channel. Stiff resistance by anti-tank gunners and fear of being cut off caused them to withdraw before the end of June 6. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year According to some reports, the sighting of a wave of airborne troops flying over them was instrumental in the decision to retreat.

The Allied invasion plans had called for the capture of Carentan, St. Lô, Caen, and Bayeux on the first day, with all the beaches linked except Utah, and Sword (the last linked with paratroopers) and a front line 10 to 16 kilometres (6–10 mi) from the beaches. Carentan is a town and commune of the Manche département in Normandy, France. Saint-Lô is a town and commune of France, the Préfecture (capital of the Manche département, in Caen (kɑ̃ is a commune in northwestern France. It is the Prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Bayeux (bajø is a commune in the Calvados département, in Normandy in northwestern France. In practice none of these had been achieved. However, overall the casualties had not been as heavy as some had feared (around 10,000 compared to the 20,000 Churchill had estimated), and the bridgeheads had withstood the expected counterattacks.

Cherbourg

Main article: Battle of Cherbourg

In the western part of the lodgement, U. The Battle of Cherbourg was part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II. S. troops were to occupy the Cotentin Peninsula, especially Cherbourg, which would provide the Allies with a deep water harbour. The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a Peninsula in Normandy, forming part of the north-western coast of France The country behind Utah and Omaha beaches was characterised by bocage; ancient banks and hedgerows, up to three metres (10 ft) thick, spread one to two hundred metres (300–600 ft) apart, both seemingly being impervious to tanks, gunfire, and vision, thus making ideal defensive positions. Bocage is a Norman word which has entered both the French and English languages The U. S. infantry made slow progress, and suffered heavy casualties, as they pressed towards Cherbourg. The airborne troops were called on several times to restart a stalled advance. The far side of the peninsula was reached on June 18. Events 618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries Hitler prevented German forces from retreating to the strong Atlantic Wall fortifications in Cherbourg, and after initially offering stiff resistance, the Cherbourg commander, Lieutenant General von Schlieben, capitulated on June 26. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. Before surrendering however, he had most of the facilities destroyed, making the harbour inoperable until the middle of August.

Caen

Main article: Battle for Caen

Believing Caen to be the "crucible" of the battle, Montgomery made it the target of a series of attritional attacks. The first was Operation Perch, which attempted to push south from Bayeux to Villers-Bocage where the armour could then head towards the Orne and envelop Caen, but was halted at the Battle of Villers-Bocage. The Battle of Villers-Bocage was fought on June 13 1944, during the Battle of Normandy, between the British 7th Armoured Division and German After a delay owing to the difficulty of supply because of storms from June 17 until June 23, a German counterattack (which was known through Ultra intelligence) was pre-empted with Operation Epsom. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Events 1180 - First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan 1305 - The Flemish ULTra ("Urban Light Transport" is a Personal rapid transit system from Advanced Transport Systems Ltd a company based in Cardiff, Wales. Operation Epsom was a World War II British offensive that took place between 26&ndash30 June 1944 during the Battle of Normandy. Caen was severely bombed and then occupied north of the River Orne in Operation Charnwood from July 7 until July 9. Background As part of General Montgomery's plan for the Normandy Campaign, Caen had been a D-Day objective for the British 2nd Army. Events 1456 - A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. A major offensive in the Caen area followed with all three British armoured divisions, codenamed Operation Goodwood from July 18 until July 21 that captured the remainder of Caen and the high ground to the south at a high cost. Operation Goodwood was an attack launched on July 18 1944 during the Second World War, by the British army to the east of the city of Caen. Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, Events 356 BC - Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World A further operation, Operation Spring, from July 25 until July 28, by the Canadians secured limited gains at a high cost. Operation Spring was an offensive operation conducted by II Canadian Corps during the Normandy campaign. Events 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason.

