The Battle
The D-Day Invasion of Normandy laid a beachhead for the Allies on the Western Front of Europe. This battle was the single most important battle on the Western front because a defeat would have been tragic for Allied morale. D-Day is the military codeword for the paratrooper operations on the night of June 5 and the beach landings on the morning of June 6 in Normandy. On the morning of June 6, 1944, it was cloudy and pouring rain. The tide was low, and thousands of soldiers from America, Britain, Canada, and many other countries were prepared to storm the beaches. The battle was going to be fierce, and thousands of men would lose their lives fighting.
The plan for Normandy was complicated. There was to be a naval and aerial bombardment, and paratroopers would be dropped behind enemy lines. There would be five beaches for landing, code-named Juno, Sword, Utah, Omaha and Gold. The Americans would take Omaha and Utah, the British would take Sword and Gold, and the Canadians would take Juno. The date was first set to June 5. However, bad weather would postpone the invasion to June 6. Even on June 6, the weather conditions were not suitable for an invasion. Eisenhower, however, decided to take a chance and attack on June 6.
The first phase of D-Day was the naval and aerial bombardment. The fleet, numbering 7,000, was the largest fleet ever assembled. The flotilla was three-fourths British, with some American and other Allied ships present. Admiral Ramsay was the leader of the fleet. The Allied Air Force had 9,000 planes, and it was half British and half American. The Allies had aerial superiority over the Germans, who had only anywhere from 183 to 419 planes. A huge problem with the bombardment that was recognized early in planning was that the French civilians would be unaware of the barrage. Statisticians estimated that 80,000 civilians would die in the bombardment. The problem was solved by the Special Leaflet Squadron, which dropped pamphlets to the French populace warning them of the bombardment. The barrage was effective, but it did not completely decimate the German forces. After the bombardment, the paratroopers would land behind Normandy.
The Allies continued to invade France. By the end of June, Rommel reported to losing nearly 250,000 men. Also, at the end of June, the Allies landed 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy. On July 9, the British finally captured their main objective of Caen. The Americans broke out from Normandy on July 25. The Allies captured Paris on August 8. Paris was the second of the Axis capitals in Europe to be captured. The Allies continued their advance into the Low Countries, though they were surprisingly attacked in Belgium at the Battle of the Bulge, and into the western half of Germany. Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies on May 22, 1945, officially ending the war in Europe.
D-Day had a great effect on the outcome of World War II. If the Russians could capture half of Germany with an Allied success at D-Day, then it is possible that an Allied loss at D-Day could have allowed the Russians to capture most of Germany. Therefore, an Allied loss at D-Day could have had a great impact on the Cold War. Also, if the Allies had failed at D-Day, to plan another invasion and to get the manpower to do so would have been exceptionally hard. Allied morale would have been low, and Russia, seeing that its Allies were weak, may have even abandoned the Allies and made a separate peace with Germany, as they had done in World War I. All of these scenarios could have happened had D-Day failed. The D-Day Invasion of Normandy is a great part of American history that has had a great impact on the world in which we live in today.
The plan for Normandy was complicated. There was to be a naval and aerial bombardment, and paratroopers would be dropped behind enemy lines. There would be five beaches for landing, code-named Juno, Sword, Utah, Omaha and Gold. The Americans would take Omaha and Utah, the British would take Sword and Gold, and the Canadians would take Juno. The date was first set to June 5. However, bad weather would postpone the invasion to June 6. Even on June 6, the weather conditions were not suitable for an invasion. Eisenhower, however, decided to take a chance and attack on June 6.
The first phase of D-Day was the naval and aerial bombardment. The fleet, numbering 7,000, was the largest fleet ever assembled. The flotilla was three-fourths British, with some American and other Allied ships present. Admiral Ramsay was the leader of the fleet. The Allied Air Force had 9,000 planes, and it was half British and half American. The Allies had aerial superiority over the Germans, who had only anywhere from 183 to 419 planes. A huge problem with the bombardment that was recognized early in planning was that the French civilians would be unaware of the barrage. Statisticians estimated that 80,000 civilians would die in the bombardment. The problem was solved by the Special Leaflet Squadron, which dropped pamphlets to the French populace warning them of the bombardment. The barrage was effective, but it did not completely decimate the German forces. After the bombardment, the paratroopers would land behind Normandy.
The Allies continued to invade France. By the end of June, Rommel reported to losing nearly 250,000 men. Also, at the end of June, the Allies landed 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy. On July 9, the British finally captured their main objective of Caen. The Americans broke out from Normandy on July 25. The Allies captured Paris on August 8. Paris was the second of the Axis capitals in Europe to be captured. The Allies continued their advance into the Low Countries, though they were surprisingly attacked in Belgium at the Battle of the Bulge, and into the western half of Germany. Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies on May 22, 1945, officially ending the war in Europe.
D-Day had a great effect on the outcome of World War II. If the Russians could capture half of Germany with an Allied success at D-Day, then it is possible that an Allied loss at D-Day could have allowed the Russians to capture most of Germany. Therefore, an Allied loss at D-Day could have had a great impact on the Cold War. Also, if the Allies had failed at D-Day, to plan another invasion and to get the manpower to do so would have been exceptionally hard. Allied morale would have been low, and Russia, seeing that its Allies were weak, may have even abandoned the Allies and made a separate peace with Germany, as they had done in World War I. All of these scenarios could have happened had D-Day failed. The D-Day Invasion of Normandy is a great part of American history that has had a great impact on the world in which we live in today.