Breakout from the beachhead

Main article: Operation Cobra

An important element of Montgomery's strategy was to cause the Germans to commit their reserves to the eastern part of the theatre to allow an easier breakout from the west. Operation Cobra was the codename for the World War II operation planned by United States Army General Omar Bradley to break out from the By the end of Goodwood, the Germans had committed the last of their reserve divisions; there were six and a half Panzer divisions facing the British and Canadian forces compared to one and a half facing the United States armies. Operation Cobra, was launched on July 24 by the U. Operation Cobra was the codename for the World War II operation planned by United States Army General Omar Bradley to break out from the Events 1132 - Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. S. First Army and was extremely successful with the advance guard of VIII Corps entering Coutances at the western end of the Cotentin Peninsula, on July 28, after a penetration through the German lines. Coutances is a commune of Normandy, France, in the Manche département, of which it is a Sous-préfecture The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a Peninsula in Normandy, forming part of the north-western coast of France Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason.

On August 1, VIII Corps became part of Lieutenant General George S. Patton's newly-arrived U.S. Third Army. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman For the 19th century Scottish jurist/politician see George Patton Lord Glenalmond. United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army was a field army of the United States Army. On August 4, Montgomery altered the invasion plan by detaching only a corps to occupy Brittany and hem the German troops there into enclaves around the ports, while the rest of the Third Army continued south. Events 70 - The Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. The U. S. First Army turned the German front at its western end. Because of the concentration of German forces south of Caen, Montgomery moved the British armour west and launched Operation Bluecoat from July 30 until August 7 to add to the pressure from the United States armies. Operation Bluecoat was an attack by the British Second Army at the Battle of Normandy during World War II, from 30 July, 1944 Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great. This drew the German forces to the west, allowing the launch of Operation Totalize south from Caen on August 7. Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great.

Falaise Gap

Main article: Falaise Gap

By the beginning of August, more German reserves became available with the realisation that no landings were going to take place near Calais. During August 1944 the Falaise pocket was the area between the four towns of Trun, Argentan, Vimoutiers and Chambois near Falaise The German forces were being encircled, and the German High Command wanted these reserves to help an orderly retreat to the Seine. However, they were overruled by Hitler who demanded an attack at Mortain at the western end of the pocket on August 7. Operation Lüttich was a German counterattack during the Battle of Normandy, taking place around the American positions near Mortain from August 7&mdashAugust Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great. The attack was repelled by the Allies, who again had advance warning from Ultra. The original Allied plan was for a wide encirclement as far as the Loire valley, but Bradley realised that many of the German forces in Normandy were not capable of maneuver by this stage, and he obtained Montgomery's agreement by telephone on August 8 for a "short hook" further north to encircle German forces. The Loire River (lwaʁ in French) is the longest River in France. Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula. This was left to Patton to effect, moving nearly unopposed through Normandy via Le Mans, and then back north again towards Alençon. Alençon is a town and commune in Normandy, France, préfecture (capital of the Orne department. The Germans were left in a pocket with its jaws near Chambois. Chambois is a commune of Orne, in France. The city is remarkable for its Norman Keep (12th century and was part of the Fierce German defence and the diversion of some American troops for a thrust by Patton towards the Seine at Mantes prevented the jaws closing until August 21, trapping 50,000 German troops. Mantes-la-Jolie (often informally called Mantes) is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. Events 1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the De facto ruler of Japan. Whether this could have been achieved earlier with more prisoners taken has been a matter of some controversy. Patton's thrust prevented the Germans from establishing the Seine as a defensive line, and the Canadian First and British Second Armies both advanced there, bringing the war in Normandy in their sector to a close and meeting the projected schedule set by Montgomery earlier than expected.

The liberation of Paris followed shortly afterwards. The French Resistance in Paris rose against the Germans on August 19, and the French 2nd Armoured Division under General Philippe Leclerc, along with the U. The French Resistance is the collective name used for the French Resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German Events 43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. The 2nd Armored Division (2e Division Blindée 2e DB commanded by General Leclerc, fought during the final phases of World War II in the Western Front Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque ( November 22, 1902 – November 28, 1947) was a French general during World War II S. 4th Infantry Division pressing forward from Normandy, received the surrender of the German forces there and liberated Paris on August 25. The Liberation of Paris' (also known as Battle for Paris) took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of Events 1248 - The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III the

Political considerations

The appointment of Bernard Montgomery was questioned by some Americans, who would have preferred the urbane Harold Alexander to have commanded the land forces. Montgomery, in turn, had doubts about the appointment of Dwight D. Eisenhower. In the end, however, Montgomery and Eisenhower cooperated to excellent effect in Normandy; their well-known disagreements came much later.

Campaign close

The campaign in Normandy is considered by historians to end either at midnight on July 24, 1944 (the start of Operation Cobra on the American front) or August 25, 1944 (the advance to the Seine and the liberation of Paris). Events 1132 - Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Operation Cobra was the codename for the World War II operation planned by United States Army General Omar Bradley to break out from the Events 1248 - The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III the Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The original Overlord plan anticipated a ninety-day campaign in Normandy with the ultimate goal of reaching the Seine; this goal was met early. The Americans were able to end the campaign on their front early with the massive breakout of Operation Cobra.

The U. S. official history describes the fighting beginning on July 25 as the "Northern France" campaign, and includes the fighting to close the Falaise Gap, which the British/Canadians/Poles consider to be part of the Battle of Normandy. Events 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler

SHAEF, back in England, and the governments were very nervous of stagnation, and there were reports of Eisenhower requesting Montgomery's replacement in July. The lack of forward progress is often attributed to the nature of the terrain in which much of the post-landing fighting in the U. S. and parts of the British sectors took place, the bocage (small farm fields separated by high earth banks covered in dense shrubbery, well suited for defence), as well as the usual difficulties of opposed landings. Bocage is a Norman word which has entered both the French and English languages However, as at the battle of El Alamein, Montgomery kept to his original attritional strategy, reaching the objectives within his original ninety day target. The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II.

Victory in Normandy was followed by a pursuit to the French border in short order, and Germany was forced once again to reinforce the Western Front with manpower and resources from the Soviet and Italian fronts. The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war.

By September, Allied forces of seven field armies (two of which came through southern France in Operation Dragoon) were approaching the German frontier. Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France, on 15 August, 1944, as part of World War II. Allied material weight told heavily in Normandy, as did intelligence and deception plans. The general Allied concept of the battle was sound, drawing on the strengths of both Britain and the United States. German dispositions and leadership were often faulty, despite a credible showing on the ground by many German units. In larger context the Normandy landings helped the Soviets on the Eastern front, who were facing the bulk of the German forces and, to a certain extent, contributed to the shortening of the conflict there.

Allied logistics, intelligence, morale and air power

Victory in Normandy stemmed from several factors. The Allies ensured material superiority at the critical point (concentration of force) and logistical innovations like the PLUTO pipelines and Mulberry harbors enhanced the flow of troops, equipment, and essentials such as fuel and ammunition. Movement of cargo over the open beaches exceeded Allied planners' expectations, even after the destruction of the U. S. Mulberry in the channel storm in mid-June. By the end of July 1944, one million American, British, Canadian, French, and Polish troops, hundreds of thousands of vehicles, and adequate supplies in most categories were ashore in Normandy. Although there was a shortage of artillery ammunition, at no time were the Allies critically short of any necessity. This was a remarkable achievement considering they did not hold a port until Cherbourg fell. By the time of the breakout the Allies also enjoyed a considerable superiority in numbers of troops (approximately 3. 5:1) and armored vehicles (approximately 4:1) which helped overcome the natural advantages the terrain gave to the German defenders.

Allied intelligence and counterintelligence efforts were successful beyond expectations. The Operation Fortitude deception plan before the invasion kept German attention focused on the Pas-de-Calais, and indeed high-quality German forces were kept in this area, away from Normandy, until July. Operation Fortitude was the codename for the Deception operations used by the Allied forces during World War II in connection with the Normandy landings Prior to the invasion, few German reconnaissance flights took place over Britain, and those that did saw only the dummy staging areas. Ultra decrypts of German communications had been helpful as well, exposing German dispositions and revealing their plans such as the Mortain counterattack.

German leadership

German commanders at all levels failed to react to the assault phase in a timely manner. Communications problems exacerbated the difficulties caused by Allied air and naval firepower. Local commanders also seemed unequal to the task of fighting an aggressive defence on the beach, as Rommel envisioned. The German High Command remained fixated on the Calais area, and von Rundstedt was not permitted to commit the armored reserve. When it was finally released late in the day, success was immeasurably more difficult, and even the 21st Panzer Division, which was able to counterattack earlier, was stymied by strong opposition that had been allowed to build at the beaches. Overall, despite considerable Allied material superiority, the Germans kept the Allies bottled up in a small bridgehead for nearly two months, aided immeasureably by terrain factors.

Although there were several well-known disputes among the Allied commanders, their tactics and strategy were essentially determined by agreement between the main commanders. By contrast, the German leaders were bullied and their decisions interfered with by Hitler, controlling the battle from a distance with little knowledge of local conditions. Field Marshals von Rundstedt and Rommel repeatedly asked Hitler for more discretion but were refused. Von Rundstedt was removed from his command on June 29 after he bluntly told the Chief of Staff at Hitler's Armed Forces HQ (Field Marshal Keitel) to "Make peace, you idiots!" Rommel was severely injured by Allied aircraft on July 16. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. For other uses of OKW see OKW (disambiguation. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht ( OKW) ( English: "High Command Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (22 September 1882–16 October 1946 was a German Field marshal ( Generalfeldmarschall) Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Field Marshal von Kluge, who took over the posts held by both von Rundstedt and Rommel, was compromised by his association with some of the military plotters against Hitler, and he would not disobey or argue with Hitler for fear of arrest. Günther “Hans” von Kluge ( October 30, 1882 – August 19, 1944) was a German military leader As a result, the German armies in Normandy were placed in deadly peril by Hitler's insistence on counterattack rather than retreat after the American breakthrough. Kluge was relieved of command on August 15 and took his own life shortly afterwards. Events 778 - The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed The more independent Field Marshal Walter Model took over when the Germans in Normandy were already in the midst of defeat. Otto Moritz Walter Model ('modəl (24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945 was a German general and later field marshal during World War II.

The German commanders also suffered in the quality of the available troops. 60,000 of the 850,000 in Rundstedt's command were raised from the many prisoners of war captured on the east front. ^[39] These "Ost" units had volunteered to fight against Stalin, but when instead unwisely used to defend France against the Western Allies, ended up being unreliable. Many surrendered or deserted at the first available opportunity.

The Normandy Campaign in context

The landings were planned to take place on May 1944, but poor weather and insufficient buildup delayed the landings until June. By then, the Allies had taken Rome in the Italian Campaign, and in the Pacific War, the Americans were launching their first strikes on Japan. The Pacific War was the part of World War II —and preceding conflicts—that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands and in East Asia, between On the Eastern Front, the Red Army were planning their own offensive, Operation Bagration, to drive the Germans away from Soviet territory. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya Operation Bagration (Oперация Багратион Operatsiya Bagration) was the Codename for the Soviet 1944 Belorussian Strategic Combined with the Allied lodgement established at Normandy, the second front in Western Europe that had been demanded by Stalin since the Tehran Conference had been established, the Axis powers were driven back from all fronts. ^[40]

The Normandy campaign has drawn criticism in grand strategy in that it diverted resources and units from other theatres (such as the Italian and Pacific fronts) for the invasion. Grand strategy is military Strategy at the level of movement and use of an entire Nation state or Empire 's resources The Italian front had ceased to be an effective front after the Normandy campaign,^[41] and the Pacific front experienced manpower shortages for the Leyte and Okinawa campaigns. ^[42] The quick successes of Operation Dragoon compared with Normandy also lent criticism to the execution of the Normandy campaign. However, the Normandy front was hindered by Hitler's attempts to hold the West at any cost. As the Allies were closing in on Paris and sealing the Falaise Gap, an invasion in southern France was also launched. Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France, on 15 August, 1944, as part of World War II. Hitler was anxious to hold on to the Belgian and northern French coasts as bases for the "V" weapons, which had started launching against England. Vergeltungswaffe ( German for "retaliatory weapon" "reprisal weapon" or "vengeance weapon" was a term assigned during World War II by the Nazis The linkup with the southern French forces occurred on September 12 as part of the drive to the Siegfried Line. Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the The Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine was one of the final Allied phases in World War II of the Western European Campaign. ^[43]

The Normandy landings not only signalled the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany, it heralded in the start of the race for Europe, which some historians consider to be the start of the Cold War (see Origins of the Cold War). Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The Origins of the Cold War are widely regarded to lie most directly within the immediate post- World War II relations between the two main Superpowers of the ^[44]

Impact of Normandy

War memorials and tourism

Main article: Impact of Normandy

The beaches of Normandy are still known by their invasion codenames today. Streets near the beaches are still named after the units that fought there, and occasional markers commemorate notable incidents. At significant points, such as Pointe du Hoc and Pegasus Bridge, there are plaques, memorials or small museums. Pointe du Hoc (pwε̃t dy ɔk is a clifftop location on the coast of Normandy in northern France. "Rolling bascule bridge" redirects here For other types of bridge referred to as "rolling" see Rolling bridge. The Mulberry harbour still sits in the sea at Arromanches. A Mulberry harbour was a type of temporary Harbour developed in World War II to offload cargo on the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy. In Sainte-Mère-Église, a dummy paratrooper hangs from the church spire.

References

Further Study

Documentaries

• Morning: Normandy Invasion (June–August 1944), episode 17 of the 1974 ITV series The World at War narrated by Laurence Olivier features an extensive coverage of the Allied preparations and the actual events. The Origins of the Cold War are widely regarded to lie most directly within the immediate post- World War II relations between the two main Superpowers of the The World at War is a 26-episode television documentary series on World War II, including the events leading up to it and following in its wake Laurence Kerr Olivier Baron
• Battlefield-The Battle for Normandy, 100 minute 1994 documentary that compares Allied and German commanders, personnel, equipment, and tactics before, during, and after the battle.
• Ken Burns-The War, a seven-part PBS documentary series about World War II as seen through the eyes of men and women from four quintessentially American towns.

Dramatizations

• Band of Brothers, a 2001 American miniseries produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks based on the book of the same name by Stephen Ambrose. Band of Brothers is a ten-part Television World War II Mini-series based on the book of the same title written by Historian A miniseries (also mini-series) in a serial Storytelling medium is a production which tells a story in a pre-planned limited number of episodes Stephen Edward Ambrose ( January 10, 1936 – October 13, 2002) was an American Historian and Biographer of U
• D-Day 6. 6. 1944, a 2004 BBC/Discovery documentary. A 2-hour dramatization containing interviews with surviving soldiers who experienced the landings.

Video games

• Call of Duty 3
• Company of Heroes
• Medal of Honor series. Call of Duty 3 is a World War II First-person shooter and the third installment in the Call of Duty video game series Company of Heroes ( CoH) is a Real-time strategy computer game developed by Relic Entertainment. Plot The Medal of Honor series puts the player in the boots of an Allied combatant during World War II, with weaponry appropriate to the Several games of the series deal with the Battle of Normandy
• Soldiers: Heroes of WWII. Soldiers Heroes of World War II is the first in a series of Real-time tactics Video games set in World War II, developed by or under The German campaign of the game, titled "Hunter", takes place after the invasion of D-Day and has the player in control of German tank commander Michael Wittmann.
• 1944 D-Day Operation Overlord, a complete simulation of the entire Battle of Normandy. Players have the option to be a pilot, a sailor, a tank commander, or any other person who was fighting for either army.

Wargames

• Atlantic Wall, a large 1970s American board wargame by SPI depicting the battle from the landings through to the breakout, at company and battalion level, and using a similar game system to Wacht Am Rhein. A board game is a Game in which counters or pieces that are placed on removed from or moved across a "board" (a premarked surface usually specific to that game A wargame is a Game that simulates or represents a Military operation. Due to be reprinted in 2008.
• Cobra, a 1970s American board wargame by SPI depicting the breakout and Falaise Pocket, at brigade and division level (with Tiger tank battalions). A board game is a Game in which counters or pieces that are placed on removed from or moved across a "board" (a premarked surface usually specific to that game A wargame is a Game that simulates or represents a Military operation. Reprinted by TSR, Inc in the late 1980s with an extra map covering the initial landings. TSR Inc was an American game publishing company most famous for publishing the Dungeons & Dragons Role-playing game.

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